Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

C allie rolled from her back to her side, sleep trying to tug her back under.

She squeezed her eyes shut at the light. What time was it? Surely it had to be time to get up if it was so bright.

She sucked in a deep breath, only to freeze…the sheets smelled different. Or maybe it was the room. Woodsy and earthy, nothing like Lock’s room or her own.

Her eyes flicked open to see a wooden ceiling with an old light centering the space. She swung her gaze to the side to see wood plank walls and a wooden dresser.

Her skin grew clammy and her heart started to thump as she pushed up to see deep purple bed sheets that were nothing like the beige ones in Lock’s room.

Panic seized her chest as she tried to recall her last memory.

It was the morning after her almost-kidnapping. Lock had gone somewhere. Aspen had visited, then Jesse took her home.

What had happened after that?

Antwan. She’d gone to his room to ask him something and found the shirt…then the phone.

Oh God.

What happened after the phone? Think, Callie.

She fought the clouds in her brain, recalling Antwan’s large frame as he’d stepped out of the bathroom.

And the fear…Jesus, the fear had almost swallowed her. She ran…but she didn’t make it. But then, she’d known she wouldn’t. Antwan was big and trained, one of the most dangerous soldiers in the world.

A tremble slid through her limbs as she lifted the soft material of the lilac dress…a dress she’d never seen before in her life.

He’d changed her. Put clothes on her while she’d been unconscious.

Nausea pitted her belly, but she couldn’t be sick. She had to figure out where she was and how to get out.

Carefully, she turned and set her bare feet on the wooden floorboards. Her gaze caught on a photo on the bedside table… A woman with a wide smile and green eyes eerily similar to Callie’s. Antwan’s arms were wrapped around her waist from behind, and they looked…happy.

Who was she?

Callie shook her head. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except getting out.

On legs that didn’t feel steady, she rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains to see nothing but trees. There was no fence. No other houses. She was isolated.

Shit, shit, shit.

Gripping the bottom of the window, she attempted to tug it up. She knew what would happen—of course she did—but she had to try.

It didn’t budge, not even a little bit.

She pulled harder. Again, nothing.

Her gaze caught on the small key lock. With shaking fingers, she traced the hole with her finger before inspecting the rest of the window. It was new. Everything about this room seemed old except the window.

He’d replaced it to lock her in. Had he replaced all of them?

Fear twisted her belly before shifting into something else. Something harder but easier to manage. Anger. Red-hot anger that this man she’d trusted, who was supposed to be a friend, would do this. Scare her. Hide her somewhere with him.

She crossed the room and tried the doorknob. She expected it to be locked as well. It wasn’t. Did that mean there wouldn’t be any other escape routes in the house?

She’d find a way out. She had to.

She’d just inched the door open when she heard a sound from somewhere in the cabin.

What was that? A plate being set against a counter?

Slowly, she inched out into a short hall before stopping at a small kitchen and living room. Antwan’s back was toward her as he lifted a plate from a rack and dried it with a tea towel.

He was doing dishes.

She almost wanted to laugh. A hysterical, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me kind of laugh, because it was absurd. Completely and utterly absurd that this man would kidnap her , then do a mundane task like drying dishes.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up.”

She jumped at the sound of his voice. But she shouldn’t have been surprised he knew she was there. He was just as perceptive as Lock, and Lock was always aware of his surroundings.

She wrapped her arms around her waist to chase off the chill. “Where are we?”

He turned, his black eyes staring into her. “Our cabin.”

Our cabin?

He said it like this was some romantic getaway, when it was the furthest thing from that.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “And there’s no getting out, Callie, so don’t try. It’s you and me.”

She swallowed the anger that threatened to break free. “Make this make sense, Antwan, because right now, I’m really confused.”

“What are you confused about, darlin’?”

What was she confused about? Was he trying to get a reaction out of her? “We’re just friends. We’ve always been friends.”

“Not true. I’ve loved you since the day Lock introduced us. I understand you might not feel the same about me right now, but one day you will.”

She flinched. Since Lock had introduced them? The framed photo in the bedroom flicked into her mind. “I saw the photo of you and that woman beside the bed. Who is she?”

Darkness flashed across his face before he shook his head. “She doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re here now, and you’re mine.”

She wasn’t his. She’d never be his.

The urge to scream at this insane man consumed her. But she had to be smart, not angry. “You can’t just take someone and assume they’ll become yours.”

“You’re not just someone . You’re the woman I love.” He went back to doing the dishes, like their conversation was completely rational. “When you disappeared, I thought I’d lost you forever. It killed me. But I bided my time, because I knew I’d find you eventually. Then, two years later, Lock tells me you’re back in Misty Peak, and I knew then that nothing and no one would stop me from having you.”

“But I don’t love you.”

He paused, glancing over his shoulder, the thick muscles in his biceps contracting and almost making her want to take back her words.

His jaw clenched, and he returned to the dishes. “I was hoping that while I stayed with Lock, you’d realize how strong our connection was and start to love me back. I killed for you. That’s something Lock would never do.”

Yeah, because Lock wasn’t insane.

“It was only last night, after a few drinks at the bar, that I started feeling…frustrated. I started thinking maybe you’d never come to me…and I acted rashly. I was an idiot, I admit. I tried to take you with little to no plan. It was fucking stupid, and I knew the moment I did it that it was a mistake. I didn’t even set the damn car bomb properly.”

She stumbled back a step. “Car bomb?”

“It was supposed to kill Lock. It didn’t. The asshole’s been blowing up my phone with texts and calls.”

The air rushed out of her chest, making her knees weak.

He was alive… Lock was alive.

Antwan’s eyes narrowed on her. “But I’m going to try again, and this time, there’ll be no mistakes.”

“Don’t.” The word came so quickly that Antwan’s narrowed eyes darkened. “I mean, you don’t need to do that, now that you have me.”

“He’ll look for you. He’ll scour every inch of the fucking earth to find you. He needs to be eliminated, something I put off for far too long because I let my emotions get in the way.”

Her mind worked fast, protecting Lock all she could think about. “I’ll end things with him.”

“What?”

“I’ll call him and tell him I want to be with you, not him. I’ll make him believe me.”

He turned, frowning. Was he thinking about it?

Say yes. You don’t need to hurt Lock.

She forced her feet to move. To cross the distance between them and touch her hands to his chest. “Please. Let me do this.”

Antwan’s eyes shifted between hers, and when his hands went to her hips, she barely stopped herself from pulling away.

“I’ve loved you for so long, Callie.” His head lowered, and when his breath brushed her neck, she bit her bottom lip hard to stop from cringing. “I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted you . When I couldn’t find you for those two years, I tried to forget you. But I couldn’t. And when Lock said you were back…I knew I couldn’t let you disappear a second time.”

She frowned, something pricking at her mind. “But you were with Hollie when the notes started.”

“She saw one of the notes I sent you.”

Ice slid over her skin. “And what did you do when she saw the note?”

“She was going to tell you. She was going to turn you against me. We fought and I…I lost control.”

“You killed her.” Callie hissed out the words.

“It was easy to frame Malone. We were already looking for him, and he was pissed about his organization.”

“What about Winnie and Remi?” Even as she asked the question, she knew.

His hands tightened on her hips. “I was staying with them a few days later. They didn’t want me to be alone. It was my shoes…my fucking shoes. Winnie saw a small streak of blood. I made up some bullshit excuse. But that same night, Remi went into the spare room. She knocked over my bag and found my gun. It was the same caliber that had killed Hollie. He called me in and we struggled. I did what I had to do.”

She was going to be sick. “You killed your teammate. Your friend.”

“I didn’t have a choice! I couldn’t go away for killing Hollie. For a while, I didn’t think I could live with myself after…but knowing you were out there kept me going.”

Oh God, this would destroy Lock.

“But I’ll let him live,” Antwan said as he looked up. “If you end things and promise not to run.”

There was no way in hell she wouldn’t be attempting to run if she got the chance. But there was also nothing she wouldn’t agree to in order to protect Lock. “I promise.”

His eyes heated, and his gaze locked on her mouth.

He was going to kiss her.

Bile crawled up her throat as his head lowered. His mouth was an inch from hers when a beep on his phone sounded, making him straighten.

Thank God.

He pulled out his cell and frowned. “Someone’s in my room.”

“Your room?”

“At Lock’s house. I put a camera and a motion detector in there.”

He stepped away from her and moved into the living room, tapping on his phone. The second his back was turned, she eyed the knives drying on the counter, one larger and a couple smaller.

She couldn’t attack him. He was too well trained. And when she failed, he might go back on his word and attack Lock.

Desolation swirled in her mind.

“ Fuck .”

She jumped at Antwan’s curse and looked up to see him still staring at his phone. He was angry.

“They’re going through my shit,” he yelled. “They know ! They’d only be in there if they knew. How the fuck do they know?” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “If Lock knows I took you, he won’t believe you want to leave him. He’ll search for you. I have to eliminate him. Then we can disappear. We’ll just become another unsolved crime.”

He nodded like it was already decided. Like he’d just planned out their entire future in a matter of seconds.

No . She wouldn’t let him kill Lock.

She turned so she was facing Antwan, her back to the knives. Her movement was slow as she reached behind her, trying not to give away what she was doing.

His gaze suddenly shot toward her, and her heart stopped. “I need you to wait here while I go out for a bit.”

“Now?” He was going to kill Lock now ? He was insane. Completely and utterly insane.

“I have to do this now. If anyone can figure out where we are, it’s him. He’s smart. And he’ll go to any lengths to get you back.” He crossed the space between them and cupped her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want me to hurt him, but—”

“He thinks of you as family.”

“I know. But I can’t lose you! I’ll make any sacrifice, go to any lengths, to make sure that you’re mine.”

He was sick.

He started to turn, and for a fraction of a second, Callie wondered if she could do it. But then the thought of Lock being attacked or killed flashed in her mind. The idea of never hearing his voice again…never seeing him…

She swung the big knife forward.

And at that exact moment, Antwan turned, eyes widening as he used lightning-fast reflexes to grab her wrist. “Callie—”

She swung her other arm, this time low, stabbing him in the side of his stomach and digging the smaller knife deep into his gut, then twisting.

He growled before swinging his elbow and making her world go black.