Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
There’s no way we’re at a grocery store yet. We’ve only been driving for ten minutes max, and the whole time it’s been bumpy as hell. Marina never even reached a paved road.
Why are we stopping and why is the engine off?
My heart starts racing. An ugly feeling enters my guts. I’m on the edge of freaking out when a voice speaks.
“I’m going to open the trunk now.”
I freeze. I can’t move. I can’t think.
The trunk pops and light floods my eyes. I groan, covering them, cowering away from the blinding sun.
A shadow looks over me. It resolves into the outline of a person, then their expression coheres.
Ren frowns at me, shaking his head slowly, disappointment clear in every inch of his body.
Chapter 31
Hellie
This can’t be happening.
Ren? Here? Now? I don’t understand—I never heard him, not earlier when Marina and Erick were talking, and I was paying attention to every little thing.
“Where did you come from?” I ask, too bewildered to say anything else.
His lips twist in disgust. “Get out.”
I hesitate, and he reaches in and drags me free of the trunk. His grip on my arm hurts, and I stumble, nearly fall, as I get my legs under me and look around, blinking against the sudden brightness.
There’s only desert.
We’re in a small clearing surrounded by ridges. Rocky pathways wind into the mountainous terrain. Cacti, scrub brush, brown grasses, not much else.
Marina’s leaning against the hood of the car, smoking a cigarette. I can’t read her expression, but if she’s upset with me, she doesn’t show it. If anything, she seems bored, like this happens all the time.
“What’s going on?” I ask, confused and still trying to get my bearings. Why is Marina just looking at me? Why are we in the middle of nowhere?
Then my brain starts to break out of my panic.
Ren knew. Somehow, he knew, and he caught me.
Now he’s going to kill me.
That’s why we’re out here in the middle of nowhere.
“I really hoped you were smarter than this,” Ren says. “I really, really hoped, but I couldn’t be sure. There was always the possibility, and here you are. Like a mouse to some cheese.”
“Please,” I say, backing away. “This was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake, I just—”
“Don’t start pleading. I really fucking hate when they plead.” He rubs his forehead, teeth clenched together. “Erick’s going to be upset. Really goddamn upset.”
“I wasn’t trying to run. I swear, I wasn’t, I was just—”
He looks up. His eyes sharp. “If you say one more word, I swear I’m going to make you dig your own fucking grave, then I’ll bury you alive in it.”
I close my mouth, hands sweating. Head spinning. I’m going to die out here all alone, and Erick’s going to think I tried to stab him in the back.
Oh, god, Erick. The thought of him finding out about this hurts more than anything else.
Marina sighs. “Ren, don’t be dramatic.”
“She’s pissing me off.”
“You dangled this in front of her. Can you really be surprised?”
“Erick’s going to be.”
“So what?” Marina takes a drag of her cigarette. “He likes her. I like her too.”
“She tried to escape.” Ren paces back and forth. “Fuck. Fucking fuck. I really hoped you wouldn’t be so goddamn stupid.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice small.
“Don’t apologize to him, dear,” Marina says, but she doesn’t sound kind about it. “You’ll have to apologize plenty to Erick. But, Ren, you don’t have to bother, and it won’t help.”
“Oh.” I look down at my feet. “Oh, shit.”
Erick’s going to find out about this. Erick, the man that told me he has feelings for me, is going to find out that I tried to escape.
I tried to sneak out behind his back.
I lied to him.
And it’s going to kill both of us.
“Don’t act like you care,” Ren says, his voice cold. “How long were you playing him for? From the start?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ren sneers. “Play dumb all you want, it won’t help.”
“You tested me, didn’t you? Both of you.” I look from him to Marina. “Did Erick know?”
Ren snorts. “Of course not. You think he’d be okay with testing his precious artist girl? Fuck that. This was all me.”
“He roped me into it.” Marina shrugs. “Offered money. I said you weren’t so stupid and I figured it wouldn’t hurt. Guess I was wrong.”
“Shit.” I lean my head back against the car. The early morning desert sunlight burns into my skin. “What do we do from here?”
“I take you back to the house, throw you in your room, and lock the door from the outside.” Ren comes toward me, hands clenched.
“You’re not going to kill me?” A sick kind of hope fills me. I’m surprised this isn’t my final resting place, but now it means I have to face Erick and see the look of hurt in his eyes.