Page 38 of Haunted Prey

“Anything?” she asked him, sliding the window down.

“Nope.” His eyes flitted over to me. “I told Liam if he betrays you, he betrays all of us. Meaning he won’t be hearing from me again either.”

“Hell yeah, same here,” Lena assured.

“Thank you,” I said, grateful. Unease twisted in my gut, and I tried not to let my mind race with all the shitty what-ifs. I was anxious, wondering if Liam’s people didn’t show up, somehow, the Severfalls security would. Thankfully, Lena offered me a Xanax on the way over.

Too bad it was nothing like the Lulladex. I shuddered at my craving for that drug.

A black SUV drove by. “He’s here,” Jamie mumbled. “Stay in the car. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

We waited as he left, my hand gripping the handle of the door in case a group of feds were coming for me.

Several minutes went by before he returned.

“It’s safe,” he said. “Just him. He’ll be waiting by the playground.” He paused when he saw my face, then said, “If you don’t want to go…”

“No. I’m good.” I opened the door and stepped out. Lena gave me a nod of reassurance as I closed the door behind me.

“We’ll be right here, waiting,” she said. “If we see anything, I’ll call.”

I nodded and then followed Jamie down the path.

We passed through a small wooded area that led to a playground situated in front of a field. At another end, close to the second lot, was a basketball court. As we walked into the playground toward the field, I scanned the tree line, expecting any moment to see men in blue funneling out.

No one did, but I kept my guard up. We got to the edge of the playground where Liam waited for me on a bench.

Our eyes locked. I forced one foot in front of the other as Jamie walked beside me.

When we closed the distance, he rose. Jamie was the first to speak. He greeted Liam while I stood there in silence.

“I’ll be here,” Jamie said. He put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it, before he walked away.

I took in Liam’s dark raincoat and jeans, wondering if he had his gun hidden and strapped to his belt. The same one he’d used to shoot Emery. He had dark circles under his eyes, mirroring my own. His arm was wrapped like mine, resting in a sling. Perhaps his shoulder was still healing from the knife wound too.

“Hey,” he said after a long pause.

“Hey,” I repeated, my voice almost cracking.

“Would you like to sit?” He gestured toward the bench. A laptop bag rested on one side, taking up some space.

I stared at it, feeling an urge to pounce, before glancing at him. “No thanks.”

“I heard about Severfalls. That you ran away.”

I shifted on my feet. “Yeah. I didn’t like it there.”

He nodded as if that was an acceptable answer. And I wondered now what he knew that I didn’t. “They took you away before I knew where. I wished I could have talked to you before then, but…you know…being stabbed and all.”

My eyes flitted to his arm. “Was it really bad?”

“Needed surgery and some physical therapy but, all in all, doctors say I’ll make a full recovery, should be able to use my arm sooner than expected.”

It was my turn to nod. “Great.”

He looked at mine with concern. “What happened to yours?”

“A security guard pulled it too hard while I was escaping.”

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