Page 72 of Until the End

“You don’t know anything about me!” he screams. “Virginia! If you’re not out here in three seconds, I will shoot.”

When he starts to count down, I bolt out of the car. “Okay, okay. I’m here. Please don’t hurt him.”

He keeps the gun on Daren as he eyes me. I still have no idea who he is or what he wants from me.

“Move away from the car.”

A pained look crosses Carson’s face. “Goose…”

“I know.” With slow steps, I follow the guy’s demand. I’m almost in the road now and don’t want to go any further.

Without warning, the guy rears back and pistol-whips Daren in the side of the head. Daren slumps to the ground, his body limp and his head bleeding. I slap my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming. What the hell are we going to do?

Carson’s hand on my arm pulls me out of my panic. I don’t know when he moved closer to me, but I’m glad he’s here. His eyes reflect the terror in mine.

The guy swings the gun around to point it at us. “If you have a phone in your pocket, throw it on the ground.” Carson and I prove that neither of us has our phones before he nods toward his parked car. “Now, you two are coming with me.”

Carson’s grip on my arm eases a bit at that news. He’s not going to force us to separate. Selfishly, I’m glad I won’t be alone, but I’m terrified Carson is going to get hurt now because he’ll try to save me.

“Let’s go!” the man screams. We slowly turn around and walk to the guy’s beat-up car. It takes both an eternity and the blink of an eye to reach the passenger door. The guy points his gun at Carson. “You’re going to drive.” He turns to me. “And I swear to god, if you make any trouble, he will die. I don’t even care if he’s driving.”

I nod several times in a row, too scared to make a noise.

Carson and I move to our respective spots, our eyes connecting over the car door. We’re in this together, until the end.

Chapter 42

Carson

Isqueeze the steering wheel until my knuckles are white. How the fuck are we going to get out of this? Daren obviously won’t sit back and let us be taken, but he’s knocked out cold. There’s not a damn thing he can do now. I’m just grateful this jackass took me, too. God, I would be losing my mind if I’d been forced to stay behind.

“Wh-what’s your name?” Ginny stutters.

“Calvin,” he responds. The gun hasn’t dropped an inch since we got in the car. It’s freaking me out more than I ever imagined it would.

“Where are you taking us?”

I have no idea why Ginny is trying to have a conversation with this guy. He doesn’t seem like the sort to be swayed by personal anecdotes.

“Does it matter?” Calvin snaps. “You don’t have a choice.”

In the rearview mirror, I watch Ginny roll her eyes. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

“Can I ask why you’re doing this, then?”

“BecauseIdon’t have a choice.”

“Everyone has a choice. They may not be great, but you have them.”

Calvin makes a derisive snort. “Easy for the princess to say.”

A minute later, he’s pointing at a dirt road. I’ve lived in Sonoma my entire life, and I have no idea where we are. This isn’t a property that I’ve ever been to, nor do I know who lives out here. Nothing about this situation makes sense. This random guy hasn’t said a word about why he’s kidnapping us, and now we’re pulling onto a long-neglected county road.

When Calvin first pointed that gun at Daren, I was terrified. Now, I’m pissed off. It’s taking everything I have not to grab that gun from him and end this once and for all. The only thing stopping me is the fact that I’m driving this car and would rather die than put Ginny and our baby in more danger.

As soon as I find an opportunity, this is over.

“Pull in here.” Calvin points to a washed-out gravel driveway.

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