Ready Or Not (The Hunter’s Club #2)

Chapter 29

29

Take What You Want (feat. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott) - Post Malone

Riley and I ride for what feels like hours. My back aches, my mouth is dry, and my whole body hurts from trying not to touch Riley so I don’t set her off again. I know whatever happened to her was so bad she doesn’t want to talk about it, and she doesn’t want to be touched. And I get that. On a deep level, I get that.

So I just ride behind her. Stiff, uncomfortable, and fucking starving.

When we finally slow, it’s to a small town. Riley takes the neighborhood streets slowly, and I barely notice the houses we’re passing. Not many people are out.

We roll into a lot of land covered in tall grasses. At first, I thought it was an empty lot surrounded by trees and scrub at the edge of town. But then I notice the tiny house tucked into the back. The windows are broken in, and the door is off its hinges.

Riley stops the bike. I struggle to get off. My legs are stiff, my back is stiff, everything is stiff. Riley gets off first and offers me her hand.

I’m so exhausted, I take it.

Riley motions at the saddlebags. “Water and snacks.” She barely looks at me.

I open the bags. There’s a Walmart bag of snacks and a big thing of water. I rip into them, picking out the pretzels. I love pretzels, and I down as many as I can, then follow them with water. The water is warm, but it feels heavenly. I root through the rest of the snacks. She got fruit snacks too, and I rip those open.

When I finally feel satisfied, I stretch and look around. It’s right before sunset, and the world is brilliant and bright. For a second, I don’t see Riley. Then she comes out of the house. She gives me a dark look and motions me over.

Whose house is this? It looks like it’s been abandoned for a long time, and Riley’s face is angry. Cautiously, I walk up to where she’s walking. Riley stops suddenly, and I stop abruptly so I don’t run into her. I glance up to where she’s looking, but I don’t see anything. It’s just an old shed.

“Riley…”

She says nothing. When I glance over at her, she’s as still as a statue. There’s no expression on her face. It’s like she’s somewhere else.

I glance at the shed again. The doors are open, and I can see inside. No one’s in there. There’s junk and old pots and old wood.

She’s still frozen. Unmoving. It makes an eerie feeling wash over me.

“Riley?”

Nothing.

I glance around. Is she okay? I don’t touch her. I know it won’t help her.

I look around, looking for help, when I freeze.

Riley isn’t watching me. And I realize that for the first time, she isn’t paying me any attention, and I’m not chained up. This is my chance. My chance to get away.

I look at Riley and take a small step back.

Riley doesn’t move.

I take another step.

Still, Riley doesn’t react.

My heart races. If I go to the cops, surely they can protect me against Manson. If he’s as bad as Riley says, they’re probably looking for him anyway. I can tell them where he lives, and they’ll arrest him, and then I’ll be safe. But that means they’ll probably arrest Riley, too.

For some reason, my heart twists. I hate that idea. Even though this is the woman who helped kidnap and drug me. The woman who killed someone in front of me.

So why the hell am I hesitating?

Something isn’t right with Riley. She tried to hide the pain earlier, but now it’s all over her face. And for some unknown reason, I hate that.

I back away from her, but it physically hurts. Riley doesn’t notice. Adrenaline washes through my body. As I back up, my foot crunches on something. I glance down and lift my foot. I see a tiny skull, probably belonging to a squirrel, crushed to pieces under my boot.

Fuck. I broke it. Sadness fills me. As I stare at the fractured skull, I realize that staying means the end of all the things I know. To ever being able to go home. To collecting my skulls and minding my own business. To maybe even live my life.

So I do the only thing I can do. I run.

I dart toward the road, blindly running toward the rest of the town. My body feels sluggish, like it doesn’t want me to run, and my leg twinges in pain. But I have to. I have to.

Suddenly, my foot catches on something, and I crash to the ground, hands skidding on the dry dirt. I grind to a halt, suddenly hyper-aware of all the sounds around me.

“Rachel?” Riley asks.

I dart up, sprinting toward the road. My feet hit the pavement, and I turn left, running faster than I have in my life. Things blur past me as I go.

“Rachel!” The shout is a warning.

Fuck! I dart to the left. Maybe I can lose her in the brush. I jump into the bushes, only to get held back momentarily by the sticks. I push forward, pressing into the tree line.

I hear Riley chasing me. She’s close. So fucking close.

I heave for breath. This is it. She’s going to kill me if she catches me. I fucked up.

A body slams into mine, and I stumble forward. I rush toward the ground, and at the last second, I’m flipped around, so I land on a soft body as we go crashing into the dirt. In a second, Riley is hovering over top of me. Her eyes are bright and manic.

I scream, thrashing, trying to get away. Riley pins me down, laughing meanly. “Were you trying to run, Rachel?”

“Help!” I scream. “Somebody help!” I kick and buck.

“Don’t worry.” Riley struggles to get my hands pinned in her one. “I’ll kill you quickly.” She looks down at me with a mocking smile.

I fight to get away, but I’m stuck. Again. I’m trapped under someone who pities me and my weakness.

Just like with Papa.

Blind rage rushes through me. This may have been how it went as a child, but I will not die without a fight. I will not hide any longer.

“Fuck you,” I hiss. Fighting her fills me with adrenaline and fear, but I keep going. “I’ll take you down with me.” I struggle and glare up at Riley with all the hatred I can muster. Suddenly, all of the adrenaline that races through me feels good. I’m tired of taking everything quietly and never causing a scene. This will not be how I go down.

I butt my head up into Riley’s, and they crack together so hard I feel it in my teeth. She lets off my hands for a second, and I rip them out from under her.

Adrenaline rushes through me. If I’m going to die, I’ll die fighting.