SWNOVELS Feral Crown: Chapter 21
I’m pouring myself a cup of coffee when my stomach turns and a memory hits me.
‘It’s still warm, want some?’ Bruce’s voice is distant, but another one sounds off right above me.
Muffled, but close. I can’t quite make it out.
Everything is dark. The only thing I’m able to sense is the smell of coffee wafting near me, that and Bruce’s cheap cologne.
“Mel, save some for me.” Eric walks into the kitchen, breaking me from the cell my mind has constructed.
It’s been two weeks since Hunter left and ever since we left Florida, bits and pieces of the night down in the bunker have trickled in. But still, I’m unsure if they’re something my mind conjured or if it’s what actually occurred.
They say trauma has a funny way of messing with your mind and there’s no doubt it’s definitely fucked with mine.
“Fine. Don’t answer. I’ll just make some more.” My brother scoots past me, his hand reaching up toward a cabinet and pulling out a mug.
He’s saying something, but my eyes are trained on the sleeve of his shirt. Bainbridge Valley Turkey Trot, emblazoned in bold letters.
Oh, God… No…
The memory hits me full force.
‘No, I don’t want any fucking coffee.’ The voice becomes a little bit clearer, but I still can’t place it. It’s familiar, but my brain isn’t working right.
Struggling, I pry my eyes open and tiny slits of light filter in, sending a shooting pain straight to my brain. Cringing, I shut them again, trying to make sense of the murmurs above me.
‘Move! Someone’s coming!’ The voice above me shouts, the sudden change in pitch making my eyes shoot open.
There. Right there on the shadow’s sleeve, imprinted in the same bold letters, Bainbridge Valley Turkey Trot.
Pain hits me square in the chest, knocking all air out of my lungs.
“Mel? You okay? You look pale.” My brother reaches for me but I stumble back, needing to make sense of what I just saw.
It can’t be, can it? My eyes travel down to Eric’s shirt. It’s the same color, the same fit, the same black letters.
It’s him. He was the looming shadow all this time. He was there when our father beat me. He was there when he got away. Hell, he helped him get away.
But why?
“Mel, you’re acting weird.” He takes another step toward me, one hand draping over my shoulder. “Here, let’s go for a walk. Maybe some fresh air will do you good.”
Outside. He’s trying to get me outside. All alone.
Over my dead-fucking-body.
Thinking on the fly, I come up with a plan. “Sounds good. Let me put on some boots. I’ll meet you by the door in two.”
His eyes are narrowed, his expression weary, but he nods in agreement. “Okay. But be quick about it. Don’t make me come hunt you down.”
I bet you would, brother. I bet you would.
Making haste, I rush toward my bedroom and pull out the burner phone Hunter had given me just before he left. I need to get somewhere private, somewhere Eric won’t hear, and tell him everything I’ve been holding back.
Like a bolt of lightning, a pang of guilt hits me, the hypocrisy of my actions so obvious a blind man could see. How could I expect honesty from my man when I myself have been holding on to these secrets.
No more. As soon as I get to a clearing, I’m telling him everything. Pulling on my boots, I crack open a window and send up a small prayer.
I’m going to need all of the help I can get. My brother is a park ranger and knows these woods like the back of his hand.
Whatever, I still need to try. God knows what’ll happen if he knows I’ve figured him out.
And by some act of grace, I make it to the tree line, breathing easier now that I’ll be harder to find inside the thicket.
Yes, I’ll be safer, but not in the clear. I just need to make it to the creek. There’s a small clearing and I should have enough reception to call Hunter from there.
It seems like forever before I can hear it, the sound of roaring water. Just a few more steps.
“Miss, you shouldn’t be out here.” A man dressed in camo emerges from behind a tree and I wonder just how long he’s been following me for.
I recognize him from the detail that’d been assigned to me, but I’m surprised this is the first I’m hearing from him. My eyes narrow as I look at him head on.
“I’ve been walking for a good twenty minutes, why didn’t you stop me before?”
He nibbles on his bottom lip as his eyes go downcast. “You seemed so sad; I thought you could use the fresh air. But this is far enough. It isn’t safe out here and we need to make our way back to the cabin.”
What he’s saying sort of makes sense, but my nerves are still rattled from my revelation earlier.
Taking my silence as acquiescence, he closes the distance between us, now raising a hand toward the direction where we came from. “After you.”
Oh, no. I’m not going with him. Not yet, anyway.
“Sure, right after I make a call.” I step around him, continuing on my original path, determined to reach my intended destination. “You’re free to follow me if you’d like, but I’m not going back until I’ve called—”
What the fuck? I haven’t even taken two steps when a sharp sting to my neck has my words halting and my brain going all fuzzy. Oh, shit. Isn’t this what happened to Mila?
Whirling on my feet, I turn to see my attacker. I want to punch him in the nuts, but my body betrays me, dropping to the ground as the branches and leaves form a canopy above me. God, how I hate this vantage point. Fuck it. Closing my eyes, I let the darkness take me. At least then I won’t feel whatever’s coming next.
Hunter
Mel is missing. Mel. Is. Missing.
My baby doll. My angel. My home.
“And where the fuck were you when this happened?!” I’m roaring into the line, demanding my brother answer, knowing full well that whatever he says won’t be enough.
“I’m sorry, Hunter. I was with Mila. I’d left your girl with Ericson.” There’s a pause but I don’t say anything. I can’t. “Look, they’re both missing along with another member of the team. It’s possible they went off on a walk, not telling anyone else.”
Taking in a centering breath, I utter words I’m not sure are much better than the nightmares looping in my head. “Is it possible? Possible, but not likely. Ericson knows better. He knows I’d flip my shit if he didn’t inform the team of Mel’s location.”
“Isn’t he still pissed at you? Hell, it sounded like you fucked his sister right in front of him. Maybe he’s doing this to get back at you.”
My eyes narrow as the thought crosses my mind, yes. This has definitely pissed me right off, but I don’t think he’d risk it knowing the hellfire I’d rain down on him.
“No. Something’s wrong. I feel it.” I run a hand through my hair, the fear inside making me want to rip it right off of my head just so I could feel something else. “Tell me you’ve grilled the remaining team, that you’ve already secured reinforcements and called Spencer. Hell, called everyone on that side of the mountain. We need a search party the size of Texas and we need it now.”
“Yes to all of it. The men are handing out flyers and we’ve got canines along with the manpower scouring the woods.” He’s silent after that, knowing that every second counts in moments like these and it’s already been two hours since she was last seen.
If we don’t find her soon, we might just never. I don’t know for sure who has Mel and her brother, but I have a damn good inkling on who it is.
Based on our surveillance, Raul and Catherine have joined forces, not surprising me one bit. I’m sure that it was El Jefe’s brother who helped her escape down in Miami.
The question is, how? We still haven’t figured that bit out, and a part of me fears that it’s the key to unlocking everything.
“Are you on the way, brother?” Jace asks, breaking me out of my thought process and bringing me back to the here and now.
“You know it. Couldn’t keep me away.” And if by some sick twist of fate, I find that Raul or his henchmen have hurt one hair on my girl’s head, then there is no square inch in hell that motherfucker will be able to hide in. I will hunt him down and rip his soul straight out of his body, inflicting torturous pain one pound of flesh at a time.