Page 146 of Play Pretend

I yanked my keys from my pocket as I sprinted for the truck. I barely unlocked it before I yanked the door open, and sped out of the lot, my tires kicking up rocks. I fishtailed out onto the road, my hand trembling as I soared down the highway.

Fuck.

Braydon? Who the fuck was that?

I slammed my hand into the steering wheel. I couldn’t be that far behind them.

Where was this guy taking her? Was he alone? A million thoughts rushed through my mind as I pressed harder on the gas. Way in the distance I saw red brake lights, and I just knew it was them. I held my phone between my ear and shoulder, listening as Willow tried to make conversation.

I reached for the glovebox and pulled out my work phone. Toby’s number was on speed dial, and he answered on the first ring.

“Track Willow’s phone,” I said, blurting out the number. He didn’t ask any questions. My fingers drummed against the steering wheel as I listened to his typing. “Hurry the fuck up. Someone took her!”

“It looks like she’s headed for Blackrock Bay,” he said. “Want me to contact Blackrock Bay PD?”

“Yeah, and EMS. I don’t know what the fuck will happen.”

“On it.”

I heard him speaking into another phone, but he never hung up. It took me a moment to realize I couldn’t see the brake lights anymore. Where the hell had they gone? I peered down side streets as I passed them, but nothing.

Where was she?

My stomach churned with every passing second. I felt like I was moments away from being sick. I’d never felt this amount of fear in my entire life. With Trinity, it was helplessness. With the break-in, it washelplessness. But now…now it was pure terror.

“Toby!” I shouted. “Where is she?”

“I can’t see an exact location,” he said, his voice loud. “But she’s in Blackrock Bay. She’s only about fifteen minutes ahead of you.”

“Fifteen minutes is a long fucking time,” I snarled.

“Blackrock Bay PD is en route.”

“I always hated living on the bottom floor,” Willow said, her voice far away.

Bottom floor. That usually meant an apartment.

Okay.

Okay.

I took a deep breath. I had to keep a level head if I wanted to save her. My palms were sweaty, the phone nearly slipping from my hand as I gripped it tighter.

“EMS en route,” Toby said. “I’m on my way, too.”

“What? No?—”

“I’m on my way,” he repeated firmly.

I took a shaky breath. I couldn’t argue with him—I wouldn’t.

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” a man’s voice cut through the phone, and my heart leapt into my throat. “Only two months. But in that time, I feel like I’ve really gotten to know you. But then—then you chose that fucking sheriff guy overme, your soulmate.”

My stomach dropped.

This was my fault? I shook my head. No, it wasn’tmyfault. It was this guy’s fault—he was unhinged. He wasn’t mentally stable.

Who the fuck was he?

---