Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Shayne frowns. “He just told me he was in love with you. He wouldn’t leave you.”
“He’s going after Samuel.” And he called my dad to make sure someone was taking care of me.
Her face drains of color. “Fuck.”
“And we have no idea when he left if no one’s talked to him. Call Thayer. Call August, too.” It was nearly three in the morning when he left. I check the clock on Shayne’s dash. It’s almost seven now.
“I’m calling Thayer, but we’ve tried calling his dad all night and morning. He’s not answering.”
Shit. “Something’s wrong.” I just hope we’re not too late.
Valen
“He’s not here,” Thayer says as we rush out of Shayne’s car, coming to a stop near the fountain in front of their Heartbreak Hill house. We tried Samuel’s house first, thinking he’d go there, but it was completely empty. Not even his wife was there.
“Where the hell is everyone?” I ask. “Have you gotten a hold of your dad?”
Thayer shakes his head. “Crickets.” The word barely has time to leave his lips when Thayer and Shayne both get a text at the same time. My heart stops, dread crawling up my spine as they pull their phones out. I lean in close to Shayne to see her screen. It’s a message from Holden.
“Oh thank God,” I say, heaving a sigh of relief.
Shayne shakes her head, her eyes filling with tears as she angles the screen toward me. “Samuel has Holden. They’re at The Falls.”
My heart takes a nosedive, blood rushing in my ears. Holden’s on his knees near the edge of the cliff with his hands tied behind his back, staring blankly at the camera. No. My head swims as panic sets in. He wouldn’t. That’s too far, even for someone as morally corrupt as Samuel is.
Thayer reacts quicker than any of us, his expression contorting into a mixture of fear and rage. “Stay here,” he orders, jumping into his Hellcat before we can object. It roars to life, and he takes off like a rocket as Shayne runs after him, screaming at him to stop. I don’t waste any time jumping into the driver’s seat of her idling car.
“Get in!” I yell. She runs back to the car, and I lay on the gas, speeding down the long driveway.
I come to a skidding halt at The Falls and throw the car in park before flinging the door open. Samuel stands feet away from where Holden is kneeling in the snow, with a gun pointed in Thayer’s direction. Holden’s eyes widen with terror when he sees me. He lunges, but Samuel swings the gun back in his direction. Holden freezes, nostrils flaring, jaw clenched hard. Shayne runs over to Thayer’s side, but he positions her behind his back, putting himself between her and Samuel.
“You’d think he’d have learned his lesson by now,” Samuel says, chuckling. “But he keeps falling for it. Every time.”
“Leave, Valen,” Holden says, his tone low, his eyes begging me to listen.
I shake my head. “I’m not going anywhere.” I walk over to where Shayne and Thayer are, and Thayer pulls me to stand behind him, too. “You don’t really think you can get away with this, do you?”
The deranged smile slips from Samuel’s face. “That’s the whole point,” he says. “He took everything from me.” He jabs the gun in Holden’s direction, making me flinch. “There’s no going back. So, I figured we could all go out with a bang.” He wiggles the gun a little. “Literally.”
My heart starts to pound even harder when I realize what he’s saying. He’s not planning to walk away from this.
“Do you like the location? I thought it was kind of poetic,” he says proudly.
“Fuck you,” Holden spits.
Samuel tightens his grip on the gun, extending his arm, and I don’t think. I just run.
“No!” The scream that rips from Holden’s throat is deep and guttural, but I don’t stop until I’m covering his body with mine. My arms circle his neck, my back to Samuel as I squeeze my eyes shut. “Valen, you have to leave,” Holden whispers harshly, his lips against my ear. “It’ll be okay, I promise. But you have to leave.”
I shake my head. “I can’t,” I say, my entire body trembling against his.
“Now,” he says, his voice pleading.
“Two for the price of one bullet. Even better,” Samuel says, taunting.
Taking a fortifying breath, I stand in front of Holden to face Samuel. Holden gets to his feet behind me with his hands still tied behind his back, and then he’s stepping in front of me.
“One more move and I’ll shoot you both,” Samuel says, prowling toward us.
“Stay the fuck away from her,” Holden warns, trying to keep me back with his tied hands. As surreptitiously as I can, I reach down, trying to untie the cord around his wrists without attracting any attention. Samuel’s eyes narrow as continues to walk toward us, tilting his head to the side to see behind Holden. I try to move faster, loosening the cord as much as I can before he comes to a stop in front of us.