Page 21 of Twisted Empire

“Tatum?” My voice was hoarse with emotion. I needed her to be here. Needed her to make it.

A rustling sound came from somewhere deep within the hollow, and Tatum emerged a second later, her hair tangled and her hands smudged with dirt. Moonlight cut through the sparse canopy in this part of the woods, leaving stripes across her cheeks from the shadows of the leaves. It looked like war paint.

“Sorry,” she said. “I was totally exhausted after the mad dash through the forest. I must’ve fallen asleep for a second.”

“You gave me a fucking heart attack,” I muttered, dropping the flashlight and pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank god it worked. You made it.”

“Yeah. Everyone was so distracted by tonight’s feast in the west courtyard that no one even noticed me sneaking out of the mansion. No guards, not even one of the other girls. How did it go on your end?” she said, her voice slightly muffled by my chest.

“Just as we hoped. They all thought it was you until the last second. Then as soon as they realized it was Mellie, they freaked out and started running around like fucking headless chickens. I managed to creep away without anyone seeing me.”

“I wish I could’ve seen Mellie’s face when she was there,” she murmured, pulling back and flashing me a wry smile.

“It was priceless. I might’ve actually felt a little bad for her if she hadn’t been so nasty to you.” I gestured toward the hollow. “Did you bring anything? If so, you should get it. We need to start moving as soon as possible.”

She nodded. “I brought a little bag of stuff. Some warm clothing, socks, toothbrush. Just the essentials, in case you forgot anything.”

She crouched down and ducked back into the hollow to get it. I nervously paced around the small clearing as I waited. Then I froze. Coming from somewhere to my left was the telltale sound of shoes crunching over dried leaves.

“Tatum, stay where you are,” I hissed.

I obviously wasn’t loud enough. She emerged from the hollow as the footsteps drew closer, her expression completely oblivious.

“Shit, you found her!” said a masculine voice a few seconds later. “Goddammit. I thought I’d be first for once.”

Tatum let out a yelp of horror, and I stepped in front of her protectively as the man emerged from the shadows.

It was Matthew Towne.

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