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a black top.
    I sat in the dark inside my Jeep for several minutes, making sure that Lex hadn’t been faking his relief, making sure he didn’t rush out into the driveway to search his truck for his phone.
    As I waited, I called up the picture on my phone once more and stared down at the photo. Even beaten and scared, she was beautiful.
    Once I was sure Lex wasn’t going to be rushing away from the poker game , I fired up the Jeep’s engine.
    Give me all the details about where you are , I texted and slid the phone into a cup holder behind the gear shift.
    I knew it would likely take a few minutes for her to reply. She must be somewhere with a shitty signal. I put the Jeep in gear and pulled out onto the road.
    I had somewhere to be.

9
     
    Honor
    He threw me in a hole in the woods, I texted, desperately searching my brain for any kind of detail that would help save my life.
    In the dark of the hole, I crouched, gripping the phone like it was my entire uni verse and desperately awaiting Nathan’s reply.
    None came.
    I brought up the screen and peered down at the message. It had a red exclamation point beside it. The message hadn’t sent.
    “Damn it!” I yelled, pissed at the shitty cell service. Pissed at being tossed into a hole like yesterday’s garbage.
    My entire body hurt, my fingers and toes had gone numb from the cold, and a different type of exhaustion was beginning to cloak my entire body. I knew I couldn’t surrender. I knew I had to fight.
    Why did fighting have to be so damn hard?
    I forced myself to stand up, to walk around the small hole, sticking close to the sides and walking in circles. I was like a hamster running on a wheel but never getting anywhere.
    I needed to generate all the warmth I could. Thankfully, it wasn’t winter, but it was fall, and at night the temperatures here dropped. I was only wearing a pair of spandex running capris, sneakers (with socks), a white Under Armour T-shirt, and a fitted hot-pink jacket.
    It wasn’t enough protection against the elements at night or trapped in a damp hole. As I walked, I pulled out the phone and glanced at the screen. The battery was still less than half, but at least it wasn’t dangerously close to dying. I kept my eye on the signal bars as I moved, hoping I would eventually move into a spot where there was something I could use.
    About ten minutes later, one lone bar appeared.
    I stopped walking and kept my feet planted on the ground. I didn’t bother to shoot off another text, not just yet. Instead, I redialed 9-1-1.
    The phone rang.
    “9-1-1, please state your emergency.”
    I sagged in relief. “My name is Honor Calhoun. I was kidnapped. I’m being held in the woods.”
    The woman started to talk and then line went dead.
    I screamed, my throat feeling raw and the force of my yell causing pain in my ribs. Tears blurred my vision, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t need to see down here. I was trapped, alone, in nothing but a dirt hole where I was to await some hideous fate.
    Had my luck with the phone run out? As the night wore on, would the darkness chase away the slim signal I’d been clinging to since I pulled out this phone?
    Dread was a hard knot that settled in the pit of my stomach. I glanced at it again. Still no signal. I thought about Nathan. About where he was. If he thought I was dead because I never replied , would he give up on me?
    Dear God, don’t let him give up.

10
     
    Nathan
    The inside of the police station was like a ghost town. It seemed odd that they would have such a skeleton crew working on a Friday night.
    I rushed in the set of front double doors, expecting to be greeted with noise and uniforms, with concerned faces and a staff of support ready to help me find Honor and bring down that sick bastard Lex.
    I wasn’t expecting to be met with a bunch of ringing phones and a couple of secretaries sitting behind desks cluttered with paper.
    One of the women perked up when she saw me stop behind the chest-high