Page 153 of Always Be an Us

It's not just Rick's men here. There's another crew of people and Rick might be in danger himself.

As I debate what to do next, I feel the touch of metal on my skull.

Chapter Forty-Five

Emma

I pace up and down the length of the hallway. The silence heightens my tension and sharpens my senses. I can almost smell the metallic scent of the cell bars and can almost hear the racing heartbeats of the people in the room.

Or maybe that's just my own heart trying to pound out of my chest.

The dim lighting and stuffiness make me so claustrophobic I want to scream.

It’s been nearly an hour since Declan left and I have a bad feeling in my stomach.

Not to mention the guilt weighing me down.

Amelia has been kidnapped and in a way, all this is my fault. Maybe if I hadn’t pushed so much for the renovation, none of this would have happened. Or if I hadn’t found the damn Rainbow Pearls in the basement.

Why did I have snoop around? Why couldn't I just let things be?

If anything happens to Amelia, I'll never forgive myself.

I try to call Rick, but he doesn’t answer. Maybe it's for the best. I was hoping maybe I could talk him down from whatever he's doing, but I also don't want to ruin Declan's plans.

Plus I don't think Rick would listen to me anyway. It seems I don't know him as well as I thought, because I never in a million years expected him to do anything like this.

A boom of thunder punctuates the thought and my mood. It’s going to storm.

But somehow, it feels like a storm already swept through me and I’m left to deal with the devastation on my own.

A sigh has me turning my head toward Officer Jensen. He’s at his desk, with a phone in his ear, likely on hold. He’s made a few phone calls already to law enforcement in surrounding towns and assures me that help is on the way. As he waits, he drums his fingers on the table, next to where his gun is lying.

He looks up to find me watching his gun and shoots me a wry smile.

"Don’t worry hon," he says. "I may be old but I still remember how to work this thing."

I smile back weakly. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. I can’t remember the last time there was anything remotely close to a shoot-out in Laketown and even hunters like Poppy noted the distinct lack of wild animals. My grandpa has a gun too, but he's never used it, so I'm not even sure if it's real or decorative.

The thought of my grandpa reminds me of Rick and once again, my mood takes a nosedive.

I sigh and turn around to pace to the other end of the hall, catching sight of Nate behind the bar. He’s sitting against the wall, his head buried in his hands. He’s been in pretty much the same stance since Declan left and I haven’t tried to talk to him since then.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m furious at him for being involved in this, or because I’m scared about what else he’ll reveal about a man I once considered family.

But now I approach him, folding my hands over the bars, and say, "Why, Nate?"

His shoulders jump a little, although I don’t think it’s from surprise. He must have heard my footsteps coming. He reacts more like I hit him, and I hear him draw in a loud breath.

"It wasn’t supposed to be like this." The quiet declaration bounces around the small cell, a mild echo following it.

"What was it supposed to be like then?" I ask. "Please explain it to me. Because I don’t know why you or Rick would do this, would go to these lengths. Did you need money that badly?"

His shoulders lift slightly, before sagging once more in the saddest shrug I’ve ever witnessed. "I don’t know."

"Then tell me what you do know." I try not to allow frustration into my tone, even with the building anger inside me.

At the end of the day, it's not Nate's fault. Rick holds the lion's share of the blame and I’m trying very hard not to take this whole thing personally, but it feels personal. The betrayal hurts. "Tell me how this started."

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