Page 182 of Split You Open

Wes doesn’t bother making breakfast or ordering the others to try to get some sleep. He’s just as anxious as we are to find Blair. There’s no settling down until she’s back with us.

Just as I change into a clean outfit, the alarm on someone’s phone begins to blare. Then another phone goes off.

“We got company in the woods!” Wes bellows up the stairs.

Fuck.

I rush out of my room and down the stairs. My first stop is in the family room where I scoop up a rifle, a box of ammo, and a pistol. Then I head to the kitchen where I find the others on their feet and tense.

“How many and where?”

Santi is frowning as he stares down at his phone. “I… I don’t know? The alarm went off south of here, but the cameras aren’t catching any other movement. Maybe it was a false alarm.”

“Like hell it was a false alarm,” Wes snaps.

He checks his pistol’s clip then closes it before looking up at me. “I say we take the ATVs out to investigate.”

I nod. The ATVs will be the fastest way to get across the property. Trying to get there on foot may be stealthier but right now, time is not on our side. Not with Anchor and Blair missing and trouble in Caddawalk.

“Rhett, Santi—” I start but am cut off by Rhett.

“Santi will keep working and I’ll keep my eyes on the other cameras,” he snaps. “Go!”

Wes and I don’t need any more encouragement. We burst out of the house, race down the porch steps, and rush over to the large shed off the side of the cabin. Minutes later, we’re roaring through the woods on ATVs.

It takes time to get to where the alert went off, too much time for my liking. As we approach the site, we both slow. I scan the area, looking for signs of trouble while Wes checks the camera feeds from his phone. Waiting with bated breath, I don’t stop my visual inspection of my property.

There’s no movement, no sound either.

That means nothing, though. Whoever tripped the alarm could be good enough to be conscious of such things. Plus, with the roar of the ATVs, anyone could’ve heard us coming and hid. It was a risk riding them, but I would rather bring the fight to them rather than whoever it is out here bring the fight to the cabin.

I’m about to keep going but just as I get ready to rev the throttle I hear a call.

It’s a sparrow’s song but sung fucking poorly.

My head jerks to the left.

“Anchor!” I bellow.

Wes flinches in surprise and looks up just as the shitty sparrow mimic stops abruptly.

“Over here!”

I’m off my ATV and sprinting toward the sound of his voice instantly. I jump over logs, duck under branches and fly over fallen leaves. My heart thunders in my chest as I run. What the fuck is going on? Why isn’t he in sight of the cameras? Why didn’t he just show up at the cabin like he has the past few days? Where have he and Blair been and what took them so long to get here?

A thousand questions swim around in my head, but I don’t really give a fuck about getting answers. All that matters is that they’re here now.

“Anchor!”

“I’m here!” He calls out again, his voice strained.

With my heart leaping up into my throat, I shift direction. As I round a large boulder protruding out of the ground, I find my friend.

My feet skid to a halt.

My heart follows suit.

Leaning against the hard rock and breathing hard, sits Anchor. His legs are sprawled out in front of him, one ankle bent at a wretched angle. Anchor’s shirt is ripped and bloody, his lip split and his shoulder is definitely dislocated. Wheezing hard and wincing, Anchor manages to lift his head to glare at me.