Carson nodded.
“He trusts you. That’s good.” The path was semi-familiar and brought back unwanted memories of taking the same route with Rusty, back when I thought he was a friend, someone good. How foolish I’d been. When Brock had come to get me, I’d been too relieved to pay attention to my whereabouts. Once we turned off the main road, the only light visible was from the moon and the BMW’s headlights.
Carson’s nerves showed long before the cabin even appeared. Every fidget, every twitch, and every ragged inhale screamed one truth.
He was terrified.
For himself. For me.
I couldn’t blame him.
Dread pooled in my stomach. My hands were numb, my chest was tight, and despite the weight of Kreed’s gun on my lap, I didn’t feel nearly as brave as I’d hoped. It didn’t give me the courage I thought it would. It was an unforgiving reminder of how far I’d fallen. Of what I was about to do.
“Whatever happens tonight,” Carson said quietly, “I need you to know I love you. And be careful. I can’t lose you.”
Carson didn’t know about the gun, but he wasn’t stupid. He guessed why I was willing to put myself in danger again. My throat tightened, squeezing around air suddenly too thick to swallow. “I will.”
A tunnel of dense forest closed around us as we drove deeper and deeper into the woods, branches scraping the roof like skeletal fingers. I swore the winds whispered ominous warnings telling us to turn around, but I couldn’t. I had to see this through. I needed this to end at whatever cost.
Knowing Kreed would be right on my ass was the drive I needed to push forward.
The headlights carved through the darkness, illuminating gnarled trunks rising to the sky and undergrowth that made the path hard to see. Finally, up ahead, the cabin appeared, crooked and sagging, its wooden frame leaning slightly to one side. If it wasn’t for a single lantern flickering through the grimy windows, the place would look abandoned.
Carson cut the headlights around the last bend, steering the car slightly off the path. “How long do you think we have?” he asked, putting the BMW into park.
“A few minutes at most. Evan tailed us the entire way.”
“I’ve seen the way your boyfriend drives,” Carson muttered, unbuckling his seat belt and glancing over his shoulder. “I give him twenty more seconds.”
He was probably right.
I pulled my phone and the gun out of my bag.
Carson did a double take, his gaze fixing on the weapon. “What the hell is that?”
“Security. Motivation. Coercion. Take your pick.”
“Jesus, Kay,” he gasped, angling his body toward me. A slash of moonlight hit his cheekbone. “Do you even know how to use that?”
I reached for the door. “We’re about to find out.”
28
KREED
By the time the sun slipped behind the tree line, my side had gone from a tearing agony to a steady, mean throb, like someone had buried a hot coal under my ribs and left it there to smolder.
I ignored it.
I’d spent the day pacing the house, checking in with Raine, with the twins, and with Brock while running scenarios in my head. If Rusty was smart, he’d disappear for a while, let the heat die down after his failed grab on me, but if he wasdesperate…desperate men did stupid things.
Desperate men made mistakes.
My phone buzzed on the dresser where I’d left it face down. I snatched it up so fast my stitches tugged.
Jesse.
Need to talk. Now.
