Black Rose

Chapter 18

Valerie

Everything was becoming more awkward the longer I was at Kate's camp. I was grateful that they found me and took me to their shelter, but that didn't make things any less uncomfortable for all of us.

Bethany let out a long breath as she dusted off her shorts. She admired the tent she had set up for me. "We should start setting up the fire now. After all, that was the original plan," Bethany retorted.

I stood up from the picnic table I was sitting on, ignoring Bethany's remark, and began collecting some firewood and forming a pile. After some trial and error, there was a small fire burning. We all edged closer to it, attempting to warm ourselves. The night air was becoming cooler.

"What brings you to the middle of the woods on this lovely Friday?" Bethany asked me. I was hoping I would not be asked this but it was inevitable.

I debated what I should and shouldn't tell them. I wanted to tell them why I ran away without mentioning Jack, but I knew that I could trust them, even if they couldn't trust me back. "There was an intruder in my house. He tried to..." I trailed off.

Kate leaned forward. "It may be hard to say, but you have to tell us what happened if you want us to help you."

I nodded. I knew I shouldn't hide anything from them anymore. "He tried to kidnap me and told me that I needed to come with him. I've never seen him before but he claimed to know me. So I ran. I ran all the way to the forest but I fell and lost consciousness."

Caitlin nodded slowly. "What did he look like?" she asked me.

I tried my best to remember. The fall must have messed up my memory. "He was very tall. He had black hair and dark brown eyes," I described.

I knew I should tell them about how he had claimed to be Harry's brother but I didn't want to bring it up now. Instead, I added, "I think the police are after me." After all, I still had my ankle bracelet on. I'm sure the police were already notified that I broke house arrest.

Bethany laughed without a trace of humor in her voice. "Trust me, they are definitely after you. They were after you the minute you stepped out of that house."

I glared at her. I was very aware of the fact that I wasn't where I was supposed to be. In fact, I was far from it. In my dreams, I was supposed to be living in a mansion twice the size of the one I was living in now. Not to mention that I could hire a professional team of spies to carry out my duties. That would take grocery shopping to a whole new level.

"Where can I go?" I whispered. I needed to hide from the authorities but I had no idea where. I was ashamed for showing my weakness but I knew my life depended on it.

"Have you heard of a place called Black Rose?" Caitlin asked, a small smirk adorning her lips. I gasped. They wanted me to hide from the police in the place that started this all?

"Okay, I'll do it," I heard myself say. I realized that I didn't need to give much thought to it. Black Rose might be able to hide me for a little while. Besides, I could trust people there even though the feeling was not mutual.

"We'd better head over there soon," Kate stated. Caitlin agreed but Bethany seemed disappointed.

"You mean we're not camping?" Bethany whined.

"We have a fugitive on our hands. Of course we're not camping!" Caitlin argued, shooting Bethany a look of bewilderment. Bethany just shook her head sadly, probably wondering where it all went wrong.

I looked around the forest, trying to judge how we could get out. I didn't see an exit in sight. I stole a quick glance at Kate and knew I wasn't the only one who was worried.

"How do we get out of here?" I asked. Bethany and Caitlin scanned the vicinity.

"This way," Caitlin exclaimed triumphantly. She started walking away from the camp. Without asking any questions, I trudged behind her with Bethany and Kate following.

"Don't trip," Bethany warned me. I rolled my eyes.

Before we knew it, we had reached the clearing where a car was parked. I had no idea how Caitlin got us out of the woods but I didn't care. We were out and ready to drive to my safety.