The last thing I need is for them to know that he’s someone I know. As luck would have it, it seems that Callum is tied to the underworld gatekeepers they told me about. But how deep does this go? Why are we all meeting here in Bane Falls when it would seem so unlikely?
“Briar?” Roman’s voice shakes me from my thoughts.
“Huh?” I look up to find him and Gale watching me.
Roman’s eyes narrow in the rearview mirror. “Did you know that man?”
My hands go clammy, and I have to force a straight face as I shake my head. “No.”
Gale groans again and seems to steal Roman’s attention. I let out a short breath and grab Gale’s hand in an attempt to comfort him since there’s nothing I can do.
The car ride isn’t long. It’s maybe fifteen minutes before we’re approaching a small building. It’s easy to miss because it’s buried out here in the tall cornfields. It has a long driveway thatextends off a back road. When we get closer I realize that it’s their auto shop.
Roman helps Gale get inside while I stand shivering by the SUV with my hands in my pockets, staring up at the old structure. It looks like it was built when the town was, in the early 1900s. The bricks have white stains from years of rain. It’s one story tall, but I wonder if it has a cellar. I can’t imagine why else they would choose a place like this other than it’s in the middle of a freaking cornfield.
Footsteps come from behind me. I quickly turn around and point the gun. Three men who are bruised and covered in dirt and blood step out of the corn.
“We made it.” Taylor tries to sound bright, but his weary smile gives him away.
My shoulders relax, and I’m about to lower the gun, but the smell of teakwood and oil spills over me as a broad chest meets my spine. Roman’s hand wraps over mine and he pulls my arm up so I’m not aiming it at his comrades.
For some reason my head follows the movement, and I’m looking straight up at him as he stares down at me from behind. That stony expression falters, and he slides his hand down my wrist. It’s so soft even though there’s nothing gentle about the way he looks right now.
“What did I tell you about pointing guns at my guys?”
I stare longer than I should and blink a few times to clear my head before slipping out of his gravity. He takes the gun from my hand as I do.
“How did you guys get here so fast?” I mumble.
Bensen lets his shoulders slack with a few deep breaths. “We cut through the field. The road goes around the long way.” He shakes his head gravely. “We lost him.”
“Lieutenant…” John says slowly. Their grave expressions make my chest sink.
Roman just looks at them for a beat. “I know.”
Their collective frowns set the tone, and quietly we all move into the building. I quickly find a spot on the only sofa in the shop garage, which is essentially just a big cement room. It’s spacious and clearly used for their auto shop facade—it really does look like they work on cars in here. The smell of oil permeates the air.
The guys are all in the smaller room off to the right. I hear Gale groaning in pain and don’t have to guess that they’re working on him.
My eyes shift down to my hands; they’re covered in dried blood.
When did I get blood on my hands?My breaths start to come in uneven waves. I don’t know if it’s mine or Gale’s or someone else’s. The last thing I want to do is draw attention away from Gale getting first aid, so I pull my knees up and wrap my arms over my head to keep my cries muffled.
Seeing Callum means I can’t stay here any longer, no matter what. Now that he knows I’m alive, I don’t know to what ends he’ll go to finish the job.
Roman has no idea what monster just walked into Bane Falls.
19
BRIAR
Eight monthsago
I love you.” Callum pushes my hands over my head and kisses me deeply. “I can’t get you out of my head, Chloe. You know that? You take every thought from me.”
I giggle against his lips. He pulls back and looks down at the mess he’s made of me. It’s rare that we go less than at least twice. I swear to God he’s insatiable. It was fate that we met at the bar the night I was ditched by Uncle Arnold. My uncle was supposed to meet me for a drink since we hadn’t seen each other in a few years, but something came up and he couldn’t make it.
I didn’t mind though, because Callum found me. That was a year ago and we’ve been inseparable since.
