Chapter 105
Chapter 105
Claire’s POV
Dammit, I refuse to stay locked in this room like a scared mouse. I’ve had my fill of being like this. I worked too damn fucking hard to be strong and independent during my last months and two years of planning with Jonathan. I attended defense classes when he thought I was working late. I read everything I could get my hands on about mental strategy. This, it isn’t me. Being locked up in a room whilst Clive has it out with Jake.
I can hear Clive’s voice. He isn’t exactly keeping it down. And Jake’s too. What I want to know is what is their real connection. There is something more to all of this than meets the eye.
My phone vibrates beside me on the bed. It’s Nathalie.
Have you made a move yet?
No, I’m waiting to get out. When it’s late and everyone has gone to sleep. For now, I’m locked in my damn room because Clive and Jake are having some kind of disagreement. To be honest, Nat, I have no idea what I’m going to do. The town seems involved. I feel like I am in some hick movie.
I wait for her to reply witnessing the three dots appear, disappear and then reappear. Finally, her message comes through.
Okay, make sure you wrap up and take good care, Claire. The storm is heading that way if it hasn’t already hit. I’ve been trying to stay on top of the weather forecasts. I also took a scout around on Google maps around Clive’s land. Seems there is a fence right through the woods. You need to go as the crow flies, directly straight through the middle.
Fuck, that will take me across the path where the woman was found. Ugh. That gives me all sorts of creepy shivers. Is she insane? Does she know what she is asking of me?
I take in a few deep breaths and use my mantra.
I am strong.
I am capable.
I have got this.
I have come a long way.
Repeating it several times I receive another message from her.
Are you still there, Claire?
Yes, sorry. It’s just that takes me across the ground where the woman was buried. What if there is a hole there and I fall into what was supposed to be her grave.
Listen, you’ve got this. You are stronger than you think. Do you have a flashlight or anything?
No, but I do have full power on my mobile which I’m keeping on charge.
Oh, yeah. That will work, forgot about that. So, wait until it gets quiet in the house and mind how you tread for dodgy floorboards and the like. Then sneak out of the back and just keep going straight ton. The tree line is clear; it’s a direct path to a fence at the very end. About a mile and a half out. You can easily climb over the low bar fence and you come to a road. It’s a small road so unlikely much traffic. I will send a car and a driver to meet you.
Who the hell does Nathalie know in this neck of the woods? We’re hundreds of miles apart right now.
I daren’t ask. She must know some not so nice people is all I can say.
My heart is racing fast. Again! Can I really do this? Can I really sneak out in the middle of the night or will Clive or Jake be sitting waiting for my next move?
God, I need to stop thinking like this. They don’t even think I am trying to go on the run. Or do they? My mind is in a total head fuck situation and there is no getting out of it. Anxiety creeps in like thunder rolling down off the mountains. Dark, obsessive thoughts creep into my mind.
The phone rings. I pick the call up.
“Claire,” Nat almost shouts down the phone.
“Yes, sorry. I’m here. I think I’m having some kind of panic attack. God, I wish you were here. I wish I’d never come to Clive’s. What the hell was I thinking, Nat? I don’t even know the man.”
“Listen to me, Sis. It is going to be okay. You are going to get out of there. I am getting someone to meet you at that road. They will be waiting for you, even if it takes you all night and until the morning to make your way out. I know this isn’t going to be easy. But, Claire. You did it once. You can do it again,” she says reassuring me.
Can I though? Or will Jake be waiting in hiding expecting me to make a move?