Page 64 of Reaper & Ruin
I couldn’t stand still any longer. The waiting was killing me, making my skin itch. I had to move. I had to do something. So, without really thinking, I ran. Straight toward the cabin. Back to where the mess had started.
I bolted through the woods, the damp earth crunching, and every twig snap and leaf rustle made my heart leap into my throat. But I kept running. Until my lungs burned again and I felt even sicker.
I had no idea what I was going to do when I got back. For all I knew, the cabin could already be crawling with more of Gio’s dad’s men, waiting to snatch me up too. But I had to take that chance. I couldn’t just stand in the woods like a scared little rabbit, hoping the wolves wouldn’t come for me.
As I neared the cabin, there was nothing waiting for me but a few dead bodies of men in masks. No monsters. No bad guys still breathing.
No Gio or Atlas.
“Shit.” The word slipped out before I could stop it. Almost a yell.
I stood there, staring at the empty road, as if it could give me some kind of answer. But there was nothing. Just silence. Silence and the cold realization that I was too late. Too fucking late. Even if I could run fast enough to find the car that had taken them, what was I going to do? Throw myself at the cars, screaming like a banshee, hoping to take down a bunch of trained mercenaries? Yeah, great plan. That would definitely work.
It wasn’t like I could use Atlas’ truck either. Not with the guts and blood hanging off the smashed front section.
For a second, I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream until my throat was raw. I wanted to tear the world apart, piece by piece, until I got them back. But none of that would help. None of that would bring them home. So instead, I swallowed the lump in my throat, blinked back the tears threatening to spill over, and gave myself a mental slap.
“Okay, Heather, you dumb slut. Pull it together.” I muttered to myself, clenching my fists at my sides as Mali prowled around me, still on alert. “You’re not useless. You’re not a coward. What did the guys say? What do I do with danger if I’m on my own?”
I forced myself to remember. My brain was scrambled, the panic clawing at the edges of my mind, but I grabbed ontothe only thing that made sense right now. Atlas had told me a hundred times what to do in an emergency. Gio had repeated it too. If things went to hell, there were two people I had to call, starting with the best one for a job like this.
“Silver,” I muttered, nodding to myself. “Call Silver.”
Atlas had drilled it into my head. Silver was the one person who could fix things. She was just like him. Her brain would work the same way. She would be able to help me do all the ninja shit I hadn’t been trained for.
Then I would call Emilio. Gio said it was dangerous for me to call anyone he knew, but in a dire emergency, then his closest brother was a good bet. Emilio would do what he could to help me, and I could trust him.
That’s what I would do. Silver. Emilio. Then hide and pray to the magic man in the sky that he could make himself real for me, so I could be saved.
I glanced at Malivore, her dark eyes watching me like she was waiting for my next move. The tension in her body mirrored mine. She was ready to act, ready to protect, but I wasn’t sure I knew how to lead. I would try, though. It was all I could do.
“Come on, girl,” I whispered, running toward the cabin.
I kicked the front door open, barely noticing the bang it made as it hit the wall. With a few sharp mental slaps, I ran inside, my eyes scanning the room, looking for any sign of the emergency phone. The one hidden away purely for a situation like this.
“Dammit, Atlas, where’d you put it?” I muttered, pushing things aside in my frantic search.
I opened drawers. Boxes. The damn fridge. I moved blankets and clothes and even the bathroom products. Hurricane Heather ransacked the place for ten solid minutes before my panic lessened, and I remembered where Atlas had stored the phone.
A loose plank in the floor. Right by the window on the back wall, where Gio and I had escaped from.
With only the slightest of effort, I popped out the floorboard, finding what I needed sitting pretty in the dark. With a vicious grin, I snatched the phone up and immediately dialed Silver’s number. My heart pounded in my chest, the sound of my pulse filling my ears as the phone rang.
Please pick up. Please pick up.
On the third ring, Silver answered.
“What can I do for you, little brother?” Her voice was smooth, and for a split second, I felt a sliver of hope.
“It’s not Atlas. It’s Heather.” My voice cracked, betraying the calm I was trying to force.
There was a pause, then Silver’s voice shifted, all business. “Heather, what’s going on?”
I spilled it all in a rush, words tumbling over each other as I tried to explain. My breathing was ragged, my heart still racing. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate, but I kept going. Silver listened; her silence was almost comforting. When I finished, she didn’t waste any time.
“Lock all the doors and windows. Barricade yourself in the bedroom, but leave the window unlocked for an escape route.” She cursed to herself. “I can be there in an hour, maybe a little less.”
Her voice was calm, so calm it almost made me believe everything would be fine. Almost.
