Page 96 of Our Darkest Summer

The air grew heavier in my lungs. If she’s out there, they could find her… except, I wasn’t so sure that was the case. I needed to tell him about the threats that were left at the Rhodes’ house. Even if Thomas didn’t believe the police could help, I did.

“There’s something you should know,” I started, just as my phone buzzed in my hand.

I glanced down.

BRAX

Missed Call

Above it, a text from Thomas. I scanned the screen, the blood cooling in my veins.

I looked back at my dad.

“You said you would react differently now… at something like that.” My voice was unsteady. “Did you mean it?”

His brows furrowed. He studied me, trying to read the shift in my expression. “Of course I did, Kevin.”

I swallowed, my fingers tightening around my phone.

“Then I need your help.”

Chapter Forty-Three

Thomas

I looked around me,and the music faded into nothing. The bass that had been rattling my ribs vanished, swallowed by the erratic thud-thud-thud of my heartbeat pounding against my skull. Something cold twisted in my gut. Heavy. Constricting.

Kinsley wasn’t here.

I ripped my phone from my pocket, my hands unsteady as I opened theFind Myapp.

Where are you? Where are you?

The map lagged. One second. Two. Too long.

Tension locked in my ribs, squeezing the air from my lungs. The signal blinked to life. My stomach dropped. This wasn’t right.

Not after last time. Not after what happened. She didn’t even look at the woods anymore, let alone go near them. A different kind of panic slammed into me. Colder, sharper, more violent.

I didn’t think. I moved.

The crowd was thick. I shoved through it, slamming into someone.

Braxton.

“Woah, buddy?—”

I grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the chaos. “Kinsley.” I was breathing hard, my chest tight. Something in my expression snapped him into focus. His face went still.

“What happened?”

I glanced past him toward the tree line. “Call Kevin.”

He froze, processing. “Alright, but?—”

I didn’t wait for the rest. I ran straight into the trees. I should’ve never let her out of my sight. Not now. Not before. I knew better. I always knew better.

The forest was wrong. Too still. The low-hanging fog curled around my legs as I jogged deeper into the dark, lit only by the harsh glow of my phone screen. Kinsley hadn’t moved in three minutes.