Page 142 of The Invite
I frown when he abruptly puts down the bag near the short flight of stairs leading to my porch. I reach his side right as he bends and stands after picking something up.
My stomach drops when I catch a glimpse of a familiar black envelope.
Anonymous.
Without waiting for my permission, Augustus rips it open and reads it. My anxiety notches higher when his hands ball into a fist, crushing the paper.
“What does it say?” I ask shakily.
Augustus turns around, his shoulders rigid. His angular features are locked tight as he replies in a cold voice, “He wants his price at midnight tomorrow.”
“Or?” A gut instinct tells me there’s more.
“Or one of us dies.”
CHAPTER – 35
Augustus
More than the damn note, I’m mad at Anonymous for putting a damper on my plan to cook lunch for Nessa. I know the former was inevitable. It’s the timing that’s taken me off guard.
Nessa hasn’t spoken a word since she read the note herself. Her color going pale by the time she finished. A sight that I never thought I’d equal parts hate and feel torn over. As soon as we stepped inside the house, she excused herself to go upstairs for a shower.
Sensing her urgent need to be alone, I let her be.
I use the time to make some calls.
When I unlock my phone, a foreboding feeling rises in the pit of my stomach when I see several missed calls from Scarlett.
Fuck. I was so absorbed in Nessa that I never turned off my phone from silent mode. Once again neglecting my sister over her.
I immediately call back Scarlett and she answers on the first ring in a high-pitched voice, “Where the hell are you, Augustus?”
I hear the dreadful panic, telling me she received the same demand from Anonymous.
“I’ve been trying to reach you for hours,” she complains angrily.
“I was busy,” I reply. Pretending like I don’t already know, I ask, “What happened?”
She’ll ask questions I will not be able to answer otherwise. I have no intention of revealing Nessa’s involvement to others. I can protect her better this way.
“Anonymous, that’s who,” Scarlett snaps. “He wants us to post a secret tomorrow at midnight.”
“When did he send the note?”
“Some kid delivered it to me two hours ago when I returned from Mae’s place.”
My spine snaps straight at the information. No wonder she sounds so spooked.
If Anonymous is using random people to deliver his messages, it means he’s keeping a close eye on us. How else would he know the exact time Scarlett was returning from her friend’s house?
This doesn’t bode well for any of us, especially me and Nessa. Yet I can’t muster the urge to keep my distance from her or cancel plans to take her out. I was certain I would detest or get bored doing a mundane task like shopping, but it turned out to be fun. Verbally sparring with her is quickly becoming an addiction.
I honestly don’t know when I went from making her hate me to aching to keep her by my side forever.
I haven’t even fucked her and I’m already obsessed.
God only knows what kind of beast she’ll let loose once I do.
