Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“There might be shelter.”
Blade started forward.
I caught his arm. “No.”
“Come on.” He motioned to it. “I know it’s not ideal, but we need a break from the rain. At least for a little while.”
I shook my head. “No, Blade. It’s not right. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“What are you talking about?” He raked a hand over his face, wiping some of the rain away. It didn’t matter. More fell down from the tree above us. “I need a break. Five minutes, then we push off again.”
He started forward, and that’s when I saw the camera. It was positioned at the top of the barn, angled at us.
Right at us.
Oh shit.
A bad feeling sank in my stomach.
I saw the second camera just as Blade stepped from the tree line.
And the first camera moved with him.
They were watching us. That’s why they were late in chasing us.
Oh my God.
He kept going, and that camera kept tracking him. The second was moving around, scanning up and down the trees. It was looking for me.
“Blade,” I called out. “Do not stop. Do not look back at me.”
His shoulders tensed, but he did as I said.
“They’re watching us. There’s a camera on you.”
“Go,” he yelled back.
I shook my head, though he couldn’t see. “I can’t.”
“Go, Riley!” He kept walking forward. “Go! I mean it. Find Carol. She’ll help.”
But I couldn’t. My stomach clenched in a tight knot, but I knew I wasn’t leaving him. Blade had a better chance with me as a captive than me free. The Bennetts had no loyalty to him. At least Tanner and Jonah cared about me. I had to trust that, trust that Brooke loved her brothers for a reason.
“I can’t go.”
I gritted my teeth…
“NO, Riley!”
I stepped forward.
The second camera snapped to my position. I stopped, my arms out, and because I hated just giving in, I raised my middle finger.
The back barn doors burst open, and all those guards from the warehouse came streaming out. Kai was in the middle, walking at a more sedate pace. His gaze landed right on me. He wore the same mystified expression as before.
Two of the guards grabbed Blade, another two headed for me.
I held my hands out. “If you grab me and shove me to the ground, I will kill one of you.”
They paused. One glanced back to Kai, who nodded, still walking forward.
“I’ll handle her,” he said. He nodded to Blade. “Take him.”
They put Blade in one of the SUVs.
Kai took my arm. He walked me to another SUV as the other one pulled away at high speed.
“Was that all a setup?”
Kai glanced at me as the door opened. I got in the back, not fighting, and slid over. He got in beside me. The door closed, and we took off. We only had one guard with us.
Kai was becoming more and more lenient with me. That was good, very good. I glanced over at him.
He was on his phone, typing, but said, “Marcus, can you put the heat on full blast for Miss Bello? She’s chilled to the bone.”
I refused to feel anything for his thoughtfulness. He was the reason I’d been out running. It was nighttime. It’d been raining. I was soaked.
He finished whatever he had to do on his phone, put it away, then reached behind him for a blanket.
He put it over my lap. “Get warm with this.”
I eyed him, pulling it up to cover myself.
There was no anger. There was almost nothing on his face, but there wasn’t the wall I’d grown used to seeing.
Without looking at me, he rested his head against his seat. “We let your friend keep his phone. He tucked it next to his junk. He doesn’t think we knew it was there, but we did. He walked through a full-body scan. We thought he might use it when you ran for your escape.” He stopped and looked at me now. His eyes were piercing. “Did he?”
My mouth dropped.
This was why it hadn’t felt right. It wasn’t just the cameras.
Goddamn him. Goddamn him!
My nostrils flared. “Were you watching the whole time?”
No hesitation. “Yes.”
“The woman? Was that a show?”
Still no hesitation. He answered freely. “No. She’s the head of a victim’s advocate group. She’s been after us for years. Her son died in a shooting. She thinks we’re to blame for her son’s murderer having his gun in the first place.”
“Was she right?” I bit out.
“Maybe.” His eyes dipped before coming right back up. Still no emotion. “There was no serial number. We don’t typically transport those guns, but we have in the past. Her son was murdered by his lover. I have no idea if we’re to blame or not.”
Why was he telling me this? This was more than I needed to know.
Then I knew. “Did you put a tap on me? You heard Blade tell me about her, didn’t you?”