“It’s Max,” I say, turning to Jace and Devin. “Max Byers. He got out of prison somehow and went after Tessa.”
“We need to get back home,” Devin says quickly. “Now.”
Max is a dangerous man, probably made more dangerous from his time locked up. If he’s been targeting Tessa, stalking her for months, he might even know that she’s living off campus. He might know that we just left her alone.
My stomach is in knots as we leave Ryan, racing back to the car and punching it to get home as fast as possible.
The second we step through the door, we know immediately that we’re too late.
Max has Tessa.
46
TESSA
As I stir in my sleep, I turn slightly, hugging the pillow that smells like Alec to my chest. Last night was wonderful, a physical representation of the tender new relationship between me and the boys. I know they’re worried about everything going on but I feel safe around them, protected.
The last vestiges of sleep cling to me as I hear low murmuring from the living room. I hope they managed to get some sleep last night. We stayed up late studying, but I finally conked out around midnight.
A smile plays on my lips and I drift back to sleep, thinking about how nice it is to have a moment of peace amid everything going on lately.
But the peace doesn’t last.
Something cold and hard presses against my temple, jolting me awake. My heart slams in my chest, pulse racing as I blink and see the figure standing before me.
It’s Max. And he’s got a gun in his hand.
My first instinct is to scream but he slaps a hand over my face, my cheek stinging with the contact.
“Get up,” he growls, his voice low and terrifying.
I can barely breathe, but my body reacts on instinct, pushing myself upright before I fully comprehend what’s happening. Every nerve in my body screams at me to run, to fight, to do something. But the gun stays firmly pressed against me. One wrong move, and it’s all over.
Max yanks me out of bed, shoving me toward the door. “We’re going for a ride.”
I’m shaking, my mind scrambling for a way out, but there’s nothing. I can’t scream. There’s no one to hear me. The boys aren’t home, obviously. They left me all alone, at the mercy of this madman.
Cold air hits me as we step outside, and I shiver, but it’s not from the chill. Max forces me into the back seat of his car, the barrel of the gun pressed so hard against my ribs it’s painful. The car speeds off, tearing away from the safety of campus and the city.
The drive feels endless, the roads becoming more isolated. Trees blur past, and with every mile, hope slips further and further away. Eventually, we pull up to an old cabin, deep in the woods.
My stomach churns. This is the kind of place you never want to be dragged to. It’s far from civilization, too far for anyone to hear me if I scream.
Max yanks me out of the car and drags me toward the cabin. My shoulder slams into the doorframe as we enter, but I barely feel the pain. My whole body is numb with fear.
Inside, the air is stale, the cabin cold and dark. He shoves me inside, frog-marching me into one of the bedrooms where he pushes me down into a chair, then sets about tying me up.
“Why are you doing this?” I beg, my voice shaking. “Why me? I wasn’t the only one who helped put you away!”
Max pulls a knife from his pocket, the blade catching the faint light. His smile twists into something dark and cruel. “You know why.”
His words hang heavy between us, loaded with meaning. I swallow hard and nod, my mind reeling as I feel like I finally understand.
Then he lunges at me. His knife stabs into my shoulder, and pain explodes, white-hot and blinding. I scream, the sound ripped from me before I can stop it.
Max’s eyes light up with sick satisfaction before he yanks it out. Blood pours down my arm, soaking my shirt. I gasp, the pain sudden and intense to the point it almost feels cold again. My whole body trembles as he steps back, twirling the gun like this is some kind of twisted joke.
“I’m going to enjoy hurting you,” he says, a look of wild glee in his blue eyes.