Page 132 of Freefall

If I hadn’t, Nate would know exactly where I am. The irony twists like a knife in my chest. TJ’s dark chuckle pulls me from my thoughts.

“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” he taunts. “How Nate’s going to save you?”

I don’t answer.

“Or maybe…you’re thinking he could’ve tracked you if you hadn’t stopped sharing your location,” he laughs almost gleefully. “I figured he would be tracking you. That’s why I lost my phone the other day. Had to make sure he wouldn’t find you too soon. Turns out I didn’t even need to.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks.

“You really don’t like being controlled, do you?” The words sting in the way only the truth can. “Except for when you’re being fucked.” His grin turns cruel. “Or bent over the hood of a car.”

The nausea I’d barely managed to suppress surges back. I twist just enough to the side before I throw up, emptying what little is left in my stomach onto the forest floor.

He followed us.

After back-to-school night…

He followed us and watched…my stomach heaves again.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “Your secret’s safe with me.” He crouches again until we’re eye-level. “I won't tell anyone how much you like being punished.”

Something inside me snaps, the fear fading into white-hot tendrils of rage.

“Fuck you.” I spit in his face.

He clicks his jaw, wiping the saliva from his cheek. “You know, I think maybe you need another lesson.”

His hand snaps up, and I barely register the movement before his palm cracks across my face. My head whips to the side as pain blooms in my cheek. Acting on pure adrenaline, I turn back toward him, throwing my head forward as hard as I can.

Pain explodes across my forehead.

TJ howls, stumbling backward with both hands flying to his face. The gun slips from his grip, hitting the ground with a dull thud before disappearing into the thick brush next to us.

For one gut-wrenching moment, neither of us moves. Then we both lunge. I throw myself on instinct, forgetting my wrists are still tied to the tree. The ropes jerk me backward so hard that they tear the skin from my wrists.

Meanwhile, TJ crashes into the undergrowth, shoving branches aside as blood pours through the fingers still clamped to his face. “Where the fuck is it?” he snarls.

With TJ preoccupied, I slam my shoulder against the rope, once, twice, but the knot refuses to give. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see him freeze. I follow his gaze. Just a few inches from me—half hidden under a pile of leaves.

A sliver of black metal glimmers in the fading sunlight as darkness descends around us.

33

NATE

“You seem distracted,” my father drawls, ever the detective. He clasps his hands together. “What’s going on, Nate? Sebastian said you haven’t been answering his texts. You’ve been missing meetings. You said you would make time for family dinner, and yet you’ve canceled every one.”

My fists clench. To say I’ve been on edge since Harper told me, for the second time in my life, that she needed space, would be an understatement. Even so, I’ve respected her request. I haven’t called. I haven’t texted. I haven't even stopped by to see Daisy. That one kills me. What if she thinks I don't care about her anymore? I know Harper never meant for me to stay away from our daughter, but I also know we have to figure out what my role in Daisy’s life looks like before I show up at her door again.

“Nate?” My father’s voice cuts through my thoughts, but I don't respond. This conversation is the absolute last thing I need right now. My only saving grace is that he actually came to my office this time, so I don’t have to sit there staring at those damn picture frames.

My eyes drift to the open doorway. Actually, you know what? Fuck that.

I’m already moving before my father can even react. I stalk down the hallway, throw open his office door, and rip the frame of the two of us off the wall.

“What the hell are you doing?”

I turn to face him, the frame clutched in my hand.