Page 53 of Grave Stone

“I won’t,” I promised, and carefully moved toward the back door. I had no idea who the man was or how he knew me, but I had a feeling it was related to Glenn’s bullshit.

“You’re gonna open the door and get in the black van,” the man ordered.

No, I wasn’t. I was going to push the door open and run like hell. Because I knew better than to let him take me to a second location.

I didn’t have time to think or prepare. I had two seconds to take a deep breath before I shoved the door open with both hands and darted outside. I didn’t even make it one step before I was violently thrown to the side, painfully hitting the ground.

I didn’t know what happened, and I didn’t care. I jumped to my feet, ready to take off again, when someone grabbed me from behind.

“It’s me!” Halo yelled. “We gotta go! Are you okay?”

“He’s got a gun!”

“Shh! We got him. It’s okay. Come on.”

“Halo,” I mumbled, grabbing onto his shirt before my legs gave out. “I’m maybe not okay.”

“I gotcha.” He scooped me up like a bride and jogged to Stone’s truck. He helped me get into the passenger seat and turned on the air conditioning. “You gonna be okay if I leave you here for a second?”

“I think so,” I said, closing my eyes and leaning back in the seat.

The next thing I knew, Stone was carrying me inside the clubhouse.

“Cora!” he yelled. “I need help!”

“Bring her in here and put her on the bed,” Cora said. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. She hit the ground pretty hard when Halo yanked her out of the way. But she got up and tried to run immediately. Then she told Halo she didn’t feel good and collapsed. He caught her and put her in the truck. I thought she was just asleep, but she wouldn’t completely wake up.”

“Did she hit her head?”

“No,” Halo said. “Her head landed on my stomach.”

“All right. I need to look her over, so you two can wait in the hall.”

“I’m not hurt,” I mumbled.

“What was that, honey?” Cora asked, gently placing her hand on my cheek.

“I’m not hurt,” I repeated.

“Ah,” Cora said knowingly and patted my hand. “She’s in a bit of shock, but I know just what to do. You boys go handle your business. The girls and I will see to Whitney.”

“It was Nathaniel Wood. I’ll be back after I kill him,” Stone whispered next to my ear before he gently kissed my cheek. “I won’t be long.”

23

STONE

Ileft Whitney with Cora and ran into Sin in the hallway.

“Is she okay?” he asked.

“She will be. Your mom thinks she’s in shock.”

“Move it or lose it, motherfuckers!” Hadley shouted seconds before she barreled past us.

“We’re ready downstairs,” Sin said.