Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 53529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
CHAPTER NINETEEN
This place is beautiful. Powder-soft sand, warm blue ocean, and waterfalls all over the place. The cabin is one of ten on the private island, but this one’s perched on a small peninsula with a private cove. The cabin has two floors, with a loft bedroom upstairs and a kitchen, bath, and living space downstairs. It’s rustic but comfortable with more modern conveniences than I would’ve imagined. I’ve got it for the month.
I can’t wait to bring River here once she’s free. We can take a few weeks to decompress before jumping into what happens next. Whether or not that bill passes, I’ll always be hunted unless I decide to reveal that I’ve got Morris’s final work of art, which, by the way, I put in a very secure place, buried so it stays a constant temperature. Not hot. Not cool.
For the next day, I anxiously monitor the news bombs going off over Morris’s death and how Kyle, a sitting congressman, was plotting to kill me.
The spin and conspiracies start immediately. Was Morris killed by the US government? Was the tape of my conversation with Kyle even real? Where is Mr. Love?
But the story that’s grabbing the most attention is my love affair with Luna. #MrLovesLuna.
I hope River figures out none of it’s true, but that’s not my biggest concern right now. I just have to get her back.
The next day, I haven’t heard a thing about River, so I call Luna on my encrypted app to see if there’ve been some rumblings online that I missed. It goes to voicemail, so I call Mom next. Maybe she’s been talking to River’s parents.
“Oh, Huff. It’s just terrible!” Mom says the moment she answers.
“What?” I say, thinking it’s going to be about River.
“The FBI raided our house, looking for you. Kyle says we’ll both go to prison if we’re caught harboring you. He’s on the warpath after you released that conversation.”
He’s out of control. “Well, you don’t know where I am, and I’m not going to tell you, so there’s nothing they can accuse you of. Have you heard anything about River?”
“No, that poor, poor girl. I told Kyle he’s a monster and has no choice but to stop this nonsense and let her go, but he claims he’s innocent.”
“Innocent?”
“Yes. He said she’s still locked up at that place. What’s it called?”
“Clover? She’s at Clover?” I ask.
“That’s the one.”
“I gotta go.”
“Huff, be careful, sweetie. Your brother isn’t himself anymore. We think he’s snapped.”
Snapped? More like he was ass-raped by a power-hungry demon who made Kyle his man puppet. “I’ll be careful, Mom.”
We end the call, and my heart starts pumping like crazy. I’m about to lose it. I can feel the anger pushing up from my stomach, into my chest. If Kyle had River locked up in that place, then I know two things. One, they’ve sedated her again, and two, this is a trap.
If I were them and wanted to trap me, I’d be ready with guns. They’ll kill me without a thought and then dissect me.
Not if I tell Kyle that Morris cracked the code, and I have the only vial.
No, no. If I do that, I might get away with River, but he’ll use Mom and Dad to get that vial. My best option is to do a little surveillance tonight. Zip in and zip out a few times. Figure out where they have River. If I’m lucky, I can avoid Kyle and his men altogether.
Holy shitballs. That’s a lot of feds. I zipped to the rooftop one building over from the hospital to get a look around the medical complex. It’s nighttime, but from this vantage, I spot fifteen cars stationed at various spots surrounding the hospital.
Did they think I’d come on foot?
But if there are fifteen cars outside with two agents each, I can only imagine how many are inside. Fifty? Eighty? My chances of getting in and out aren’t good. Now I really don’t know what to do because as far as I know, I heal fast, but I’m not bulletproof.
I zip out of there back to my island hideaway and try Luna again.
“Huff! Ohmygod,” she answers. “My house was raided by the FBI today.”
“Let me guess; Kyle threatened you with being arrested for harboring a fugitive.”
“That, and he wasn’t happy about the leaked conversation. He said, and I quote, ‘I’m going to make your life a living hell, and when you finally die, I’ll make your hell so hot, you’ll be a sizzling pork rind for the rest of eternity.’”
“Original.”
“I’m sure he’s watching my house and work, and all my lines are tapped. Even this one, so be careful what you say.”
“I’m really sorry I got you into this, Luna.”
“I’m not. It’s been great for my career, and I really meant what I said, Huff. You are exactly what the world needs right now—someone to stand up to all the Kyles.”