“I love you, Chance,” I whisper into the darkness, hoping that he already knows the words I’ll never get to say to him again. And that, whatever he does, he stays the hell away from here. I have no doubt in my mind Damian will do everything he promised if Chance ever tries to save me and the thought robs me of breath. I’ll remain here in this hell as long as the people I love are safe.
“Carly?” a soft, melodic voice whispers through the dark and my head jerks up, my heart racing as I scan the room.
“Ivy?”
Rosie tentatively steps out of a little nook in the wall and I sigh, dropping my head back down. She races over to me and reaches into the pocket of her apron, pulling out a small utility knife.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know where your sister is.”
I glance up. “What are you doing down here?”
“Freeing you,” she states, looking down at the knife in her hand like it should be obvious. Maybe it should be, but my mind isn’t performing at one hundred percent right now.
“How long have I been here?”
Her gaze flicks to the watch on her wrist. “Thirteen hours, give or take.”
Thirteen hours…
Chance must be frantic.
“If they catch you down here…” My voice trails off and I shake my head. I don’t need to tell her what they’ll do because she probably knows better than I do.
“Don’t worry about me. You have to get out of here, Carly. Now.”
“They took Ivy somewhere. I need to find her.”
Shaking her head, she reaches up and cuts the rope. My arms drop like they’re filled with lead, taking me down with them as pain floods my body and I scream.
“Shh,” she whispers, kneeling next to me as I whimper and sob on the cold concrete floor. She cuts my wrists free before slipping the knife back into her pocket. “We have to go.”
I nod, pushing up off the floor as my body shakes uncontrollably and I wonder if I’ll even make it to the door. Rosie wraps her arm around my waist and helps keep me up as I stumble across the room. When we reach the door, she cracks it open and peeks out for a moment before opening it all the way. We pause again, silence greeting us and after a moment, we ascend the stairs with my heart pounding in my ears.
“Where would he take Ivy?” I ask when we reach the hallway at the top of the stairs and she shakes her head, her gaze darting from one side of the hall to the other.
“I don’t know but you don’t have time to look for her. Julian’s father stopped by and it’s the only reason they’re not down in that pit with you right now.” She drags me down the hall and I’m not strong enough to fight her no matter how badly I want to turn around and search for my sister.
“I can’t leave without my sister.”
“You have to,” she hisses, pulling me along with her as she marches to the front door and I struggle but it doesn’t slow her down. “I’ll look for Ivy, I promise.”
“No. I’m not leaving without her,” I snap, my voice getting louder and her eyes widen as she presses her hand to my lips. Damian’s voice drifts into the hallway and my heart stops.
“It was nice seeing you, too, Mr. Henshaw. We’ll have to grab a drink next time.”
“There’s no time,” Rosie gasps as we reach the front door and she pulls it open.
“Ivy. I need to get Ivy.”
Rosie’s face crumples as she shoves me out onto the porch. “I’ll find her, I promise. Now please go before you get us all killed.”
She shuts the door in my face and pain pierces my chest, radiating out to the rest of my body as a lump forms in my throat and I sink to my knees. Looking back up at the house, I clutch my throat and cry, unable to move.
I can’t leave her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chance
The sky in front of the truck explodes in yellow, orange, and pink as the first ray of sunlight peeks over the horizon and we turn down the two-mile-long red dirt road that leads to Julian’s house because, of course, this fucker lives on a hundred-year-old plantation in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for abducting the love of my life and holding her hostage. Unfortunately for him, it’s also a pretty good spot to sink a knife into his bitch ass neck… if we weren’t following behind the damn swat team Rodriguez called in, that is. I mean, I appreciate all the help, but it will limit my revenge plans.
I shift in my seat and even with the fresh morning breeze blowing in through the open window, sweat beads at my forehead. I unclench my fist before clenching it again and shaking my head. All night long, I tried everything to not think about what Carly’s going through right now, what the fucker is doing to her, but I’m exhausted and it’s harder to push those thoughts away now. With a sigh, I scrub my hand over my face and try to breathe through the weight that’s been sitting on my chest since I realized she was missing. It’s been fifteen long fucking hours since I last saw my girl and the unknown is killing me. I’ve seen the evidence of Julian’s depravity on Ivy’s face, but I have no clue what he’ll do, how far he’ll go with Carly, to get what he wants.
“Can you drive any fucking faster, Grandpa?” I snap at Kodiak. He flicks an annoyed glance in my direction and sighs. Blaze decided I was too amped up to drive, which was probably a good decision since I would be taking this road at one hundred miles an hour instead of twenty. Still doesn’t make it any easier to sit here while the woman I love is in danger.
“No, I can’t. And you need to chill the fuck out before we go rushing in there.”
Fuck him.
Gritting my teeth, I turn to the window and my mind drifts back to yesterday morning, remembering the blissful smile on her face as I was getting dressed to leave. The peace that settled around us because we were finally together, done running, done fighting it… just together. Her whispered words, Go. We’ll be fine here, ring in my head and my throat feels tight. She wasn’t fine. She was just fucking gone and it’s like someone reached into my chest and ripped my soul out. In a split second, everything was ripped away from me and I’d rather die than ever experience anything like it again.
Not only did I royally fuck up on keeping Carly safe, but I also lost her sister. As soon as Rodriguez got there, we jumped into planning mode – looking at floor plans of Julian’s house, the surrounding area, and everything Streak could find on guard schedules. I was so focused on getting Carly back that I forgot to watch out for her sister and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She disappeared into the night, leaving behind two letters – one for me and one for her sister. It’s gonna break her heart when I tell her. I slip my hand into the pocket of my jeans and run my fingers along the one for Carly. Didn’t Ivy trust that I wouldn’t stop until Carly was home safe with me again? Or did she just think I was incapable?
Either way, I failed her.
“You don’t understand,” I hiss, my knee bouncing as the top of the house comes into view. As we get closer, I notice something on the large front porch and I tilt my head to the side as I study it. We get closer and I realize it’s a woman on her knees and my heart lurches in my chest.
What the fuck?