He runs. Small legs pumping across the grass, disappearing around the side of the house into whatever lies beyond, and I break down. The pain inside now is worse than anything physical.
The door bursts open, and I turn to face them. Beau is there and Reese is behind him with a black eye. Both of them see the empty chairs. The ropes on the floor. The open window.
Beau’s eyes snap to me.
I don’t run. Because if I run, they chase me. And if they chase me, they might find Wyatt. I have to buy him time to get away. So I stay. I plant my feet on the hardwood floor of this house, with no plan beyond this single, absolute truth…
Wyatt is out.
And as long as he’s running, I will stand here and be the reason they’re not chasing him. Because that little boy deserves to live. And I will sacrifice my own life for his.
Beau stares at me. Something flickers across his face, surprise, maybe. That I’m still here. That I didn’t climb out behind the boy.
“That was a mistake,” Beau seethes, closing the distance between us.
“I don’t care.” I hold his stare, and he stops right in front of me, towering over me to try to scare me. I’ve had enough of men trying to frighten me. “I hope Hunter cuts you up for this,” I say, full of venom.
He takes a step forward.
I don’t flinch. I don’t even walk back.
Because Hunter Sterling married a woman who doesn’t run. And if anything happens to me in this house, he’ll know I stayed so his son could live. And that will be enough. “Reese shouldhave finished the damn job the first time and shut your whore mouth up for good.”
Before my brain can react to what he says, his hand hurtles towards my face. When it connects, my head snaps back, pain erupting through my jaw and into my skull as I hurtle towards the coffee table. Worse than what he did to me in the truck. This fucking kills.
“Beau! Have you lost your fucking mind? Blackmail doesn’t work if she’s dead.” I can hear Reese shouting. But the blood thumping in my ears is louder.
I use every ounce of power in me to hold out my hand. Reese. Might. “Help,” I croak, my voice weaker than my body.
My eyes are heavy, and a warm liquid trickles over my eyes. I can’t move. “Lola! Stay awake. Fuck. Lola!”
I can’t talk. I can’t stay awake.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
HUNTER
Song- Burning Down,Alex Warren
We’re not even five minutes out from the pinned address when I see him.
A speck on the road.
The highway is empty out here. No houses. No cars. Just scrubland and fence posts. The damn heat shimmering off the tarmac in waves. And in the middle of it, running down the center line, is a child.
My kid. My Wyatt. On his own.
My heart stops. “Ace. Stop the truck.”
“What—”
“Stop the fucking truck!” I scream.
Ace slams the brakes. The truck fishtails and comes to a halt fifty yards from the figure on the road.
I’m out before the vehicle stops moving. My boots hit the floor, and I’m flat out sprinting to my boy. The heat is hitting me like a wall, and the road is blinding in the afternoon sun, but I can see him now.
He’s running in his favorite dinosaur sneakers. His T-shirt is torn at the shoulder. His face is red and streaked with tears and dirt. And he’s screaming. “Help!”