I should’ve.
I guess… I thought we’d have more time. I thought the happily-ever-after part would last more than just one night.
I was wrong.
* * *
Wakingup beside a stark-naked Josephine Valentine is as close to heaven as I’ve ever experienced. For a long while, I just stare at her — taking her in like a piece of artwork hanging on the wall of a museum.
Every freckle.
Every eyelash.
Every plane of her face.
Every curve of her body.
Until last night, I had no idea it was possible to lose yourself so completely in someone else. Physically, emotionally. Even spiritually. All I can think about is getting back inside her. Seeing that look in her eyes when she’s about to explode into fragments under my hands.
A faint chirp makes me sit up. Moving quietly, so I don’t disturb her, I fish my pants from the floor and pull my phone from the pocket. My eyes widen when I see the screen.
17 missed calls.
4 text messages.
I click open the first one. It’s from my father.
COME HOME NOW. URGENT.
My heart begins to pound. When I click open the second message, it stops entirely. It’s from Rico, with a timestamp about 25 minutes after the one from Pa.
I WARNED YOU AND YOUR BROTHER NOT TO FUCK WITH ME, KID.
The third message is a picture. In it, I see my parents duct taped to metal chairs. I have no idea where they are. All I know is, they look terrified as they stare into the camera.
The final message chills me to the bone.
1318 CABOT STREET
11AM
COME ALONE
NO POLICE OR THEY DIE
Fear spikes through me as I check the time.
It’s already 10:35.
I have 25 minutes to get there. And I don’t even know where ‘there’ is, yet. I shoot one last look at Jo as I grab my clothes and start running.
Chapter Twenty-Five
JOSEPHINE
When I wake up,Archer is gone.
I’m alone in the Hinckley cabin. The boat rocks lightly beneath me as the tide comes in. I sit up, throwing an arm across my chest to cover myself.