Page 175 of Pretty Poisoned

"What's less than a mile away?" I ask. "A cabin?"

"A car," he says. "A friend of yours is picking us up."

"Of mine?"

"Teagan doesn't have any other friends," Luca says.

"Yeah. I don't."

"Just keep moving," he says.

Twenty minutes later, we reach a valley and meet two black Jeeps on an old one-lane dirt service road. I follow Luca and Declan to the first vehicle while Rhett, Brady, Hazel, and River get into the second.

Declan helps Luca into the back, and I slide in next to him. He leans against the window and closes his eyes, and I run my fingers through his hair.

"Are you okay, baby?" I ask.

"I'm aces," he says. "And you're the baby."

"You're my baby now," I tell him.

I look to the front as Declan climbs in, pulling the door closed behind him. And that's when I finally notice the driver, catching a glint of the gold mask in the rearview mirror.

One of my friends.Funny.

He must notice me staring because the mother fucker salutes me before starting the vehicle.

Is that…Bone Saw? Surely not.

"Hey there," I say. "How was the drive up?"

Of course, he doesn't answer.

"Don't try to talk to him, Teag," Declan says as we start down that old service road. "Just relax."

At least the Jeep has the time on the dash. I watch the minutes tick away in silent darkness. It was 1:37 AM when he starteddriving. It's 2:50 AM now as he pulls onto a paved two-lane highway. There are no houses, no intersections, no street signs. I can't tell which direction we're headed, but wherever it is, we're going there fast. The odometer puts us at just around 105 mph now as the mountains give way to open plains.

Luca snores softly against the window. I don't know if I could sleep even if I didn't just sleep all day.

I want to crawl into the front seat with Declan, but I don't want to catch Bone Saw or whoever it is by surprise and get knocked the fuck out.

"Declan?" Even though I call his name quietly, it's been silent for so long that it feels alarmingly loud. I lean forward and rest my head against his bicep. "Can I sit with you?"

"Yeah, come here, kitten."

I climb over the center console and into his lap, molding my body into his. I rest my head in that space just under his chin, facing the driver's side of the vehicle.

"You really are a good girl, Teagan," Declan says.

The masked man turns to us, cocks his head to the side, and points at me before making a stabbing motion with his hand.

I guess maybe it is him.

"Yeah, but look how sweet she is now," Declan tells him. "We're almost there, Teagan."

"Almost where?" I ask.

"Small airstrip—out of service," he says. "There's a plane waiting there."

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