Say So

Chapter Twenty-Six #3

My gut wouldn’t allow me to dismiss the disturbance as nothing.

There was a smaller bedroom at the back of the cabin, facing the tree line, while the room I was in faced the lake and the main house.

Only one bathroom separated the two bedrooms, while the cabin’s back door was padlocked from the outside.

I also knew the window in the second bedroom couldn’t close properly, which is how I escaped that first night.

Imagine my frustration after I’d wiggled all this ass I was carrying through that tiny window just to be caught before I could get more than a hundred feet. I hope the guard who reached me first and tried to manhandle me was happy with his new nose.

I quietly placed Coco in his crate to keep him safe, then tiptoed into the living room and small kitchen and looked around.

Empty.

I peeked inside the bathroom and found no knife-wielding psycho waiting behind the shower curtain either, so I crept to the second bedroom. As soon as I reached for the knob, the door flew open, and I came face to face with some crazy bitch wielding one of the chopped firewood.

I screamed.

She screamed louder.

Only when neither of us moved to attack the other did I get a good look at the intruder—petite, pixie cut with ginger-dyed curls, golden-brown skin, cute button nose, freckles, and round eyes.

And she was barefoot, her periwinkle toenails on display while the T-shirt she wore—her only clothing—swallowed her small frame.

The crazy bitch was my crazy bitch.

“What the fuck, Coby? It’s me!”

She lowered her arms when she realized whose head she was about to cave in, her confused gaze widening. “Hunter?”

“Yeah, bitch.”

Coby dropped the log, and we ran into each other’s arms. “How are you here? Why are you here?”

“Why else? I got kidnapped by a psycho just like you.”

Coby released me, looking puzzled. “But… Ocean said you were home.”

“What a surprise. The Strap lied,” I returned dryly. “How did you find me?”

“It’s a long story,” Coby answered with a sniffle. “Ocean’s been disappearing a lot. At first, I just assumed he was working, but then I’d see Abel and that pretty White guy wandering the halls, and that’s when shit stopped adding up.

“Kellan,” I said. Pity he was still alive.

“Yeah, him.” Coby stared at me like she couldn’t believe I was really standing here before shaking off her disbelief. “Anyway, I started following him to see where his ass was sneaking off to. I figured out it was the cabin, but I couldn’t get closer without the guards seeing me.”

I frowned. “So how did you get in?” As far as I knew, Abel and Ocean had every angle of this place covered. Or was I dreaming and Coby wasn’t really here at all?

Deciding to test my theory, I reached out and pinched her arm.

“Ow! Bitch, what the fuck?” She looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Sorry.” I winced. “I was just making sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

“You’re supposed to pinch yourself, Hunter.”

“Oh. Right.” Coby reached out with fast hands and twisted my nipple. “Owwww!” I slapped her hand away.

“Well.”

I laughed, suddenly feeling a million times lighter. “Seriously, though. How did you get in?”

“Ocean had some kind of emergency in the city. Whatever it was, it must have been bad enough to pull most of your guards. There’s only a couple out front now, so I snuck around the back and found the open window.” Coby shrugged like it was no big deal.

I’d be so proud of her if it weren’t another of Ocean’s obvious traps.

I gulped. “Oh.”

“I’ve got to say I was not expecting to find you. Abel mentioned someone escaping. I should have known—” She shook her head in that self-deprecating way that told me she was beating herself up. “It all makes sense now.”

I didn’t respond this time.

Coby didn’t seem to notice my trepidation as she turned and rushed back over to the window she’d snuck through. The same narrow window I’d used to escape, though she probably fit through a lot easier than I did.

“Okay, so let’s go.” She waved me over while checking to see if the coast was clear. I stayed put. “If we’re quiet, we can run for the trees, find the road, and hitch a ride back to the city.”

“Coby,” I finally spoke. “You’re only wearing a T-shirt, and I’d have to go barefoot. Even if we got away, we’ll die from hypothermia before we get far.”

“I know, I know,” she said as she turned to face me. “But we gotta try.”

“I agree, but this is not our moment.”

“What are you talking about?” she whisper-shouted. “We have to get you out now! Ocean is going to come back soon, and then he’ll know I’m gone.”

“He already knows you’re here, Coby.”

Ocean probably never even really left. He was probably standing in the trees right now, patting himself on the back for manipulating us again like rats in a maze or pieces on a chessboard.

Coby gave me a perplexed look. “What?”

I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I already tried to escape, but I was caught before I got more than a few steps. Ocean has men hiding in the trees. If you got this far, it’s because they let you. It’s because he let you.”

Even if Ocean was away, his men probably called him the moment they spotted her.

Coby’s shoulders. “That…that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Doesn’t it? Ocean’s been one step ahead this entire time, Coby. Do you really think he just happened to mention his plans right in front of you?”

And even if Ocean had let his guard down, the fact that Coby made it this far said he’d already adapted, gaining one on us before we even realized the trap he’d laid.

After all, he promised to let me be with Coby.

Maybe he wanted us here together, locked in this cabin with no way out until he let us out.

I began to pace with one hand on my hip and the other palming my forehead.

“I’m so stupid,” Coby said, sinking onto the edge of the bed and staring at the floor. I could tell her mind was racing and reliving every interaction—probably from when he first appeared in our lives. “How could I not see what he was doing? It was all right there.”

Walking over to the bed, I sat next to her.

“You’re not stupid,” I told her gently. “You’re…

in love.” I immediately wanted to take one of my kunai and stab my own heart.

My guess… it would hurt a lot less. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t have them anymore.

I kept reaching for it under my pillow and my thigh at night, only to remember that they were taken from me right along with my freedom.

“You want to believe everything he tells you because he makes you feel safe and seen. And even when you know he’s hiding the truth from you, you can’t help but trust that he’s doing it for your own good.

You trust him, even though he doesn’t always deserve it. ”

Coby groaned and then flopped onto her back and covered her eyes. Feeling exhausted from being caught in Ocean’s vortex, I lay down next to her. At least, I wasn’t trapped alone.

Coby turned onto her side to face me, and I turned my head toward her. “You’ve been here the whole time, haven’t you?”

“Yup.”

She picked at a loose thread in the bedspread. Something twinkled in the moonlight, and I got a glimpse of the huge pink diamond shaped like a bow now adorning her left hand. My stomach suddenly hurt. “And he’s been visiting you….”

“Yeah.” My voice sounded strangled to my own ears.

“Every night.” I didn’t respond, and my silence didn’t go unnoticed by Coby. Her gaze was curious and trusting, making me feel even more like shit. “What were you guys doing?”

I sucked in a breath when I remembered my deal with Ocean. I get to see Coby if I keep my mouth shut, but that was never going to happen. I wasn’t going to lie to Coby. That’s not how we rocked.

I just hoped she wouldn’t hate me too much.

Ocean made their marriage sound like a business arrangement, but the way he guarded her like a dragon hoarding treasure…

Yeah, no.

It was definitely more than that.

“I kissed him, Coby.” The confession had been blurted out, and I wished I could say I felt better, but I only felt worse, especially when Coby sat up with a frown.

“What?” I’m going to be sick. “When?”

“Today,” I confessed, my skin flushing while the room spun. “And yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that. It started with a deal. A kiss in exchange for…you.”

“Why would you do that?”

My lips parted, but nothing came out. Every reason I wanted to give just sounded like an excuse. Because Ocean had been right. He’d given me a choice, and I made it on my own. I chose to kiss him, and I didn’t care about the consequences… at the time.

“I don’t know why,” I said with a gulp. It was the truth.

I had no fucking clue why I’d want to kiss a monster.

And not just any fiend. The heir to the fucking mafia.

My best friend’s fiancé. “I’m sorry, Coby.

” She didn’t speak for a long while, and I was too much of a coward to look her in the eye, so I kept staring at the ceiling.

“There’s something else you should know,” I said after a few minutes.

Coby still didn’t respond, but I knew she was listening.

“He said…” Kill me now. “He said he wants us both, Coby. Like on some sister-wives shit.”

Turning my head finally, I watched as my best friend’s lips parted and her eyes widened.

She was the picture of shock, except the thing is… Coby was a terrible fucking actor. When she remembered how well I knew her, she dropped her gaze and continued picking at the bedspread.

And then, finally, she spoke. “Isn’t that illegal?”

I gave her a look. “Ocean’s in the mafia, Coby. I don’t think he cares.”

She finally met my gaze. “Right. Well… what are we going to do?”

This time, I was the one to look away. I stared at the wall while I wrestled with my warring feelings. I couldn’t recall Coby and me ever being afraid to tell each other what we were thinking. It just made me even more determined to get us away from Ocean Kilpatrick.

“I don’t know.”

We were quiet for a while, but even more surprising than Coby being the first to speak was the absolutely insane shit that came out of her mouth. “I think we should do it.”

My stomach felt like Coby had just carved a hole into it, leaving desire to rush in and fill the emptiness. I used what last bit of my head not fogged by my lust to say, “Coby…bestie…sweetie…are you out of your mind?”

Sharing a man, much less our captor, was crazy. And out of the fucking question.

“What’s the big deal? You and Ocean are the people I love most in this world, and he’s offering to take care of us both and keep us together. Clearly, you like him, so I figured… why not?”

I shot from the bed and placed my hands on my hips. “Really? What the hell do you mean by ”clearly I like him’? I do not like that psycho, Coby Perry!”

Coby groaned and tipped her head back. “Why are you yelling, Hunter?”

“Because you’re talking crazy!”

She didn’t respond until she was standing too. “Am I?”

“We don’t even know Ocean, and you want us to become his little pets just like that?” I snapped my fingers for emphasis.

“It won’t be like that, and you know it. Besides, it’s only for five years. Did I forget to mention the millions of dollars?” she reminded me.

Who the hell was she kidding? Coby didn’t care about money, and neither did I. It was just an excuse to be reckless with her heart. And now she was trying to drag me into this insanity with her.

“How do you know what he’ll pay? You didn’t even get the damn price first, Coby. I did!”

“If you think it’s such a bad idea, why did you bother asking?”

“Because I was looking out for you!”

“Bullshit! You were curious, and you know it. If not about him, then about the money. Think of everything we could finally do together—”

“No.”

Her cheeks bloomed with red, and I knew what it meant. We were in for one of our knock-down, drag-out fights. “You don’t want to do it? Fine. But I will.”

Panic speared my chest. No, no, no. I can’t lose you again. “The hell you are, Coby. We’re both getting away from that crazy motherfucker at the first opportunity.”

“You can go.” She crossed her arms. “I’ll talk to Ocean and get him to free you.”

“Coby—”

She barreled over me before I could finish. “I’m a grown woman, Hunter. I don’t need you to baby, control, or decide what’s right for me.”

My gaze narrowed on her. “I thought we were best friends, and it was us against the world. Was one man all it took to change that?”

She fell back a step and then another until she was standing in front of the open window with her back to me.

When her anger returned, it simmered this time, feeling like the ice gathering on the glass.

“How is it,” she spoke slowly, “that you always need me to choose you except for the one time when it truly could have meant something?” When she looked over her shoulder, tears pricked my eyes at seeing the crushing hopelessness in hers.

The heartbreak I hoped to never see again.

The first time I caused that look was two years ago.

I swore I’d never do it again. “I know the real reason you don’t want to share Ocean.

It’s because you don’t want to share me. ”

“Of course I don’t,” I said softly, meaningfully. “You’re my best friend.”

“And is that all I am to you, Hunter?” Her voice was accusing when she turned her head to look out the window once more.

“Is that all I’ve ever been? I distinctly remember a time when we could have had it all, but you said no.

You broke my heart, and now someone else has picked up the shattered pieces and called it treasure.

But you just can’t let him have it, can you?

You can’t because you’re a jealous coward.

You say Ocean is wrong for me, and I say that he’s perfect because he’s the only man who wouldn’t let you run him away.

I bet that just kills you, doesn’t it? I can’t be happy with you, and I can’t be happy with him.

But I am. And I will be—with or without you.

” When Coby turned to face me this time, her beautiful face was soaked in tears and sorrow.

“I just can’t believe it took me falling in love again to finally see the real you.

You are the most selfish person I’ve ever met, Hunter Parrish. ”

Coby turned away from me before I could do or say a word.

She fled, climbing out of the window and dashing off into the dark.

Running… back to him.