“Just…” Another deep exhale. He changes the subject. “Where are you?”
I’m about to reply, when a text message from Cole’s burner pops up on the screen, almost causing me to drive off the road.
“Fuck!” I blurt and grip the steering wheel as I ease up on the accelerator. My heart races. I’m surprised my life didn’t flash before my eyes just then. I hang up on my dad with trembling fingers before pulling up the message. I swallow, bouncing my attention between the wet road and the screen.
Unknown: allersfac45minleavinghury
Shit…
If my heart was racing before, it’s thundering now like the clouds overhead.
My body trembles all over as I drop the phone and grip the steering wheel with both hands. “Calm down, Blaise. Calm the fuck down! He’s alive. He’s still alive,” I chant, failing to get my raging emotions under control.If Cole can’t type properly, then that means… No. Don’t think like that.Something inside me hardens, and I slam my foot down on the accelerator with renewed determination. Time is running out, but I know where he is. My gut instinct was right all along. His crazy father chose to take his family to the one place he thought no one would look, and he didn’t think anyone would find the link tying him to this place.
“I’m coming, Cole. Hang in there, just a little bit longer.”
The countryside blurs on each side of the road, and trees and farmhouses pass by in my periphery.
Where is his dad taking them? What if I arrive too late? What then?
“Shut up!” I white-knuckle the steering wheel as though I can get a semblance of control of my fear and crippling anxiety. It’s a useless battle and one I can’t win, but at least there’s a shimmer of hope—Cole is alive, and I have a location.
Now I need to call the cops and let them know where they are.
Picking up the phone, I swipe the screen and start to type in the emergency number, but I’m trembling so much with adrenaline that the cell slips from my fingers and lands in the footwell.
“Fuck…” My heart sinks to my stomach.“Don’t do anything reckless,”Tiago’s voice whispers in my ear. If he were here now, he’d tell me in his calm, steady voice to pull over by the roadside, retrieve the phone, and call the police. What he wouldn’t tell me is to ignore it and continue driving. But that’s what I do.
I don’t have precious minutes to spare. Cole is waiting for me.
My jaw tightens as I picture him sending that text. When I get there, I’ll skin his dad alive for even thinking he could take him from me. No one touches what’s mine?—
My thoughts grind to a halt when I approach the turn-off to the warehouse—a dirt road barely visible behind a cluster of trees. A car approaches the junction before pulling out on the main road.
Cole…
Cole is in that fucking car. I can’t see into the vehicle from here, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s his dad’s getawaycar. Who else would visit the warehouse? No one. That road isn’t used, as evidenced by the tall weeds and wildflowers.
“Fuck it…” The blood in my veins boils. Cole’s dad messed with the wrong person.
I don’t even think as I chase their car. No matter what it takes, I won’t let him get away. Not a damn chance. It will be a cold day in hell before I allow anyone to take Cole away from me.
Gaining on them, I lock eyes with Cole’s dad through the driver’s window. We’re side by side, flying down the road at breakneck speed.
Time slows, and the sounds around me grow muted until all I’m aware of is my heart’s steady beat.
Cole’s dad sweats profusely, his eyes blown wide with panic. He’s not thinking straight. Neither am I.
In a swift move, I spin the wheel and ram my car into the side of his. We collide in an ear-splitting crunch of metal. “Stop the car, you motherfucker,” I roar as I fall back, only to do it again. Tires squeal on the road. Malcolm tries desperately to overtake me, but he loses control as we approach a sharp bend in the road, and I watch in slow motion as their vehicle hurtles toward a cluster of trees.
It all happens so fast. One moment we’re side by side, then the next, their car slams into a tree and erupts in flames.
I’ve never been more terrified than when I hit the brakes. The car comes to a sudden stop, and I sit for a moment and stare at the inferno in front of me while their car’s horn blares. My mind roars, struggling to make sense of the situation. Flames engulf the hood, and dark smoke rises into the air. A part of me expects Cole to exit the car and order me to run before he chases after me in his mask—to be his usual bossy self. But no one leaves the car.
Reaching for the handle, I push open the door and climb out with my heart in my throat. The strong scent of burning metaland plastic pricks my nose as I stare at the tall, wild flames. I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Cole…
Crossing the road, I almost slip down the embankment before stumbling toward the car. The hood is wrapped around the tree trunk, reminding me of a crushed can.
