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“You already let this fucker get his hands on Evie again. You think we’re gonna trust your guys to get her back now?” Kade snapped, glaring at Harris hard.
“Go, Cole. Xander, go with them. There’s weapons in the trunk if you need them,” Kyle said, looking to his brothers.
“Be fucking careful,” Kade added.
“I’ll go with you. I know where you need to go,” Kailan volunteered, already moving towards the door to collect his coat and boots.
“We’re good,” Matt dismissed him.
“Guys, come on. We don’t have time for this bullshit. We all want the same thing here. We just want Evie back,” Harris sighed, sounding exhausted.
“We wouldn’t have to get her back if you just kept her safe!” Matt snapped angrily. Guilt gnawed at me. That was on me. I was the one who hadn’t kept her safe.
“Matt, he’s right. We need to work together. Blame isn’t going to fix anything right now,” Xander agreed as he placed a calming hand on his brothers’ shoulder.
“Let’s go,” Cole gave in, moving to the door with Xander and Matt right behind him.
“Keep us updated, brother,” Harris said to Kailan. Kailan just nodded, then walked out, closing the door behind him. I just prayed that when he came back, he would have Evie with him, safely returned to us.
CHAPTER 3
EVIE
I don’t know how long I cowered in that tiny hiding place. It was a lot longer than the hour I had told myself I would wait. I just couldn’t bring myself to move. I hadn’t heard Soloman moving through the woods around me, but I knew he could move silently when he wanted to, and I was terrified if I moved and showed my location, he’d be waiting to jump out at me.
Night fell and the darkness got thicker until I found myself in pitch black beneath the trees. The temperature dropped rapidly too and I was shivering and shaking so much I feared Soloman would hear it and find me anyway. My hands and feet were numb and my entire body was tingling with the need to move, but I daren’t. I was terrified, and the longer I sat there, allowing my thoughts to run wild with possibilities, the worse the fear got.
I was continually checking the service on my cell, but it never changed. I had no bars and calls would not connect no matter how many times I tried.
Hours passed and eventually the shivering stopped. I was feeling drowsy and I knew that was bad. If my body wasn’t working to keep me warm by shivering, I knew I was in trouble. That was what got me moving in the end. I knew I had to try and warm myself up. If I stayed there I was going to slip into unconsciousness, then I would be screwed if Soloman came looking for me.
So I pushed through the terror and crept my aching body from the small hiding space. I moved slowly, stretching each limb to try and get it working again, hoping feeling would return to my hands and feet. My head was throbbing and I knew my face was swollen because I could feel it on the right side. I managed to get myself to my feet. I pulled my hood up over my hair, hoping to better disguise my blonde hair in the dark, then tucked my hands into my coat pockets. I felt drowsy and a little spaced out but I pushed through it as I started to move forwards very slowly. I stepped cautiously and listened for any small sounds of movement around me. It was slow going, but I refused to just run and make my location known. Slow and silent was going to win this race and I knew it.
I don’t know how far I walked, but after a while my body warmed up enough to start shivering again. I continued on, determined to get as far from where I had left Soloman as I could. Eventually the shivering stopped, this time replaced with a slight sweat breaking out on my skin. I was huffing and puffing, exhausted, but keeping it as quiet as possible. I didn’t want to relax, sure that was when he would leap out and grab me. I didn’t believe he would just give up and go back to wherever he came from. He would be as determined to find me, as I was to get away from him.
The sun started to rise, illuminating more and more woodlands ahead of me and all around. I checked my cell again, but still I didn’t have a single bar of service. I had no idea where I was or if I was moving towards civilization, or miles further from it. I was exhausted and once again freezing cold. I couldn’t move fast enough to keep myself warm anymore. My head was pounding with the headache from hell and I was terrified, sure with every step I took that Soloman was right behind me.
It was even worse in daylight. It made it easier for me to see where I was going, yes, but it also made it easier for Soloman to see me if he was coming after me. I forged on, too scared to stop, the whole time clutching the shard of plastic I had slipped into my pocket, tightly in my hand, determined to fight again if he found me.
Just after ten A.M. according to the time on my cell, I finally found a road. It was a bigger road than the one Soloman had driven in on. More like a two lane highway. I walked alongside it, keeping to the trees in case Soloman was driving the roads in search of me, the whole way watching my cell for service and the road for any car that wasn’t a blue Camry. But no cars came. The road was silent and deserted it seemed, a point made clear by the untouched snow that lay on it, not a tyre track in sight.
An hour later and my legs would barely move as I struggled to keep going. I was so cold, my limbs so stiff they would hardly move, and my hands could barely grip my cell to check for service. I was running out of battery too, the little sign at the top showing less than twenty percent remained. I wanted to just break down and cry, too exhausted to do much else, but I refused to allow myself to do it. I had to keep trying to get back to my guys. I had to keep fighting, just like I knew they would be fighting to find me.
I pulled the cell from my pocket again, forcing my hand to grip it, despite the stiffness and violent shivers that were plaguing me. I checked the screen, already resigned for there to be no bars, so I couldn’t contain my sobs when two tiny little bars flickered up. Refusing to miss the opportunity I hit the first contact I came to, which was Aleks, and cried even harder when it actually started to ring.
“Evie?” Aleks answered almost immediately.
“Aleks!” I sobbed, unable to contain my emotions at the sound of his voice.
“Evie, where are you? Are you okay?” he asked all at once.
“I…I’m o-kay,” I replied, my teeth chattering so hard, it made it even harder to speak through my tight throat. “I g-got away from him, but I…I don’t know if he’s f-follo-wing me and I’m sc-scared,” I admitted.
“I’m tracking the call. We’re coming for you, malenka,” he assured me.
“Evie? Where are you? Can you get anywhere busy, like a store?”
“Kyle?” I gasped tearfully. “What are y-ou do-ing there?”
