Page 45 of The Truth Between

It would soon be showtime.

28

SOREN

Part of me couldn’t believe that I was about to have the opportunity to do what I wanted to do. What I needed to do.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, I pressed the gas pedal down farther. The deep hum of the engine matched the adrenaline racing through me as I sped toward the location that was blinking on my GPS.

I had to find him and make him pay for what he did. There would be no more hiding. It had taken two years to get to this point, and I wasn’t about to lose the opportunity presented to me.

I only slowed down when I noticed how close I was to my destination. Up ahead, a narrow driveway cut through the trees, barely visible in the darkness. There was a worn sign that read “Private Property” as I turned sharply onto the dirt road. My car’s tires crunched over gravel as I approached the isolated cabin deep in the woods.

I turned off my headlights in an effort to sneak up to the building in hopes of still having the element of surprise on my side. Thankfully, the cabin was surrounded by the forest, making it easier for me to hide my car. I parked my car and stepped out as quietly as possible. I walked toward the cabin and stopped only when I was a few feet away.

I looked through one of the windows and I could see a faint light coming from inside. What was it coming from? Crouching down low, I crept around to the other side of the building and tried to look inside again.

Shifting where I was standing did give me a better viewpoint, and it was then that I realized the light was coming from inside another room. Based on the blueprints that I had of the cottage, I suspected it was from the bathroom.

Perfect.

With him occupied in the bathroom, it was easy for me to break into his home. When the lock on the front door clicked softly, I knew I’d gotten in. I pushed the door gently and was pleased that there was not a sound from the hinges.

The sounds of a shower occurring made this all the better, muffling any noise I made. It was pure luck that he would be taking a shower this late. I knew it was a sign that I was doing the right thing. Since I didn’t know when he stepped into the shower, I knew I had to act quickly.

As the sound of water splashing played in the background, I moved toward the bedroom. I wasn’t surprised to find rustic furnishings in there, and there weren’t many personal items for the man of the hour. I suspected it was because he’d been on the run now for years. There was one chair in the corner of the room, near a standing lamp, that gave me the perfect spot to wait.

I sat down in the chair and began tapping my finger on the arm, waiting patiently for him to walk out of the only place keeping him alive at the moment.

But then, the sound of water falling from the showerhead ceased. It was replaced by the light echo of the dripping water and the movement of someone preparing to exit the shower.

I checked my watch, 2:56 a.m.

I planned on being out of here by 3:10 at the latest. While he deserved to suffer the highest form of torture known to mankind, I didn’t want to waste more time here than I needed to.

Finally, there was silence, but I didn’t move a muscle.

The door opened part of the way to reveal an older man standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of black sweatpants. I was pleased that it wasn’t a towel because, while it would help with cleanup, it would make things messier with the plan I’d come up with on the way here. Before he could turn off the light, he spotted me. His eyes went wide at the sight, his already pale face growing paler by the second.

“Y-you…” His voice shook. “How did you find me?”

“Does it really matter? The point is that I finally fucking found you.”

I stood up and took a step forward, and he followed by taking a step back. Our dance continued until he was backed into a corner on the opposite side of the room.

“How did you find me?”

I shrugged. “You decided that now was the time to stick your name into some Chevalier business and were trying to hunt down someone.” I was referring to the intel that we received that he was trying to be the middleman and handle the deal of snatching Iris Bennington because our enemies thought she might have information about us.

“Please. . .” he whimpered while he held up a trembling, scared hand. “I don’t want any trouble.”

“Trouble?” I growled. The fucking audacity. “You don’t know the meaning of the word because what I’m about to do is anything but trouble.”

I got as close to him as I dared, easily towering over him, and before I realized it, my hands were clenched into fists. How satisfying it would feel to grab his neck and squeeze until I watched the life drain from his eyes. It would bring me so much joy.

I punched him in the face and made quick work of tying his hands behind his back with a zip tie.

“Over the years, I tried to come to terms with what must have been going through your mind when you made the decision you did, but nothing, and I truly mean nothing, can excuse what you did.”

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