“Get off of me,” she tries to shake me off her arm, but I don’t let go.
“Listen to me. I’m trying to help you.”
“Help? You don’t know the meaning of the word. Langston will be here soon, and he’ll kidnap you and drag you back to the island. Or better yet, kill you.”
“No, he won’t. I set him up. It was a trap. He might escape, but it won’t be anytime soon, and while he’s gone…” I nod in the direction of the kids.
“The kids are in danger,” Phoenix finishes my sentence with a gasp.
“Go, get them out of here. Somewhere safe,” I say.
She turns, and I think she’s heard me and is going to go protect her kids when she suddenly turns back. Her hand flies up, slapping me hard across the cheek.
I feel the sting all the way through my body. I deserve it. I deserve so much more. I didn’t believe the kids were real. I thought it was all a lie. But now I know, and I would never put children in danger for my own benefit.
I don’t know if it would have changed what I did. I had to do it, but I would have ensured the kids were safe, that Phoenix was safe.
Phoenix gives me a smug smirk, and then she runs toward her kids, yelling at them to get in their car.
Satisfied that Phoenix will keep the kids safe, I run back to the limo. Maxwell is now out of the limo and walking toward me.
“What the hell? You could have been seriously hurt,” he says.
“Drive me to Teterboro airport,” I say, marching to the car.
“What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just drive me to the airport.”
He shakes his head. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. My job is to protect you; I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s happening.”
I don’t trust him. There is no way I’m telling him anything. “This isn’t negotiable, Max. Give me your cell phone, then get in the car and drive.”
I hold out my hand, and Maxwell eventually tosses his phone to me before I stomp to the back door, open it, and climb in.
I watch from the window as Max curses and then eventually returns to the driver’s seat and starts to drive.
I call Enzo.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
I call Kai.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
I call Zeke.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
I call Beckett.
No answer.