Page 106 of Unmask
No turning back now.
I was going to be sick, but my roiling stomach wouldn’t stop me. Nothing would.
The moon barely made it through the thick blanket of clouds above, casting only the faintest silver sheen over the decaying landscape. Every shadow seemed to move when I wasn’t looking, making me jumpy as hell.
I kept going, one foot in front of the other, the soles of my shoes scuffing over gravel, toward the meeting point, an old switching tower in the center of the yard. A perfect place for an ambush. I knew it. They knew I knew it. But here I was
Halfway to the tower, I saw the light. It blinked once, soft and brief. A signal.
My pulse leapt in my throat. I stopped walking, eyes narrowing as I scanned the tower’s windows. A single silhouette passed behind the broken glass.
This is it.
I took a slow, deep breath, forcing my shoulders to relax. Panic would get me killed. I had to be calm. Be smart. I had to think like a Raven, like Kreed.God, he is going to kill me once he finds out what I’ve done.
My fingers clutched my phone in my hoodie pocket as I kept walking. I’d left it on but silenced the ringer, knowing it would ping my last location, knowing Kreed or Brock could easily track me. I was counting on it… Counting on them.
By the time I reached the base of the tower, a figure stepped out from behind one of the boxcars. He was dressed head to toe in black, his face shadowed beneath a hood, but his posture was unmistakable.
“You’re alone,” the man said, voice distorted by a mask.
“You said to come alone,” I pointed out, surprised how level I sounded when internally I was freaking the fuck out. “Where’s Kenny?” I asked, getting straight to business. I wanted this over with, and I wanted to see my best friend, to be assured they hadn’t played me.
The figure tilted his head. “You’ll see her soon enough.”
My fingers twitched at my sides. “You got what you wanted. I’m here.”
“Almost,” the man replied. “Toss me your phone.”
Shit. Of course, they were smart enough to ask for it, but I didn’t have to give it to them.
“Don’t make me search you,” he added at my obvious hesitancy.
The threat sounded like something I definitely didn’t want to experience, his hands groping my body. Here was hoping they wouldn’t destroy it or turn it off. All hope wasn’t gone. I pulled it from my pocket and chucked it onto the gravel.
Another figure appeared then, behind the first. He was taller and watched me with a creepiness that made my skin prickle.
He went to where my phone had landed, lifted his foot, and smashed it down on the screen. I watched in horror as the device shattered. Bending down, he fished through the debris, picking up the chip before crushing it under his boot as well.
“Walk,” the first man said, motioning toward the tower.
My chest deflated, pressure clamping on my lungs. Now was not the time to have a panic attack. I had to stay strong. “I-I’m not going anywhere until I see my friend. Where’s Kenny?”
The two men at the base of the switching tower didn’t flinch. They were silent shadows standing between me and what I’d come for. There was just enough distance between us that I could run. Maybe even make it back to Carson’s car if I didn’t trip. If they didn’t shoot. If they didn’t catch me.
A lot of maybes.
The first one, the one who’d spoken, tilted his head as if amused. “You want proof we’re not bluffing?”
“I want her. Now,” I snapped. “Or this deal is over.”
He held my stare for a long beat. Then he gave a small nod to his partner. “Get the girl.”
The second man disappeared between the rusting boxcars, his boots crunching against the gravel.Stay calm. Keep breathing.Easier said than fucking done. One wrong move and this whole thing fell apart.
A minute later, he returned. And he wasn’t alone.
Kenny.
