Page 115 of Save Her from Me

The door swung open. Raphael walked in.

I stared at him, open-mouthed. How many days had passed? Had he finished his exams? When he’d been on the call, I’d assumed it was just for information.

His gaze locked on to the phone.

“Oh, honey, I couldn’t,” our mom breathed. “Not any of you. Even if he didn’t value you, the boys belonged to him, and my husband would never take another man’s child. I knew your father would marry you off soon enough. You’d be safe from him.”

Safe? This was getting me nowhere.

Only angrier at her selfishness, even if I understood the self-preservation which had led her to leave.

I heaved in a breath, needing to wrap this up. “Then you don’t know anything?”

“What was that he said again? That it was a question for me rather than him? He probably wanted you to do this. He always liked me to know what he’d been doing. Quiet torment. He never forgave me for leaving him, even though he didn’t want me. But what do I know? You know more than me, you were always watching him and listening. Just be a good girl and do what he wants. You’ll be fine,” my mother promised.

I was so done.

I hung up on her, shaking my head.

Daisy choked. “Do what he wants? She knows you’re not there anymore, surely?”

I stared between her and my brother.

“Yes, she knew,” Raphael stated. “Which only confirms a suspicion Jackson had.”

“When did you talk to Jackson?” I asked.

“He left me a message, catching me up on a few things.” My brother’s expression gentled.

I needed to know everything in that message. Every last word.

But my brother focused on that first damning question.

“She knows you’re not there but still expects our father to marry you off. Mother dearest, whose husband loves her and tells her everything, just confirmed exactly why you’re being hunted.”

I breathed out. “Because Dad means to do it again, and he’s bragging about the deal.”

Chapter 32

Jackson

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, edging madness. Ahead, thick trees blanketed in snow cloaked the glen where Ariel’s Mini was now parked outside a rigged-up cabin. My phone, supported by a holder on my dashboard, displayed the locations of the rest of my team, spread around the hillsides, my own a pulsing beat of light on the map.

Silence surrounded me.

All I could see was a pattern.

Larson had started off calm, but yesterday, he’d escalated savagely. There was no demand, no communication, just persistence.

Too well, I knew what had to happen next. He had to take a risk, though it was us here and not the woman he pursued. He’d challenged us, we’d challenged him back. Ariel was safe, protected by teams of people in a public place. Larson only had one option, and that was to come here.

After the cottage and my car, I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist the bait, which meant all we needed to do was wait him out. If it took all night, I didn’t care. If it took a week, I’d be here.

After we’d left the hangar, Ben had pulled me aside and told me not to do anything stupid, but my guess was Larson would take that trophy.

The insight into a fucked-up mind came in handy.

Both of his previous acts had been designed to get Ariel to run. My guess was he’d do something to the cabin which forced her to leave, if she was inside, which limited the risk to him and still gave him the result he wanted.

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