“It was a mistake bringing her here,” Lex says, shaking his head in disappointment. “She needs more time.”
“More time?” I direct my anger at him. “More time for what? To go without knowing what happened to my twin?”
“Lex is right,” Eli says, like I’m not in the room. “She’s forgetting who owns her.”
“You don’t own me!” Fury pours out of me. “No one does!”
Aiden stomps across the cabin, stashing Sarah’s diary on top of a cabinet, then retrieves something from a box on the side. When he turns around, he’s holding a strange object. It’s hard to make out what it is. Something shiny and metallic appears to be attached to a hilt by duct tape.
“Get the ink, Eli,” Aiden orders.
That’s when I realize what he’s twirling around his fingers.
“No,” I stammer, “y-you wouldn’t.”
“We won’t let you forget who owns you again,” Aiden says, approaching me. “You’ll leave with a permanent reminder.”
I sprint for the door. No one makes any effort to stop me, but their laughter follows. I breathe a sigh of relief, finding the door unlocked, and fly into the night.
“Run, run, run, Little Ghost,” Aiden calls. “But you won’t get far…”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
ERIN
I hurtle into the darkness,leaving the cabin behind. My silky dress flaps in the wind, and its icy chill wraps around my limbs. I stumble in Eli’s oversized socks, pausing for a second to pull them back up my calves. Each step is like wading through a vat of sticky caramel, but once I’m out of the mud, running on the grass flanking the dirt path makes it easier to cover more ground. It’s slippery, but I grab tree trunks to support me, darting from one to the other like a pinball. I push aside my thoughts about other potential predators lurking in the shadows. They can’t be any worse than the three men I’m running from.
All I have to do is find the road and follow it into town. But, despite my good sense of direction, it’s impossible to see. Without getting down on my hands and knees to follow the indents left by motorcycle wheels, I’m led by pure instinct. It won’t be long until morning, though. I can hide out until sunrise, right?
“Little Ghost!” Lex’s voice echoes through the forest. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”
I freeze and hide behind a tree, hugging its bark as if my life depends on it. A single beam from a flashlight slips through the leaves, and I back away from it.
Footsteps crunch through the undergrowth.
“You can’t hide from us,” Aiden says.
He’s close.
I hold my breath.
The light swivels and turns away from me. I set off again, keeping each step light. Without shoes, I don’t make much noise, but I’m still not quiet enough…
Another light appears, shining straight at my last hiding spot.
“Over here,” Eli says.
I must get away. Adrenaline propels me forward. Branches tear at my skin, but I barely feel it. Aiden’s news has numbed me, regardless of whether it’s true.
The ground slopes, giving me some hope I’ll be able to escape down the mountain. However, a bulky rock has other ideas. I trip, breaking the fall with my hands at the last second, and land on my knees.
I lose precious seconds, allowing the men to gain on me. Even though I’m ahead, I swear I hear them breathing down my neck.Keep going, Sarah. Wait, did I just call myself Sarah?My brain is rattled after their revelation and is doing anything to cling to her memory. I muster all my strength to pull myself up and sprint on.You can do this, Erin.
“You can run,” Aiden yells. “But you can’t hide.”
Another tree branch tugs on my hair and makes my head jerk. Its thorny fingers hold strands captive, and I yank myself free, leaving a tuft behind.
