How Sinners Fight - Eva Ashwood Page 0,82

the couch. I’ve got to find her. Now. “I’ve never had a best friend before, a ride or die, and I won’t let anyone fucking hurt her.”

“Soph.” Declan’s voice seems to come from far away. “We need to—”

I don’t hear the rest of his words. I’m barely listening. My vision is blurry, but I blink away the panic.

“I’m going,” I say, heading for the door. “I’m not wasting another second, I’m not gonna let some fucking monster—”

“Fuck no.” Gray steps in front of the doorway, his broad body blocking mine.

“What?”

“You’re not going alone.” His voice is hard, an edge to it that I’ve never heard before.

“But they said I have to come alone—”

“And I said you’re not. I’m not letting you,” he repeats. “We’re not letting you.”

Elias and Declan step up beside him, the three of them forming a wall in front of me.

“It’s a trap, Blue,” Elias says quietly. “Can’t you see that? They want you, and they’re using her to lure you in.”

That should scare me, but it doesn’t. All I can think about right now is Max and getting her back before they do anything to her.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I glance at the text. The contact says MAX, and I desperately wish the words that follow were something like just kidding, I’m safe, I’m back at my dorm.

But when I read it, I know it’s not from her. It’s from her kidnapper.

This is real.

Wordlessly, I lift my phone and show the guys. The text is short and to the point. A set of coordinates and a time, followed by a simple warning. Don’t be late.

Gray shoves his hands into his pockets. “We have two hours. The drive will take at least thirty. We need to come up with a plan.” He turns to me. “We’re going with you whether you like it or not. This isn’t up for discussion, Sparrow. We’ll stay out of sight, but you need backup.”

“Okay.”

I nod, giving in. I hate the idea of putting the Sinners at risk, but I know it’s smarter to accept help than to go alone. If Max is in danger, having more of us out there trying to bring her back can only be a good thing.

Jesus. I told Gray he needed to prove he’s on my side, but I never imagined this would be the way he’d prove it.

For the next couple of minutes, the Sinners and I gather in a tight huddle, talking in low, urgent voices. As we come up with a rough plan, and I try not to think about what the kidnapper could be doing to Max right now.

Please, Max. Live through this.

None of us say a word as we make the drive up into the foothills.

What is there to say? My best friend has just been fucking kidnapped, and I don’t know if she’s still alive. I trust the Sinners to keep me safe, but I don’t trust whoever has Max to keep her safe. I can tell by the way the guys keep looking at me that they’re worried. The tension in their bodies makes it clear they don’t like this one bit, but I’m not afraid for myself.

I’m afraid for Max.

What if we’re too late? What if whoever kidnapped her doesn’t wait? Doesn’t hold up their end of the deal?

I’ve been trying not to think about that. Fear clouds my head, and I need all the strength and focus I can get right now. I’ve spent the past twenty minutes numbing myself, steeling my emotions for whatever is to come, but the knots in my stomach twist even tighter at the sight of the trees towering above us and the looming darkness ahead.

I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her.

It won’t. I won’t let it happen.

All too soon, we come to a rumbling stop by the side of a two-lane road. As Gray cuts the engine, the car is plunged into the kind of silence that only the deep woods can bring—far away from the city, the lights, the noise. I can hear my own heart rushing in my ears as I push the door open, stepping out onto hard, cold ground.

It’s chillier up in the foothills than it is in the valley where Hawthorne’s campus is located. I fight the urge to pull my loose jacket tighter around my shoulders. The tips of my fingers are already growing numb, but it’s not really from the cold, I know that.

Before I can step away from