No.
Unknown: Come out, my Wildcat, and maybe I’ll spare her life.
Attached is a photo of my mother sleeping, her face relaxed and oblivious to the threat being posed to her life.
Unknown: Don’t tell that fuckwit you’re fucking, or I’ll kill them both and make you watch.
That threat alone is enough to have me moving toward the elevators.
A pair of my joggers sits by the door, and I pull them on without conscious thought.
All I can think about right now is how terrified I am.
For my mom.
For Colten.
For myself.
I have no idea what I’m walking into, but I know exactly what I’m walking away from, and that’s what terrifies me.
The taxi ride is quiet, but that’s what I’d expect at five in the morning on a Sunday. The fact I was able to flag one on the street at all was nothing short of a miracle, but every mile we drive away from Colten is more painful than the last.
He’ll find me.
I clutch my phone to my chest. The urge to call him is strong, but not yet.
All that matters right now is getting Mom to safety, everything else will have to wait.
The car pulls onto the street I grew up on, and my entire body is wired with fear, but I pay the driver and climb out, remaining out of sight of the guards as I was instructed.
Hopefully that means he’s going to come out here and leave her alone, but I’m not so naive to think there’s a chance he won’t drag her out here to keep me in line.
Considering all he seems to know about me, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe he knows how desperately I want to protect the people I love.
If me standing here in the rain, willingly handing myself over to someone who clearly intends me harm rather than being curled up with Colten, isn’t proof of that, I don’t know what is.
I read over the message I drafted in the car one more time as I wait. My plan is to send it at the last second before deleting it from my phone, just in case he checks.
In the moments between panic, I’ve practiced deleting a message without looking, and I think I can do it, but there’s too much I have left to say to not try.
Regret eats away at me, the ache between my thighs from his rough treatment a few hours ago reminding me of the words I should have said but didn’t.
I thought I had time, but that’s the thing. Time isn’t guaranteed. Every second we walk this earth is a blessing, and I wish we treated it that way.
I wish I’d treated that moment with Colten like it would be my last and told him how I feel, but a text will have to do.
If there’s a chance I’m about to disappear forever, I want to make sure he knows exactly how I feel about him.
Footsteps on the path have my body locking as a fresh wave of fear crashes over me. I drop my arm to my side and click send as the steps draw nearer, and when I’m certain the text has sent, I quickly delete any record of it.
“You came alone.” His voice sounds surprised.
“You told me to.”
He hums, noncommittally. His body towers over mine from behind, his mere presence sending a wave of nausea through me. “Drop the phone and walk.”
I do as I’m told, allowing the device to crash to the ground before I take a step forward.
