I’ve never been so proud of her, or so terrified.
Pierce runs from the room, slamming the door behind him as he lets out a tortured, high-pitched wail of terror.
Skye gets Lochlan free, as Capri rushes to get Teagan untied.
“That might have been the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” Teagan says before throwing her arms around Capri. “You went like, full on mama bear.”
I nod my head in agreement since I’m still tied up with my mouth covered. A body blocks my view of them. I look up to see Lochlan grinning down at me like a madman.
“Fancy meeting you here, lassie.” He disappears for a moment, then I feel my wrist go free before he kneels in front of me and carefully peels the tape away from my lips.
As soon as the tape is off, I throw myself at him, slamming my lips to his. His lips smile against mine before he kisses me back.
I’ve never been so happy to see this Scottish idiot as I am now.
Someone coughs, and we break apart, both of us blushing furiously.
Lee chuckles. I look up to see him, Capri, and Skye standing together, holding hands. They make a damn cute family. “How about we figure out how to get out of here before we start the celebratory smooching? We still have a crazy author to take down, don’t we?”
Lochlan gets to his feet and pulls me up with him. “Aye. That we do, but I know where the limo keys are stashed. We can drive it to the ferry and finally get off this island of death.”
“I can’t leave Quinn,” Teagan says, grabbing the dagger and handcuffs Pierce left behind. “Can you guys get Skye to the limo?” She points to Lee and Lochlan.
Lee looks down at Skye with so much love in his eyes already. “I’ll keep her safe if Lochy-boy can show us where to go.” Capri gives them both a hug, tactfully avoiding touching anyone with the butcher knife she’s still holding before joining Teagan at the door.
“What am I supposed to use?” I complain.
Lochlan pinches my behind. “Your sass and good looks have gotten you this far, aye lassie?”
I smack his hand before pulling him in for another kiss. “Stay alive for me, okay? I’m not done with you yet.” He winks before heading out with Lee and Skye.
“You girls ready to finish this?” Teagan says.
“Absolutely,” Capri responds.
“I was born ready to take down the evil white men of the world,” I chime out, flipping my hair back before noticing the case of lethal syringes on the floor. I grab it and pull one out. “Let’s end this.”
The three of us stare at each other for a few seconds. None of us says anything; we don’t have to. I choke back the rush of emotions I have for these two women. I’m so proud to have them by my side, especially in this insane place we found ourselves in. While I never want to go through something like this again, I can’t deny that it showed me what true friendship really looks like. I would happily kill anyone who hurt them, and I know they’d willingly do the same for me.
“Okay, okay. No sappy stuff or I’ll start crying.” I quickly wipe my eyes, careful not to stab myself with the deadly poison I’m holding.
“Where do we start?” Teagan asks.
Capri’s face twists into a knowing smirk. “I know exactly how to find where that cockroach of a man is hiding. Follow me.”
Chapter thirty-nine
Why would we waste our time searching this place from top to bottom when I know there’s a room full of screens monitoring every inch of it?
Lexi, Teagan, and I jog through the ominously quiet corridors of Windermere as I fill them in on the room Lochlan showed Lee and me. I also tell them about the security footage and how all the staff have been trapped here as hostages.
“We should be able to find Quinn, too,” I assure Teagan. “I’m telling you, there are literally fifty or more livestreams going on at once. It shouldn’t be hard to find him if we each take a wall.”
“But first, we find Pierce. I cannot believe he ran out of there when you went all She-Hulk,” Lexi chimes in, nudging me fondly with her elbow as we run. “That was seriously epic. If we end up getting out of here, I’m definitely dedicating an entire podcast episode to that moment alone.”
I giggle and feel a blush tearing across my cheeks. “Shut up,” I gasp with a smile.
My stamina isn’t up to par after running nonstop for the last day or so. At least Lex and Teagan were able to change. I feel absolutely disgusting in my days-old survival clothing and feel horribleknowing they must both be politely ignoring the stench of blood and sweat permeating from my skin.
