Page 84 of Redeemed

I freeze, my hand gripping my phone in my jacket pocket. “Killed?”

“You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

The ache in my throat is too intense for me to speak, so I shake my head. The thought of Colton dying—of never being able to see him again—tears my heart in two. He deserves to live the rest of his life, and I want to live it with him.

But if I tell Mark about the briefcase, Colt will never trust me again.

“Can—can I think about it?” I ask.

Mark shakes his head. “This is too urgent to wait. I need to know now.”

No. No, no, no.

Colton can’t die. I can’t let that happen.

But I can’t let him cut me out from his life, either.

I want to be able to throw myself into his arms again, to laugh at his silly jokes, to know he’ll always keep me safe. I want…

I want him to kiss me again.

He hasn’t, not since I panicked in the rose garden, but I want to try again. It’ll take some working up to, but I want to do that withhim.

“Now, Haven. There isn’t much time.”

Loyalty is everything to Colton. If I do this, whatever he and I have will be over for good. But if I don’t…

“I need to talk to him,” I say. “I need to ask—”

“No.He thinks he can do this, but he can’t. He’s misguided and overconfident. You can’t trust him. Not on this.”

Desperately, I look past Mark, hoping Colton or one of the guys will appear and help me out of this. I don’t know what to do—don’t know who to believe.

But if Mark is right, and I lie to him…

Is it worth the risk?

“I don’t want to lose him,” I whisper.

“You will, either way,” Mark says. “But if you tell me the truth, he’ll at least still be alive.”

Oh god. Oh my god.

I know what I have to do. What choice do I really have?

But it’ll mean ruining everything.

Everything.

“They’re hiding something,” Mark prods. “Something important. Tell me where it is, Haven.”

“The pool house,” I blurt, scrunching my eyes shut as tears fill them. “Underneath the floorboards in the closet. There—there’s a briefcase. I don’t know what’s inside it.”

Mark doesn’t say anything, just turns and heads toward the parking lot. The moment he’s gone, I stumble farther off the path until I’m hidden behind another large oak. I sink to the ground as my tears hit my cheeks.

He’s going to hate me.

He’ll never forgive me.

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