“Why don’t we own a sniper rifle?” I ask. It’s not really a serious question, more just something to fill the painful silence around us. “It would have made this so much fucking easier.”
“Probably because I don’t really want to spend the rest of my life locked up for armed murder. That something you’re interested in?”
I swallow nervously. I could already be put away for a long time if the truth were to ever surface. And for all I know, every motherfucker down there knows my secret. Another reason why killing them off one by one seems appealing to me right now.
“No one would know it’s us.”
Ace narrows his eyes at me. “You’re fucking serious.”
“Oh, so you wouldn’t be saying the same if it meant getting Remi back in one piece.”
“Fuck me, Cole. You really fucking love her, don’t you?”
“I… uh…” My chest tightens.
“Yeah, don’t worry, bro. It takes a while to get used to.” Silence falls between us as I try to accept his words, but much like everything else that’s happened in the couple of days, they just don’t register.
I don’t think anything will until I can pull Hadley into my arms once more, knowing that she’s okay.
“Right. I’m done waiting. Shall we?”
Ace pushes from the ground and holds the car keys out for me. “You know where to wait, yeah?” I nod. “Don’t follow too close. You give yourself up, and all this is fucked.”
“I won’t. I got this.”
“Good. I’ll see you at the other end, brother.” He pulls me into a hug. I expect it to be a quick one, but when he holds me a little longer than I was anticipating, I start to wonder what he’s really trying to tell me with his unusual show of affection.
“Take those motherfuckers down.”
“As many as I can.”
He disappears into the undergrowth as I fall down into the driver’s seat, ready to go and park up in a layby that will give me the perfect vantage point to see everyone who enters, and most importantly, exits, the trailer park. I’ve just got to hope that the vehicle I choose to trail holds my brother and leads us both to my girl.
Chapter Three
Hadley
I have no idea how long I’ve been here when the door creaks open again.
“And stay the fuck down,” someone yells as a body is thrown inside the trailer.
“A-Ace?” I let out a sob of relief—until I get a look at his mangled face. Blood seeps from a gash in his eye, and his lip is swollen and sore.
“Oh my God,” I breathe.
“It looks worse than it is.” He crawls toward me on his knees, and it’s then I realize that his hands are also bound.
“Why is he doing this?”
“Because he’s a piece of shit.”
“Is Cole—”
“He’s right behind me, but don’t worry, he’s our escape plan.”
“No,” I cry. “He can’t take them on by himself.”
“Hey, this is Cole we’re talking about.” Ace’s eyes bore into mine. His intensity should scare me, but oddly, it grounds me. “He’ll figure it out. Are you okay? They didn’t...”
“The guy who took me… he gave me something. I woke up in a van. But they didn’t hurt me, not really.”
“Thank fuck.” He breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m going to see if I can get these cable ties off.” Ace twists and turns, trying to see his wrists. “Shit, they’re on tight.”
“What time is it?” I ask.
“About eight.”
“How did you find me?” I ask, watching him struggle against his restraints.
“I recognized the trailer in the photo Donny sent Cole.”
“He sent him a photo?”
“Yeah. But when we got to the trailer park to check it out, it was gone.”
“Gone? But how—“
“Donny must have had it towed here. He owns the Heights. No one would have batted an eyelid.”
I try to process everything Ace is saying, but it’s a lot.
Cole is out there. He came. But the relief I feel is nothing compared to how terrified I am that he’ll get hurt.
Silence falls over us. Ace is sagged against the counter. I can just make out his profile in the shadows.
“I’m sorry you got caught up in all this,” he says.
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is... I should have paid closer attention, forced Cole to tell me what he was—”
“Ace, stop. People choose their actions. Nobody forced Donny to do this, just like nobody forced Cole. He did what he did because he cares about you, because he wanted you to have a shot at something different.”
“Yeah, but fuck, he’s my brother.” Pain twists his features. “It’s supposed to be me protecting him.”
“So this is where you lived, huh?”
It doesn’t resemble a home now. It’s trashed and smells like something died in here.
I shudder, hoping it didn’t.
“Yeah,” he answers. “Although so much has happened since we left, it doesn’t really feel like home anymore, ya know?”
Everything goes quiet again, until Ace says, “He’s different with you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother care about something other than me, Conner or football. Can I ask you something?”
“Okay.”
“Do you love him?”
“I...” I press my lips together to give myself time to formulate a reply. But how do I even begin to put into words what Cole and I share?
“It wasn’t supposed to happen. I just saw something in Cole... something I can relate to.”
“I know that feeling. Remi knocked me so hard on my ass I still have bruises.” He chuckles. “Cole isn’t like most people, Hadley. He keeps a wall up.”
“I know.” Because I do too.
“He’s going to be in a dark place after this,” Ace sighs. “Just promise me, whatever happens, you won’t give up on him. He needs you.”
Ace’s words wrap around my heart, but then I imagine Cole’s face when he finds out I might be pregnant.
“Hadley?” Ace asks when a whimper spills from my lips.
“I’m okay.” The lie sours on my tongue.
“I know you’re scared, but just hang in there. Cole is coming, I promise.”
The minutes drag, each one longer than the last.
“Where is he?” Ace grunts from the shadows.
“Maybe they got—“
“No, Cole wouldn’t let that happen. Not when you’re in here.”
I’m about to ask him what he means when I smell something. Tipping my face up, I sniff the air, panic snaking through me when I smell burning.
“Ace....”
“Yeah, I smell it. Fuck,” he grumbles. “Okay, we need to get out of here.”
An amber glow penetrates the boarded windows, making everything look ethereal.
“The trailer is on fire,” I cry. “Oh God, what are we going to do?”