Page 122 of Between Regrets and Promises

“Fucking answer me!” he yells, making me jump. “And don’t you dare lie to me. Your life depends on it…” His threat has my heart racing harder.

Blinking, I swallow down the lump in my throat, hoping he can’t hear the fear in my voice. “Yes, I did at one time.”

“But then Mason happened,” he concludes. “We’ve been having a little chat.”

I study the device in his hand, and it looks like one of those cheap prepaid smartphones. “How’d you get his number?”

“I’m a lot smarter than you think. You don’t give me enough credit, Sophie,” he spews as a cruel grin spreads across his face. “I mirrored your phone, knowing he’d find a way to track it and then strategically placed it somewhere else. So he’ll go looking for you in one place, but you’ll be in another. By the time he figures it out, your body will be cold. And if all goes according to plan, I’ll have the satisfaction of killing him too.” He flashes an evil smirk, and it’s scary because it’s genuine.

The realization hits me that he’s using me as bait to get to Mason, and I pray Mason stays away and doesn’t try to be a hero. I don’t want anything to happen to him or anyone else.

Weston’s death is partially my fault, and I feel guilty about everything that happened. I should’ve left that night without him, called the cops, told Lennon the truth—any of those scenarios would’ve kept him alive and Mason out of trouble. If I’d never dated Weston, rushed into a relationship and introduced him to everyone, things would’ve been so different. Or hell, if I would’ve left him after the first time he hit me and reported it, maybe none of this would’ve happened.

“So did you fuck Mason while you were living with my brother?” He steps closer, narrowing his gaze on me like a predator hunting his prey. I can taste the bitterness in his tone as he scowls at me, and I know that nothing I say will satisfy him. My chest heaves with the anticipation of his next move,and the adrenaline rushes through me, but this time, I won’t take his shit lying down. I already did that with Weston, walked on eggshells, and that got me nowhere just as fast.

“I never cheated on Weston. I was faithful,” I tell him truthfully. “I loved him until he started hitting me and choking me and then threatened to kill me.” I wiggle my wrists, struggling against the tape, anger fueling my next words. “Now that I think about it, you two havea lotin common.”

And just like that, his fist comes toward me, and everything fades to black.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

MASON

I knewI shouldn’t have let her leave with that crazy fuck. The moment he showed up, I should’ve stood my ground and took her to the meeting myself. But the last thing I wanted to do was argue with Sophie before our date.

I don’t want to be the guy who tells her what to do. After the hell she went through with Weston, I don’t want to mirror any of his controlling behavior. I want Sophie to be free to make her own decisions, but I’m kicking myself now for not pushing harder to keep her away from him. That’s when I think about Maddie because she was with them earlier.

“Fuck,” I whisper, then demand Liam call Maddie as soon as possible to make sure she’s okay as I continue to call Sophie.

Back when I first met him as Caleb, I could tell he was bad news. His brother gave me the same creepy vibe. The way he looked at her and used a sob story to gain her trust were red flags from the start, and I’m so pissed because my gut was spot-on. But him being related to Weston? That was one thing that had never crossed my mind.

“She’s fine. At her dorm,” he tells me after a moment.

“Good,” I say, relieved she’s okay because this is messed up as it is. He could’ve taken them both, but I suspect I’m his main target in all of this. Knowing Sophie’s with Dalton makes me fucking sick. We have to find her as soon as possible. Liam and I stand in the empty parking lot of the church where the grief meetings are held, and I scream her name, praying for a goddamn miracle that she can hear me.

I call her again, over and over and over, pleading for her to call me. But it’s no use. She’s not here.

“This can’t be happening…” I whisper-shriek to Liam, struggling to catch my breath. What the hell am I gonna do? Call the cops? Call my dad? Tell Jerad to put a warrant out for his arrest?

If he has my girlfriend, and she can’t respond to my messages and calls, does that qualify as kidnapping?

Holy fuck, I can’t breathe, and the world seems to be spinning around me. The last time I felt this way was the night I couldn’t get ahold of Emma, and she ended her life. I have zero control of the situation, and it’s destroying me from the inside out.

Right before I have a full-on panic attack, my phone vibrates.

Dalton

An eye for an eye, killer. Murdered someone I loved, now I’m going to kill someone you love. Payback’s a bitch, asshole.

Attached is a picture of my sweet Sophie tied to a chair with duct tape across her mouth and unconscious as she sits there so helplessly.

“Motherfucker! I’m gonna kill him!” I howl.

Liam glances at the screen over my shoulder and gasps. I type out a response, not able to stop shaking.

Mason

If you fucking touch her, I’m gonna kill you. And it won’t be classified as self-defense this time. Let her go, Dalton, or I swear to God, this won’t end well for you.

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