Page 130 of You Make Me Feel
“Not gonna happen,” Darien shouts back. He pulls me back a little, like he thinks someone might be sneaking up. “Get me that boat. You’ve got nine minutes now.”
Outside, I hear voices on the radio and the roar of some engines as cars arrive and leave. They’re working fast.Good. Because I need this to be over. I let out a long breath as we wait, Darien’s hold on me tightening, like he thinks I might bolt.
And I think I would too. If there wasn’t a gun pressed to my head.
I have no idea how much time has passed before we hear Asher’s voice again. All I know is that my legs are aching and I’m so damn tired that I’m almost slumped against my ex.
“Okay, the boat is ready,” Asher calls out. “It’s at the ferry dock.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Darien shouts back.
“Because you have a woman at gunpoint,” Asher replies, not unreasonably.
Darien lets out a little growl. “You all need to leave. Get the vehicles out of here then we’ll go without any fuss. Do asingle thing to double cross me, and this bitch gets it, understood?”
“Understood,” Asher says. “We’re pulling out now. Just let Sadie go and we’ll leave.”
“She’s coming with me.”
For a second there’s no sound. I can’t even breathe.What?
“I’ll let her go when I’m back on dry land,” Darien says.
This time I’m the one who starts shaking. I don’t trust him. Not one bit. He’s an idiot and he’s scared and he’s desperate. It’s a terrible combination.
“Just let me go,” I whisper to him.
He shakes his head.
“Do you promise?” Asher asks.
“Of course. What do you take me for?” Darien shouts back. And I blink, because it sounds like Asher believes him.
Is he really going to let Darien take me to the mainland? Of course he is. He wants his family safe. He’s going to be a father, Francie comes first.
And I’m not a Fitzgerald. I’m not part of that family. For some reason that makes my throat feel tight.
“Okay,” Asher agrees. “We’re all leaving now. Give us a couple of minutes, and we’ll be gone.”
A single tear rolls down my cheek. Oh God, they’re really doing this. They’re leaving. They’re letting him take me.
It’s good, I tell myself. It’s the right thing to do. Get the threat off the island. I’d do the same. Probably.
The engines outside start to fade, one by one, until the street settles into a strange, hollow quiet. Darien stiffens behind me, listening hard. I focus on staying upright, on not thinking about what happens when we get to themainland. As long as that gun is against my head, or my body, I’m not doing anything stupid.
We’ll just get on the boat, then… leave.
Two more minutes pass before Darien checks his watch. “Pull open the blinds,” he says, nudging me toward the door. I do, and we both peer out past the closed sign to the empty street beyond.
No SUVs, no black clothed operatives. No Zach.
Just silence. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt more alone.
“Open the door,” Darien mutters. “Slowly. And if I see so much as you thinking, I swear?—”
“I get it,” I tell him, curling my fingers around the handle.
The lock clicks loud in the quiet. I ease the door open with the weight of his body pressed against mine, his breath hot at my neck, the gun digging into my side. The salty breeze hits my face, sharp and clean, and for a second I close my eyes.
