Page 37 of Undying Resilience
“Rhett and Elliot would never go for that.”
Ludo rolls his eyes. “You three and your loyalty. So what? Do you want your girl back or not? You know the phrase—ask for forgiveness, not permission.”
With a parting nod, Ludo walks deeper into the club, whistling an eerie tune as he does. The guard reaches out for me again, but I slap his hand away.
“I’m going,” I grouse. “I’m going.”
. . .
If I make it out of this alive, Rhett and Ell are going to kill me.
Ludo fucking Holloway is the last person I ever thought I’d take advice from. But we’re running out of options. Jordan is holding her underwater longer each time. And considering how out of it she looked at the end of that last video, she won’t be able to make it much longer.
We’re coming, princess. I promise.
Back home, I pause in front of the closed door to Elliot’s office. I need to make sure they’re both distracted before I leave.
“He hung up on you?” Rhett says.
“He said that because we made him wait, he’s going to make us wait,” Elliot replies. “And that he won’t exchange us for her. He won’t stop until all four of us are dead.”
Fuck.
Rhett says something back, but I’m already moving away from the office. I head downstairs silently, pulling a bracelet out of my pocket and slipping it onto my wrist. It’s been a while since I’ve worn it—haven’t needed to—but it’ll work perfectly for this.
I stare at the black skull charm surrounded by black beads. Inside the skull is a GPS tracking device. It was something I got years back after a job went wrong and I almost got killed. Rhett and Elliot always being able to find me seemed to ease their worries, so I wore it all the time until we got better at what we do.
Now it’s the way they’ll be able to find me and Wren. I’d let them in on my plan, but they’d stop me, and we’re running out of time. Rhett is ready to start going after people Jordan cares about, and I can’t let him do that. Not when we don’t know what Jordan will do to Wren in return.
As I head to my car, I schedule a text to go out to both Rhett and Elliot, explaining where I went. By the time they’ll get it, I’ll be far away enough that they won’t be able to stop me.
It feels like a betrayal. I’m going to be scaring the shit out of both of them, but Ludo is right. My guess is that Jordan has had people keeping an eye on our house ever since he got his hands on Wren. So if I can get myself into a vulnerable enough position, his men will probably come for me.
The whole situation makes me think that Jordan’s timing is terribly off. Why kidnap her the night we left? Had he not realized yet that we were gone? Or did he do it on purpose to draw out Wren’s suffering?
Regardless, the whole plan seems stupid. It would’ve made more sense to get us all at once. Or at least all closer together. Jordan must not fully understand who he’s dealing with. Because now that we know Wren is in trouble, we’ll stop at nothing to get her back.
Rhett calls me multiple times while I’m driving, but I ignore him. I can’t explain anything until I’m far enough away. If they try to stop me, then this was all a waste of time.
I leave my car near an empty park. There’s plenty of snow for sledding and playing outside, but it’s too cold for most kids, so the place is deserted.
Before I get far, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out and see Elliot’s face lit up on the screen. It’s past the time that I scheduled his text for, so he’s definitely read it. Guilt twists in my chest, but I don’t turn back. The park is a good place to catch me alone and off guard.
“I’m sorry,” I say when I take the call.
“Why are you doing this?”
The anguish in Elliot’s voice has my heart aching in a way I promised myself I’d never have to experience again. I close my eyes against the pain, but it doesn’t help at all.
“Why, Oliver?” he asks again.
The answer to his question is one I’ve been grappling with for a couple days. Ever since we took Wren to Evolve, really. It feels too fast, but I can’t deny the way I feel, even if it sounds naïve or rash.
“Because I love her, Ell.”
For a suffocatingly long time, there’s silence on the other end of the line. Then Elliot sighs. “I know.”
“She needs us. You saw her in that last video. One of these times, Jordan is going to keep her under for too long, and she’s not gonna be able to hold out for long enough.”