by S. J. Sylvis
Piper didn’t say anything, so I paused my thoughts of Christian and glanced at her. Piper’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between the windshield and her rearview mirror. My back flew into the passenger seat as she pressed down on the gas. “Piper, what’s wrong? Why are you speeding like that?”
She didn’t look at me. “Speaking of… You don’t think Madeline would ride my ass on the way to Eric’s, would you?”
“What?” I quickly turned around and saw headlights glaring into the back of Piper’s BMW. My heart instantly started to race. “How long has that car been following us?”
“A while. But it just now started to ride my ass. I’m going twenty over the speed limit.”
My eyes darted down to the speedometer, its lights illuminating the interior. “Jesus, you’re going almost eighty miles per hour.”
Piper gulped. “I know.” Her voice was on the edge of hysteria, and I was feeling it, too. “Hayley, what do I do? You don’t think…”
My hands fumbled to grab her phone out of the center console. “Try to slow down, and see if they pass.”
As soon as Piper let off the gas, the car jolted forward, and she screamed. My throat began to squeeze as I frantically scrolled the contacts on Piper’s phone. I found Christian’s number and dialed quickly.
Piper’s voice rang out as I pulled the phone to my ear. “Hayley! What do we do?”
Run. My body’s natural response to fight or flight in this situation was to flight—and to flight fast.
“Drive faster.”
Christian picked up on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Christian.” My own voice surprised me. I was scared. Really, really scared. Even more so when I heard his voice.
The car jolted forward again, and Piper’s scream filled the air.
“Hayley? What’s wrong? What the fuck is going on?”
My heart began to sink as I grabbed onto the handle above my head. The yellow lines on the road were blurring faster and faster.
“Christian, I think they found me.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Christian
My foot pressed onto the gas. My chest was constricted as I gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other holding the phone up to my ear.
“Bro, what's wrong?” Ollie yelled from beside me as I tried to catch my breath.
“Hayley, where are you?” My voice came out sharp and bleak.
Piper screamed again in the background, and I could hear Hayley’s labored breathing.
“Hayley!” I yelled, and this time my voice had an edge of anger to it—sinister sounding.
“Route 55. Piper is going almost one hundred miles per hour, and they’re somehow still catching up to us. If they hit us again going this fast, we’ll wreck.”
My head whipped over to Ollie as I pushed the “speaker” button on my phone. “Call Eric. See where he is. Someone needs to fucking get to them now.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Ollie whipped out his phone and was dialing Eric before the words even left his mouth.
“Christian, what do we do? Do I call the police?”
Fuck.
“No, stay on the phone with me.” I looked at Ollie out of the corner of my eye. “Tell Eric what’s going on, then hang up and call the police, and tell them that a BMW is being tailgated on Route 55, going around one hundred miles per hour.”
Ollie didn’t bat an eyelash. He did exactly as I said.
“Hayley? Talk to me.” My heart was damn near exploding in my chest. It was going a mile a minute. My foot pressed harder on the gas pedal, and my Charger all but came to life as it weaved in and out of traffic on the highway.
“They’re still following us.” Her breaths were short. I heard her comforting Piper. “You’re doing fine, Piper. Just try to stay calm.”
“I’m almost to you; I just turned onto Route 55.”
“You’re not going to catch us. We’re going ninety-three.”
“My car is faster; I will catch you.” Jesus, will I, though? My stomach burned with acid. The thought of someone hurting Hayley made me go crazy. I was going as fast as my Charger would take me.
“Eric just turned around. One of us will get there. Just focus, bro.”
The center white lines were zipping in front of us, and I'd passed nearly all the cars going their normal speed, and now it was just my Charger on the road.
“Hayley, you okay?” I asked as my hands tightened on the steering wheel.
Piper screamed in the background, and Ollie’s head snapped over to mine as he was on the phone with the police operator, giving them the details I’d told him.
“We’re okay. Piper went off the road a little. I see a car up ahead.”
“It’s probably Eric; just keep driving. Don’t you dare stop.” If she stopped, they’d fucking take her. I knew it. That black storm cloud was no longer in our rearview mirror at every turn. It was right above our fucking heads.
“Okay, but—” I heard Hayley’s scream, along with Piper’s.
“Drive faster!” Ollie yelled, and I ground my jaw. I felt like I was going to puke.
“Hayley?” I yelled, my fists aching from my grip on the steering wheel.
Ollie snatched my phone off my lap. “Hayley!”
The only thing we could hear were random bits and pieces of Hayley’s voice. It was static. She was losing service, or I was. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t hear a damn thing.
“I swear to God,” I gritted through my teeth. “This shit has to stop. I can’t take it. The minute I let her out of my sight, something fucking happens.”
Ollie tried dialing Piper’s number again, but it wouldn’t pick up, so I kept driving.
My foot ached to go faster, but I was going as fast as I could. We were nearing the end of Route 55, and I didn’t see any taillights in the distance.
Where the fuck are they?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Hayley
My hands smacked the dashboard when Piper and I came to a sudden stop, but I popped back up almost immediately, the phone still clutched in my hand.
“Get out and run to that gas station. Now!” I shouted at Piper as we both whipped our seatbelts off. We were able to get a little ahead of the car following us, but not by much. We both tumbled out of her car and dashed for the lone gas station. Our feet slapped against the concrete as we heard screeching tires behind us. Piper grabbed onto my hand when we got to the glass door. The bell jingled above our heads, and the gas station clerk looked startled. He looked up from his phone with furrowed brows. I pulled Piper over to the counter, panting. I didn’t want to look behind me, afraid of who I’d find, but I did anyway. My heart dropped to the ground as I let out a gasp. I saw Eric jump out of his Range Rover. He looked at our car, met my eye through the glass door, and then turned around, waiting for the other car.
“Uh, can I help you girls?” the clerk asked as Piper and I stood back along the counter, still holding hands.
I squeezed her hand as I shut my eyes tightly. My body was shaking with adrenaline. My pulse was still racing under my skin. I’d been through some scary shit before, and I’d found myself in several compromising situations over the last few years, but nothing had ever been like this. The speeding, the bumper hitting, the panic in Christian’s voice, the uncertainty of what to do. It was all too much.
The bell chimed, and I popped my eyes open and met Eric’s icy eyes. “Are you guys okay?”
Piper dropped my hand and crouched down to rest her head among her jean-clad knees. Her head moved back and forth, her red hair swishing. She took several deep, loud breaths. I stood rigid straight. My hands were still shaking. My legs were tingling with fear.
The gas station clerk sounded from behind me. “Yeah, I’m kind of wondering the same thing. Are you girls okay?”
I couldn’t find my voice to answer either of them. Instead, I put my hands on top of my head and shut my eyes. Breathe in and out, Hayley. I
had to catch my breath. I needed to calm myself down. Fear was still slithering up my back like a snake. Why is this happening? I wanted to curse my father in his grave. I knew who was chasing us. Just like, deep down, I knew who attacked me at the football game.
I’m almost eighteen. They said they’d come for me when I was eighteen. The threat made years ago was coming to the surface, and I felt as if nothing in the last five years had prepared me for it.
“Christian’s here.”
My eyes flew open, and I instantly searched through the glass to find him. The Charger came to a sudden halt right beside Eric’s Range Rover, and he was out of the driver’s seat within half a second.
I held my breath until I got to him. I ran past Eric and took off through the door, hearing the little jingle above my head. I ran until I felt his arms circle around me. I buried my head into his chest, taking small gasps of air, breathing in his woodsy scent.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m sorry I didn’t get here faster.” I could feel his heart drumming through his chest, thrashing just as hard as mine. My eyes started to well up, but I squeezed his waist harder. Christian pulled me away just a fraction and wrapped his hands around my face. The loose strands of hair from my braids fell on top of his knuckles as he caged my cheeks in. “I don’t fucking like this, Hayley. I don’t like this feeling.”
“What feeling?” I breathed out, still holding on tight. My chest was still heaving; my body was still trembling.
“This fucking feeling of my heart being torn in half at the thought of something happening to you.” He brought his head down, resting his forehead on mine. “I fucking love you, Hayley. And I know that probably makes you recoil because you’re not used to being loved and cared for, but I do. I fucking love you, and we’re going to figure this out. Whatever it takes. I’m not letting someone take you away from me. I’ve already lost you once. I’m not doing it again.”
Tears fell down my face as Christian continued to ramble. His jaw was sharper than ever; his tone was like a knife being sharpened. He listed everything he was going to do in order to fix my father’s mistakes so I would be safe.
He loved me. Christian loved me. And I loved him. There was no other way around it.
That was what made the threat that much scarier. Now I had something to lose. I had someone to lose.
“Christian,” I whispered, pushing my body closer to his. “Stop.”
“I’m not going to stop. I’m never going to stop until I know you’re safe.” He shut his eyes, still resting his head on my forehead. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
“Christian,” I whispered, clenching his T-shirt in my hands. He finally took a breath and opened his eyes. The gray depths sucked me in. “I love you, too.”
He nodded his head along mine for several minutes. We just stared at each other and held one another under the buzzing gas station lights. “We’re gonna figure this out, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Christian
Hayley, Piper, Ollie, Eric, and I all sat around the breakfast bar with our heads huddled low a couple of days after the chase. We each had a copy of the police report from when Hayley’s father had died—courtesy of Ollie working his magic at the records office and flirting incessantly with the registrar.
Piper’s BMW didn’t have much damage, and she told her parents it was a hit-and-run accident at the football game, so no questions were asked. We still weren’t sure if the police had gone out on Route 55 when Ollie had called and told them about the BMW being tailgated, but nonetheless, they never came to the gas station that evening, so no one knew anything of the matter.
Except us five—and the fuckers driving the other vehicle.
I told Hayley I was done fucking around. Her mother’s half-assed, puzzling warning was on a loop in the back of my head, along with the threat from five years ago, and I was sick of feeling like a weight was on my shoulders whenever Hayley wasn’t around. I felt sick to my stomach, as if there was a rock laying inside, getting heavier with each day.
“So, why can’t we go to the police?” Eric leaned back in his seat, his black hair ruffled on top from running his hand through the strands. Eric demanded to know what was going on after he’d found Hayley and Piper at the gas station. Hayley didn’t want anyone else involved, but he was already knee-deep in, and to be honest, the more the fucking merrier. We needed to get this sorted out.
Hayley’s hand wrapped around mine as she looked at Eric. “Because Jim said that it’s an undercover sting and we shouldn’t get anyone involved. Because if the cover is blown or they know we’re looking into them or start asking questions, it could be ruined, and the last few years of work will go down the drain. Thus, there would never be an end to this.” Hayley took a deep breath. “I’m just ready for this to be done so I can breathe.”
Piper spoke up now. “But who are they?”
“That’s what we need to find out first,” I answered coldly. “We need to read through these papers and see if they mention it or give us a clue.” I glanced at Ollie, still holding Hayley’s warm palm in mine. “Ollie, you Google the shit out of drug runners and cartels that do business in Pike Valley and beyond. We’ll read these.” I dangled the papers in my other hand.
“Alright,” he answered, opening his laptop.
Hayley’s hand squeezed mine one last time before she let go and pulled the papers close to her face. She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and let out a hefty breath. I knew this was bothering her. Not only were we reading things about her past and her father, but she was adamant against people helping her. It made her nervous and fearful. But what she didn’t realize was that we were all fearful, too—even Eric. Hayley had the ability to make everyone around her fall in love with her. She radiated in a room, drawing loud attention to her quiet beauty.
I loved her. Ollie loved her. Piper loved her. And I was pretty certain Eric was starting to love her, too. Or maybe not. Maybe he was only helping because he knew I’d go ballistic if something happened to her. Either way, Hayley had woven her way into our iron-clad circle.
The severity of the situation wasn’t far from our minds. We were all on edge. In fact, for the last two nights, when I’d snuck into Hayley’s room, we didn’t talk. She curled up on her side and rested her head on my chest, both of us too caught up inside the tangle of fears inside our heads to do much of anything other than hold onto one another.
“Does Pete think you’re staying at Piper’s?” I asked Hayley as I tried to distract her from the paper in her hand. Her leg was bouncing up and down underneath the breakfast bar.
“Yeah, I told him we had a project to do. He grunted at me, so I assumed that was him saying it was okay.”
I nodded as she went back to reading the police report. I knew what was in there, and I knew what she was coming up on. I had scanned it before she came over. The dispatch conversation she had when she’d called the cops was in there, word for word. It was horrific to read—at least for me, knowing I hadn’t been there for her.
“Are you hungry?” I took her hand in mine. My chest felt like it was splitting open because I knew she was hurting.
Hayley slowly swung her gaze to me and stared. “Are you trying to distract me?”
A twitch of my lips had hers inching up. “Maybe.”
“Christian, I’m fine.”
You’re not, and that’s okay.
“I’m hungry,” Piper announced out of nowhere. Everyone turned their attention to her. She had her red hair tied in a high ponytail on top of her head, and she met my eye briefly. I know what you’re trying to do, she silently said.
I gave her a slight nod, and she jumped out of her chair. “Let’s make the boys some food while they look for clues.” She grabbed Hayley’s hand and pulled her out of the chair.
Hayley stood and placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t think I don’t know that you two are teaming up on me right
now. It’s not gonna work. I have cartel men trying to kidnap me; we need all hands on deck.”
“There doesn’t need to be four out of the five of us looking at the same document.” Eric sighed, flipping through another paper without looking up. “Plus, you lived through it. There isn’t anything in this report that you don’t already know. We need fresh eyes.”
Hayley didn’t say anything for a few moments. I watched her tiny body go from angry to calm in a matter of a few seconds. She didn’t like being pushed away or told what to do, but in the end, she knew it was the truth.
“Let us handle this part, okay?” I said softly, reaching out for her hand again. Hayley’s head dropped a fraction, but then she squeezed my palm and nodded once.
“Fine, but as soon as we’re done making food, I’m back in the ring. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I winked at her.
A small piece of relief fell upon my shoulders, but it did nothing to take away the dull ache in my stomach.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Hayley
I fiddled with the locket around my neck as I silently sat at Christian’s lunch table. Everyone was talking around me, except Christian, Ollie, Piper, and Eric. We all five remained quiet, wondering what our next move was.
It’d been several days since Piper and I were chased, and just a few hours ago, the five of us sat around Christian and Ollie’s breakfast bar, staying up way too late, trying to come up with some out-of-thin-air idea to get a drug cartel off my back. We were in over our heads. There was nothing a bunch of teenagers could do. In fact, there wasn’t much anyone could do. The cartel had been around for many, many years, according to the information Ollie had gotten off the internet, and not even the FBI had been able to stop them.
Jim said there was some sort of undercover sting going on, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the center of it all. I felt like I was the missing piece. I was the shiny, golden ticket that the FBI was dangling in front of some of the world’s most dangerous men.