I clench my teeth to the point of pain.
“Please… don’t make me do this.” I can’t believe he’s got me to beg.
“You’ve got twenty-four hours. Tick tock.”
He hangs up.
NOW
I’ve been staring at my phone for the past thirty minutes, debating on whether or not I should call her. Just explain everything from beginning to end. Tell her that I love her and after tonight, everything will be fine. I’ll come home. I can’t keep this up. I did what they said like a brainless puppet because the mere thought of seeing her get hurt drove me completely mad.
To think she believed that I could even consider, for half a second, fucking someone else. I don’t think I could get a hard-on even if I tried. In her defense, I got everyone fooled. Even Vic. He tried and tried to convince me not to bring the girl back home when we went out that night. He said I had something good. Something that deserved a fighting chance, unlike him. I told him nothing happened yesterday. I’m not sure how Winter even found out I’d faked it in the first place.
When they started sending me pictures of her a bit before the cheating setup, I realized how serious they were. She went out for coffee, then grocery shopping, and they snapped a pic to let me know they were watching, that they were close. I hope they didn’t see me go back to the apartment last night. No death threats so far.
They’ve been dangling the idea of this job like a piece of meat for a while now. If I do this thing for them and survive, I could be out
of this nightmare. For good. Free to be with her, or so they said, but then again, can I trust them?
I fucking hate myself. Because even after all of this, I still want to find Marcus. It put me into this mess in the first place, it risks destroying the only good thing in my life, but I want to keep looking. I need to find him. For Des.
I dial their number for what I hope to be the last time. He picks up but doesn’t speak. He never does.
“I’ll do it.”
Silence.
“Excellent.”
“I do this and I’m free? We’re free?”
“Yes.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
He scoffs. “You don’t. That’s what makes it so fun.”
I want to bust my fist through the car window but talk myself out of it. I’ll need both hands when I pull her into my arms tonight.
“What do I have to do?”
“Go to the usual spot at nine. I’ll have someone meet you for instructions. Don’t be late.”
I hang up.
In a few hours, I’ll be free.
In a few hours, I’ll go home to her.
I just have to survive the night.
27
One Last Call
WINTER
“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I can’t help you. These are the doctor’s orders.”