Page 138 of Freefall

“Baby,” I say softly. She groans. “I’m here.” I slice through the rope binding her wrists. She whimpers as I free them, the skin raw beneath the fibers.

“Nate,” she whispers as her eyes flutter open.

“I’m here,” I say again, as I continue to work through the rope around her waist. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

“I didn’t know.” Her voice shakes. “TJ said there was a photoshoot with some wealthy family, and then he…”

Her voice trails off as tears leak down her face. I freeze as it all clicks into place. TJ—Harper’s friend from school. The guy she’s mentioned a dozen fucking times. The one who’s a friend and colleague and who…fuck. He’s been around Daisy.

TJ is… Taylor.

I reach around her ankles, but my hands are shaking now. “Harper, look at me.”

Her eyes snap up to mine.

“Did he do anything to you?”

Her face crumples, and a vicious wave of rage tears through my chest. I fight to get the next words out.

“Did he touch you?”

She knows I don’t mean when he hit her with the gun.

“No.” She shakes her head quickly. “But he put something in the water. I drank some and then I couldn’t…everything just went black.”

Mothefucker. He drugged her.

For a second, the entire forest disappears. All I can see is Taylor. What he did back then and what I should have done to him. What I’m going to do to him now. Anger burns through me so fast my vision blurs. I shove myself up, every rational thought drowned beneath my need to find him.

Destroy him.

But before I can even take a step, a boom reverberates through the forest. I spin toward the sound, just in time to see Jace jerk backward. For a second he remains standing, then bright red liquid blooms across his shirt.

“Jace!” I run over to him.

He drops to one knee.

“Don’t leave her,” he croaks, blood spilling over his lips. “She needs you.”

I look up just as Taylor raises the gun, but I hit him before he can aim. We crash to the dirt and the gun skids away. My fist crashes into his jaw again and again. His head snaps sideways as blood sprays across the leaves.

He laughs. “No friend to hold me down this time.”

I hit him again.

“You took three years from me, motherfucker.”

Spit and blood bubble from his mouth as I continue raining blows, but it doesn't stop him from talking.

“You took my daughter.”

My fist freezes for half a second.

His daughter. Jesus. I heard Jackie had a kid, but I had hoped it wasn’t a product of that night.

“You raped her,” I sneer, driving an elbow into his face. He rolls, trying to reach the gun, but I grab the back of his jacket and drag him back.

Behind me, Harper is fully alert and screaming my name.