“How long, Jai?” Joel demands, throwing open his door and pulling us from our moment.
I pull out of Jai’s arms, giving him space to check his watch. “Three minutes and twelve seconds.”
“Shit. All right.” Joel glances into the car and then back to us. “One minute to finish your goodbye and then we’ll move into position.”
“That will put us a minute behind schedule.”
Joel nods a slow nod.
“I know.” He says before closing his door, leaving us alone again.
A minutes doesn’t seem like much, but right now, it makes all the difference. Sixty more seconds...sixty small eternities...sixty more chances to tell him just how much I love him.
All of my attention zeros in on the warmth of Jai’s hand as he slides his fingers around my wrist and tightens his grip. He tugs me closer.
“An extra minute.” He teases, wrapping his arms low on my hips. “Whatever shall we do with all of this extra time on our hands?”
I laugh, despite my depressed mood. Will that be the last time he makes me laugh? Jai cranes his head and nuzzles into the nape of my neck, planting a trail of warm, loving kisses along my flesh.
“I’ll come back.” He whispers against my skin.
My heart rolls at his tone. It’s dark and sad, despite his attempt to make it lighthearted. I’m not immune to the tones of the voice and I pick up on his worry immediately. How is he going to convince me when he can’t even convince himself? Despair rages in my chest and prickles at my tear ducts.
We waste the sixty seconds in silence.
Perfect.
Short-lived.
Silence.
****
Nerves attack my stomach and I anxiously chew the skin around my nails as I hug my knees against my chest.
“How long?” I ask, curling my toes in my shoes.
“We’ve been sitting her for 25 minutes.” Huss says, dropping back against his seat. “Which is five minutes since the last time you asked.”
“Sorry.” I mumble, threading my fingers together to save me from eating them to the bone.
I thought being out here would be easier, but it’s worse—so much worse. At least at the lake house I can eat or drink myself into a coma. Out here I’m forced to watch and wait. I’ve never been good at waiting.
“Will we hear anything?” I wonder aloud, squinting between the two front seats and into the woods.
I don’t know what I expect to see...the flashing of guns, the glow of an emergency flare. They’re two miles out, of course. I doubt I’ll see anything unless they set Skull’s compound on fire.
“Gunfire? Sure. Anything else? Unlikely.”
Huss exhales and rubs at his forehead. I survey him as he bounces his knee—a coping mechanism I haven’t noticed Huss do before. I’ve always seen Jai, Ted and Huss as strong, fearless men who are rarely rattled by anything, but Huss seems to be taking this harder than I expected. Lowering my knees, I lean forward, poking my head between the two front seats. Swallowing hard, Huss tugs impatiently at the collar of his hood.
“Are you okay?” I ask, concerned he’s on the verge of a panic attack.
Who the hell is going to drive if Huss is incapacitated? Not me—that’s for sure.
“I’m fine.” He snaps with a harsh whip of his head. “Will you stop with damn the questions?”
Frowning, I slide back, pressing my spine firmly against the middle seat. Confusion nips at me. Does he know something I don’t? Is there something I should be aware of that he’s not telling me? I open my mouth, but the sound of distant gunfire—a lot of it—chokes the words in my throat. I clench my fists and squeeze them against my mouth. Huss curses, slamming his fist against the steering wheel.
“What is it?” I whisper and it falls on deaf ears. “Huss?”
“Hm?”
“What is it?”
He slams his forehead into the steering wheel, making me jump. He does it repeatedly, cursing at himself. The hairs on the back of my neck stand tall and goosebumps rapidly make their way over the surface of my skin.
“I have a son.” He mutters, shaking his head. “I have a son.”
I frown.
“You have a son?” I repeat, shifting forward.
Sure, it’s a shock to the system, but what does it have to do with right now?
Huss nods. “He’s seven. Brandon. He’s smart...so damn smart. I don’t see him much, but he’s my whole world.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because I want you to understand the reasoning behind what I’ve done.”
My brows furrow as he turns his head in my direction.
“I’m confused. What have you done?”
The blue LED lights from the center console light up the side of his face—enough for me to see the desperation on his features—the sympathy in the sad curve of his lips.
“I’d do anything to protect him.”
I pull my legs up onto the seat. My heart pounds in my ear, thrumming unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
“Huss...you’re starting to scare me.”
I jump as headlights flick on from my right, blinding me completely. I shield my face with my arm and desperately peek over, trying to figure out what the fuck is going on and who the hell has their headlights on us.
“Huss?” I call out, the balls of my eyes burning every time I open them. “Who is that?”
He doesn’t answer, making my stomach clench into a tight ball.
“Huss? What’s happening?”
“I’m sorry, Emily.” He growls, slamming his fists against the wheel. “It’s not my fault! They found me at Joker’s bar—cornered me in the bathroom. I didn’t have a choice they threatened to hurt my boy.”
The door to my left is yanked open and I ditch trying to cover my face. With a scream, I dive for the other door. I grab the handle as large, strong hands wrap around one of my ankles.
“No!” I shout, my lungs failing to function the way they should.
I kick my legs and thrash my hips, desperate to shake the person off. With a stroke of luck, my shoe hits something hard, the sound turning my stomach. A loud, angry growl zaps into my body as my legs are freed. Wasting no time, I pull the handle and shove the door. It flies open and blasts me with freezing wind. I throw myself out of the car, crying and sobbing hysterically. He set me up! He fucking set me up!! It’s no wonder he was so cool when Jai told him about me tagging along tonight. I run—I run faster than I’ve ever run—using the bright headlights to help me see.
“Emily!” Huss calls out, but I don’t stop.
Dry leaves and fallen sticks crunch underneath my shoes as I sprint. The ground is uneven and rogue twigs and leaves cut at my soft skin as I force myself through the woods. I don’t know where I’m going, but any direction is a good direction as long as it takes me far away from here. I sob as I run, my lungs failing to keep me going. I’m going to die.
Something slams into me from behind and I’m thrown to the ground and crushed underneath the weight of a full grown man.
“Get off me!” I scream, my vocal chords burning out and drilling my throat.
“Not fucking likely.” He barks out, grabbing a fistful of my hair.
The stranger I can’t see forces me to my feet and shoves me back toward the bright lights. I squeeze my eyes shut, unable to open them until I’m in the shadow of Huss’s car.
I open my eyes to see Huss leaning against the back of the car, sympathy painted on his face. How dare he?!
“How could you do this?” I cry, tears flooding from my eyes. “We trusted you!”
“Emily...I’m sorry.”
I shoot forward, straining my body with everything that I have. My lungs burn as I scream, my heart threatens to explode.
“He will kill you!” I scream until my lungs burn and my voice breaks. “He will kill you!”
With a final thrust and a twist of my shoulders, I slip free from my kidnappers grip. I stumble, but recoup quickly. Without thought, I turn and launch for Huss. I barely place my footing before a hard mass slams into the side of my head and darkness claims me.