Page 98 of Second Chance Savior

“Where is it?” I asked. “The hard drive with this list?”

Jud hesitated. “If Stillwater gets their hands on it, I’m as good as dead.”

“You’re forgetting that you’re as good as deadright fucking now. I should end you and bury you in the woods for all you’ve done.”

I grabbed the knife and lunged. Held the blade to his jugular. Cold steel, and I made sure he felt it. He screamed.

“But it turns out that list might save your life after all. I want it, Juddy. I’ll ask one more time.Where. Is. It?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Charlotte

I heard Jud scream.Whatever River was doing in there, I didn’t want to know.

I had the handgun he’d given me. River had told me to keep watch, so I made a circuit of the property. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. Hopefully we could get what we needed from Jud and be on our way.

But I didn’t have the best view of the road from anywhere on the property. From upstairs, I’d have a much better vantage point. So I went into the house.

Jud had left some odds and ends scattered around the kitchen. I quickly put things away, annoyed that he’d been treating this place like it was his own. I made a mental note to hire a cleaner to come by before my parents returned from Grand Junction. They didn’t deserve to come back to a messy house just because my ex had taken advantage of their absence.

Thoughts of him made another wave of disgust pass over me.

Upstairs, I passed down the hallway where the bedrooms branched on either side. My old room, the guest room whereRiver and Ross stayed when they used to visit. It still had the bunk beds inside.

I kept going until I reached our old schoolroom, which my dad had taken over for his many projects. It was at the front of the house and had the best view of the driveway and the road that led up from the valley and to the house. I opened up the window closest to the garage so that, if needed, I could use the bird call to signal River.

I had never imagined being back at this house with River again. Much less under these circumstances. Both of us were on the run, and he was out in the garage interrogating my ex-boyfriend. Talk about unlikely scenarios.

With every minute, more memories came back to me. Times with my sisters. Days spent exploring, doing experiments that we came up with at the spur of the moment. Playing games that we spent a week planning out in intricate detail.

Sometimes I took it for granted, but I’d had an idyllic childhood. And I had to credit my parents for that. I remembered how much crap I had given my mom for inviting the Kwon brothers to our house every summer. But I owed her for that too.

There had been drama and difficulty. But would things have turned out differently if we’d made different choices at any step of the way?

Would I be lieutenant governor at all?

Regardless of everything that was happening now, I still loved my job. There was so much more I could do to serve the people of my state. To stop parasites like Stillwater from victimizing anyone else. If I could use this terrible situation to fight back against Stillwater, to destroy them, then it would all be worth it.

But River…

Had anyone ever loved me the way River seemed to? How lucky was I that he felt that way for me?

I wanted his raw intimacy and affection. The way we kissed and argued and made each other laugh. To feel his passion as we made love. And his smiles, knowing that I’d made him happy. Two days of that was nowhere near enough.

I wanted to fall for him. To find a way to give him all of me. He deserved that.

But love couldn’t fix harsh reality.

I sat by the window as these thoughts tumbled through my mind. Then I sat up straighter. My breath caught.

I’d just seen a flash of light between the trees. Sun reflecting off of glass.

Shit.

Leaning out the window, I blew three quick bird calls on the whistle. My boots thudded on the stairs as I charged down, careening out of the back door and running for the garage.

River threw open the garage door just as I approached. “Someone’s coming?”

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