Page 100 of Saving Wyatt

After a few minutes, Dare checked his phone and made a circle with his thumb and forefinger.

Slade’s team, Team Bravo, was all in position too. Now we just had to wait some more. Wilson’s opening speech for the festival was due to start in five minutes, but when five minutes rolled by and another five and he hadn’t shown, I started to breathe funny.

“What if he’s not gonna show?” I asked.

Warren raised an eyebrow.

“And miss being the center of attention? Nah. He’ll show. These things run late all the time.”

I nodded and looked at the stage again. What if he didn’t show? What if we’d screwed up and the second, most crucial part of our plan couldn’t be completed?

Shit. We’ll never be rid of this guy.

As the town square got busier and busier and the noise of chatter became so deafening I couldn’t even think, I stared at the stage, willing him into existence. Seconds turned to minutes.

I was about to give up when someone took to the stage. I arched my back to look better, but it was only a woman. She walked up to the microphone and tested it before addressing the audience.

“Welcome to Winterfest, everyone,” she said, and the air left my lungs.

We’d lost him. He hadn’t shown. He was probably busy planning his next move. His next attack.

“Please give it up for our new mayor, Jake Wilson, who will kick off our festival.”

I blinked. I looked at the young woman then at Wilson’s gray head which came into view as he got on stage. I turned to Warren and Dare.

“He’s here,” I said, barely believing it was true.

“Told you,” Warren said.

Dare nodded. “You’re up. Are you going to be okay?”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself to the outside world, and gave a single firm nod. It was time to take this motherfucker down.

I stood up from my seat and weaved through the audience with only one purpose in mind. To get to him. I tried to forget everything and everyone else. The threat to the lives of all the people around me. The very real possibility of things going awry. The danger of being surrounded by people in Wilson’s pocket. And most of all, I tried to forget Ari, who was somewhere amongst them, watching, waiting.

I couldn’t think about him right now. Not now. I needed to be laser focused. I couldn’t slip up. I couldn’t let him get away. I had to be in mission mode if I was going to succeed.

“Thank you, thank you,” Wilson’s voice boomed through the speakers. “It’s so great to see so many familiar faces but so many new ones too. I hope you enjoy our island for all it has to offer⁠—”

I pushed the two people at the very front to the side and stepped up between them, looked up at Wilson in his little podium, and used my core to speak up.

“Murder, crime, and drugs. That’s all the island has to offer you, isn’t that right, Wilson?” I said.

I could see the people around me turn to look at me, but I didn’t care. I only cared for Wilson, who looked me dead in the eyes.

He gave me the once-over and then let out a chuckle. “Apologies, everyone. It seems we got ourselves a heckler.”

“Just speaking the truth,” I shouted and stepped a little closer before I spun around to face the people. “The people deserve to know who we voted for. They all deserve to know the criminal you are.”

There was a collective gasp as some faces contorted. Others grimaced. A few tutted.

Wilson’s laugh cut through all of it and pierced through me.

“I think everyone knows out of the two of us who the criminal is,” he said, and I glared at him.

To the untrained eyes, he seemed…entertained, not at all disturbed by my interruption, but I could see underneath the mask. I knew him better than most people here. He was pissed.

With one swift motion, I hoisted myself up on the stage and approached him.