Chapter 45
Harper
My head hurts.
That’s the first thing I realize when I come to. There’s a pounding in my skull, and when I open my eyes slowly, the room spins. It’s also not a room I’ve seen before. I’m lying on… the floor? I think? It’s hard, cold wood digging into my arm and shoulder where I’m pressed against it.
I try to shift to take my weight off it, but realize quickly that I can’t move my arms. My wrists are tied behind me with some kind of rough rope, the fibers of it scratching and burning against my skin as I try to pull free.
My mouth is dry, and I swallow and squint around, trying to get my bearings. There’s a lot of wood, but it’s not the rich, warm wood of the house I’ve been sharing with the men. This is rough-hewn with gaps in the walls that let weak morning sunlight through.
Everything is dusty and covered in old cloth, spider webs and other signs of disuse giving away the fact that this place is probably abandoned.
I hear the sound of someone else moving, and I crane my neck, looking to see Geoffrey sitting there, and it all comes rushing back to me.
He was in the house. He tried to take Cora.
Fuck—Cora.
She’s not here, so maybe he didn’t get her. Maybe it’s just me that he dragged off to wherever this is.
He sits there, not speaking, holding a small knife in one hand, using it to clean under his fingernails. It’s calm, deliberate, and meant to be utterly threatening.
Fear spikes in my gut, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
I move into a sitting position, wincing when my body protests. I feel bruised and sore from trying to fight him off back at the house, but I try not to give that away.
Geoffrey looks up finally. “You brought this on yourself, you know,” he says, tone sharp and furious. “Because you couldn’t just stay the fuck out of my business. If you had just kept to your own, this wouldn’t be happening to you right now.”
I swallow hard, and I know I shouldn’t provoke the man with a knife in his hand and nothing to lose, but at the same time, I can’t let him talk to me like that. Not when he’s so wrong.
“Jade was my business,” I snap. “She was my sister, and you killed her.”
“I didn’t kill her,” he spits. “I didn’t pull that trigger. She wouldn’t have even been there when that shit was going down if you hadn’t turned her against me and made her think she could have a life outside what I gave her. That was on you.”
“She could have! She could have had a life.” I struggle forward, but I’m brought up short by the ropes around my wrists, limiting my range of motion.
“She could have been happy if it wasn’t for you ruining her life the way you did.
You fucked with her head and made her feel small and afraid, and then you got her killed.
That’s not how an Alpha is supposed to act with their Omega.
She didn’t need me to turn her against you.
She didn’t need any help seeing what a piece of shit you are for herself. ”
Geoffrey shakes his head. “Who the fuck do you think you are to lecture me? Neither of you were worth the trouble. Useless Omega bitches. You had to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, and you stole what belongs to me. Someone needs to teach you a fucking lesson about keeping to yourself.”
I just glare at him, biting my tongue. I don’t want to know what kind of lesson he has in mind.
As angry as I am to hear him talking about Jade like that, and talking about Cora like she’s property, there’s still the gallop of fear in my chest. Because he has a knife and all the power here.
I’m tied up and I have no idea where we are or even if anyone is going to come for me.
The guys must have gotten home and seen the state of the house. They must have found Cora and realized what happened. But…
I try not to spiral.
Geoffrey is too busy with his grievances to notice either way. “Do you want to know how I found you?” he asks, leaning forward.
I lean back instinctively and don’t respond.
“Oh, don’t clam up now,” he sneers. “You had so much to say just a second ago. You never did know when to shut the fuck up, so don’t act like you’ve learned now. How did I find you?”
I shake my head quickly. “I don’t know.”
“I spoke to some people who know you. Julius, and your old pack.”
My stomach twists at that. “What?”
Geoffrey smirks, pleasure blooming in his eyes at finally rattling me. “Oh, you weren’t expecting that, were you? Why? Did you think they’d have some kind of loyalty to you, after you left them?”
Of course not. I just didn’t think they’d stoop so fucking low. It’s a betrayal, ugly and cruel, but I don’t know why I’m surprised.
“That’s why Julius reached out to you,” Geoffrey continues.
“It wasn’t because he missed you or wanted to try again or whatever bullshit he fed you when you talked.
He reached out because I told him to. Because I paid him and his pack more money than they could say no to, and they were only too happy to throw you under the bus.
” He smirks. “You seem to have a habit of pissing people off, Harper. Makes it easy to find people who will help me with this.”
He’s taking pleasure in this, so I try not to let him see how it affects me. I clench my hands in the ropes, and swallow hard, keeping my eyes down on the dusty floor.
Geoffrey gets up and starts pacing, walking the length of the cabin and then back again. He looks at me, and I can feel his eyes trying to burn a hole into the side of my head with their intensity.
“You have a choice,” he finally says. “If you tell me what I want to know, this doesn’t have to go bad for you. You can walk away from this and go back to that shithole town.”
“I’m not telling you anything,” I mutter.
“You will,” he says. “Because eventually, everyone talks. I’ve been playing this game a lot longer than you have. You won’t be the first, the tenth, or even the fiftieth person I’ve broken. So make it easy on yourself and tell me where she is.”
“Who?”
“Cora!” He looms over me, breathing hard. “She is mine, and you stole her from me. Where the fuck is she?”
I’m feeling too many things at once, and it’s hard to focus on an emotion.
There’s anger that all of this happened, that Julius and the others would stoop so low.
There’s fear, for myself, for Cora. There’s a tiny piece of hope in there, that the men might figure out somehow where I am and come save me before this gets worse.
But above all of that, there’s determination. Because the only thing that matters is keeping Cora out of this fucker’s grasp. No matter what happens to me, he can’t get to her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him, lifting my chin to meet his gaze.
“The hell you don’t, bitch. I don’t think you understand the position you’re in right now.
You are alone. No one knows where the fuck you are.
And even if they did, I can do damage you’ll never recover from before they get here to rescue you.
So I’d be real fucking careful with what you say to me next. ”
He’s right. He’s right, and it chills me to my core, but it’s not enough to make me give in.
“I don’t have her,” I lie. “I never had Cora.”
“Then who does? Where did she go?”
“Maybe one of your enemies took her. Did you think of that? I bet you’ve pissed off a lot of people in your time. Seeing as the bullet that killed my sister was meant for you.”
There’s accusation in it, but Geoffrey doesn’t flinch.
“You’re lying,” he snarls. “You know where she is.”
“No, I don’t.”
His face screws up like he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t lash out. Not yet anyway. The longer I can keep him talking, the better chance I have of getting out of this. Hopefully.
“Jade told you to take her,” he says.
“Jade didn’t tell me anything,” I shoot back. “I didn’t talk to her before she was dead on the ground because of senseless bullshit.”
His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t have a way of refuting that because it’s true.
“If I go down into that town and ask people, are you telling me that no one will report seeing you with a little girl?”
“I don’t know why you think any of them will talk to you at all.”
He scoffs. “They’ll talk.”
“Are you going to threaten all of them? I think that’ll make them clam up more than anything.”
“There are other ways. I know the right palms to grease to get what I want. It wouldn’t take long.”
Maybe in another town. In a town where the people hadn’t already put their collective foot down about a sheriff who was cruel and power hungry. The people of Silver Falls can spot an Alpha on a power trip faster than most, I’d bet.
And that’s a nice thought, actually. That maybe the people wouldn’t sell me out. Maybe they’d have my back and keep Geoffrey going in circles because they like me and want me and Cora to be safe.
“There are a lot of kids in town,” I say, deflecting. “They’ve probably seen me with one of them. You’re wasting your time here, Geoffrey. I don’t have Cora, and I can’t help you find her.”
The longer I talk, the calmer I start to feel. I keep my breathing even and try to slow my racing heart. Not showing fear when he clearly wants me to cower is probably tempting fate, but I need my wits about me if I’m going to make it out of this.
Geoffrey seems to be fraying, on the other hand. He goes back to his pacing, muttering to himself and looking over at me every few seconds. I can tell that he’s not sure whether to believe me or not.
I keep my face neutral, but it’s not good enough. He comes charging back over, his eyes narrowed. “This is your last fucking chance,” he says.
“I already told you, I—”
His hand snaps forward, and pain blooms sharp and intense as he slaps me hard across the face.
The sound echoes in the cabin, and stars burst in my vision.
It fucking hurts, but I don’t slip unconscious.
I cling to my anger, letting it drown out the last of the fear.
For a moment, I’m not scared anymore. All I am is fucking furious, and that gives me strength instead of knocking me down.
In the distance, I hear a sound, and it makes me stop and listen hard. It’s the first thing I’ve heard since I woke up that wasn’t Geoffrey’s angry ranting, and something like hope blooms in my chest.
It’s a low rumble that just might be a car. My heart leaps at the idea that help might be close by. I’m not sure how close or how soon, but the sound is there, and I hold my breath, hoping that maybe Geoffrey’s so wound up in his own bullshit that he didn’t hear it.
But I don’t get lucky there. His eyes narrow, and his head snaps toward the sound.
“Fuck,” he hisses under his breath. “This is the last fucking thing I need right now.”
My heart starts pounding again, and I realize I’m standing at a crossroads right now.
If someone is coming, I have to make them know I’m here.
It’s a risk to let Geoffrey realize it might be the men, here for me, but if I don’t say anything, whoever it is might assume the place is abandoned and keep on driving.
And if I make a noise about it, this asshole is sure to retaliate.
I have to take my chances though. I have to hope that it’s my men and that they’ve come for me. And that they’ll get here before Geoffrey can do anything too bad to me.
So I take a deep breath and start yelling. “Everett! Cash! Lincoln! I’m here! Can you hear me? I’m here!” I scream for them, hoping against hope that they might hear me and come running.
Geoffrey growls in anger.
“Shut the fuck up,” he snarls, grabbing a handful of my hair. He jerks me back roughly, and I cry out in pain. “Fucking bitch.”
He looks around wildly, and we both notice the back door to the cabin at the same time.
I start fighting, struggling against the ropes holding my hands behind my back and the grip he has on my hair. My eyes sting with tears as some hair gets ripped out, but I don’t stop.
“Fucking—stop,” Geoffrey snaps. He yanks me to my feet, and I try not to fall over and make things worse. Before I can struggle again, he sets the knife to my throat, letting me feel the keen edge of it right against my skin. “Make another sound,” he hisses. “I dare you.”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s unhinged enough that he might slit my throat, and I don’t dare to scream again, not now. He keeps dragging me backward toward the door, and all I can think is that he’s going to get me somewhere even more secluded and then there’s no chance that anyone will find me.
I can’t let that happen.
I drag my feet, kicking and twisting in his hold. I don’t care if he rips all my hair out, if it means I can get away from him. I thrash and fight like a wild animal, pulling against the ropes and trying desperately to get free.
I can hear him grunting as he struggles against my movements, inching us closer and closer to the door.