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If CJ lets on that he hears us making an escape, he doesn’t say a word. The man continues to tremble and cry, ignoring both of us. Within minutes, she and I are both creeping out of the tent.
Stacey is still wailing in pain, but there are more voices that can be heard in the distance, lanterns bobbing near them. I grab Kristen’s hand, tugging for her to follow me to Dez’s tent. Fumbling around for a weapon, I locate a thick stick before unzipping the tent. When I peek inside, Jace isn’t there, but Dez’s blurry form is sitting up, peering my way.
“It’s me,” I say, crawling toward her. “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”
“Ronan!” She throws her arms around me, squeezing my neck. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Gone. Raegan stabbed CJ. She took Sadie and the boys with her. This is our chance to get the hell out of here.”
A hysterical laugh bubbles out of her before she’s dressing with incredible speed. Once she’s ready, I exit the tent with her on my heels. The three of us stand near the tent in the pouring rain, considering our next option.
“She’s dead,” Owen hollers, anguish in his voice. “My baby girl is fucking dead!”
Holy shit.
Did Raegan kill Mya?
“We have to go. Now,” I hiss, grabbing Dez’s hand in mine. “Kristen, you have to lead the way. As far away from those lanterns as possible.”
She starts toward the dark forest between two thick pines, the both of us following after. I may not be able to see well without my glasses, but Dez can’t see anything at all. She’s relying on me to get her to safety.
I have to do this.
I will do this.
“I’m scared,” Dez whispers, voice shaking. “What if they catch us?”
“They won’t,” I promise.
I sure as hell hope I don’t break that promise.
Kristen stumbles over something, causing both me and Destiny to crash into her. The three of us scramble back to our feet. The shouts and voices behind us feel louder.
They’ve discovered us gone.
Fuck.
I chance a look over my shoulder. Lanterns bob wildly toward us. Whipping back around, I try not to focus on them gaining on us and instead run as fast as we can. Branches slap at us and tug at our clothes, but we don’t stop.
We can’t stop.
“There!” a voice yells.
My skin crawls at the sound of the men drawing closer. We can’t let them get to us. No way in hell. Kristen starts to stumble again, but I drop my stick to grab onto her backpack. She keeps going, but I’m left defenseless now.
Dez cries out when a branch snags her hair, nearly ripping her out of my grip. I stop long enough to untangle her before dragging her away once more. The forest lights up behind us as they close in.
This can’t happen.
Please, God.
Destiny screams seconds before she’s yanked from my grip. I swivel around, looking for yet another branch, only to see her being wrapped in the arms of Jace. She kicks out and bellows, clawing at him to let her go.
“Dez!” I cry out, abandoning Kristen to help my sister. “Let her go!”
Behind me, Kristen screams as someone grunts. There’s a struggle, but right now my focus is on freeing my sister. I charge for Jace, tackling them both to the ground. He grunts and I’m able to loosen his grip on Destiny. From behind them, I see two male figures rushing our way to assist them.
Jace manages to scramble back to his feet, jerking my sister to him. The two men approach, backing him up. I stand in the pouring rain, panting and utterly defeated. Could I find a stick big enough to hit them with?
