“It was too late. That guy back there had already spread the word that he had you and was looking to sell you to the highest bidder. So, I lied to Sheriff Kingston and told him you’d made it back, too. Told him that the Feds had arrested the kidnappers. And I had Marla tell Agent Gellar that the sheriff had them in custody. She convinced Gellar to give you a few days before they questioned you.”
The heat leaches from my body, leaving me feeling cold and bloodless.
“You what?”
“I had to, Cassie. I’m so sorry.”
There he goes, apologizing again. But for what, exactly? I’m afraid to find out, but I have to know. Trust has never come easy for me. It’s a lesson I learned early in life after giving it to too many of the wrong people.
I take deep breaths as I look out the window again. We’re in a parking lot, though it’s not one that Irecognize. I have no idea where we are.
My gaze locks on the only other vehicle present, a white sedan. I don’t see the shadow of anyone inside of it, but the driver must be nearby. My hand curls around the door handle.
“Why would you do that?” I ask quietly. “Why would you make sure I stayed out there?”
“To keep you safe.”
“How was leaving me out in the middle of the woods with that junkie keeping me safe?”
“Because he was auctioning you off. Once the girls told everyone what happened, how they came to be taken, how random it was, all because of the paranoia of a druggie, I realized that the only way he’d know that you had a price on your head was if you had told him. Which meant that you were still alive.”
“And you figured the best way for me to stay that way was to tell everyone who might look for me that I was already safe and sound?”
“Yes.”
I glance at the other car again, hoping to see that the driver has returned. They haven’t.
“How does that make any sense at all?”
Jake taps the backpack containing the money he used to buy me from Skunk. “I made sure that I was the highest bidder. Two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
My mouth drops. I open the bag and look inside. Sure enough, it’s filled with wrapped bundles of hundreds. It’s more than I’ve ever seen in one place before. And a tiny part of me can’t help but wonder—did he shoot Skunk because the man was coming after me? Or to get the cash back?
“Come on,” Jake says. “We need to keep moving. We have to go.”
“What do you mean? Go where?” My voice rises several octaves as Jake opens his door and climbs out of the truck. “Why are you getting out?”
This time, as my hand tightens on the handle, it’s to keep me inside the vehicle instead of preparing to escape it.
Jake gestures toward the white sedan. “We’ve got to make sure they can’t find us.”
I watch as he rounds the truck and opens my door. Holds out his hand to help me down.
My headache has returned with a vengeance, my skull throbbing so hard I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m so tired, so overwhelmed, in so much pain that I can barely think. But I need to make a decision, and fast.
Do I trust him? Just last week there wouldn’t have been a doubt in my mind, but now? He didn’t just storm off and leave me at the sanctuary, he made the decision to leave me out in the woods in that shack, too. There was no way for him to know for sure that I’d stay safe—or even alive.
But this is Jake.
I look deep into his eyes for a long moment, the beat of my heart matching the seconds as they pass. Then I give a single nod.
He lifts me down from the cab and folds me in a hug. Holds me tight, until I start to believe that everything will be okay.
With a final squeeze, he pulls away. Grabs the backpack of money from his truck. Pulls his phone from his pocket, then hesitates just before he puts it in the glove box. Indecision flashes across his face, followed by sorrow and something else I can’t define.
“Here.” He holds it out to me. “You better call Marla real quick. Let her know you’re okay.”
Taking the device, I lean against the side of the truck and place the call. It gets answered after only half a ring.
