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The tension in the car is enough to rattle anyone. My foot jumps up and down. Devon grips the door like it’s his lifeline as he gives Leo short, one-line directions.
Seconds turn into minutes.
Minutes turn into an eternity.
After I feel like I can’t take anymore, Devon orders Leo to slow down. We drive down a side road at a crawl until Devon points to some spot in the woods that appears inconsequential. “There.”
Leo pulls over immediately. Cutting the engine, he jumps from the SUV and then yanks Devon forward as soon as he’s out. “Show us.”
Alaric and I scramble out of the car after them. My pulse is racing.
We walk single file through a barely there trail that appears ages old and practically unused. The woods are wet; the sun hasn’t made its way through the canopy to dry out the undergrowth.
My mind whirs. Are we just going to run in there and demand her back? Will Forbes be armed? Or have henchmen who are? The only weapon I have to my name right now is sheer will and a healthy amount of rage. It’s amazing what people can do when the stakes are high enough.
We were finally getting somewhere. Eden finally seemed like she was in a good place, and now this.
If anyone hurts her, I will kill them.
“What do you know about what’s going on?” Alaric asks Devon from behind Leo.
Devon shrugs as he dips under a low-hanging branch. “Keegan said his father went ballistic about Eden’s engagement announcement.”
“The wedding?” I question. It seems so stupid.
“Not just the wedding,” Devon says. “It’s about everything the Forbeses were going to get because of the wedding. Like a merger between two huge businesses, it meant dollar signs for everyone.”
And people will do anything for money.
I clench my teeth so hard I’m surprised they don’t crack. I hate everything about this world. About my own sometimes, too.
“What do you know about Delilah’s death?” I ask, a twig cracking under my foot.
Devon’s shoulders bunch. “N-nothing other than she drowned at the castle…” He comes to a stop. “There,” he says, pointing out a tall gray wall ahead of us on the path.
He walks faster, slipping through the mud a bit before finding his footing and reaching out for a missing piece in the wall face.
Glancing over his shoulder, he says, “You put your foot here and boost yourself over. There’s a similar one on the other side.”
“You first,” Leo grunts.
Devon’s eyes widen. “Me? Why me?”
“Get up the fucking wall.”
Devon peers up and then back at us. “I—”
Leo pulls a small gun from the back of his pants and points it at him. “I said get up the fucking wall. If you think I don’t know how to use this, think again.”
Devon tips his chin in the air. “You’d be doing me a favor.”
“Fine.” Leo places the gun in the waistband of his pants again and marches forward until Devon’s back is against the wall. He pulls a shiny knife from his pocket and holds it in front of him. “My English friend said he’d twist your balls off. I’ll filet them off, nice and slow. When you pass out, I’ll wake you back up and continue slicing inch by inch, and I’ll delight in the blood staining my fingers. Now, get up thefuckingwall.”
Devon’s eyes flutter closed, but when Leo pulls away, he turns back around and starts scaling the stone.
Leo repockets his knife, and I’m glad I know at least one psycho. We might need him for what could happen in there.
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