Page 85 of Unhinged

“Well, thank you for looking into that.”

If he’d killed Selah, he would certainly kill her too. Fear and sadness and anger warred within her, twisting her stomach into knots.

“Do you know where he’s taking you?”

She threw a quick glance out the window at the darkened road. “I’m not sure.”

“You already left your house?”

“Yes.”

“Is he heading toward town?”

“Um…” She paused, pretending to think. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Where is he going?”

From the quiet tone of his voice, she could tell the words were more for himself than her, but she felt compelled to answer, her own response soft and unsure. “I don’t know.”

Luke swore under his breath. “Here’s what I want you to do: pretend to hang up but keep the call connected. Put it between the seats or somewhere he can’t reach it. Okay?”

“Thank you again for the update.” She hoped he understood her affirmation, and she was rewarded when he responded a moment later, his voice thick with emotion.

“I’ll find you, sweetheart. I promise.”

Tears pricked her eyes, emotion clogging her throat. What if this was the last time she ever heard his voice? “Luke, I⁠—”

“No.” His voice was fierce, and there was a moment of silence as he drew a ragged breath. “You tell me when I find you. Just hang in there for me.”

“Goodbye, Luke.”

Her heart fractured, and tears spilled over as she dropped the phone into the space between her seat and the door. Regret filled her for the time she’d wasted, and she swiped at the tears coursing down her cheeks. It wasn’t fair; she couldn’t bear to lose the love of her life just when she’d found him.

“Are you okay?”

Andrew’s voice intruded on her thoughts. She wanted to lash out at him, scream, cry, tell him the game was up, but she could do none of those things. Not if she wanted to get out of this alive.

“Fine.”

“You still care about him.”

It was a statement rather than a question, and for a moment, she was unsure how to respond. Should she lie to him and tell him things were over for good? No, he was too good at what he did; he’d be able to see right through that. Opting for a semi-truth, she nodded.

“I like him a lot. But… some of the things you said made sense. I just don’t know if we could have a future together.”

And wasn’t that the understatement of the century? She sat inches from a man who, for years, had pretended to be her friend. He’d deceived her. Used her. And now… he would kill her.

The farther they drove into the darkness, the more the butterflies in her stomach kicked up, filling her belly with dread. If she survived this, she swore she would never leave Luke’s side again.

Andrew drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, and his lips pursed pensively before turning down in a frown. “You’re nothing like her, you know.”

His Midwestern accent was back, and it hit her full force, transporting her back to that awful night. Somehow she managed to choke out the word, though she already knew the answer. “Who?”

“Selah.”

Hearing her name roll off his tongue was like a stab to the heart. She’d known he was responsible, yet hearing those words from his own mouth somehow made it more real. Hearing him admit it, that he was capable of something so awful… Her heart ached.

“Why did you do it?”