36. Hayden
HAYDEN
T he shattered window. The smoke.
Madison.
My thoughts are racing a million miles a minute, but it feels like I’m crawling through quicksand just trying to move.
My chest tightens so fast it feels like I can’t breathe. I twist, looking at the seat next to me. It’s empty. The door is open, rain pouring in, and my girl is gone.
“Fuck!” Tristan’s voice roars, shaking me out of my haze.
He’s already out of the car, the hood of his sweatshirt plastered to his head, water dripping off the edges as he looks around like he’s seconds away from tearing the whole damn world apart.
I throw myself out of the SUV, my boots splashing against the wet pavement as the rain soaks through me in seconds. I barely feel it.
“The keys are gone,” I say. My stomach twists violently as I glance at the empty slot where the fob was sitting. Everything is going to shit and fast.
“I got it! I got it!” Callum barks, shoving past me to lean over the driver’s seat. “Just look their trackers up. Check Lilac for me. Whoever the fuck is doing this has been leaving her out of it for the most part, but just check!”
He tosses his phone at me without even looking, his hands already ripping at the compartment under the steering wheel. My fingers fumble, slick with rain and shaking with adrenaline, but I pull up the app anyway.
Madison. I type her name in first because there’s no fucking way I’m checking anyone else before her.
Her dot blinks on the map, and I’m holding my breath to see the location.
“The cliffs! On the backside of campus,” Tristan barks, holding up his phone showing me Winter’s location. Madison’s dot appears in the same spot just as Tristan loses it, slamming his fist into the SUV with a guttural roar.
“Lilac!” Callum yells over the rain, not even glancing back at us. “Where is she?”
I force myself to refocus, my thumb flying across the screen on his phone to pull up her location. “The library,” I say quickly. “Her tracker’s at the library.”
Callum’s shoulders drop just slightly, clearly relieved. I don’t ask him when or why he has his best friend’s little sister on a tracker. He’s yanking wires out and twisting them together.
“Let’s just run,” Tristan growls, and his voice is raw. Rain runs in rivulets down his face, but it doesn’t hide the panic burning behind his eyes.
It’s the same panic tearing through me right now. Every second we waste feels like a kick to the fucking chest.
I’m about to agree, because I’ll fucking run through fire if it gets me to my girl faster, but the engine roars to life before I can say a word.
“Get the fuck in,” Callum snaps, gripping the wheel so tight I think it might bow under his hold. “I’ll drive.”
We don’t hesitate. Tristan and I pile in, the doors slamming shut as Callum floors it, the tires screeching against the wet pavement.
The second we crest the hill, my eyes lock on Madison.
She’s there, right at the edge of the cliff, held at knife point by Coach Jacobs. Her scared wide eyes flash to us, meeting mine through the open window. Relief flickers across her beautiful face for just a second.
That bastard’s got his hand wrapped around her throat, gripping her like she’s something he owns. I’ll fucking kill him.
Tristan and I are out of the SUV before Callum even comes to a full stop. My boots hit the wet ground hard, and my gun is in my hand before I take another step.
“Let her go, or I’ll blow your fucking brains out,” I snap, my voice like gravel, every ounce of my focus trained on Coach.
Tristan is already moving, crouching down by Winter, checking her pulse with one hand while keeping his gun trained on the coach with the other.
The bastard doesn’t flinch. He sneers, his lips curling into something cold and cruel. “Can you do it before I slit her throat?”
Madison’s breath catches, and I clench my jaw so hard I’m surprised my molars don’t crack under the pressure.
“She’s mine, Lockwood,” he snarls, his voice rising over the rain. “I bought her before she was even a thought in your head. I’ve let you have fun with her, but playtime is over.”
The one who fucking bought her from her father. The one who thought he could own her, control her, break her.
My hands are steady despite the rage boiling inside of me. I want to pull the trigger so badly my finger itches at the thought.
Callum steps up beside me, his gun raised, his voice cool and casual despite the situation. “Shoot him in the leg?”
I jerk my head in the negative, my jaw locked so tight it feels like it might shatter. Not yet. Not while he’s still got that blade pressed to her throat.
The coach laughs, loud and harsh, his grip tightening on Madison as he edges closer to the cliff. “I go over,” he says, his voice dripping with malice, “I’m taking her with me.”
The rain pounds harder and Kirsten sobs, loud and deliberate, as she stumbles toward me. I didn’t even fucking see her. Why is she here and not at home? Her hands are shaking, but something feels wrong. My grip on the gun tightens, my focus still locked on the coach.
Then Madison speaks, her voice cutting through the chaos. “She’s in on it. She has a knife!”
My head snaps to Kirsten, her steps halting as she wipes her face with trembling fingers. Her eyes meet mine, wide and innocent, like she’s the victim here. “She’s been seeing the Coach behind your back,” she cries. “I wanted to tell you, but I knew you wouldn’t believe me. She tried to break it off, and he’s lost his mind.”
“Stay the fuck back, Kirsten,” I snap, my gun still trained on the Coach.
But she doesn’t stop, she’s moving toward us and I know right then that she’s going to be a fucking problem I have to deal with before getting Coach off of Madison.
“I’m gonna put one in your head if you don’t back the fuck up, you scary-ass bitch,” Callum snarls, his gun shifting toward her.
Kirsten’s head snaps toward him, her sobs cutting off like a switch was flipped. A slow, eerie grin spreads across her face as she turns on her heel, walking back toward the coach and Madison.
She holds up her hand, the one holding the knife. I don’t know what her plan is, but she’s not going to get a chance to get close enough to Madison.
Everything slows.
She doesn’t get a chance to charge.
Coach side steps toward the cliff, raising his hands like he’s trying to protect himself from Kirsten’s wild, unpredictable movements. It’s the mistake I’ve been waiting for him to make. The moment he shifts out of the way and lets Madison go, my finger tightens on the trigger, and the shot rings out.
The coach drops like a stone, pulling Madison down with him as he crumples to the ground.
“Fuck!” I shout, but before I can take a step, Kirsten lunges. Her fingers twist into Madison’s hair, yanking her head back.
I move my aim to Kirsten, but she’s moving too erratically and she’s too close to Madison for me to get a clear shot.
“Let me,” Callum says, his voice calm but cold. I nod, giving him the go ahead to shoot my sister.
Another shot fires.
Kirsten’s body jerks, blood spraying as the bullet tears through the side of her head. She drops like a puppet with its strings cut, crumpling onto the wet ground and soaking Madison in a spray of her blood.
My chest heaves as Callum lowers his weapon, his face blank, but I know what he did. He did that so I wouldn’t have to. I would have slept just fine. Kirsten means nothing to me.
My feet are moving before I even realize it, and the second I’m close enough, I’m scooping Madison up in my arms. She throws her arms around my neck and she’s shivering. I need to get her in dry clothes and warmed up fast.
“You found me,” she whispers, her voice soft as she clings to me. Her fingers dig into my back, holding me so tight I don’t think I could let go even if I wanted to.
I never fucking want to.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I ask, holding her slightly away from me, trying to check her over for injuries. None of this seems real, and I don’t have all the information yet, but the only thing that matters is my girl is okay.
“I knew you’d find me,” she says again, her face buried in my neck, her words muffled against my skin.
“I love you, baby,” I murmur, my voice rough as I kiss the side of her head.
A loud thud echoes, and I look up just in time to see Callum standing at the edge of the cliff, and Coach Jacobs’ body is gone.
“This is for making me run drills, bitch,” he yells as he leans over, watching the bastard’s corpse disappear into the abyss below.
It’s so absurd, so Callum, that I almost laugh. Almost.
Kirsten is next, and Callum doesn’t bother saying anything to her as she falls.
“Is Winter okay?” Madison’s voice is shaky but clear as she yells past my shoulder. Her legs are still wrapped tightly around my waist, her arms clinging to me like she’s afraid to let go. She’s shivering so hard I can feel it in my own chest.
I look over and see Tristan carrying Winter in his arms, holding her close like she weighs nothing. Tristan glances at Madison, his face unreadable, but he nods once. She’s okay. Winter’s okay.
I feel some of the tension in Madison’s body ease, but it’s not enough.
“I’m going to get you warmed up,” I tell her as I adjust my grip on her and carry her back toward the SUV.
By the time we’re in the middle row, Callum climbs into the driver’s seat, shaking rain from his hair as he starts the engine. He grabs his hat and throws it on before turning the wheel to get us the hell out of here.
“Well,” he says, glancing over his shoulder with a crooked grin, “I guess we don’t have practice tonight.”
“Turn the fucking heat on and shut up,” Tristan barks, his voice sharp as he settles Winter into the seat next to him, adjusting her coat around her shoulders like it’s a shield.
Madison is still in my arms, her trembling body curling into me as I pull her closer. She doesn’t let go, her face pressed against my chest, her breaths coming out shaky and uneven. Her adrenaline is wearing off, and the chill is starting to take over.
“Scott Jacobs,” Winter says and all of us look at her expectantly.
Tristan’s head snaps toward her, his hand tilting her chin up so their eyes meet. He doesn’t say anything, but he’s trying to read her.
Winter swallows hard, her voice hoarse. “I heard Kirsten talking to him on the phone before she walked up to where Madi and Coach Jacobs were.” Her eyes stay locked on Tristan’s as she adds, “He was the third guy in the woods that night.”
Madison’s hands come up to cup my face, her soft touch breaking through the anger building inside me. “We’ll find him,” she whispers, her thumbs brushing against my skin.
But the way she looks at me, the way she’s holding onto me, makes me take a deep breath and force myself to nod.
Callum smirks, his eyes catching mine in the rearview mirror. “I’m going to have fun breaking all of that fucker’s bones before we kill him,” he says, his tone almost cheerful.
Madison doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even react. She just keeps holding me, as the car hurtles through the rain toward campus.
And all I can think is that Scott Jacobs better pray I don’t find him before someone else does