Page 79 of Unleash You

“Charlie comes back, and hours later Tyler gets shot?” I asked. “There’s no way this isn’t a coincidence.”

“Agreed.”

“Derek stay put. Matt and I will handle this.”

“The hell you are.” Dom leaned on the desk to glare at the screen and us. “Mia is involved in all this. She’s like my little sister. I need to be there. What the fuck is she even doing with Tyler?”

“I have no idea who Mia is, but trust me, we can help. We...” Too many people were getting tangled in this Venezuelan case. “Look, I can’t explain. Tyler needs us right now.”

“Oh fuck. Is this more marine stuff you can’t talk about?” Derek rose to his feet to face Dom. They exchanged a meaningful glance before Derek turned back to us. “Take my chopper. But guys, if you don’t come back tomorrow, we’re flying out there.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” I killed the connection before they decided they wanted to play the heroes after all.”

“What’s the plan?” Zack asked. “You can’t just show up in New Jersey.”

“Why not? No one knows us there.” Matt stared at the screen. He was our logistics guy.

“We leave as soon as Derek’s bird is ready. Zack, you’re gonna have to stay and make sure Charlie doesn’t set foot in this house.”

“I can see why you’d want me to stay.” Zack rubbed the nape of his neck. His gaze darted from one end of the room to the other, as if considering his options. “But I’m coming with you.”

“You know.” I exhaled and turned to Matt. “I think it would be best if you fly back with Tyler and let me deal with Charlie.”

“The hell you are. We did this. All this shit followed us home because of a decision we all made. We finish this together.” The heat in his cheeks spread down to his neck.

Our phones beeped with our answer. The helicopter was ready for us. “We have ten minutes to pack and meet downstairs.”

21

But We're the Only Ones Here

Anabelle

“What do you think this is about now?” I asked Rebecca in the shower stall next to mine. “I know we left the city. Do you think we’re in New Jersey maybe? We didn’t go that far.”

I lived in the city for a few years. I was familiar with the area but definitely not an expert when it came to crossing the tunnel. They had blindfolds over our eyes when we came in, but this locker room looked very much as if it were part of some sort of gym.

Charlie had reached a new level of crazy. He’d kept Rebecca and me in Marcel’s condo in the meat-packing district for almost a week. At least, that was how many sleeps I’d counted. For the most part, he pretended I didn’t exist, while he treated Rebecca as if they were together, together.

Did Wesley get my text? Did he figure out Charlie had taken me to New York City? It’d been too many days. For all I knew, he’d given up looking for me. No, Wesley would never do that. Just as I’d never stop trying to escape.

As soon as Charlie had taken us to the apartment, Rebecca advised me to stay quiet and do as they said. She assured me that sooner or later, they’d let their guard down and we’d be able to make a run for it. That was how she’d managed to escape Marcel before. Except last time, it’d only taken him a couple of days to make a mistake.

My main worry was that no matter how many times I’d asked Charlie what he planned to do with me, he would just ignore me. Best case scenario, he’d leave me behind in the apartment like a forgotten old pair of shoes. He’d probably miss his shoes more than me. But worst case, he would do something to shut me up indefinitely.

I wiped my eyes and let the spray wash the tears. Charlie deserved to be in some kind of mental institution. The empty look in his eyes told me he didn’t quite grasp the gravity of what he was doing. Or that could just be me, yet again making excuses for him.

“Who the hell knows what they’re up to now. All I know is that I’m happy to be clean again.”

In the last several days, we’d only been allowed five minutes in the bathroom to wash up. The store-bought body wash and clean clothes were definitely an improvement. “How are you not freaking out?” I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a small gym towel around me.

“I’ve been here before.” She walked next to me down the line of shower stalls toward the changing rooms. “Your brother is obsessed with the idea of me. I think he envisions all this being like his own little kingdom where he controls everything. He likes being the big man. I’ve met so many people like that.”

“Sad little king of a sad little hill,” I mumbled. I’d read those words somewhere a long time ago, but they didn’t make sense until now.

“Exactly that.”

“That does sound like Charlie,” I said. “He seemed content in the jungle with all those men following his every command.”

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