Page 148 of Into the Woods

I swallowed the answer, not sure where my dad was.

The lieutenant stormed away, looking like she was going to raise hell.

“Let’s get out of here,” Court told me, already moving away from the scene.

“Wait,” I protested. “She said friend—what’s going on?”

Court sighed and shifted me, his gaze meeting mine. “Ryan’s meeting us at the car. Linc’s not coming.”

“Why?” I demanded.

He cursed softly under his breath. “Because we have a plan to catch his father, but we need to make it look like Linc isn’t one of us.”

“But… That…” I was at a loss for words.

“Baby, I promise to explain it all in detail, okay? But right now, we’ve gotta go.”

I shook my head. “I can’t leave until I know Cami’s okay.”

“I promise that we’ll find out what happened to Cami, but I need to get you out of here, princess.”

I pushed at his shoulders. “Put me down, Court.”

He hesitated, and for a second, I thought he might actually do it. But then his grip grew harder, tighter, and we were moving through the darkness again.

I began to struggle, fighting to get out of his hold.

“Enough, Becca,” he snapped, stopping short and glaring at me. “Be pissed at me if you want, but we aren’t going back.”

“You don’t get to make that call!” I bucked, trying to break free.

“It’s not my call!” he shouted. “We have a plan, and we have to stick to it. They’ll get Cami, but we need to get the fuck out of here before we get caught up in this shitstorm and it blows the plan to fuck.”

Tears spilled over my eyes. “I hate you right now.”

He flinched like I’d slapped him. “If you need to hate me, fine. Fucking hate me. But you aren’t going back, Becca.”

There were too many emotions hitting me too fast. Everything I’d suppressed all night—fear, pain, heartbreak, terror—all manifested itself in a total meltdown. I sobbed in his arms as he kept walking.

Darkness swallowed us up as we walked, and I let myself drown in it until I felt Court go rigid beneath me and stop.

“Princess, I need you to be quiet,” he murmured, yanking his mask up and off. His dark eyes scanned the area, searching for an unseen threat.

Something in his tone instantly shut down my crying. I swallowed a hiccup and lifted my head.

“Can you stand?” Court demanded, his tone low and urgent.

“Yeah,” I replied, my gaze darting around, but all I saw was darkness. “What’s going on?”

“Pretty sure we’re being followed,” he said through gritted teeth as he lowered me to my feet.

I tottered in my heels, my ankles threatening to buckle, but I locked my limbs and stayed upright as fear churned in my chest.

Court maneuvered me behind him. “Becca, listen to me. The car is about two hundred yards ahead. Keys are in the front driver well. I want you to run for it when I tell you.”

Was he insane? Even if I wasn’t in the heels from hell and wobbling around like a newborn deer, the ask was too great.

Leave Cami? I’d done it.

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