Chapter 4 #2
“Just a girl who picked me up on the side of the road.” I forgo giving her name to him.
He holds out his hand, wiggling his fingers, waiting for me to deposit it into his palm.
“Moreno wants the phone,” I say, letting Luca know in case we get disconnected. “I’m talking to Luca.”
“You can call him back on your phone.” He ends the call for me, tossing the phone into the nearby garbage.
“Why did you do that?”
“I’m not about to let someone track you.” He shoves my cell phone back into my hand. “Found this at the bar. Thought you might want it.”
I climb into the backseat, and Moreno shuts the door for me. I dial Luca, not wanting to spend another minute apart.
“Everything okay?” he asks when he picks up the phone.
“Yeah, just Moreno being bossy and overbearing. He was worried Izzie might be tracking me.”
“Izzie?” Moreno repeats, his curiosity piqued. “As in Isabel Monroe?” He glances at me from the front seat, turning around as much as possible to face me.
“She didn’t give a last name,” I say.
“Luca called and told us you got away. Did you see who the perpetrator was?” Moreno asks.
I’m quiet for a fraction of a second. “The two men wore masks,” I say, opting not to start a war.
“Was the guy at the bar involved?” Moreno presses further. “Jayden Scott?”
“Moreno, I’m on the phone with Luca. Can we do this later?” I glare at him.
He clears his throat and shifts around to face forward. “Yeah, fine. We can do this with Dante when we get back to the compound.”
Luca is quiet on the call for several seconds. “Are you okay?” he finally asks, breaking the silence when he realizes I’m no longer talking to Moreno.
“I’m…” I pause, trying to say exactly how I am, how I feel. I opt instead to answer with what we’re doing. My emotions are a rollercoaster, and our conversation isn’t the least bit private. “Just pulling away from the resort.”
We head out of the resort, down the mountainous winding road, and follow it south to Route 93, the main thoroughfare.
I hear Luca’s sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You are okay, right? Jayden didn’t hurt you physically, touch you—”
“I’m okay,” I say, reassuring him. “I was held in a basement, and I managed to sneak out through a window.”
“Good. From now on, I want you to carry a gun with you, everywhere you go.”
I laugh at his request. “Come on, Luca. That’s not realistic. For starters, I’m not bringing a gun with me to school or when I’m carrying Zeke.”
“We’ll discuss it further when you get home.”
I roll my eyes and tip my head back on the headrest. “You’re so bossy tonight.”
Luca fusses under his breath. “Am I?”
Like he can’t tell? Maybe he’s oblivious to it, but it’s impossible for me to miss.
I glance out the window as we drive back onto the main road, and a shiver courses through me. It wasn’t that long ago that I was walking on this road, alone, in the dark.
I pull my coat tighter.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Luca says.
“Just … thinking,” I confess.
He chuckles, sounding lighter, happier. “Don’t do that too much, or you might give yourself a headache.”
“Asshole,” I joke with him, and then the air rushes out of my lungs in a scream.
A gunshot rings out through the vehicle out of nowhere.
The loud gunfire pierces my eardrums, making them ring as I grab the back door handle and yank at it.
It refuses to open.
Who the fuck child-locked the door?
I drop the phone. I can hear Luca’s voice; he shouts out my name. It’s distant and sounds far away in the chaos surrounding me.
“Moreno’s been shot!” I scream, seeing him hunched forward, blood dripping from his head. “Nico shot him. I can’t get out the back door.”
“Shut up!” Nico shouts at me, and I lunge forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, choking him, trying to cut off his oxygen supply. He grabs at me with one arm, the SUV swerving on the road before he lifts the gun, shooting blindly at me.
Fuck.
The bullet misses, hitting the back window, shattering the glass in the trunk.
There’s another way out.
I climb over the backseat and into the trunk, There’s no interior handle, no release from the back that I can spot. I use my elbow, my coat protecting me as I break away the remaining of the shattered glass and pull the latch on the trunk from outside.
It doesn’t budge with the doors locked.
Shit.
My only other option is to jump out the back window. We’re moving at quite a fast clip, and I can’t jump without risking severe injury.
Then again, getting shot is far worse.
There’s a rough grumble.
“Moreno!” I shout, my eyes wide as I glance back at him. Is he still alive? I can’t leave him with Nico.
“Who do you work for?” I shout at Nico and climb into the backseat, the best chance I have is if I can overtake Nico. Moreno needs medical attention.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He chuckles, and my stomach plummets. “She’ll be so excited that you’re joining us.”
She?
I can’t even fathom who he’s referring to, nor do I care.
“Now, sit in the back like a good little girl, Harper. I’d hate to have to bring you to her bruised and bloodied.”
Glancing at the cell phone, it’s still on, still counting the seconds that have passed by. Luca is on the line, probably listening to us. Good. Maybe he can figure out where Nico is taking us and have Dante intercept us before we get there.
“You’re fucking insane if you think I’ll do anything you tell me,” I seethe at Nico. “Pull the fucking car over and get the hell out before I kill you.”
He laughs, smirking as he glances back at me. “That’s cute, buttercup. Thinking you have a chance. Moreno was your last chance, and he’s dead.”
I reach for his pulse, feeling it erratic, but he’s still alive.
Blood seeps from the wound on his head, he seems to be unconscious, bent forward, the seatbelt restraining him.
Moreno has to have a gun on him. I climb over the console, making my way into the front passenger seat.
“What the hell—Harper?” Nico snarls at me and lifts his gun. “Get in the back!”
My fingers graze over Moreno’s holster and I grab the gun, cocking off the trigger and shooting round after round into Nico.
Except there’s no bullets.
Nico laughs darkly and smiles wickedly as he glances at me. “Did you really think I’d let Moreno carry a loaded gun?”
“What? How?” I climb over Moreno’s body, and Nico is grabbing my hair, yanking me out of the seat.
My fingers itch on the doorhandle, so close, I can almost yank it open.
If I can get out, then Nico will be forced to stop. Forced to abandon the car and chase me. He’ll leave Moreno alone, and maybe Dante and Luca can find me.
It’s my best hope. The darkness of night is the only chance I have at getting away.
I pull the latch, the front door swinging open, and I jump haphazardly onto the ground.
It fucking burns.
Every inch of my body is like fire licking my skin. My black pants are torn, shredded from the jump, and my coat took the brunt over my arms and chest, tearing but not destroying it.
I stumble into the forest, hearing the screech of tires and the engine alive and idling as Nico jumps out and chases after me.
Can I outsmart him? If I run through the forest, I can lose him, and then get back to the vehicle, and I can leave his ass behind.
I run through the woods, hearing him give chase to me, his feet not far behind as he catches up to me with long strides.
Nico is taller, giving himself an advantage, and I do my best not to run in a straight line, trying to avoid him catching me. But it does little use.
He’s gaining on me, and fast.
His footfalls aren’t the least bit silent, and neither are mine. I’m gasping for breath, making my location far too obvious.
I need to try something else, something different, because I can’t outrun him and he’s gaining on me, fast.
I skirt around a larger tree, climbing it, holding my breath so he can’t find me, spot me.
I get halfway up to the nearest branch, sling my leg up and over when it snaps, landing me flat on my back.
Nico chuckles, staring right down at me. “Welcome back.” He lifts me with ease, tossing me over his shoulder, carrying me back to the vehicle. He grabs a set of zip ties from the glovebox and yanks them on my arms, shoving me into the backseat.
This feels all too familiar.