I stab the end call button with a shaking finger and pull back onto the road before I can second guess myself. Carlson gapes at me, fear leeching all of the color from his face. I grit my teeth as the phone rings again. Fuck, I hope I know what I’m doing.I send it to voicemail, biting the inside of my cheek until I taste iron.
I hand Carlson Hunter’s phone. “When that rings, send it to voicemail.” My voice leaves no room for argument, sounding eerily similar to the man who once controlled my life.
“Okay,” he whispers.
I grab my cell and call Gail, the trees blurring outside my window.Please answer, please answer...The call continues to ring. She normally picks it up by now. Where the fuck is she? My heart thuds in my chest with each shrill sound. If there is a fucking God, I need him to?—
“Hey, Ellie, you okay?” she asks in a tired voice.
I keep my eyes focused on the road as I continue to race to the store. There’s logic in what I’m doing. I try to soothe myself, my heart breaking with every mile I put between Hunter and me. We just got a signal. If I turn back like I really want to, we’ll lose communication. We’ve been on the road twenty-five minutes, meaning Jonathan will be left to his own devices around Steph and the others for an hour. He’s not a patient man, and even now, I am risking lethal wrath.
“You know the guy we talked about? The one from when I was growing up.”
“Yes.” Her tone is suddenly sharp. Focused. Irate.
“He found me. He’s at the mental institution where Hunter’s sister is being cared for.”
“What do you need?”
“I assume, like most villains, he’s about to give me an ultimatum to come to him or he kills her.”
Carlson curses softly, more aware of what’s going on around him than any of the Reapers give him credit for.
“That’s highly likely,” she acknowledges. “Is Hunter not with you?”
“No. He’s at a campsite without means of communication about thirty minutes away. I give you permission to speak to Carlson and Hunter regarding anything in my notes that you think could help.”
His head whips towards me, his eyes wide behind his glasses as they slip down his nose.
“Help with what, Ellie? They have you.”
I grit my teeth as I screech to a halt in the store’s parking lot, slamming on the brakes. “I promised him I would protect his heart and include him in every decision.”
“Then turn back around and go fucking get the big military-trained biker that loves you and his muscly ride-or-die buddies before you walk into the viper’s nest.”
Carlson cancels another call from Green Hay, and I swallow the lump in my throat. “His heart is in that institution, Gail. Tell me the likelihood Jonathan won’t kill her in a fit of rage if I ignore him for well over an hour.”
The silence is so fucking loud it is deafening. “He won’t kill you. You know that, right?”
I know. I’m counting on it. “Anything they need, Gail, you give it to them. You have access to my entire history and Uncle Steven.”
“I love you, Ellie.” Her voice breaks, fracturing a piece of my heart I didn’t realize she controlled. “You kill that fucker, and I will make it my mission to ensure you never see the inside of a prison.”
My lips twitch. “There won’t be anything left of him when I’m finished. Murder is so very tricky to prove without a body.”
“Be safe.”
I cut the call before I lose my composure, turning to face the ashen-faced boy next to me. I snatch Hunter’s phone from his limp grip and put a call forwarding on for Green Hay before sharing Gail’s contact details. I override the facial recognition and switch on the only lifeline I have. I hand Carlson Hunter’s phone back and snap my fingers in front of his eyes to get his attention. He blinks but focuses, fear making him tremble in his seat.
“You need to get a ride back to the campsite. Local cab, Uber, whatever can get you there the quickest. Cost doesn’t fucking matter. If I survive this, I’ll pay you back. Tell Hunter Jonathan is at Green Hay. Tell him that’s where I’m going.”
He jerks his head in acknowledgement, his body stilling now he has a purpose.
“Tell him the tracker is on and ask him to call Fox for further updates.”
“O-okay.” The poor kid’s terrified. Life lesson one: the real world fucking sucks.
“Give me your laptop.” He releases it into my hands without hesitation, and my fingers fly over the keyboard as I take a leap of faith with a practical stranger. I turn the screen toward him, my body strangely calm.I trust him,I realize, filing that away as something to hopefully analyze later. “This is Jonathan. He’s the leader of the world’s largest sex trafficking ring. This is all the research I have gathered over the last twelve years.” My voice is robotic, and I realize how much I have changed in my time with Hunter, how much life he has breathed into my world. I refuse to let Jonathan steal anything more from me.“I want you to review it.”
