Chapter 149

hapter 149

KASMINE.

We had to move. There was a tightening in my gut and a pull of dread that refused to loosen.

I didn't trust Kester. Perhaps he must have followed us last night without us

knowing. Or he even had someone do the following. Maybe that was how he got to know our location.

We had left as soon as Jake returned from getting me some new clothes, a toothbrush, toiletries, and little thoughtful things he knew I'd be needing that made me want to cry because he knew without being told.

See why I had to love Jake? He was gentle in ways I didn't know I craved. Attentive in moments most people would overlook. He was so kind, loving and caring.

The new motel was small, almost tucked away from the world, sitting quietly on the edge of nowhere, and it was really far from the previous one.

Since we moved here, I felt more at peace. It was almost seven PM, and there have been no calls or

Kester yet.

Good.

texts from

I shifted beneath the thin motel sheets and winced. My body no longer felt like my own. I was cold and achy. My limbs were heavy like I'd been stitched together with lead. The pressure in my head was building, and my stomach twisted with a cocktail of nausea and hunger.

God, I needed help. Real help. A doctor. A hospital. Something stronger than Jake's kindness and this four-wall cocoon we were hiding in.

“Jake?” I murmured, propping myself up on my elbows. The room tilted slightly. My throat was dry, and my skin felt too tight for my bones.

He didn't answer immediately.

“Uh... yeah, babe," he finally said with his voice far off and his eyes still glued to the phone screen while his thumb froze mid-scroll.

He'd been like that since last night. Completely absorbed in whatever was on that phone-his body here, but his mind... somewhere else.

He hadn't touched me. He barely even offered a smile. Hadn't even looked me in the eye for more than a second. And that hurt more than I was ready to admit.

And worst of it all, he seemed... Troubled?

nothing. Maybe he just had some personal stuff to deal with. Maybe... Maybe I just need rest? Food? Medication? Warmth? God, the kind of warmth jake

crying already. I was

doing? You've been on your phone

on the bed beside him a little too quickly, like he was guilty. "It's nothing

Chapter 1:40

tense. I could

sat up and leaned forward,

jaw was clenched, and his fingers curled tightly into the edge of the

was hiding something. And it wasn't

Let's just... What would you like to eat?"

Jake's change of subject.

little. The screen

notification. A

I saw one

it again. Karina Wes Karmen was apprehended by

Team during

raid.

ignoring the

"she was taken by the

to look at me with

his breath. "That's...

was something in his voice that wasn't shock or curiosity. It

bad?"

carme as a relief

his breath. Although I didn't quite

more like her arrest opening up a

spoke again, "Did

number made my chest go cold.

wasn't I even surprised? Kester could go to any length to take anyone down. One hundred fifty million was fair compared

of.

was narrating, "No one. knows about it just yet. Kex is keeping it under for now; otherwise,

I didn't know him. "Jake... If it's still a secret, how did

as if he had just realized he had said something he shouldn't

narrowed my eyes, a sinking feeling building behind my ribs. "What kind of source?" I asked. "You're not even a

gave a nervous chuckle. “Babe,

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