“You have five minutes to get everything that means anything to you and get back downstairs. You try to run,” Bishop says, his voice dipping, “and I’ll kill you myself. I’m done playing games.” Then he walks out and leaves me in my room, clutching the dark sequined dress I wore last weekend—back when things weren’t so complicated. I mean, as complicated as us being on the run from my psychopathic whatever he is. Ex? No. That doesn’t sound right.
“Jesus,” Tatum murmurs, walking in, her hair all over her face. She rubs the palm of her hand over her forehead. “What the hell happened?”
“You passed out,” I mutter, still annoyed at Bishop and shoving clothes into my suitcase. “And you have five minutes to pack before Bishop carries us both out.”
“I saw that.” Her eyes widen. “So he found us, huh?”
I chuckle, walking into the bathroom to grab my toothbrush. “No, we were never lost from him.”
LANDING BACK IN THE HAMPTONS wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Despite the fact that Bishop refused to even glance my way for the entire flight, I guess a sense of calm has come over me. Running is tiring. Keeping up with your aliases and fake appearances… I was tired of it to a degree. Did I want to get caught? No. But at the same time, it’s like it’s finally over.
Or just begun.
Stepping down off the steps and onto the tarmac, I grip onto Tatum’s arm and tug her forward.
“Ouch!” she protests. “Geez, Mads, I’m fragile right now.”
“What are we going to do, Tate?” I whisper as we head toward the awaiting black stretch limo. “I mean, seriously, what if they kill us?”
She rolls her eyes, pulling her arm out of my grip. “Madison, they’re not going to kill you. You’re being dramatic.” She looks at me and I narrow my eyes. “Fuck,” she exhales. “Fine, okay. Well, if they do, I won’t go down without a fight. All right?”
“Tatum.” I shake my head.
“Move.” Bishop shoves me toward the limo. I snarl at him, gripping the door handle just as a black Audi Q7 flies down the strip, skidding to a halt in a cloud of smoke. I wave the smoke away from my face and squint my eyes.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Bishop curses, shoving me behind himself.
“Nah-uh!” a voice barks behind the cloud.
I know that voice.
“Nate!” I yell, running toward the smoke and straight into his arms. He’s wearing his trademark red baseball cap flipped backward. I’ve never been so fucking happy to see that stupid cap. Pulling me into his chest, he lifts me off the ground, and I wrap my legs around him.
“Hey, Kitty, how you been?” He squeezes me into him.
“Not good,” I answer truthfully. I didn’t realize just how much I missed Nate until I heard his voice. I don’t know if it’s fair that I forgive him and not Bishop, but at the same time, Nate hasn’t threatened my life a hundred times within the space twenty-four hours.
Nate steps backward, his hands dropping down to mine. “It had to be done, sis. You know that.” He searches my eyes. “Right?” I pull my bottom lip into my mouth. “Listen, things have changed. If Bishop didn’t come get you, someone else would have, only you wouldn’t be coming home in a seat on that plane. You’d be coming home in a box.”
I exhale. “I just… I… I guess we have a lot to talk about.”
“Yeah.” Nate smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I guess we sort of do.” He looks directly over my shoulder and grins. “Oh, come on.” I throw a glance over my shoulder to see Bishop flipping Nate off. He tugs on my arm and points to his car. “Get in.” Then he looks to Tatum. “You too!”
Tatum huffs and then stomps toward the car. Slipping my seat forward, I let her slide into the back before pushing it back into place and getting into the front. As I close the door, she whispers from behind me, “What do you think this is all about?”
“I don’t know,” I answer, watching Nate and Bishop talk. “I mean, I know some, but not a lot. At least not right now.” I close my mouth, thinking about the book. They know I still have it. Will the boys let me read it? Are they still going to hide information from me?
Yes. I don’t trust them at all. Though I’m probably dreaming, I’ve never gone down without a fight, so it’s my turn to start playing the dealer, and these boys are about to become my pawns.
Nate pulls open the driver-side door and slides in. “So where are we going?”
I shrug, watching as Bishop gets into the limo and it slowly pulls away. “Take me somewhere.”
Nate winks at me then puts the car in reverse until we’re skidding out in a cloud of smoke. “I know just the place.”
“WHY CAN’T I COME?” TATUM moans, stomping her foot just as she gets out of Nate’s car.
Nate points toward her front door. “Get your ass inside, woman! I’ll deal with you on Monday. At school!”
I whip my head toward him just as Tatum trots off in defeat. “School?” I squeak. “No. No. No. No!” I shake my head, leaning into my door. “No, fuck no, Nate!”
“Hey!” He grins, putting the car into first gear and driving forward. “Not my orders, sis.”
“Oh, okay!” I snap. “And whose orders are they? Because I swear to God, Nate, if you say Bishop, I will kill you. And don’t play with me, because I’ve seen enough death to not flinch if I need to put a bullet between your pretty little eyes.”
“I see you’re still a badass.”
“I see you’re still not very smart!” I quip, shuffling in my seat to face forward.
