Page 76 of I Despise You
Chapter 29
“SECURITY!” CHASE’Sfather yells, pulling out a gun.
I duck behind the desk, my heart in overdrive.
Shots ring out, a bullet hitting the wall not too far away behind me as I huddle into a small ball on the floor, even though I know that’s not going to help me. I’m trapped, and Chase’s father has a gun.
“No!” I hear Chase yell.
A loud thud follows, and when I dare to take a peek around the desk, I see Chase’s father on the floor.
“Run!” Chase shouts at me as he kicks the gun away from his father’s grasp at the last moment.
I scramble to my feet, and Chase and I burst out of the office. The guards are coming our way, their guns out, so we race in the opposite direction.
“We need to split. I’ll find you!” Chase says. “Follow the hallway. Go downstairs. Last door. You’ll get to the kitchen. From there, get out through the window. Ignore everyone else. Okay?”
I nod, and I don’t even have time to tell him anything. Getting out of this house alive is the only thing that matters, and I run as fast as my feet can carry me. I follow Chase’s instructions, and everyone stares at me as I burst into the kitchen. Someone yells at me to get out. But I ignore them and push open one of the windows. I haul myself out, and when my feet touch the ground, I start running again.
My feet hurt as I step on twigs and small stones, but I don’t have time to worry about that. When I glance over my shoulder, I see Chase running from the other side of the house. My relief is short-lived, because the sounds of gunfire follow, and I throw myself behind one of the bushes.
Chase’s father has a huge property, so the nearest neighbor is at least five minutes away. I don’t know how we’ll get to our car. Someone is probably waiting there for us. And if we just run, I have no idea if we can get away. I underestimated this whole thing. I didn’t believe we’d be in so much danger, but I was so, so wrong.
Chase finds me and crouches next to me. “I’m going to talk to my father and find a plausible explanation. I’ll make him think it’s all just a big misunderstanding and—”
“No, you can’t! I found a video,” I choke out. “He killed Kayla!”
“What?” Chase blinks at me. “But that’s not—”
“I saw it with my own eyes. He knows it. He’ll want me dead. Maybe both of us dead.”
“I need to go back for that video!” Chase jumps up, and I catch his arm, trying to pull him back.
“No! You can’t! He’ll kill you.”
“But if I don’t, he’ll destroy it and we’ll have no proof!”
“But we’ll be alive!”
“I’ll distract them and get that video. You need to get out of here!”
“But—” I don’t get to finish the sentence, because he’s already on his feet and running.
Fuck!
I hear the shouts of the guards, and I know I have to move. They must’ve figured out we went in this direction, and they’ll be coming here to check. I can’t let them find me.
Pushing myself up, I move to another bush, and then I race to a tree. I take a quick look behind me, and when I can’t see anyone, I broke into a run. I don’t know where I’m going, so I just run through the trees that are getting thicker and thicker.
My feet are bleeding, and I stop to catch my breath. Where is Chase? What if something happened to him? I sit down, huddled in the hole under a tree trunk and listening for every movement.
Birds chirp. The leaves shift in the breeze. Something cracks here and there, making my heart jump into my throat. But I can’t see anything.
My heart is too loud, my throat dry. But I need to push through the panic and think.
Something flies out of nowhere at me. It sticks into my exposed leg, making me yelp. As I grasp it, I realize it’s a dart. I want to push myself to my feet and run, but my legs are heavy, just like my whole body.
Before I slump to the ground and my eyes close, I see a man coming from around one of the trees, gun in hand.
I’m going to die.
It’s the last thing I think before I’m dragged under.
