Page 81 of Can You Take It?

But he doesn’t turn back. My words fall on deaf ears as he marches out of sight. Desperation wells up inside me, and I run a hand through my hair, cursing myself for oversharing. How could I have been so stupid?

The worn concrete floor of the warehouse greets my footsteps as I walk in. The silence is broken only by the creaking of rusty metal and the soft shuffle of my own movements. Luna is there, tied to a chair, a piece of tape over her mouth. Martin’s handiwork, no doubt. If he’s gone to such lengths, Luna must’ve posed a real threat to him.

I approach Luna and remove the tape from her mouth.

“You bitch,” Luna glares at me. “What the hell do you think you're doing?”

I don’t answer her right away. Instead, I snatch her phone from the nearby surface and turn it on. Martin did a good job at cracking the passcode. I can see all her messages, her calls, everything.

“I’m going to call Richard,” I inform her, the phone held like a weapon. “And you’re going to tell him you’re fine, enjoying a fucking vacation.”

“Do you really think he’s that stupid?”

I level a cold stare at her. “Do as I say, or I’ll make sure the next thing you see is the barrel of this gun, and I won’t hesitate to use it.” I emphasize my point by tapping the weapon against my thigh.

“Fine.”

I dial Richard’s number and put the call on speaker. With Martin’s help, I’ve managed to change Luna’s phone location, ensuring it leads straight to Hollowbrook. The plan is to convince the FBI that Luna is far away. The phone connects, and Richard’s worried voice fills the air.

“Luna? Are you okay?”

Luna gives me a sidelong glance, a silent question in her eyes. I nod subtly, urging her to play along. She sighs into the phone, feigning exhaustion.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just needed some time away.”

Richard doesn’t seem entirely convinced. “Are you sure? Your car was found in the woods with a dead body inside.”

Luna’s eyes widen in shock, and for a moment, she’s genuinely taken aback. She shoots a glance in my direction.

“Holy fuck,” Luna exclaims, her act now tinged with genuine surprise. “A dead body? What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to piece it together. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Luna looks at me again, a silent communication passing between us. I nod subtly, urging her to continue the act. She turns her attention back to the phone.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I have no idea about any of this. I’m just as shocked as you are. Maybe it was a prank or something.”

“Luna, this sounds serious. I need to know you’re safe and that you didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“Seriously, Reynolds? You think I’d be involved in something like this? I’ve no idea about any dead body. I heard a loud noise, so I got out of the car to check it out. When I came back, the damn thing was gone.”

I watch the exchange. Luna’s acting and cover-up skills are commendable, but Richard isn’t easily swayed.

I hang up the phone, cutting off Richard's persistent questions. That guy sure knows how to poke his nose where it doesn’t belong. I turn back to the task at hand, slicing a strip of tape to cover Luna’s mouth again.

“You don’t have to do this,” she pleads. “Really, you don’t.”

I don't bother replying instead I focus on the sound of ripping the tape off the roll with a satisfying tear.

“I’m not your enemy, Izel. I get it, you’ve been through some shit. But I’m not here to make things worse.”

I turn to her, raising an eyebrow. “You seriously don’t have any survival skills, do you?”

“You’re being unreasonable,” she protests. “If I wanted to expose you, I wouldn’t have lied to Richard. I’m on your side here.”

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “Trust isn’t exactly something I’m overflowing with these days.”

Trust is a joke. How can you believe in the goodness of people when they’ve shown you nothing but cruelty.

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