“Whoops,” Chance said with a chuckle as my arms wrenched downward and Adamson’s head bounced off the ground.
“Stop fucking around,” I grunted, my lips twitching.
“He’s gonna have a headache,” Chance replied, lifting Adamson by his wrists. “What do you think? Should we swing him up?”
“You’re so annoying.” I tried to hide my smile. Fuck, he was funny. “Just put him in.”
We maneuvered Adamson’s body across the floorboard of the cabin and left him there. Turning around, I realized Dalton and Ian were still standing next to the SUV, completely frozen.
“That can’t be good,” Chance said as we set off at a jog back toward the others.
“What?” I snapped as we reached them.
Dalton pressed a button on his phone, and Gary’s voice filtered out.
“When you get this, come straight back. Got a call from Halle on the house phone. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. We’re on our way.” The message repeated on a loop.
“What does that mean?” Chance asked as Dalton finally snapped out of it and started sprinting for the helicopter.
“Our house is being attacked,” Ian said as he threw open the door and climbed into the front seat.
I didn’t bother trying to step around Adamson as I climbed in the back. I just stepped right on top of him. The blades began to whirl as I closed the door.
“My mother and my brothers made it to the safe room.”
“How the hell did you get that from the message?” Chance asked once we had our headsets on.
“A call from my mom on the house phone,” Ian said as we began to rise. “That phone is only used for one thing. Do not pass Go—she’s in the safe room. Do not collect two hundred dollars—she has both my brothers.”
I braced as Dalton banked right, replaying the message from Gary in my mind.
We.
He’d saidwe. He hadn’t said, I’m on my way. He’d saidwe’reon our way.
Rosemary went with him.
“Text Ambrose,” I ordered Chance. “I’ll text Beau.”
Chance nodded. “They’re closer.”
It was the longest flight I’d ever taken. Every minute felt like a year. Neither of my brothers responded to their messages. My dad never answered his phone. My mother’s phone went straight to voicemail.
We flew blindly toward Dalton’s house. Clutching my rifle, I fought the urge to count my ammunition. I hadn’t even fired my weapon at the Adamson house. There was no reason to fidget.It wouldn’t get us there any faster. It wouldn’t change anything that was happening, as I sat there without a scratch on me.
It hurt to breathe. My head pounded in sync with my heartbeat.
It felt like déjà vu, but this time, I had no control over how fast we got there.
It had been less than a month since we’d gotten the call that, while we were out, our house was being attacked. Then, I’d been afraid for my mother and my brothers’ mates, but my mate had been safely seated behind me.
I hadn’t realized how agonizing it had been for Beau and Ambrose back then. How completely overwhelming the terror was. My mate was there, in danger, and I was too far away to do anything about it. Every muscle in my body was locked tight. Sweat dripped off the end of my nose. Nausea wasn’t even the right word for the way my stomach churned and cramped. It felt like someone had their hand in there and was twisting a fistful of my guts from side to side.
I’d been able to handle the symptoms up to that point. I’d pushed the discomfort aside, ignored it, pushed through it.
I couldn’t ignore it now. With every minute that passed, my fear fed the heat, and it felt like at any moment my body was going to begin shutting down. No one could survive that kind of pain.
Why the fuck had I thought putting any kind of distance between us was a good idea? I knew better. I’d lived through the consequences of it.
