All this effort, all these feelings, all this freedom and I was going to lose it because of that monster.
“Shit. Fuck!” I spat.
Before I could unravel any further, Dare stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Victor's dead body and narrowed his eyes.
"Don't worry about him. My guys will make him disappear. And you won't go to prison. No one knows what happened out here. No one will ever know."
Something caught in my throat as I grasped what he was saying and I nodded slowly.
How had I gone from an average baker to a murderer with a whole cover-up crew was beyond me. I didn't want to think about it too hard or my head might implode.
"Let's get you to the car ASAP," I said and we continued our walk back.
Now that the rain had stopped it was a little easier to navigate and a little quicker to get to. I had assumed we'd walked miles, but adrenaline must have distorted time and space because it only took us ten minutes to get back to the car.
Once there, Dare made a call and I got behind the wheel and adjusted the seat and mirrors.
"Right. Where is the nearest hospital?" I asked when he hung up.
Dare put his phone on the dashboard and shook his head.
"We’re not going to a hospital. The guys are on their way. Just pull up in front of Victor's car in case anyone drives by. We don't want anyone calling the cops."
I drove a few feet forward and parked next to Victor's car before I switched the engine off and sat back with a sigh.
"How did you find us? Hell, how did you catch up? We left so long ago."
Dare raised an eyebrow, completely unamused.
"Did you forget Slade has access to your phone?"
I all but smashed my head on the steering wheel.
"I'm so stupid."
Dare chuckled.
"Well, it wasn't your brightest moment, but I'm glad for it. Because it helped us find you."
I nodded.
"Slade hacked into Victor's phone and changed your route. Warren called his buddies and they blocked the A6 which should have slowed you down. I guess it did."
"Yeah, it was crammed when we came off A6. That's why Victor decided to fill the tank up, hoping it would clear up."
"I'm guessing it did because they reopened the main road."
I blinked, so confused but also impressed.
"Gosh, who are you people?"
Dare pressed the side of his head on the headrest and with tired eyes he said, "your family. We'd do anything to save you. I know I would."
He sounded so drained it made it hard to believe he was saying those words.
I offered him my hand and when he took it, I squeezed.
"And you have. You’ve done so much already. I'm so sorry I left. I hated doing it but...it was the only way I could think to keep you safe."
