Chapter 127 BRING HER BACK
CHAOS.
“Cormac Graves!”
The headmaster’s voice cut through the night air, sharper this time, more insistent.
I tuned him out. Whatever he wanted to say about the photos, about the disaster inside, it could wait. It could all wait.
Every second I stood here was another second Merrielynn was with them.
Footsteps pounded behind me—lighter, faster than the headmaster’s. I turned sharply to see Emorie and Tobias running after me.
Good. Maybe they had something useful.
I stopped, letting them catch up, my hands already curled into fists at my sides.
“Tell me exactly what you saw,” I demanded the second Tobias was within earshot.
The panic was clawing up my throat, making it hard to breathe.
Tobias bent over slightly, catching his breath. “I chased after her as soon as the pictures went up,” he said between breaths. “She ran out of there like she couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t gonna just let her go alone.”
I clenched my jaw, my whole body going rigid. “And?”
He straightened, shaking his head. “By the time I got outside, Valtor had her. He was leading her to his car.”
Something hot and violent exploded in my chest.
“Did she go willingly?” The question came out low, dangerous.
Tobias hesitated, and that hesitation made my stomach drop. “He looked... worried,” he said carefully. “Like he was trying to help her. But I wasn’t sure. That’s when I saw who was in the driver’s seat.”
“Juniper,” Emorie cut in. She glanced at Tobias like she was checking her facts. “Right?”
He nodded.
I looked away from them, my eyes sweeping the parking lot like I might somehow spot Valtor’s car still sitting there. Like this might all be some fucked up misunderstanding.
But it wasn’t.
I stepped closer to Tobias, getting right in his space. “And you didn’t stop them?”
He bristled, his own frustration finally showing. “It was dark,” he shot back. “I didn’t realize it was Juniper at first. By the time I figured it out, they were already driving off.”
The blood rushed in my ears, drowning out everything else. My mind was already running through every horrible possibility of what Valtor and Juniper might do to her.
I turned on my heel and headed for my car.
“We need to find them,” I said, not looking back. “Now.”
“But how?” Emorie’s voice was strained as she hurried after me. “We don’t even know where to start looking.”
That stopped me.
I turned around, hating how helpless I felt. Hating that she was right.
I didn’t know where they’d gone. Didn’t know what direction they’d headed. And my phone—the one thing that might have helped—was gone.
Stolen by the same person who had Merrielynn.
Tobias was watching me with his arms folded, one eyebrow raised in this almost accusatory way.
“What?” I snapped.
“You know,” he said slowly, tilting his head, “this situation shouldn’t even be that weird, right? Valtor’s your best friend. Merrielynn’s your girlfriend—orwas orwhatever the hell she is to you. What are we so worried about?”
“Tobias!” Emorie hissed, shooting him a warning look.
My heart clenched painfully in my chest, but I kept my face blank.
I couldn’t explain. Couldn’t tell them that I didn’t trust Valtor anymore. That the realization of his betrayal was making me physically sick. That I’d been too fucking blind to see what was right in front of me this whole time.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay calm. “What direction did they go?”
Tobias threw his hands up. “I already told you, man—I don’t know!”
The frustration in his voice matched my own, and I knew I was wasting time standing here.
Without another word, I turned and walked to my car.
“Chaos?”
Emorie’s voice made me pause. I looked back at her.
Her face was pale, worried. “Please,” she said quietly. “Bring her back.”
The second I was inside my car, everything hit me at once. The weight of it all crashed down so hard I couldn’t breathe.
I slammed my hands against the steering wheel, the horn blaring into the night.
“Fuck!” The word tore out of me.
My chest heaved as I tried to get a grip, tried to think through the panic and rage and fear.
Where would Valtor take her?
What did he want with her?
What was he planning to do?
I turned the key, the engine roaring to life, and pulled out of the parking lot.
As I drove, pieces started clicking together in my mind—connections I should have made days ago, weeks ago even.
My best friend had betrayed me.
Not just by taking Merrielynn. But in every possible way.
The missing phone. The photos projected for everyone to see. The whole fucking setup.
And there was no way—absolutely no way—he hadn’t been the one to tell my father about Merrielynn.
My stomach churned as my father’s face appeared in my mind. If my father was involved in this, if he’d given Valtor orders...
I gripped the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white.
The memories were there now.
The day in the alley when we’d caught that man following me. I’d left Valtor alone with him for just a second, and somehow the guy had slipped away.
At the time, I’d thought it was an accident. Bad luck.
Now I knew better.
Every conversation we’d had about Merrielynn. The way Valtor’s would get tight whenever her name came up. The way he’d push and push, trying to convince me to let her go.
He’d been against her from the beginning. Always trying to get me to walk away.
And that night at my apartment,when he came over acting like he was just checking on me. I’d told him I’d figured out who snitched to my father about Merrielynn being back.
My voice was a hollow whisper, “It was you the whole fucking time.”
My best friend. The person I’d trusted with everything...
He’d sold out the girl I loved?
For what some twisted sense of justice? Revenge for Lorelai?
My fingers clenched around the steering wheel until they ached.
I’d never blamed Merrielynn for what happened on that bridge two years ago. Never thought she deserved the so-called justice my father and Valtor seemed so obsessed with.
But here we were anyway. Life throwing it all back in my face like some sick joke.
“I need to find her,” I muttered, scanning every car I passed, looking for any sign of Valtor’s vehicle. “I need to find her. I need to—”
My eyes flicked to theGPS on my dashboard, and somethinghit me.
The tracker.
My phone had a tracker on it.
Valtor had stolen my phone—which meant if I could access the tracker through another device, I could find my phone.
I found my phone, I found Valtor.
And if I found Valtor...I found Merrielynn.