by Hart, Stella
My eyes widened. “You mean Wilmington, North Carolina?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that five hundred miles away?”
“A little under four hundred,” Jamie said. “But yes, it’s quite a long journey. It’ll take about six hours on the boat.”
“Why Wilmington?”
“A friend of mine owns a private airfield near there,” he said, dragging his fingertip to another point on the map. “That’s where we’ll fly out from to get to the first safe house. There’s no way Logan or anyone else will be checking logs or surveillance images from an airfield that far south, so we should be totally safe to go from there.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.”
“Not bad for a quickie plan, huh?”
I smiled faintly. “It’s pretty good.”
Jamie went silent for a moment. “Willow, you understand that you can’t come back from this, right?” he finally said, forehead creasing. “Once you’re gone, that’s it. There’s no coming home, ever again.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Are you absolutely sure you want to do it?” he asked, concern flashing in his eyes. “It’s not too late to cancel the whole thing if you want to back out.”
I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. “Don’t cancel it. I need to get out.”
“All right.” He glanced at his watch. “We should probably go soon. Are you ready?”
“Not yet. I have one more question.”
“What?”
“People will realize I’ve gone missing pretty quickly, and they’ll start looking as soon as that happens. What if they check the White House surveillance footage from tonight and see us walking around together? They’ll know you’re involved if they see that.”
Jamie’s eyes crinkled around the corners. “Don’t worry. I already considered that. The security cameras are going to experience a serious malfunction tonight.”
My brows shot up. “You can do that?”
“Being Chief of Staff to the president comes with some benefits,” he said with a grin. “Now, are you ready to go?”
I took another deep breath. “Yes.”
He opened the bathroom door a crack and peered out. “The hallway’s clear. Let’s move.”
We hurried down the hall, heading for the nearest stairwell. Once we made it to the lower basement level, we turned right and headed over to a large storage area. Several dusty paintings were propped up against the wood-paneled wall on the far side.
Jamie pushed three of the paintings aside and pressed on one of the panels. It creaked and then swung open to reveal a pitch-black hole, just large enough for a person to squeeze through.
“Here,” Jamie said, handing me a flashlight. “Use this.”
I switched it on and aimed it at the hole. “Are you sure this is safe?” I asked, squinting at the stone steps leading down into the darkness.
He nodded. “Yes. It’s the best way of getting you out of here without anyone noticing.”
“Fair enough.”
“Go now,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Uh-huh. See you on the other side.” My breath hitched as I cautiously climbed through the hole and took a few steps down. Then I turned and looked back up at Jamie. “Wait a minute…”
“What’s wrong?”
“What if you get caught sneaking into my aunt’s place?”
He frowned and rubbed his jaw. “Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.”
“But it could, right?”
“I suppose so,” he replied. “If your brother and I aren’t at the meeting point when you arrive, wait until midnight. If we still aren’t there by then, you can assume the worst has happened.”
“What should I do then?”
Jamie’s frown deepened. “You’ll have to save yourself,” he said. “Go home, make up an excuse to explain where you’ve been, and hope for the best.”
“Shit,” I muttered, wondering how the hell I’d ever be able to explain the missing necklace and the phone in the toilet. “Don’t get caught, okay?”
He smiled thinly. “Same to you.”
“I’ll do my best.” I gritted my teeth, turned back around and trudged down the steps, using the flashlight to guide my way.
The tunnels were freezing and damp, and the floor was littered with crunchy leaves. I tried to ignore the cold and headed through the passages as fast as I could, only stopping to check the map to ensure I was heading the right way.
As I hurried along in the darkness, I couldn’t help but remember the night Logan chased me through these exact tunnels in that horrible skull mask. That incident marked the beginning of his campaign of terror against me.
Tears brimmed in my eyes as I thought about everything that had happened since then. Despite it all, I couldn’t stop feeling guilty for leaving Logan behind. Couldn’t stop picturing what his face would look like when he realized I’d betrayed him yet again.
My throat started to ache, and the tears finally spilled out and slid down my cheeks. I stopped and crouched on the ground, wrapping my arms around myself as my chest heaved with sobs.
Why couldn’t Logan just say sorry for everything he’d done to me? If he did, I might’ve had some hope for us. I might’ve decided to stay and see if we could work something out after all.
He’s not sorry, a little voice in the back of my mind whispered. If he was, he would’ve said it by now.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push the thoughts out of my mind. Then I wiped my face and continued on my journey.
A minute later, I switched off the flashlight and clamped my hand over my mouth, thinking I heard footsteps up ahead. When it turned out to be several rats skittering down the tunnel instead, I couldn’t help but let out a tiny giggle. I never thought I’d be so grateful to see rodents instead of people.
With a sharp right turn and a few more yards of chilling darkness, I finally arrived at the steps Jamie had marked out on the map.
Because I no longer had my phone and I wasn’t wearing a watch, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I left the White House. I estimated that it had probably taken me around twenty minutes to make it to this spot, and it felt like another twenty passed as I crouched on the cold concrete in the alcove behind the steps, waiting for the signal that would mark my safe exit.
It came a moment later, three bright flashes in quick succession. Then a deep male voice muttered from somewhere above the grate. “Ms. Rhoades? Are you there?”
I stayed silent, remembering Jamie’s warning. Don’t leave unless you hear the codeword.
The voice came again. “Uh… ambrosia.”
I crept out of my hiding spot and peered through the grate. “I’m here.”
“Good. Sorry. Nearly forgot the damn word.” The man pulled the grate back and extended an arm. I took his hand and let him help me out.
Once I was safely standing in the dim alley, the man knelt to pick something up. “Jamie told me to bring you something warm, because it’ll be freezing out on the water,” he said, handing me a black coat and woolen scarf. “I’m Alex, by the way.”
“Thank you, Alex,” I murmured, wrapping the coat around me.
He ushered me over to a black car and helped me into the back. We rode in silence, stopping when we reached West Potomac Park on the river foreshore.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, eyes widening. “I thought we were meeting Jamie at a marina.”
Alex nodded. “We are, but it’s best for us to avoid the roads as much as possible right now,” he said. “We’re going to take a smaller boat from here to the marina. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” I murmured. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice.
He led me down to the river’s edge. A small silver motorboat was rocking gently on the dark water, tethered to a thick wooden post.
Alex helped me aboard. Then he fired up the engine and steered us downriver.
Th
e freezing wind whipped my hair around and made my teeth chatter as I crouched at the back of the boat, trying to ignore the queasy feeling in my stomach.
“See those lights down there on the right?” Alex called back to me a few minutes later.
I glanced up to see him pointing toward some glowing orange lights in the distance. “Yes.”
“That’s the marina. We’re about ten minutes away.”
“Okay.”
Alex’s phone suddenly rang in his back pocket. He grabbed it and answered the call with one hand, keeping the other on the boat’s steering wheel. “Hi. Uh-huh. She’s fine,” he said. “Great. Okay. I’ll tell her.”
He hung up and briefly turned to look at me. “That was Jamie,” he called over the howling wind.
“What did he say?” I asked, brows shooting up.
“He just arrived at the marina with your brother. Apparently he refused to leave your aunt’s house without his favorite dinosaur book. He wants you to read it to him when we get there.”
I smiled. “I will.”
When we arrived at the marina, Alex slowed down and carefully steered the boat to a narrow pier stretching out into the water. He tied it up and helped me out with one hand, pointing to a white luxury yacht with the other. “There’s our real ride,” he said with a grin.
The yacht looked to be around eighty feet long with three decks. The lights were all on, and I could see Jamie standing on one side of the middle deck, staring out at the water.
When he heard us approaching on the pier, he turned and walked down to greet us. “You made it,” he said, leaning down to give me a peck on the cheek.
“So did you.”
He nodded and directed me into the main cabin. “Jared was excited for you to read to him, but he fell asleep a few minutes ago,” he said. “Should we wake him up again?”
“No, let him rest. It’s late.”
“All right.” Jamie motioned toward a narrow doorway separating the main cabin from another space. “I’ll show you around. We’ll just have to be quiet so we don’t accidentally wake him up.”
I followed him through the doorway to the next cabin. There was a black leather couch on the left and a TV on the right. Beyond that were two single beds with fluffy gray blankets and overstuffed pillows.
One of Jared’s backpacks was sitting on the floor near the beds. His favorite dinosaur book was right next to it, along with a pair of sneakers. Jared, however, was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s not here,” I said, eyes widening.
Jamie’s brows furrowed. “He must’ve woken up again.”
“Where did he go?”
“Bathroom, presumably,” he replied, peering around. “I don’t know where else he could’ve gone.”
He beckoned for me to follow him through the cabin to another doorway. On the other side, a wooden stairway led down to a room lined with marble tiles. There was a shower and vanity on one side, and on the far end, there was another door. It was shut, but there was a crack of light under it, and I could hear the faint hum of an exhaust fan.
“There we go,” Jamie said, gesturing toward the door. “Guess he needed to pee.”
My shoulders slumped with relief. “At least he’ll get to see me before the morning now.”
Jamie smiled and patted me on the back. “Will you two be okay by yourselves for a few minutes?” he asked. “I have to go and confirm our course with Alex.”
“Sure.”
When he was gone, I stepped forward and rapped on the restroom door. “Hey, Jared, it’s me. Just letting you know I’m here.”
He didn’t respond.
I waited a couple of minutes before knocking again. “Jared? It’s Willow.”
Still no response.
“Are you okay?” I asked, anxiety spiking all over again. “You didn’t fall asleep on the toilet, did you?”
I waited another thirty seconds, and then I tried the handle. It was unlocked.
I opened the door and looked inside. Even though the light and fan were on, the room was empty.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
“Willow? Is something wrong?”
I whirled around to see Jamie stepping back into the bathroom. “Jared’s gone,” I said.
His brows shot up. “What do you mean?”
I showed him the empty cubicle. “He’s not in there. Could he have wandered outside?” I asked, heart pounding.
“Not without me seeing him. He should be down here in the cabin. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
A faint smile curved his lips. “Unless he was never on the boat to begin with.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, chest tightening. “And why are you smiling?”
Jamie stepped forward and rested a hand on my shoulder. “Your brother isn’t here, Willow,” he said gently.
I shook my head, eyes wide with confusion. “But… I saw his stuff out there.”
“Well, yes, I had to go and pick up some of his things so you’d believe he was here. But he’s not. He’s fast asleep in bed at your aunt’s place.”
“Why would you say he was here if he wasn’t?” I asked, stomach churning.
“How else could I have convinced you to leave with me in the middle of the night?” he said. “I know how much you care about him, and I know you’d never willingly go into hiding without him.”
Bile rose in my throat as the yacht suddenly started moving. “Stop!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping Alex could hear me from down here. “Stop the boat! Now!”
I tried to run forward to the stairway, but Jamie grabbed my left arm and pulled me back. “Sorry, Willow. We can’t do that.”
“Why? What the hell is going on?” I asked, trying to shake him off me.
He let out a short sigh and dropped my arm. “We had to get you out. You’ve been causing far too much trouble.”
“Trouble? For who?”
“Who do you think?” he said, eyes gleaming.
Every hair on the back of my neck stood up. “Oh my god,” I whispered, lifting one hand to my chest. “The Order.”
“That’s right.”
I took a deep breath. “So everything you said earlier about suspecting my mom and working with her to get close… that was a lie? You’ve actually been working for her all along?”
“No. I work for Q.”
“But my mom is Q.”
He smirked. “No. I just let you believe that to throw you off the scent until I could convince you to escape with me,” he said, putting the word ‘escape’ in air quotes. “Didn’t take long, did it?”
“If it isn’t my mom, then who the hell is it?” I asked, voice rising again. “Is it even a woman?”
Jamie lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “You’ll see.”
I slowly shrank back, shaking my head. “This doesn’t make any sense,” I said, voice quavering. “How can you work for Q? You aren’t even in the Order! You rejected the tap!”
“That’s the story, isn’t it?”
Comprehension finally dawned on me, and my eyes narrowed. “You’re part of the shadow council, aren’t you?” I said. “One of the secret members.”
“Aww, look who’s finally using her brain,” Jamie said, voice dripping with condescension.
I wordlessly sank to the floor, heart pounding so fast it felt like it would explode right out of my chest.
Jamie crouched next to me and clicked his tongue. “I guess you put your faith in the wrong person,” he said. “I warned you about that earlier, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, when you were lying through your teeth to trick me into going with you,” I muttered, avoiding his self-satisfied gaze.
“I had to do it. You were getting too close,” he said. He reached forward to tilt my chin upward, forcing me to look at him. “I just can’t believe how lucky I got.”
“Lucky?”
He smiled thinly. “Yes. You told me right to my face that you were secretly looki
ng into the Order. That’s why I arranged for our little meeting tonight—so I could find out just how much you knew and report back to Q. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a little too much.”
I swallowed hard. “So everything you told me at the party was a lie to lull me into a false sense of security until you and your cronies could take care of the situation.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t all bullshit. I had to sprinkle in some truth so I’d seem convincing,” he said, cocking a brow. “We really did kill your father for trying to open his big mouth to the media, and we really do make most of our money with a baby-trafficking operation. But not in the way I led you to believe.”
My upper lip curled. “You’re sick,” I hissed. “You, Q, whoever else is involved in this… all of you.”
“We’re not sick. We’re simply doing what’s necessary for—”
“If you say the greater good, I’ll kick you in the balls,” I cut in, pushing myself back up to my feet.
Jamie chuckled as he rose to his full height. “It’s cute how you think you have any power here at all,” he said. “If you knew where you really stood, you’d never speak to me like that.”
I took a deep breath and lifted my chin. “I do have power,” I said. “Q wants me to marry into the Thorne family. I don’t know why, but apparently it’s important to the cause, whatever the hell that is. So that means you can’t hurt me. You need me.”
“Sorry to burst your little bubble, but you’re wrong,” he replied. “You’ve been useful to us so far, in ways you haven’t even begun to comprehend, but you’ve become more trouble than you’re worth. That means you have to go.”
I stiffened. “So that’s it, then? You’re going to murder me like you murdered my father?”
Jamie snorted. “Of course not. You’re too valuable to kill,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “But I’m sure you’ll wish you were dead when you hear about our plans for you.”
“Why? What are you going to do to me?”
“You’ll see.”
“Stop saying that!” I said, gritting my teeth. “Just fucking tell me.”
His lips curled into another twisted smile. “All right. I suppose there’s no harm in letting you know,” he said, taking a step closer. “I’m taking you somewhere safe for now. A place where we can get you ready and make all the arrangements for your auction.”
