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Instead, I stepped out and locked him in. I pocketed the bike key and went to meet Trent’s henchman.
It was go time.
A black truck sat outside with an impassive driver sitting in the front.
“I’m going to need your phone,” he said firmly as soon as I got in the back.
“But I wanted to play games on the way to Hell…what else will I do to pass the time?” I snarked.
I gave it to him with a reluctant sigh. He took it and raised the partition. Then we were moving. We drove out of the woods and headed north. So, Bran O’Connor’s hunch had been right. Trent wanted to take me to The Cove and show off his might and power. He probably thought it would make me docile and biddable. He had another think coming.
I couldn’t get Asher’s face out of my head. I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the memories of last night. I’d tried to push the stubborn man away. What was his problem? Why wouldn’t he just go? After a lifetime of searching, I’d found someone who wouldn’t leave, even when I did everything in my power to make them go. Someone who loved me even when I was being a brat, when I was lying and hiding, and being a stone-cold bitch. Unconditional love.
The thing that had always been out of reach for me was finally found. I’d do anything to keep it, but most of all, I’d do anything to keep him safe and unharmed. Nothing mattered more.
After a few hours of me dozing, lingering in memories, the car slowed. I didn’t recognize where we were. The car drove onto a strange surface, and after a moment, it became clear we were on a vehicle ferry. We needed a boat to get there? Panic instantly engulfed me. How would Bran follow if we took a ferry? How inaccessible was this place?
There was nothing I could do, however. I was stuck with the plan, even if it seemed to be going down the drain. Another hour passed, and then we drove off the ferry and soon pulled to a stop.
The driver got out and opened my door. It was raining hard here and dark all around, apart from a building sitting right on the shore.
The Cove. It was well-named. It literally sat inside a rocky cove, accessible by boat on one side, and a tiny, unmarked road on the other, as far as I could see. Did they put it here to make it hard for the police to check in on them? Or was it to stop the wrong people from getting in? Or out? I shivered and cast the thought aside. There was no time to freak myself out. This was happening.
The driver took me by the elbow and pushed me up the marina and onto a stone path that led to the building’s entrance.
He stepped forward and looked into a security camera, then the door buzzed open.
He took me inside, and the door slammed behind us. I jumped.
“Mr. Fitzgerald is waiting for you,” he said, propelling me down the hallway.
We passed endless doors and staircases down. It seemed there were quite a few subterranean levels to the building. Short snatches of music drifted to me here and there, mixed with conversations.
Finally, we stopped at a red door at the end of the hallway.
“You’ll wait in here.” He shoved me inside unceremoniously and shut the door.
A loud locking sound came from the other side.
I turned slowly, inspecting the room. It was terrifying. It wasn’t only the door that was red, but all the walls were, too. A huge, scary-looking medical chair, like the one they used at the gynecologist, was sitting in the middle of the room. A metal trolley sat next to it, covered in implements. I made out scissors, tweezers, and a scalpel before I tore my eyes away.
“Winter?” a voice whispered from the other side of the room.
I spun around, a cry of relief leaving me. Selena. She was huddled against the far wall, as far as she could get from the door. Her eyes were huge and her cheeks tearstained. She stared at me like I was a ghost, like she couldn’t quite believe I was there.
I flew across the room to her and pulled her close.
“Did they do anything to you?” I asked immediately. I hadn’t realized the full extent of what might have happened to my best friend. The setup of the room we were in showed me that.
She shook her head. “No, not yet. Trent stopped by the house. He told me that you were here and that you needed me…he made me think you were hurt. I couldn’t get through to you on the phone, and I believed him.”
I stared at her, incredulous. “So, you willingly came back here? For me?”
She shrugged. “You don’t have to call me dumb. I know I am.” She forced a tiny smile, but it didn’t take away what she’d done.
I was selfishly glad she was here, and that I wasn’t alone in this horrifying room.
“What’s your plan?” she asked.
