Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Blood coated one side of Rhett’s face, and there was a gash on the left side of his head where he’d hit the side window. Cuts and bruises littered his arms and face, but he was breathing.
“Rhett?” Andrew said, grabbing his face and patting his cheek.
Rhett groaned weakly as he slowly opened his eyes. He grimaced as pain radiated through his body. Suddenly, a look of horror took over his face, and he tried to shoot up.
“Emery! Where’s Emery!” he asked, turning his head every which way to try to find her. He then winced at the pain in his head and flopped back down on the ground.
“Stay still. You crashed the car into a tree,” I told him firmly, planting my hand on his shoulder to keep him laying down.
“I didn’t crash the car into a tree. Some asshole drove me off the road,” Rhett muttered. “Is Emery okay?”
Andrew shook his head as he looked around.
“I don’t see her,” he said as he walked around the car and the surrounding woods. “She’s not here!”
“Fuck,” I breathed out. If someone drove Rhett off the road and Emery was gone, it was obvious that she was taken. “Deviau has her.”
“Deviau?” Rhett questioned as Andrew pulled out his phone to call Akio.
I nodded.
“The man who attacked us in the woods is connected to people who work for Deviau. He has to be behind all of this. Her father worked for him,” I told him.
Rhett let out a slow breath.
“We have to find her. Fast. Who knows what he’s going to do to her?” he replied, tense silence falling on us.
When Akio arrived and pulled his car over behind Andrew’s, he hurried over to Rhett, who felt good enough to sit up.
“You scared the hell out of us,” he said as he placed his hand on Rhett’s shoulder.
Rhett grinned slightly.
“Can’t take me out that easily,” he replied before frowning. “They took Emery.”
Akio nodded with a solemn look on his face.
“I know. We have to find her,” he said before shaking his head. “We can’t lose her.”
Andrew and I crouched down near them with grave looks on our faces.
“How’d this happen?” Rhett sighed as he dragged his fingers through his hair. “We were supposed to protect her.”
“All I know is I’ll go down swinging for her,” I said. “She’s worth it. She’s worth it all.”
Andrew tightened his jaw as he narrowed his eyes, looking more determined than ever. He looked between all of us.
“Then we’re going to do everything we can to save her. Got that?” he asked everyone.
Everyone nodded. She was more than just a client or a friend. We saw her as the woman we had all been looking for. Granted, none of us thought that we were looking for the same person, but I wasn’t going to lose her. If I had to share her, at least I knew my friends would take care of her too. She would be overwhelmingly loved by all of us, and I hoped that was what she wanted too.
“Alright, enough sharing feelings. None of it matters if we don’t save her,” I said as I snapped my fingers at them. I wanted her back in my arms, and the only way of doing that was rescuing her from whatever hellhole she was trapped in right now.
“He’s right,” Akio sighed. “Rhett, do you remember anything about who ran you off the road? See any clues that might lead us to where she is?”
Rhett thought hard for a few moments, narrowing his eyes to concentrate.
“I remember the license plate. They most likely took Emery in that car,” Rhett replied.
“We can use the license plate number to try to track the car. We can get access to the traffic cameras and see where the car goes,” Akio suggested. “We can at least locate the general area of where they took her.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said with a nod. Trying that approach was better than doing nothing.
“Then let’s do this,” Andrew replied as he grabbed Rhett under his arm. When Akio grabbed his other arm, they pulled him up to his feet. “We need to take you to the hospital first.”
Rhett scoffed and shook his head.
“I’m fine. We’re not wasting the precious time we have left driving me to the hospital,” he protested.
Andrew sighed.
“Alright,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Rhett, ride with Akio. We’ll hit the station first. Hopefully, we can see what part of town they took her to.”
I led the way across the road, hauling myself into the passenger’s seat as Andrew got in on the other side. I leaned back in the seat with a long exhale.
“We better not be too late. I swear, I’ll make them regret ever laying a hand on her,” I muttered in a bitter tone.
Andrew looked over at me as he started the car.