Page 96 of The Thief

JESS

“I’ve got you. I’ll be here with you every step of the way,” Tyler told me as he put his arm around me, pulling me close as we drove through the streets of Brinton Manor.

I appreciated his comforting warmth, but honestly, nothing could really comfort me. Only having my daughter safe in my arms. Anything else was just noise.

Life right now was playing out like I was underwater. Sounds were muted and strange, and my body couldn’t function. Everything felt heavy, and yet, my adrenaline made me feel sick, panicked, enraged, and terrified at the same time.

“I can’t live without her, Ty. I just can’t,” I said, managing to speak through the razor blades embedded in my throat. “I don’t want to be here if...”

I couldn’t finish.

I didn’t want to finish.

“And I can’t live without either of you,” he replied, and I closed my eyes, willing her to be safe. Praying to God that I’d find her.

Hewould pay for what he’d done. I’d swear my life on that.

As we drove further across the town, Adam shouted to the guy on the back seat for instructions on where to go next. And it all started to dawn on me.

This was why Tyler did what he did.

This was why he sought revenge.

For people like me.

And Ava.

To give us justice, proper justice, and make sure that no one else would ever feel the way I was feeling right now.

Even though I’d known that before, it became so much clearer as I stared at the road ahead, willing the van to move faster. Some things were worth the sacrifice, because people mattered, my little girl mattered. She was my whole world.

The police were back at my mum’s, but because of Tyler, we were one step ahead. We were going to get her. We had to. This couldn’t end any other way. I wouldn’t survive.

“If you turn left, past the old quarry, then a sharp right,” the guy stated, and Adam did as he was told, taking corners at speed, making us hold onto the dashboard as he did.

“Straight down here,” he kept on. “Follow the road around, then you need to turn onto the dirt road. It’ll lead you to a dead end, but that’s the closest I can get you. The rest, we’re gonna have to do on foot.”

“Who said you’re coming anywhere?” Colton spat.

“Because I’m the one that can talk him round.”

“He’s right,” Adam piped up.

I didn’t care who was staying or going; all I cared about was getting out of this van and getting to my daughter.

As the van turned onto the dirt road, it bumped and jolted us around on the uneven ground, and my stomach rolled with nausea and fear.

What if we were too late?

What if this was a trap?

Could we really trust this man to tell us where they were or was he a part of all this?

My mind was stuck in a kaleidoscope of fear and confusion, and I couldn’t make sense of anything. All I could think about was Ava. All I wanted to do was hold her in my arms. She was all that mattered.

Eventually, we saw a metal fence ahead of us, and Adam pulled the van to a stop as the guy behind us said, “This is it.”

Adam turned the engine off and shifted in his seat to glare at the man behind us.