Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lauren
They’re getting closer.
As the thunder of footsteps chasing me grew louder, the drumming of my heart inside my chest also intensified, amplifying my fears with it like the score of a horror movie.
I had thought I’d given myself enough of a head start when I left the diner as soon as I heard a bunch of cars approaching from the direction of Clyde’s house, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. I could feel myself slowing down, too, my legs aching. It didn’t help that I cut the side of my leg on a log earlier, either.
Really, Lauren. Why are you so bad at this?
I felt a sense of déjà vu actually, remembering how I also struggled when I was escaping from Clyde’s cabin. How on earth did I end up in this situation again? Well, at least, this time, I wasn’t being chased off with gunshots, though I was sure Clyde’s guys had guns on them.
I suddenly froze as a terrifying thought crossed my mind. What if Jake, Wade, and Max ended up getting shot while trying to rescue me? What if this was part of Clyde’s plan all along, and he let me escape on purpose just so he could get rid of the people who cared about me?
I shook my head, took a deep breath, and pressed forward. I wasn’t going to go there. Not again. Not now. I had made it this far because of hope and faith in Jake, Max, and Wade. Wade was probably still in the hospital. I had to believe the other two were going to find me and that everything would be all right.
Everything will be all right.
As soon as I said that, I found myself slipping down a slope. I tried to hold on to a branch to regain my footing, but it snapped. I ended up rolling down like a log, getting covered in leaves and mud until I hit the bottom.
Shit.
I tried to get up as quickly as I could after, but one of Clyde’s hired thugs, who I recognized as the guy guarding the front door of the Frog House, had already caught up to me. I still managed to land a punch on his jaw to hold him off, but he recovered quickly, moving behind me and wrapping his arm around my neck.
“No sudden moves,” he warned. “My orders were to bring you back alive no matter what. I’ll knock you unconscious if I have to.”
I didn’t want that. Who knew where I would wake up and in what condition?
I slowly lifted my hands in surrender. The man grabbed my arms and secured my wrists behind my back. Then he took out his communication device and talked into it.
“This is Sigma-Nine. Fugitive secured. On the way back to base.”
“Roger that,” a voice replied.
Then the man turned to me. “Let’s go.”
I had no choice but to let him lead me to wherever the base was, presumably wherever Clyde was waiting, but I tried to stall for time, dragging my feet as much as I could while searching my surroundings for any sign of Jake or Max.
My captor frowned. “If you’re not going to move faster, I’ll have to carry you over my shoulder.”
“Well, excuse me for not being as big and strong as you are,” I told him with a scowl of my own.
He shook his head. “You don’t fool me. You took down one of my friends.”
The guard outside my door who I knocked out with one strike? I hadn’t even been sure that it would work.
“And you don’t fool me,” I told him. “You might look scary, but you’re just a big boy who’s scared of frogs.”
The blood drained from his face. I smirked. Who said you needed your fist to take someone down?
“Just move faster,” he ordered, his temper sour now. “Or I will carry you.”
Oh boy. He just liked to make threats, didn’t he?
“Fine,” I answered grudgingly.
I definitely didn’t want to be carried like a sack of potatoes, either. It was just as problematic as getting knocked out, if not more humiliating. I had no choice but to pick up the pace.
Eventually, we reached a clearing. Clyde was sitting on a log. He grinned when he saw me, the gleam of triumph in his eyes making me feel sick. I did my best to ignore it, looking around instead to see how many enemies I could spot that Jake and Max would be up against.
One. Two. Five. Seven. Nine. Ten. There were at least a dozen of them, making me worry, but then I saw the farthest one suddenly disappear from my sight without a sound. Seconds later, another one up in a tree fell as if he’d just suddenly fainted, yet I didn’t hear a crash.
What the hell was going on?
Then I saw a familiar figure in the distance, a tall figure with light brown hair wearing a bulletproof vest. My heart skipped a beat.
Max?
I almost wanted to scream his name, but he looked at me with a finger held to his lips, making me purse mine.
Right. If he and Jake were outnumbered, they needed the element of surprise in order to win, which meant I had to pretend I hadn’t seen what I just saw. I had to be quiet and patient.
Very well, then. I said nothing as the guard who had brought me pushed me to my knees on the ground in front of Clyde, who leaned forward on his knees, staring at me.
“Well, well, well,” he said, rubbing his arm. “Look who failed to escape from me again. Really, Lauren. Shouldn’t you stop trying?”
“Never,” I sneered, the knowledge that Max and Jake were here giving me courage.
As long as I had them, I had nothing to fear, especially not the piece of shit who was sitting in front of me.
Living up to my description of him, Clyde grabbed me painfully by the hair with his left hand. “You little bitch. You think you’re so tough and so smart, don’t you? Well, I’m going to show you just how weak and stupid you are. Once the chopper gets here, I’m going to take you somewhere no one will ever find you, and I’m going to cage you and drug you so that you’ll never run away again. I’m going to make you pay for all the trouble you’ve caused me until you beg and…”
I stopped listening, my gaze on Jake, who was slowly approaching Clyde from behind like a tiger closing in on its prey.
He had come for me just as he did before, just as I knew he always would. He was my hero. My haven. My…
Clyde’s palm hit my cheek. “How dare you ignore me when I’m talking to you, bitch? What are you looking at, anyway?”
“Nothing,” I answered, meeting his gaze.
He didn’t believe me, though. He stood up, looking behind him as he rubbed his arm. Fortunately, Jake had managed to hide, but now, Clyde was alert, which meant Jake would have a hard time launching an ambush attack against him. Clyde also seemed to be anxious now, as if finally getting the suspicion that something had gone wrong.
I had to do something to distract him fast.
“Spider!” I shouted, pointing my gaze at the bottom of the log behind Clyde.
He jumped back in fright as he looked down. The guy who caught me turned his head as well. Then both of them frowned.
Clyde glared at me. “Are you trying to make a fool of me again? First, you mess with my frogs. Now, you think you can scare me with spiders? You insolent whore!”
He lifted his hand to slap me again, but this time, it didn’t fall. Jake appeared behind Clyde, grasping his wrist firmly.
Clyde looked at him in shock, then anger. “You!”
The other guy tried to come to his rescue but fell after taking one step. As I gazed into the distance, I saw Wade holding a gun, my eyes growing wide.
He was here, too?
“Guards!” Clyde called for more reinforcements after seeing the guard closest to him fall, but no one came.
Instead, I saw men emerge from behind the trees one by one, half of them like professionals geared up for battle and the rest in black leather jackets. Who would have thought Jake, Max, and Wade would bring an army?
I grinned at Clyde. Oh, he was so screwed now.
He seemed to know it, panicking as he tried to free himself from Jake’s hold, but Jake twisted his right arm behind his back, causing him to howl in pain.
“Stop!” he begged. “You’ll make my stitches rip!”
Stitches? Come to think of it, he had been rubbing his right arm a lot.
Jake laughed. “You think I care after everything you’ve done to hurt Lauren and my family?”
He must have applied pressure again because Clyde screamed.
“Stop! I give up! I give up!”
I snorted. Crybaby.
As Jake tied his wrists, Max freed mine. Afterward, I turned around and gave him a tight hug.
He hugged me back, kissing the top of my head. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “I am now.”
“Well, Clyde Roarke won’t be.” Max walked toward Clyde, standing in front of him. “He’ll be in jail for the rest of his life, and I’ll make sure he has the worst cellmates.”
“Oh yeah?” Clyde scoffed. “You think you can put me away?”
“Oh, he will,” Jake replied. “And this time, Daddy won’t be able to save you.”
Clyde chuckled derisively. “You have no evidence to put me in jail.”
“But I do,” Max said. “What? You think you’re the only one who can find out everything about someone? While you were busy keeping Lauren prisoner, I was able to get my hands on all the financials for your secret clubs. Oh, and I’ve found some people who are willing to testify that you committed murder, among other things.”
Clyde shook his head. “You’re lying.”
Max leaned over so Clyde could see the seriousness in his gaze more clearly. “You messed with the wrong guy, Roarke.”
Clyde’s face grew pale as he swallowed, but he still tried to act brave. “It was fun playing with you, though, and telling everyone you’re just some pathetic guy playing around with bikes and getting in fights with losers. How did you like that video I spread around, huh? You should thank me for making you famous. That’s probably lost you more than a few investors. Still think you can be successful, Shelton?”
Max straightened up, his confidence unwavering. “Watch me.”
Clyde laughed. “It was fun playing with Lauren again, too, if only for a little while. Did you know that last night…”
I slapped him before he could finish his lie. “Don’t you dare say my name again.”
Still, he grinned. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. Have you forgotten all the fun times we had?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Jake told him, standing beside him. “We’ll make sure she forgets.”
Max and Wade stood on my other side as well, letting me know that they, too, had my back no matter what. I felt a burst of joy.
Right. I had all three of them now. Clyde couldn’t hurt me anymore.
He shook his head in disbelief and snorted. “What? Are you going out with all three of these guys? Just as I thought, you’re a real…”
I punched him in the face before he could finish his sentence, knocking him to his side and making his nose bleed. “That was for messing with Jake and our Black Storm family.”
Then I kicked him in the stomach.
“That was for messing with Max and shooting Wade. And this…”
I kicked him in the balls, making him howl in agony.
“That was for me, for all the hell you put me through. Oh, and one more thing.”
I took the bracelet he had given me out of my pocket.
“The only reason I’ve been carrying this around is because I wanted to give it back to you. So here.”
I dropped it on the ground.
“Goodbye, Clyde.”
He didn’t answer, still whimpering in pain.
I straightened up, turned my back on him, and let out a deep breath.
Well, that felt good.
The pride on the faces of Jake, Max, and Wade, and the cheers of Black Storm made me feel even better. I smiled.
Finally, the nightmare was over.
I looked at the three men by my side. “Shall we go home?”