“Sure, you can think that all you want, but you aren’t getting out of our sights until we decide it’s safe to do so,” Banks hisses.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare out the window, watching as we drive deeper and deeper into the wilderness.
“You can tell me whatever you want, I’ll never believe anything you say.” The words come out stronger than I anticipated, even though it feels like I’m a piece of crumbling rock on a cliff’s edge.
Oliver speaks this time, “That’s fine. Maybe you won’t believe us, but you can’t deny the truth when it’s right in front of you, now can you?”
“I’ll believe it when I see it, and kidnapping me is not looking too good for you.” I don’t dare look at him, because deep down, I know he’s right. Deep down, there’s no way I can look away from the truth. Now the real question is… what is the whole truth?
7
We pull up to a cabin out in the middle of nowhere. We’re probably miles away from any other house, and even though I don’t know which way to run, I won’t just let them take me inside that cabin.
Banks cuts the engine, and I push open my door at the same time. Before they even realize what I’m doing, I’m sprinting away from the car, leaving the cabin and them behind me.
“Harlow, stop!” Oliver calls after me, but I don’t listen or turn around. Pushing my legs to go as fast as I can, I run like the wind. Trees whooshing by me as my feet pound over the soft forest floor. I don’t hear anyone following me, and I’m confused that they’re not.
Then, out of nowhere, a body slams into me, arms circling my waist as I’m tackled to the dirt-covered floor. I’m about to hit the ground face first, but mid-flight my assailant twists us around, so he lands hard on the ground, with me on top of him.
Still, the impact is harsh enough to knock the air out of my chest. Closing my eyes, I gasp for air, while my heart beats unnaturally fast in my chest.
Someone grunts heavily behind me, but his grip on me stays the same. “Shit… that hurt. Are you okay?” Sullivan groans into my ear.
“Let me go, and I’ll be better,” I snap back. Instead of letting me go, he rolls over so we can get up together. Keeping one hand tightly wrapped around my arm, he walks me back to the cabin I just ran away from.
Oliver and Banks are standing at the door, both of them have their arms crossed over their chest, giving me a disapproving look. Oliver actually shakes his head at me when I walk past him, and I have this urge to kick his leg.
“Don’t look at me like you’re my dad, and I just missed my curfew. You kidnapped me, did you really think I’d just let you and not try to get away?”
“You’re a pain in the ass,” Banks mutters under his breath somewhere behind me.
I ignore his comment.
Crossing the threshold, I step into the small cabin, which is basically one large room. My eyes dart around, there’s a kitchenette, a living space with a flat-screen, a recliner, a sectional, and angled off in the corner is a king-sized bed. There’s only one other door besides the front door, and I’m guessing that leads to a bathroom.
No. Hell no.
“I’m not staying here,” I yell. “Take me back to campus, right now,” I demand, but when I turn around, coming face to face with all three guys.
I find they’re each giving me a different looking level of sternness.
“No,” Oliver takes a step forward, forcing me to take a step back. “Stop fighting us.”
“Never,” I curl my lip. Taking another step backward, I nearly trip over my own feet. Sullivan comes to my rescue, once again, his hand gripping onto my bicep gently. The heat of his touch sears my skin, and instead of wanting to pull away, I want to lean into his touch, let him wrap both his arms around me.
“Well, this is going well,” Banks sighs, shutting the door and turning the lock. The noise of it draws my attention. Shit, I’m stuck inside this cabin with all three of them, with no way out. Fear slithers through my veins, but there’s something else there, something residing just beneath the surface. It’s warm and makes my stomach do summersaults. I don’t understand it, and nor do I want to. These men are my enemies, nothing more.
With his hand still wrapped around my upper arm, Sullivan turns to his brothers. “Did you explain to her why she is here?”
Oliver tosses his hands into the air, his handsome face riddled with frustration. “We told her she was in danger, of what we didn’t explain. It doesn’t matter right now, because she’s not going to believe a damn thing that we tell her. Shelby’s got her so brainwashed it isn’t even funny. Nothing we say is going to sink in.”