The last fucking thing I need after a twelve-hour drive from Chicago is Lakeside College drowning in a sea of red and blue lights. Shadows dance over the old asylum walls, mixing with the yellow light from inside.
A crowd have gathered on the manicured lawn, murmuring between themselves while the dean talks to the police.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the three squad cars haphazardly parked by the main building were called in to bust up an illegal rave… but the two ambulances tell a different story.
My first thought is Jensen, but it’s highly improbable he could crawl back here. I left him seven miles out. No compass, no phone, no map, and strapped to a chair.
It’d be pretty fucking impressive if he freed his broken wrists and found his way to campus with both eyes swelled shut, and at least three bones in his face broken.
He was soaked in his own blood—a scent that quickly attracts wild animals. I knew that when I left him.
“Nash!” someone calls out as I move through the shadows toward the dorm building. “Nash, wait!”
I pause, turning around just as Levi approaches, Amari following suit. Their wide eyes, jittery body language, and the fact they stopped me are enough to send a chill down my spine.
The surrounding chaos, police chatter, and hum of the crowd morph from my private joke to a game of survival.
My fucking survival.
It hinges on the answer to one question, “Where’s Hailey?”
“She’s… well, she and Chloe, I think they’re lost.”
“Lost?” I take a threatening step forward. “Lost where?”
“In the woods.”
I push a steadying breath down my nose, every word leaving my lips like a bullet from a gun. “Why did she go into the woods?”
“Jensen’s been missing since Saturday, so we all went looking for him. We’ve been back for hours…” Levi points between himself and Amari, “…but Hailey and Chloe are still out there…”
“What time did they go in?”
“Around ten this morning. We were supposed to make sure we got back before sunset.”
“Fucking reckless,” I snap, pulling my phone out. “Do you know where she went in?”
“By the derelict building. I can show you in the morning.”
“You’ll show me in ten minutes. Wait here.”
I turn back around to grab a few bits from the trunk of my car, going through a mental tick list of things Hailey might and might not have thought about. I’m back outside the main building a moment later, shoving a flashlight, a can of spray paint, and two bottles of water into Levi’s hand.
“You’re going with me.”
“What? No way!” Amari exclaims, instinctively stepping in front of her boyfriend like a human shield.
“No, he’s right, baby. If they’re hurt, he can’t carry them both back,” Levi explains, wrapping his arms around Amari. “We’ll be fine.”
“You don’t even know where they are!”
“And you knew where Jensen was when you went looking?” I clip, pulling my phone out.
Ignoring her arguments, I press the phone to my ear, listening to the dial tone.
“Missed me already?” Ryder chirps. “What’s up?”
“Get me Hailey’s location.”
“What’s going on?”
I start walking, waving Levi to follow. It’s late and Hailey’s been in the forest for hours. If she took any food and water with her, that’s all gone. She’s probably not fucking dressed for cold weather, her phone’s out of range, and—
Fuck. Focus.
I take a deep breath, shaking off the weakness in my limbs. She’s scared, lost, and she needs me. I can’t let the metallic tang of fear sitting on my tongue spread any further.
“She went looking for a guy that went missing,” I say vaguely, though Ryder knows exactly who I’m talking about and where the fucker is. “She should’ve been back hours ago.”
I hear him tapping a keyboard, hacking Hailey’s phone through the bug I planted there weeks ago. Levi’s hot on my tail, and by the sound of it, Rachel and Amari are coming along.
Not into the woods they’re not.
They’ll slow us down and I don’t have time.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The dean’s voice sounds on my left, but I don’t slow down. “Hey! I’m talking to you Mr. Wright.”
It’s Willard. Carter Willard.
“Where are you going?” she repeats.
“Where do you think I’m going?” I turn to face her, keeping my tone level. “I’m getting my girl back.”
“Oh… I didn’t realize you and Hailey were—” She shakes her head. “That’s beside the point. I can’t let you go. We’re already missing three students.”
“The dean is right.” A young officer comes closer, his stance hinting that the minuscule power his badge bestows is doing a number on him. “You need to calm down, son.”
“I’m not your son, and it’ll be better if you get out of my fucking way.” I clip, the order laced with a dangerous edge I don’t bother softening. “Move.” It’s torture holding back from ripping the guy’s arm out of his socket, but I hold it in.
“I understand you’re worried, but it’ll be better if you calm down.” He slips his hand onto the holster. “Take a step back.”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“Now, now,” the sergeant says, stopping beside us. “Let’s all take a deep breath.” He drops a heavy hand on my shoulder. “We’re here to find them, and, as much as I appreciate you trying to help, we don’t need any more students roaming the woods. Leave this to us, we know what we’re doing.”
My hands ball into tight fists, my attitude like a loaded gun unsure where to aim. “You don’t know shit.”
I harbor a deep-rooted brand of hatred toward cops, and it has little to do with my line of work. If anything, years of working with Chief Jeremy Smith in Chicago taught me some deserve an ounce of respect.
Most, however, deserve a bullet to the head. Like the two on-call officers sent to my house the night my mother’s boyfriend battered her to death.
Those bullets found their marks six years later, after a long torture session. I took out every ounce of hatred and rage on the fuckers who laughed and belittled my dead mother that night.
“Right now you have two options,” I continue, towering above the old man. “Either you remove yourself from my way, or I’ll do it for you.”
“Sarge…?” The rookie urges, his gun drawn now.
“Go over there, Malik.” The sergeant motions ahead.
“But, Sarge! He’s—”
“Understandably frustrated.”
My phone pings, and I pull it out. Hailey’s location appears on the screen when I click the link Ryder sent.
Another message follows.
Ryder: Five clicks.
“This isn’t safe, Mr. Wright,” the sergeant starts again.
I have to give it to the man; he has extraordinary patience. By the look of him he’s nearing retirement, and he’s probably seen it all during many years of duty.
“You don’t know where they are. They could be—”
“I know exactly where she is.” I turn the phone, showing him the red dot pinpointing Hailey’s location. “Every second you stand in my way is another second she’s alone in the dark. You want to help? Start walking.”
I shoulder past him, motioning at Levi to keep up.
“Malik and Frederick!” the sergeant yells, defeat tainting his tone. “You’re going with them.”
Good call.
A part of me thought he’d argue, snatch the phone and send his men. That would not work out well for him, but apart from patience, the man’s been blessed with common sense.
“You girls stay here,” the dean hijacks Amari and Rachel just as the two cops fall into step with me and Levi.
We walk in silence until we’re on the other side of the lake, four flashlight beams illuminating our way.
A white X on one of the trees catches my eye as soon as Levi points out where Hailey entered the forest.
“That’s my girl,” I mutter under my breath, a smile tugging the corners of my mouth despite the gnawing worry in my gut. “Reckless but smart.”
“If they marked their way, they should’ve been able to get back easily,” Malik drawls behind me.
“They must’ve lost the trail,” Frederick replies, then clicks the radio strapped to his chest, informing the sergeant about the markings and telling him we’re going in.
We pass the line of trees, every flashlight checking left and right to follow the Xs that get progressively smaller the deeper we sink.
It takes half an hour before cocky Malik levels his stride with mine. “How did you get her location?”
“A helpful friend.”
He lowers his voice so only I can hear him. “That tracking app…” He motions to my phone. “That’s not standard find my phone. It’s a bug. Highly advanced.”
Everyone’s suddenly a fucking tech whizz. Malik looks young, fresh in the force, probably barely twenty. He hasn’t had time to learn the ropes. Most old cops have a sixth sense about them, one that helps them gauge who they shouldn’t poke. Rookies lack that sense.
“Observant,” I praise. “Smart, too, I assume?”
He shrugs, feigning modesty, but in the faint glow of our flashlights, his chest expands.
“Smart men mind their own fucking business,” I say, catching his face fall with the corner of my eye.
He clears his throat, ready to spew some bullshit, but my patience is not as vast as the sergeant’s. Especially not right now when Hailey’s alone in the woods.
I know she’s technically not alone with Chloe by her side, but Chloe can’t protect my girl.
“You’re young and eager to prove yourself,” I tell Malik. “But you need to learn how to pick your battles. You think your sergeant didn’t notice the tech? He did, but he’s smart. He knows what it means and knows it’s safer for him to stay out of my fucking way.”
He doesn’t say anything else, silently mulling over my words, the cogs in his brain whirring while we plod on, the cold night thickening along with the trees.
The chalk marks guide our way until an hour later when they don’t. A quick glance at my screen tells me Hailey and Chloe veered left, so that’s where we go.
“Mark the trees,” I tell Levi.
He whips the can of spray paint out of his back pocket while Frederick checks in over the radio. My focus narrows to the red dot on the screen, the distance between Hailey and me diminishing with every step.
Still, it takes another fifteen minutes before we’re close enough for her to hear me.
“Hailey!”
“Chloe!” Levi yells a minute later.
Leaves rustle ahead, and a soft, tentative “Nash?” follows, sending my pulse skyrocketing.
All four flashlights follow her voice, illuminating a fallen tree a hundred yards ahead. Chloe’s on the ground, resting against the bough and Hailey’s up on her feet, relief flooding her features.
“You’re so fucking irresponsible,” I growl, closing in on her. Anger takes the stage, hot and violent.
Her face is scratched.
Long, thin, red lines on her cheeks and neck. I grab her chin, turning her head every which way, inspecting every tiny cut while the other three tend to Chloe.
“You’re hurt. Where else?” My shaking hands roam her body, checking for injuries. I can’t control the worry frying my nerve endings. “Where does it hurt?”
“It’s just a few scratches,” she sighs. “I’m fine.”
“I decide that.”
Wrapping her fingers around my wrists, she stops me checking her over, and leans forward, nuzzling into my chest, her body cold against mine. “I’m sorry… we got lost.”
No shit. She got lost in the woods while looking for the scum who would have date-raped her if not for me.
Fuck. Between Hailey, Boston, Chicago, and Jensen I didn’t think to sort an alibi for what I did to him.
Hailey’s frying my brain. I’ve never done anything this sloppy.
“Fucking reckless,” I clip, stripping off my hoodie to pull it over her head, even though she’s already wearing one. “You’re freezing, Hailey.”
“I’m… exhausted,” she whispers into my chest, her voice breaking, the emotions she’s kept in surging to the surface.
I pull her closer, pressing small kisses to the top of her head, reassuring her and myself. “You’re okay, pretty girl. You’re with me. I’ve got you.”
Chloe’s with Levi a few steps away, her face white, lips blue from the cold.
“We found them. No sign of the missing male. We’re heading back now,” Frederick says into his radio.
I haul Hailey into my arms, her legs cinching my waist.
“I can walk,” she whispers, though it sounds like she’s only arguing for the sake of arguing. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t play this down. You came out here to look for that scumbag and you got hurt. You got lost. Why did you stop marking the trees?”
“We heard noises. Chloe thought it was Jensen, and we ran, but—” She pauses, letting out a calming breath. “It was a fox caught in a snare.”
“I swear if you say you helped that fucking fox…”
Now she smiles. I don’t have to see her face, her lips curling against the curve of my neck is enough.
“You’re worried again,” she sighs, awe in her tone.
“It’d be nice if you’d stop giving me reasons.”
I have enough of them without her stupid ideas, now with the added flavor of every man who Rhett ever wronged getting word about Hailey holding the key to his downfall.
They’ll want the evidence. Some will think it’ll secure their freedom, some, that it’ll send Rhett down for life, some will use it as blackmail. And the one thing they all need to get their hands on the file Alex assembled is the one thing I’ll never let them have…
Hailey.
◆◆◆
Sunrise isn’t far off by the time the ambulance crew have checked Hailey over and we’ve both answered the sergeant’s questions.
It’s unnerving how deep Hailey’s hold on me reaches. How quickly she’s become an obsession chewing my mind, heart, and fucking soul. She’s mine to care for, mine to shield from the world, harm, men like Jensen, and… men like me.
I’m the villain in disguise, but she doesn’t know that… and as I climb the narrow staircase to her room, her trust weighs heavier than her delicate frame.
Half of me—the half that’s only for her—whispers that I should come clean and face the consequences.
The darker half, the one steeped in blood, silences it quickly.
“I should keep you under lock and key,” I grit out, adjusting my hold to free one hand and open her bedroom door.
My room doesn’t have a bathtub.
And her diary’s here.
I’ve only been gone one day. She probably hasn’t written much, but my time with Hailey at Lakeside is no longer unlimited. The news about the evidence will spread like wildfire if it hasn’t already and, soon, she won’t be safe here.
She won’t be safe anywhere unless I’m with her.
