Page 103 of Callum
“Freddie, that wasn’t me,” she stated firmly, suddenly seeing more pain in his gaze than anything else. “You already know it wasn’t.”
“It was. In my head, itwasyou.” He swallowed and straightened, seeming to get a hold of his emotions. “And it will be again.”
Jesus Christ.
He pulled off the main road onto what looked like a dirt driveway. “We’re here. Tomorrow morning, we’ll drive to the property I bought.”
Okay, this wasn’t terrible. She had a night close to Cradle Mountain and the house was near a semi-busy road. If she could get away from Freddie and back to the road, she might just be able to flag someone down to help her.
Different escape plans ran through her head. She’d have to get a look at the house. See what she could use as a weapon.
Her mind was moving a million miles a minute when a car suddenly pulled out from behind some trees into the drive, right in front of them. Freddie slammed his foot on the brake and cursed.
Another car pulled out from the other side of the house. Both had their high beams on.
When lights shone from behind, Fiona swung her head around to see two more cars.
“What the hell is this?” Freddie gasped.
Dread clawed at her gut. It dug so deep, she struggled to get air. “Freddie…did you tell Olivia you were bringing me here?”
His gaze swung to her. “Yes. She asked what my plan was, so I told her.”
Her heart started to pound to a new rhythm, loud and hard in her chest.
“What?” Freddie asked.
“Olivia stole money from some really bad people, then she ran. If she took over my life, she may have put me intohersto get them off her back.”
All the color drained from Freddie’s face.
The doors of the cars in front of them opened, and big men in sleeveless shirts, all of them riddled in tattoos, stepped out, two from each car. The guns in their hands made a new wave of terror weave through her belly.
“Get out,” one of the men yelled.
For a moment, Fiona was still, not because she was intentionally going against the order, but because she was utterly paralyzed. Unable to move. Unable to speak.
The same man lifted his gun and aimed for their windshield. “Get out now, or I’ll shoot you through the glass.”
Move, Fiona.
The shout in her head had her trembling fingers reaching for the door. It opened, but when she turned, she saw Freddie was still sitting there, so pale she wondered if he’d pass out. She shoved his shoulder.
“Freddie, we need to get out or they’ll kill us.”
Her words seemed to pull him out of whatever trance he’d been in. He undid his seat belt and climbed out with her. She turned to look behind them, spotting an almost identical scene of four men standing in front of two cars.
Eight men in total surrounded them, all armed. Unless she could talk her way out of this, she was screwed.
She lifted her hands and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Freddie did.
“She’s not Olivia! And I’m not part of this. We can tell you where the real Olivia is, but you need to let us—”
The bullet cut through the air, hitting Freddie between the eyes.
Fiona’s heart stopped, her world almost fading to black. She covered her mouth with one hand and grabbed the car with the other to keep herself upright.
Freddie…dead. The two words together didn’t compute in her head.
