Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
“Autumn.” Naija turned to me, her tone gentle but unyielding. “You’ll be no good to him dead.”
Cherish groaned, raking a hand through her hair. “We’re jumping straight to someone trying to murder us now? That’s where we’re at?”
“What else would you call someone taking all our phones so we can’t call for help?”
Cherish’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Okay. We’re leaving now.” She turned to me next. “I know you don’t want to leave without Moose, but if we’re going to find him, we need to get somewhere safe first. We’re not going to be able to do this from here, Autumn.”
Every instinct screamed to stay, to tear through the woods until I found him, but I knew she was right.
I’d be no good to him like this and I refused to believe he’d been harmed. I couldn’t let myself go there. “Let’s get the fuck out of here then.”
Jason stood taller. “Everyone grab your stuff and meet back here. We should walk out together.”
Our group dispersed, adrenaline pushing away any lingering hangovers. Cherish stuck by my side as we headed for our room, her hand gripping my arm.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I barely got my zipper unstuck when Liza’s sharp voice rang out from the living room. I abandoned my suitcase and rushed to find her standing by the couch, her face paler than usual, her purse dumped open in front of her.
“My keys are gone.”
“Shit,” Cherish rasped. She crouched down, ripping open her own bag open and shaking its contents onto the floor. Makeup, receipts, and random knickknacks scattered across the rug. Her hands sifted through the mess, her movements growing more frantic. “Fuck! My fobs gone too!”
Gabe ran a hand down his face, his expression grim. “How could someone come in here and do this bullshit right under our noses?”
Daniella let out a harsh laugh, though there was nothing funny about it.
“We were drunk off our asses, and then we all passed out cold. If someone wanted to pull this shit, it wouldn’t have been hard.”
"How... how did someone get in, to begin with though?" I asked. "I’ve only seen the two doors, and I know they were locked."
“The person who owns this house?” Liza suggested hesitantly. “They would have a key.”
Cherish’s brow furrowed. “So the homeowner is fucking with us?”
Daniella scoffed. “I’m almost positive this place belongs to an older couple, based on the bio.”
Gabe ran his hands over his face. “I think the who is the least of our problems right now. If we can’t drive out of here, and we can’t call anyone, then what the hell do we do?”
“There’s got to be a way to get to town. We stick together, and we figure it out,” Ryan stressed.
“And then what?” Naija snapped, panic slipping into her tone. “Walk ten miles through the damn woods? In the middle of nowhere?”
A thud reverberated against the front door, cutting off our conversation. Without hesitation, Jason took off to the door.
"Jason, no!" Liza called after him, but it was too late.
He flung it open and relief washed through the room when the porch revealed nothing—no intruder, no looming figure, just the empty, quiet expanse of the property.
“What the fuck is this?” He bent over and lifted something up. When he turned around there was a square brown box in his hands. “Mint?”
My stomach dropped. It felt like the world had tilted sideways.
"Isn’t that... you?” He looked at me, his eyes narrowing, oblivious to the immediate turmoil that one word had caused in me.
"Yes," I replied quietly.
Gabe strode forward, yanking him further inside and slamming the door shut with a curse. "Are you insane? Don’t just open the damn door like that."
Jason ignored him, shaking the box gently. Something rattled inside, the sound both light and solid. His gaze shifted to me. “Well, this is for you.”
Feeling eyes on me, I shifted and looked at Daniella. “I…I didn’t tell him about this trip.”
“I know,” she replied softly.
Taking the box from Jason’s hands, I swallowed and carried it into the kitchen. I placed it on the island and stared down at it. How did he know where I was? Was he the one doing all of this? That didn’t make much sense to me if he wanted us to get back together. This would have the opposite effect.
Everyone crowded around me, the room deathly silent except for the faint hum of the refrigerator.
“Autumn,” Cherish prompted softly.
Naija tilted her head, her curiosity evident as she eyed the box. "So… why did you and Wilder break up, exactly?"
“Long story.” I could feel their eyes on me, and a plethora of unspoken questions. I knew Daniella had already told them we weren’t together anymore, but she hadn’t shared the details. For that, I was grateful.
I grabbed a knife from the cutlery drawer and sliced through the packaging tape. The lid popped open, revealing layers of tissue paper, neatly folded and pristine white. An elegant card sat on top. If I had any doubts about this being Wilder, they were gone.