Page 104 of Unmask
“Thanks for coming,” I murmured.
Carson’s sandy hair hung longer than usual and didn’t have a stitch of product in it, two things he tended to be meticulous about. His eyes were red from a combination of lack of sleep,stress, tears, and worry. “You said it was about Kenny.Andyou didn’t give me much of a choice.”
“That’s because I didn’t want you to talk me out of it.”
He rubbed at the back of his neck before glancing at me. “Talk you out of what exactly, Kay?”
I buckled myself in, the leather warm and buttery against my frozen fingers. “You don’t need to know anything else. It’s better that way. Just drive me to the old train yard off Route 19.”
His expression looked as if he wanted to push me into telling him what we were doing in the middle of the night, but in the end, he only nodded and threw his car into gear. “I’m surprised you’re alone. No security? No backup? No reinforcements? You sure about this?”
I stared out the window at the empty road stretching into the dark. “I’ve never been more sure about anything.”
As we drove, Carson kept stealing glances at me, and his energy seemed as restless as mine. Each mile we passed only tightened the knot in my chest. The train yard wasn’t far now. My hands clenched in my lap, nails digging crescents into my palms.
Carson’s fingers wrung the steering wheel as we paused at a stoplight. There were no other cars at the intersection. “I don’t see how this will help Kenny.”
One of my laces on my boots had come undone. I bent to quickly tie it. “Just stay in the car. Wait for me. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Maybe I should come with you?—”
“You can’t,” I interrupted, my head whirling in his direction, squashing the idea before he let it take root. “I need to do this. This is somethingIneed to do. This is my fault, Carson, and I need to fix it. Let me fix this.”
“Is that why you asked me instead ofhim?” he asked, disgruntledly. “Because you knew he would never let you get out of the car?”
I assumed he meant Kreed. It was no secret Carson wasn’t a fan of any Corvo, but especially Kreed. “I asked you because you’re my best friend, and I needed you.” It might not be fair to play with Carson’s emotions, but it was the truth. Regardless of what he felt for me, I cared about Carson, and I knew he’d never let me down, despite how much I disappointed him or hurt him, even if I never intended to.
He sighed, staring out the front windshield into the night. “I don’t like you going alone. I’m not about to lose both of you.”
His fears were far too valid. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” I had not one but two crews and the Elite who would potentially move heaven and earth to find me.
“You should’ve told Kreed,” he argued, words I never thought Carson would utter.
“I thought you despised him.”
“Trust me, I do. I’ll never understand what you see in him, but he has the means to do whatever it takes to keep you alive.” Regret lived in his tone, and most of those means he alluded to might be illegal.
“No,” I said quietly. “I couldn’t. He’d try to stop me, and if this goes to hell, I can’t have anyone else getting hurt.”
He clearly didn’t like my very stupid plan.
“Feel free to fill him in once I’m gone,” I joked, trying to ease the tension. My body was wound so damn tight I wasn’t sure I could move out of the car.
Carson frowned. “That’s not funny.” We reached the turnoff onto the gravel road leading to the abandoned yard, and he killed the headlights. The world dimmed around us into nothing but darkness.
“This is good,” I told Carson. “You can drop me off here.” I had to show up alone, which meant this was as far as I’d let Carson come, but I wanted him close enough that when Kenny was set free, he’d be the one to find her.
“You’ve got ten minutes,” he muttered, nothing in his expression happy. “Then I’m calling Kreed if you’re not back.” He made it sound like a threat, which would have made me smile except my mouth muscles lost the ability to curl.
Ten minutes should hopefully be more than enough. How long did it really take to kidnap one person and release another? I nodded, hand already on the door. “Thank you, Carson. Seriously. I mean it.” I took one long glance at my best friend, swallowing back the lump of emotion in my throat. I’d see him again. I refused to believe otherwise.
Taking a deep breath, I gathered my last tendrils of courage and started to open the door. My hand was on the handle, my fingers trembling.
“Don’t,” Carson said, his voice cracking as it broke the silence. “Kaylor, don’t go.”
I turned to him slowly, blinking under the streetlight. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, you do. You always do.” Unsnapping his seat belt, he shifted in his seat toward me. “This is my fault.”
