Page 188 of Teacher's Pet

"You’ve already banged her up, Jake," Roman says, voice low with restrained fury. "Which, honestly, you’ll be lucky if your brother doesn’t slit your throat the second he sees you-"

"Sees me?" Jake scoffs. "There’s no way you, or anyone else, is going to get to Ana in time. Her phone is with Noah. Her body is already damaged-"

With me?

My stomach turns.

I don’t have her damn phone.

"Maybe she can try and outrun us in the woods," Jake sighs mockingly. "But with the snow already coming down, I’d say what you hear now is the last you’ll ever hear of Anastasia Burns."

Something inside me snaps.

I yank the phone from Roman’s hand. "Listen here, you sick fuck. If you lay another finger on her-"

"You’ll what?" Jake laughs, pure malice dripping from every word. "Avenge her?" He tsks. "Once Walker and Cole have had their fun with her, I’ll make sure what happens next is… smooth. Painless." His voice drops into something dark and final. "It’s a pity you used Roman Briar to betray me. Hopefully, after tonight, you’ll learn what happens when you cross blood-"

"Jake-"

"Goodbye now."

Ana’s screams escalate. My blood turns to ice.

"Jake, fucking wait-"

The line goes dead.

My world tilts.

A surge of pure rage explodes through me, and I drive my fist into the rough bark of a tree settled next to me. A few heads turn, but I don’t care. My hands rake through my hair, my pulse hammering as Roman stays glued to his phone, fingers moving rapidly.

"What the hell could be so important?" I snap, my voice low and edged with frustration.

"My men got a lead on Walker and Cole’s car," Roman mutters, still typing. "They’re trying to pin down where it went after it left the lot. Jake was smart, he used them as a diversion so he could slip away with Ana."

My stomach twists.

Her phone.

She said I had her phone.

Frantically, I scroll through my screen, tapping into Find My iPhone. My heart pounds as I pray there’s a reason Jake said that. That Ana left me a way to find her.

Roman finally looks up. "What the hell are you doing now?"

"Jake said I had Ana’s phone," I murmur, my fingers shaking as I navigate the app. "I don’t. But she must’ve hidden it somewhere, knowing he was going to try something-"

The tracking map loads. My breath catches.

"Her phone is in the car with them," I whisper.

The dot moves, creeping closer and closer toward the outskirts of Spokehaven.

A chill runs down my spine.

The wooded area beyond Spokehaven, secluded, untouched, meant for future developments, far away from the public. The perfect place to make someone disappear.

Roman leans in, eyes locking onto my screen, narrowing as he pieces it together.

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