Page 201 of Burn the Wild

We ride.

For Reese.

“Her chalet?” Wyatt shouts from beside me, racing Pepita like hell.

“No. The lake.”

I know where she is. Unexplainable. Inevitable. That tug in my gut that will always lead me to my girl.

I eye my little brother. “Head on a fuckin’ swivel, kid.” He’s helping me out, but if anything happens to him…

Wyatt nods.

The pistol on my side slaps. Rain pelts us, harsh and disorienting. Sunlight struggles to slip through the clouds. Either way, the light is dim, but we have enough to get us there.

I shut my brain off, so I can’t think about what that motherfucker is doing to Reese. I focus on speed. On the pump of my heart, on that ache in my gut that tells me she’s near. She’s still alive.

We wind our way through the trees, parallel to the chalets. Even with the mud and broken tree branches hindering our path, Eephus is fast. Almost like he knows everything is at stake.

Goddamn everything.

When we round the bend to the lake, I stop and jump from Eephus. I don’t wait for Wyatt. I take off, crashing through the brush and the high grass.

Don’t be too late, please don’t be too fucking late, I beg the universe.

I sprint toward the lake, my breath coming in harsh gasps of air.

And yet, I don’t stop.

I break out of the forest and spot Gavin. He stands chest-deep in the lake, cackling at the sky like a maniac. But there’s no sign of Reese.

My heart drops.

No.

Rage blooms inside of me. Everything I see is red.

I sprint, splashing into the water. “Where is she?” I scream.

Surprised, Gavin turns. Then he laughs maniacally.

I grab the collar of his shirt, shaking him. “Where the fuck is she?”

Murderous rage spreads through my body. Fuck the gun. I want bone on bone. Blood on blood.I wind up my arm like it’s the best pitch of my life and let it fucking rip. Right into the asshole’s face. His left cheek collapses. My knuckles bust. The blood, the pain, feels good. I could keep going. Kill him without batting an eye. Tear his throat out. Torture him for everything he’s done to Reese.

But I have to find her.

“Tell me where the fuck she is,” I yell, shaking him.

“She’s mine!” he howls. “If I can’t have her, no one can.”

Panic creeps up the back of my neck.

I follow his eyeline.

Beneath the water.

God no.

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