Tears fell from the corners of her eyes, and dark spots dotted her vision. She clawed at his hands. She needed air, needed to get him off of her. “You’re hurting me. Stop. Please.” The words were barely above a whisper, almost impossible to squeak out of her mouth as he continued to press on her windpipe.
This wasn’t how she wanted to die. Trapped under a monster, alone in the forest with only a brief taste of what her life could have been. Memories of Reid ticked by one by one. As scared as she’d been the last couple of days, she’d also never been so happy. Never experienced so much joy and love.
Oh God. She loved Reid. She’d been in love with his smile and charm and wit for months. But now she knew it was more than that. She was in love with a man who brought all her dreams to life, and now she’d never get to experience those dreams with him. Never build that life.
She’d never even get a chance to tell him.
“You’re just like the rest of them,” Tyson screamed, his hands pressing harder against her windpipe. “You were supposed to be different.”
Energy leaked from her body. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t fight. Not wanting Tyson’s face to be the last thing she ever saw, she closed her eyes and pulled forth an image of Reid. His shaggy hair and kind brown eyes. The grin that melted her insides and the booming laugh that always made her smile.
I’m so sorry we couldn’t do life together.
The grip around her neck loosened, allowing her to pull in a large gasp of air. She swallowed, the motion like needles along her raw throat. She opened her eyes, and the slimy smile on Tyson’s face made her wish he’d finished what he’d started.
He rested his palms along the delicate dip of her collarbone. “I won’t make the same mistake I made before. No need to end things here, with neither of us getting the satisfaction we really want. Nah, I’ll take you to that special spot and show you exactly the kind of man I am. The man you’ve been waiting for your whole damn life.”
Chapter 26
Reid burst out the front door, and the crisp air hit his face and spurred him on. He sprinted down the porch steps and dug his keys out of his pocket. Thank God his truck was parked out front. He didn’t have to waste time finding a ride.
“Hold on a second,” Madden said, following him outside.
“Not gonna happen. Time’s not on our side. I’m not slowing down for anyone.” He continued to his truck until a hard grip on his shoulder stopped him. He whirled around, anger mixed with impatience and fear gnawing at his gut as every worst-case scenario played on repeat in his brain. “What the hell is your problem?”
Madden held out his hand and wiggled his fingers in a give-me motion. “Hand over the keys.”
“No way. My truck. I drive. Now get your hands off me and get your ass inside so we can go.”
“You’re not in the right headspace to be behind the wheel. You’re upset and you’re scared. I totally get it. But if we get into a car accident, you won’t be any good to Eve.” Madden made the hand gesture again. “So give me the keys.”
Reid considered Madden’s words for just a second and then tossed him the keys and stomped to the passenger side of his vehicle. There was no reason why he couldn’t drive his own damn truck, but he wasn’t about to spend precious seconds arguing.
Once buckled, he rubbed his hands up and down the thighs of his jeans. Nervous energy whipped around inside him. Hedarted his gaze between the side window and the front, hoping to catch a glimpse of Eve.
Madden backed out of the driveway then shot down the road. “The park Eve met Lily at with Suzy isn’t that far away. We should be there in about ten minutes or so. If you’re right, they don’t have much of a head start. We’ll get her back.”
He didn’t respond, couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. He’d never known fear like this. Never experienced the gut punch of emotion holding him in gridlock.
His phone rang, and hope sprang forward. Maybe it was Eve and this was all a big misunderstanding. Tara’s name and photo on his screen sent those hopes crashing right back down. He didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to focus on anything other than the all-consuming need to find Eve and hold her in his arms. To kiss the hell out of her and tell her what an idiot he’d been for waiting so long to tell her how he felt.
For waiting so long to tell her that he loved her.
The realization sent another bolt of pain through his heart.
“You gonna answer that?” Madden asked, tilting his chin toward the phone. “Could be important.”
Knowing he was right, Reid answered the call. “Did you find something?”
“No, you?”
He sighed and stared out the window as the patches of land grew wider and fewer houses dotted the landscape. “We’re heading to the park she loves. Hoping he took her there. It’s the only place I can think of.” His voice caught, cutting off any more words.
“You’ll find her, Reid. I know you will.”
He huffed out a humorless laugh. “How do you know that? I can’t keep anyone safe. I can’t help you. I turned my back for one second and Eve was taken. I lost control.”
“You stop that right now,” Tara barked. “You’re amazing. I haven’t always really heard you, haven’t let your advice seep in. But you’ve never given up on me, just like you’ll never give up on Eve. You can’t control everything, no matter how hard you try. Things will always happen to you, not because of you. And now you’ll fight like hell to find her. Just like you’ve always fought like hell for me.”
