Breaking Free

Chapter 20

The police station was eerily quiet when I entered, unlike my last experience here. I instantly recognize the door that leads to the cell I stayed in a few months ago, after my minor run in with the law.

However, I don't have time to stop and reminisce. I'm here on a mission, a mission I must go on alone.

Carter, who drove me here, is sitting in the car outside, most likely twiddling his thumbs out of boredom and worry. I can't think about that though.

I determinedly walk up to the front desk, though I don't catch the attention of the cop behind it. He's to busy filling out paper work.

I clear my throat, causing him to jump in his seat.

"May I help you miss?" he questions monotonly, barely looking at me.

"I'd like to speak with Deputy- I mean, Chief Peters," I state, tapping my fingers impatiently on the desk.

He chuckles a little, folding his arms over his chest and sitting back in his chair.

"The chief of police is very, very busy with the recent murder and escaped serial killer that I'm sure you've seen on the news miss. He doesn't have time to see you or anyone else for that matter," he huffs indignantly.

"Deputy-," I start glancing at his name tag, "Forrest, I think he'll want to see me."

"And why is that?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. You call him on that phone sitting right there on the desk, and you tell him a 'Taylor Evans' is here to see him. If he says he's too busy, I won't bother you again. But trust me, he won't," I cooly order. When I say my name, he looks slightly shocked, but he quickly regains his composure.

"Fine, fine. But as I said, he's a very busy man," Deputy Forrest chuckles, picking up the phone and dialing the chief's extension.

"Deputy Peters, there's some girl here to see you- that's exactly what I told her-"

"Tell him my name," I fiercely demand. "Taylor Evans."

"She says she's Taylor Evans, but I don't see the significance- alright- okay, I will," the deputy says, his expression turning to confusion.

"I suppose the chief will we me now?" I innocently ask, though I can't fight the smirk that creeps onto my face.

"I'm not sure why, but yes. His office is at the end of that hallway, to the left."

"Thank you, officer," I sweetly say, before walking off to the Chief's office.

Once I'm there, I open the door without hesitation. Chief Peter's gives me a sad smile once he sees me. I ignore it, and shove the letter my mother wrote me on his desk.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," I hiss.

He picks it up, glancing over it.

"I knew you'd be coming here soon," he says after a while. "And it's a good thing you did. Taylor, you are in danger."

"What do you mean? Clint Harris doesn't even know about me," I choke out.

"That's what we thought. We thought you were safe Taylor, but the recent murder gave us evidence that you are not."

"Stop speaking in riddles," I snap. "Just say what you mean."

He hands me a plastic bag with a short note inside.

"What is this?" I question quietly.

"We found it pinned to the victims shirt. A quick test showed that it's in Clint Harris's handwriting. You're going to want to read that, Taylor."

Hesitantly, I turn my gaze down to the paper.

'They tried so hard
To hide the truth
Went far away
To save their youth

If they don't reappear
I'll take her in their place
You have 6 days
Don't be late'

My blood runs cold at the rhyme on the paper. If I were the fainting type, I'd be passed out on the floor.

"What are my options?" I ask, my eyes glazed over in fear.

"Don't tell anyone about what I just showed you. Not even the Stone's. They are good people, but it's in your best interest not to tell them. Act like everything is okay, everything is normal. Your parents have been notified of this, but we can't force them to do anything. If they return to Oakville, we have a plan set in place to catch Clint Harris. But if they don't- you'll have to vanish, Taylor. Just like your parents did, until we catch him and his partner who is still unidentified."

"No," I almost shout, tears forming in my eyes.

"Taylor," the Chief calmly starts. "We are hoping it won't come to that. But if it does- Taylor, there are others to take in mind here. For one, you'd be putting everyone you know in danger. Clint Harris is a nasty, horrible human being. He has no remorse. If he needed to, he'd kill the people you're close to to get to you."

The first one to come to my mind is Carter. He could hurt Carter, or any of the Stones. Joy, Erica, Sky, Jake, Ethan, and even Andrea who I'm not particularly fond of would be in danger.

"You're right," I say, my voice barely a whisper.

"If by Saturday night, your parents haven't appeared, or we haven't caught him, we'll take you into custody. We'll put you into a safe house till we create a new identity for you. Don't you kids have homecoming on Saturday?"

I silently nod, a blank expression on my face.

"So you won't go home after homecoming. He Stone's will report you missing. We'll pretend to investigate, and then say that we found evidence of death but no actual body. Meanwhile, you'll be starting a new, fake life somewhere. I can't give you anymore details, and hopefully I won't have too. We are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening, but we have to have a backup."

The room falls silent for a long, long time. At least a minute passes before anyone speaks again.

"Is there anything else?" I ask.

"Just be on the lookout for suspicious activity Taylor. Stay safe. Don't go anywhere alone. We'll contact you Saturday morning if we still have no leads, okay?"

"Okay," I sigh, composing myself. "Is there anywhere I can go to clean up? Carter will know something's wrong with my face this puffy."

"There's a bathroom down the hall, on your right on the way out," he chuckles. "And Taylor, if you need anything, feel free to call."

He hands me his official business card, which I slip into my pocket.

"Thanks Chief," I mutter.

I leave the office, and head to the bathroom. A glance in the mirror proves my suspicion that I look horrible.

I splash some cool water on my face, before patting it dry and re doing my makeup. I comb out my hair with my hands, and take a few deep breaths, before heading out to meet Carter at the car.

I have to act like everything is normal. Scratch that- everything is normal. My life isn't in danger, I have absolutely nothing to worry about. Everything is normal. I'm safe. That conversation with Chief Peters never happened.

"What happened?" Carter asks once I take a seat in the passenger side of the car.

"Chief Peter's assures me that the murder has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm here. Clint Harris has no idea I exist Carter. Everything's fine," I lie, so easily that it surprises me.

"That's a relief," he sighs. "I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm not going anywhere," I blithely state.

He smiles at me, before starting the truck to leave.

He has no reason not to trust me, as I've never lied to him before. As far as Carter is concerned, life is normal. He has no idea of the dread I feel in the pit of my stomach, or the fear that has me wrapped in its coils. And I can't tell him, no matter how much I want to.

Oh the tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive.

A/N

First of all, I love you guys. Runaway Horse has 16.4K reads, more than any book I've ever written and that's thanks to all of my lovely, amazing readers who support this series.

Second, the last line of this chapter is not my quote. It was said by some guy named Sir Walter Scott. You got to love it when they add 'Sir' in front of their names. They think they're sooo cool. XD

Lastly, how did you like this chapter? I tried to make it long. And are you excited for homecoming? I have so many plans for homecoming, and you guys might hate me a tiny little bit BUT because this is the last book in the series, I'm not holding anything back- be prepared mwahahaha.

Luv you guys you are so amazing!!!