Page 56 of Haven Bound
The call rings a few times, and I quickly scan the area, looking for any possible way to get out of this. But with my car now trapped by Jason’s vehicle, I don’t know what to do. I could make a run for it, but he’s a damn fast runner and would catch me before I had a chance to reach the curb.
My chest begins to rise and fall with quick heaving breaths, the severity of the situation sinking in as he gets closer. My body feels frozen in place, weighed down by every moment he’s ever made me feel worthless. By every single hateful word or offhand comment that he’s thrown in my direction. Every single time he’s ever raised his voice or his fist at me, every time he’s ever taken my body without my permission, it somehow feels like everything has led to this moment.
The moment when I’ve finally found true happiness. When I finally know what it means to love and be loved. When I’ve finally started to pull myself out of the shadows and into the light. It’s all led to this moment. He’s here to take it all away and force me to be what he wants.
His.
“Hey there, beautiful.” Austin’s voice sounds in my ear, his tone light and happy and so filled with love as he answers the call. Tears sting my eyes and I blink them away, refusing to pull my attention away from Jason.
“I love you,” I whimper, my voice catching in my throat behind a sob as Jason reaches me. His hand wraps around my forearm as he yanks my body against his. My phone falls from my grip, and lands on the gravel at our feet.
“I love you, too, Sunflo—” Austin’s voice falters as Jason growls, “You’re fuckingmine.”
The sound of crashing and what I assume are things being thrown comes from Austin’s end of the phone, a loud angry "fuck" filtering through before he says, “I love you, Chelsea. I fucking got you, baby. I promise I’ll find you. Just stay calm for me and do what you can to stay safe. Trust us to find you. Trustmeto find you, Sunflower.”
Jason’s nails dig into my arm, threatening to break the skin, and bringing forth memories of my stepfather’s bruising grip, as he drags me across the front yard to his car. Dark spots dance along the edges of my vision, my lungs fighting for air as panic settles over me. I dig my heels into the ground and do all I can to fight against him, to slow him down, but it’s no use. He’s stronger than me, and despite all of Austin’s requests, I didn’t carry any kind of weapon.
The call disconnects when we reach Jason’s car, and he opens the door to the passenger side backseat, shoving me inside. His hand brushes the side of my face, his fingers swiping my hair over my shoulder. Heutters a sound of disapproval when he sees the earbud and wrenches it away, throwing it to the ground.
45
Austin
Hearing that piece ofshit's voice on the other end of the call and knowing he was there with Chelsea had my vision clouding in a red haze. Anything that was on my desk was knocked off and obliterated as fear and rage like I’ve never known overtook my senses. My head is pounding as pressure builds, my chest heavy with the feeling of failure as I struggle to take in a deep breath.
I failed her. I promised to protect her and keep her safe, and I’ve been so caught up in loving her that I fucking failed to keep that promise. I have to believe that she will be okay. I have to believe that we will find her. Because the alternative is just… it’s not a reality I ever want to face. A world without Chelsea isn’t a world that I ever want to live in. I have no choice but to trust Zack Mercer and his ability to hack into systems and get intel. If anyone can find Chelsea, it’s him.
“It’s really hard to focus when you’re hovering over my shoulder like that,” he snaps, his fingers flying across his keyboard as multiple large monitors display dozens of camera feeds all across Haven Beach and surrounding cities.
“I can’t fucking lose her,” I growl, turning to swing a fist at the wall behind his desk. The bite of pain that snakes its way up my arm from the hit does nothing to ease the rage coursing through my system.
“You won’t,” he assures me without tearing his gaze away from the screens.
It’s been almost an hour since the call disconnected, and we’ve spent every minute possible trying to locate Chelsea. I’ve tried calling her at least a dozen times hoping maybe she’d be able to answer if only so that I could hear her voice again.
It was all a waste. Hailey drove out to the delivery neighborhood and called to let me know that she had found Chelsea’s cell phone. Every second that passes without knowing where he’s taken her has only amplified the sickening fear roiling in my stomach.
I haven’t spent the last seven years with the goddamn Phoenix Legion without learning to always be prepared for the worst possible scenario. Yet I wasn’t fucking prepared for this. I’ve learned over the years to remove the emotion from an assignment and do whatever guarantees the best possible outcome. Until now, I’d never been in a situation where that wasn’t an option.
I can’t remove my emotions from this. I wouldn’t silence them even if I could because it’s my love for Chelsea that is currently fueling my anger. It’s my feelings for her that are spurring Zack on to work as fast as he is. It’s Hailey’s twelve-year-long friendship with her that caused her to drive out to Chelsea’s last known address just to look for anything that could help us find her.
“I’ve got her,” Zack shouts. He brings the camera feed up on the main screen and enlarges the video, optimizing it to be as clear as possible. Jason’s gray sedan was last recorded heading out of Rivercrest and into Sutton Ridge. The surrounding buildings and landscape look vaguelyfamiliar, and when Zack rattles off the name of one of the roads, I realize that I know exactly where Jason is going.
I’ve been there before. It’s the same place where I found his father before I carted him off to an abandoned warehouse to end his life.
Every single happiness that I’ve wished for with Chelsea, that I’ve seen as part of our future since we found our way back to each other, flashes before my eyes. I need to believe that we still have time, that we’ll have a chance to complete every item on our bucketlist. And maybe even add a few new things.
I have to believe that we’ll get the chance to experience a life filled with love and light, even if it means we have to submerge ourselves in the darkness one more time. I’ve spent years battling against the shadows that weigh heavily on my shoulders, but for the first time, I don’t think fighting them is the answer. I have to face them head on.
46
Chelsea
“You stupid worthless girl!Why are you even still here?”
The words rattle around in my brain but they don’t sink in. They don’t take root the same way they once did. Still, my mind feels like it’s covered in a haze that I can’t escape. I’m vaguely aware of the thin strip of plastic binding my wrists together behind my back. It’s not tight enough to cut off circulation, just enough to keep me from being able to have any real use of my hands.
The room we’re in looks exactly like what you’d imagine a small cabin in the woods would look like, complete with wooden paneling coating the walls and a cast iron wood-burning fireplace sitting in the corner. The couch Jason forced me onto is a dark beige, matching the one on the opposite side of the room that sits beneath a large window.
