Page 181 of Hard Knot

Someone actually tried to kidnap me?

Jessie — my supposedly dead best friend — just saved my life.

And apparently, I've been casually jogging through a legal murder zone.

"Elizabeth!"

Carter's voice carries through the trees, followed by the sound of multiple people crashing through the underbrush with zero regard for stealth. I turn just as they burst onto the path—Carter in the lead, looking ready to throw hands with the entire forest, Holmes with his gun already drawn, Felix furiously typing on a tablet while running —a skill I didn't know was possible—and James...

James looks like he's ready to burn the whole woods down.

They all screech to a halt at the sight of the body.

"What the actual fuck?" Carter eloquently summarizes the situation.

Holmes frowns at the screen Felix is holding, while Felix's fingers fly across his screen, probably hacking into every camera in a ten-mile radius. James makes a beeline for me, his hands cupping my face as he checks for injuries.

"I'm fine," I assure him, leaning into his touch. "Though you'll never believe who?—"

"You're bleeding," he cuts me off, his thumb ghosting over a scratch on my cheek I hadn't even noticed.

"That's from the leaves," I try to explain, but he's already shrugging out of his jacket to wrap around my shoulders. "James, I'm not in shock?—"

“Who shot the fucker?” Holmes asks in intrigue, and I guess Felix already found where I was with Jessie.

Probably have an image of the body already. So swift.

"Professional hit," Holmes announces. “Single shot, perfect placement. Whoever did this knows what they're doing."

Felix looks up from his tablet.

"No cameras in this sector. I’m using a drone right now. Otherwise, it’s a dead zone." His lips twist ironically. "Pun not intended."

"Because it's Dead Knot," I say, drawing their attention. "And apparently that name isn't just for show. It's literally a place where people can kill without consequences."

The silence that follows this revelation is deafening.

"And you've been running through here?" Carter's voice is dangerously quiet. "Alone? Because?"

"In my defense," I hold up my hands, "I didn't know it was actually deadly. I thought it was just, you know, dramatic campus naming. Like how the cafeteria is called 'The Hunger Games' because the food's terrible."

James makes a sound that might be a laugh or a sob.

"You're going to be the death of me."

“Maybe,” I shrug but I do take a second to admire each of them, realizing how they not only came together as a solid unit fast, but they actually came down to save me when this could not have even been a dangerous situation. “Thank you.”

They hear the depth of my sincerity, to which Carter comes over to hug me.

“Of course. We’ll always come for you, Abbie. Death can’t have what’s ours either.”

"Speaking of death," I continue, unable to hold back the news any longer, "you'll never guess who saved my life just now."

I’ll lighten the mood for now, but someone is out to hurt my pack in some way…and I’m their current target.

Flying Tensions And Heated Turbulence

~ELIZABETH~

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