Page 116 of Dare To Take

Pausing my music, I pin each of them with a glare. “Where is she?”

“Who are you looking for?” Lacy sashays toward me and smooths her hand up my chest. “Whoever it is, you’ll find me more interesting.”

I push her away from me. “Where. Is. She?”

None of them reply.

“Is she in her room?”

“I think I saw her leave about an hour ago,” Linda says before the other two hush her. “What? He’s going to find out anyway!”

Tina rolls her eyes. “She took off around eight. She was in a hurry. Maybe she was going to meet someone.”

I spin and walk back the way I came. Maintenance is coming up the stairs as I pass my floor, and I pause to tell them which room is mine and what needs doing. They nod and move past me, while I continue down to the exit. Three of the jocks are sitting on the low wall opposite the building—Brad, Kevin, and Evan. I veer toward them.

“Where did she go?”

Kevin frowns, while Brad and Evan exchange glances.

“Do not fucking test me right now.”

“I saw her outside Miles’ room earlier,” Brad offers.

“So, she was on our floor.”

“She had her coat, and that bag she carries everywhere. She seemed to be in a hurry.”

“She disappeared into the woods about forty minutes ago,” Evan adds. “Didn’t see her come back and we’ve been out here since eight-fifteen. She was running and looking over her shoulder.”

My head swings toward the woods. That means I know exactly where she is.

Kevin jumps to his feet. “Are you looking for her? Do you think she trashed your room? We can help you search if you like?”

“I don’t like.”

He keeps pace beside me as I walk across the grass. “Four of us searching will find her quicker than one.”

“I don’t need help.”

His hand lands on my arm. I stare down at it, then slowly lift my gaze to his face. “One.”

“What? Listen, we can look near the cemetery while you check the path that you jog along.”

“Two.”

“What are you counting for?”

“If I get to three and your fingers are still on my arm, I’m going to break them.”

He snatches his fingers away and doesn’t try to follow me when I continue toward the tree line. The first place I check is the cemetery, but it’s as empty as always. There’s no sign of her near the bench where I met her as Sin, which leaves the chapel.

I don’t go inside straight away. There are footprints in the snow, which tell me she’s here. They follow a path to the doors, but there isn’t a set coming out. I rest my palm against the wood, then slowly push it open and step inside the dim interior. I intentionally let my foot scrape across the stone floor, and her head jerks up from where she’s sitting in a corner near the altar.

“Get up.”

The book she’s reading drops to the floor, but she doesn’t move.

“I said get up.” My voice is soft, but she flinches and scrambles to her feet.

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