I slammed my hand against the steering wheel, yelling, “Motherfucker.” I sucked a deep breath in through my nose, trying to curb my anger that Hana and Tony had been caughtup in any of this. “Wait, you got that from the prison records?” I asked, none of this adding up.
“No. That was in Preston’s files. A recording. In it, Wolf told Preston they’d all sold him out, and he’d get his revenge. Looks like while planning it, he fashioned Amber into his weapon of choice.”
“Shit,” I muttered, flicking on my indicator to take the slip road off the motorway. The sun was setting, the sky a fiery red that gave me a sense of foreboding I refused to acknowledge because I couldn’t lose Hana. It would kill me. I would kill Amber.
“I let her walk into my fucking house today,” I muttered almost to myself. “She walked right in, offered me a drugged doughnut, and then watched while I ate it. I need to get Hana back, Sean,” I said, knowing he’d be listening.
“And we will, but you need to wait until I get there. I’m already in my car. Don’t be a hero, Roman. We have no idea what you’re walking into.”
“I’m not just sitting outside, waiting for her to kill Hana. No fucking way.” My voice got louder as my anger rose, clouding my thinking.
“I’m half an hour behind. Wait until I get there. That’s an order.”
I hummed my agreement, but I had no intention of listening to a word of it. I was going in for Hana the minute I got to that cabin.
64
HANA
I triedto hide my fear, but the tears silently spilling down my face gave me away.
“Please, Amber,” I begged, but she just pushed the barrel of the gun harder against the base of my skull.
“Wolfie was mine.”
Her admission was like another punch to the face.Fuck, it all made sense now.She was the woman in the photo. She’d had work done; she must have to look so different, but her eyes, behind those glasses, that’s what I had recognised.
“He loved me, promised me a future. I walked away from my old life, let them think I’d vanished, and I got myself ready for him. Made sure I was everything he dreamt of. And then you… you had him locked away, even though that sleazeball Preston promised to keep him safe. Wolfie paid him to keep him safe.” Her voice was sad now, her earlier anger replaced by a softness that I knew wouldn’t last long. While she spoke, I pulled my calves, twisting my ankles, desperately trying to loosen the ropes that kept me tied to the chair.
“I-I didn’t?—”
The handle of the gun struck the back of my head hard, and dots danced at the edge of my vision. “Don’t try lying to me.Preston told Wolfie everything. How you set him up so you could hatch your little escape plan. How you no longer worked for him and were fair game. How disappointed he was in his little girl.” I shuddered at her tone: childlike and sinister. “How your brother was in the same prison and would be a great place to start with his revenge on you.”
A sob tore from my lips, knowing that Tony had not only ended up in prison because I wouldn’t cooperate with Preston’s plan, but he also died because I walked away from Preston. My heart ached, and I wondered if I should just let Amber shoot me; maybe I deserved it.
“Wolfie and I talked a lot. He wrote me letters, and we had our own special code. That’s how in love we were. We had a secret language. I bet you and Roman don’t have that, do you?”
His name focused my attention, reminding me that I had a reason to live: him. His face flashed through my mind, and I whispered a silent prayer that he was safe.
“I didn’t kill your boyfriend,” I said with a little more sass. Amber shoved the gun to the base of my skull again, forcing my head forwards with the pressure. My temples throbbed from the sedative and the crack to the skull, and my vision swam, making the room look like it was dancing in front of me.
“Not with your hands, but you put him there. You, Preston, his whole gang… you make me sick. All of you thinking you were above the law. He died, taken from me before I ever had a chance to love him in real life, but I knew what my Wolfie wanted to do to you. How he wanted to save you till last because you’d been the reason he ended up locked up.”
She appeared in front of me, the gun held out in my direction as her eyes widened, giving her a wild look.
Had every moment with this woman been fake?
I struggled in the chair again, wondering if the ropes were feeling looser or if my brain was trying to trick me into thinkingI had a chance of getting out of here when everything happening around me told me otherwise.
She pushed her fingers through her hair. “Wolfie asked me to find you, keep an eye on you. I knew when the others started dying, you’d run, but I also knew I’d always be able to track you down. You’re too special to stay hidden for long.”
She offered me a smile that looked like it belonged to my friend and not a revenge killer. “But then he died, so I took over. They were all easy to kill. No one suspects the pretty young woman, right?” She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Silly me, of course you know that, Hana. You built a life playing the innocent one, getting people to do what you wanted, didn’t you? Now I guess it’s time to pay for your crimes.”
She clicked off the safety, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a tarot card like the one that had been found on the other bodies.
“No-no, you don’t have to do this, Amber. Let me go, let’s talk about…” My words fell away when she threw the card into my lap.
“Goodbye, Hana.”
