A shadow catches my eye and as I shine my torch towards a tree, a body is slumped against it. My heart hammers in my chest. I have tried to keep all thoughts from going to where they want to – that this explosion was no accident – which leads me to believe Harold is involved. What other explanation is there? I had a gut feeling he was up to something. He never wanted Amelie to be part of The Order and has always resented the fact that Mum isn’t a Davis by blood. His dreams of Kalen being the most powerful person in The Order were smashed. Then Amelie showed up with Kessler and Rossi blood, making her the most powerful. And to top it off, the board voted to allow her to attempt to join, which was thanks to Dirk; he must have most of the living board members in his pocket.
Only, there were several people missing from the room when the explosion happened. Any one of them could be involved.
“Is that Baxter?” Kalen gasps, running awkwardly towards him. The closer I get, I can see it is him. I check his pulse and it’s barely there. Fuck. I can’t carry him and neither can Kalen. Thinking fast, I use my phone to pin our location on maps.
Ambulances will be here soon, and until then, there is nothing we can do for him. He has no serious injuries that are visible anyway.
“We can’t leave him here,” Kalen states.
“Like fuck we can’t. Baxter Branson only ever thinks of himself. Right now, I have a broken arm and you have a concussion. He stays until the ambulances get here.”
“If he dies and Amelie knows we didn’t do anything to help him, she will hate us.”
“And if Amelie is hurt or in trouble, and Baxter pulls through and knows we wasted time on him, I can guarantee he willkillus.”
“Okay, point taken.” Kalen seems to be getting clearer when he talks. Which is a good sign.
A gunshot cracks through the air. Kalen drops to the ground. I look around; it sounded so damn close.
I offer Kalen my hand and pull him up.
“It came from that way,” I say, pointing to my left. We take off running, but neither of us are in any shape to sprint through the thick bushes. The problem with the trees and shrubs being this dense is that it’s hard to navigate. We can’t see the sky or stars to even get a bearing on where we are going. I just hope that nothing happens to Amelie.
I don’t know if I’m strong enough to lose another person I love. My parents and my best friend were hard to recover from, but her? I don’t even want to think of what I will do if I lose her.
Chapter Forty-Three
Amelie
I see Bastian running through the woods, Onyx giving chase. He turns back and aims a gun at Onyx. My heart freezes in a silent scream of protest. But then the sound bubbles up and out my throat. I don’t think Onyx hears me. Bastian must have been spooked by something though; he turns and disappears into the trees.
It’s funny when you care for someone, what fear does to your body. I take off, worried Onyx will do something he can’t take back. I know they do things that aren’t legal, but acting on impulse isn’t something I have ever seen him do. Everything he does is planned, the risks calculated and weighed up. Right now, he’s moving like a man possessed.
They’re both a lot faster than I am. The darkness slows me down, and I rely on the sound of their footfalls to keep me going. I can only pray it’s in the right direction.
A loud bang has me turning back towards the building I just fled from. I’m too far into the thick of the woods to make out what just happened, but I manage to convince myself thateveryone else will be fine. Onyx has no one that knows where he is, besides me, and if Bastian has a gun, the night could end in disaster.
My gut wrenches at the thought. I can’t let that happen. Pausing to catch my breath, I bend over, resting my hands on my knees. Why do I always find myself in these damn situations in a bloody dress? I snort.
I have no issue with the drama, just the attire? I must be crazy. Delusional. Or is it hysterical?
Focus, Amelie!I chastise myself and draw grounding breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth to steady myself. Calmer, I begin to focus.
Silence falls around me. There’s no longer any sounds of running; there’s nothing more than trees rustling.
Shit!
“On?” I call out tentatively.
I know it’s dangerous, but I need to know he’s alive.
“Baby, turn around and run. I need you to run.”
It’s so dark, I can’t see any which way. His voice sounds like it’s coming from my right. I need to find him.
“Can’t do that,” I reply softly and he curses under his breath.
The sharp branches of the trees cut into my skin as I walk further into the forest. Dirk wasnotkidding about his country house being in the middle of nowhere. The only part of the property that has been cleared is for the mansion itself and the lawn and gardens that immediately surround the property. The rest is wild and overgrown.
