Forest Lake

Chapter 36

Mason POV

Something was wrong with me.

Did a part of my brain shut off for a second?

What the fuck did I do?!

It was too late to take it back, because the three detectives were already standing in my room, looking down on Emma and me with a curious expression on their faces.

“Can I ask why we are meeting here and not in the principal’s office?” Perry asked, looking around a very crowded room.

Our dorm rooms weren’t small at all. But the presence of eight people made it seem like it.

“I am not letting her out of this room.” I said coldly. “He could be watching her, and I will not let him lay eyes on her again.”

Perry nodded and looked at Peters.

“Did you decide to help us?” detective Peters asked.

“No.” I said immediately. “I called you here to tell us your plan. I want to know it before I allow her to do anything.”

The detectives looked at each other and then back to us. Detective Peters gave us a little nod.

Jax pulled up the chairs from our desks. Two detectives sat down. Detective Perry remained standing.

Jax and Hazel sat down on Jax’s bed. He took her hand in his, and she leaned on him.
Chris sat down next to Emma and me. I could see that he wanted to touch her, but he knew that I would bite his head off right now. He was lucky I even let him get this close.

“Okay, Mr. Richardson.” Peters started talking. “We will tell you our plan and we will listen to your concerns. If we can modify or adjust anything to make you more comfortable, we will try and make it happen.”

“I would be comfortable on a ferryboat, getting her the fuck out of here.” I said, clenching my fists.

“We understand that.” Peters nodded. “If we had other options, we would never put your sister in a situation like that.”

“Did you even consider other options?” Chris asked angrily.

“We did.” Peters nodded. “All of them would take us too much time.”

“Time that neither Annie nor Emma have.” Perry added. “Like we said earlier, he is getting desperate. He probably already has a plan to take Emma.”

My arms tightened around her. Not happening!

“It might be a cruel thing to say, but Emma is the fastest way to him.” Detective Price said. “Our behavioral analysts are the best in the country. They believe that his obsession with her runs deep. He wants her and he won’t miss this opportunity.”

My stomach twisted and I wanted to punch something.

His obsession with her runs deep…

FUCK!

“Look, Mr. Richardson, we know how worried you are.” Peters sighed. “I promise that we thought of everything. We are minimizing the risks as much as we can, and we will make it as safe as possible for her. We would never ask something like that of you, if we weren’t confident in our ability to keep your sister safe.”

“What is the plan?” I asked, pressing her even closer to me.

She didn’t say a word since the detectives came, and it worried me. I could tell she was putting on a brave face. I could tell she felt guilty, even though she wasn’t to blame. I could tell that she felt obligated to help Annie.

That was the only fucking reason I decided to listen to the detectives. I knew that she would always resent me if I took her away. I knew that she would always blame herself for Annie’s death. I didn’t know if she would ever be able to move on from that.

I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let her blame herself forever. I couldn’t have her resent me. I would lose her again, and I am not fucking losing her again!

“I love you.” I mumbled as I kissed the top of her head.

“Emma will wear the white dress tomorrow.” Peters started explaining. “Before lunch, the two of you will need to fake an argument. He knows how protective you are, and he knows you would never leave her alone. That’s why we need to make him think that the two of you fought about something. Emma will go to the library, and you will go to the dining hall.”

“Fuck no.” I stopped him. “I am not leaving her alone!”

They can take their plan and shove it up their asses.

No. No fucking way.

“She will not be alone.” Peters continued calmly. “Our men will be in the library, hiding and waiting. We hope that he will follow her there. Seeing her in that white dress will be enough for him to lose control. You leaving her unprotected could be enough for him to want to take action immediately.”

My heart was pounding like crazy. I glanced at Chris. His fists were clenched, and he looked pissed off.

“What if he kills her in the library?” Jax asked, making me flinch.

I buried my nose into her hair, taking a deep breath and trying to calm myself down.

She is okay. She is right here in my arms.

I kept repeating that to myself. I would freak the fuck out if I didn’t.

“He won’t.” Peters said. “He has a ritual to complete. He will try to take her to his hiding spot.”

“You sound confident.” Chris said coldly.

“We are.” Perry nodded. “We know a lot about him.”

“Except who he is.” I said angrily.

“Unfortunately.” Peters nodded. “We do know that he has access to the school. That is why your sister will never have to leave the building. We are hoping that he will see her in the white dress by lunch time and that he will follow her to the library.”

“What if he doesn’t?” I asked. “What if your plan doesn’t work and he doesn’t follow her? What if he is not at the school at the moment, or even on the island?”

“You can leave with her tomorrow afternoon.” Peters answered. “You will still need police protection until we catch him. He will probably follow her.”

My stomach twisted again. Why the fuck was he so obsessed with her?!

“We have a necklace for you, Emma.” Perry said. “We can’t know for sure who will be in the library tomorrow. We can’t close it because that would be suspicious, and he would never go in. There will probably be students and teachers around. We will tell you exactly where to go and where to stand. That way our officers will have eyes on him the entire time. There is a small button behind the charm on the necklace. You will press it when you are sure it’s him. People might try to talk to you. You will alert us when you think that he has approached you. The necklace will also allow us to listen to your conversation.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver necklace with a small heart charm on it. He turned it around, and I could see a small red button on the back of the necklace.

“What about me?” I asked. “I want to be close to her.”

“You will start walking toward the dining hall.” Peters said. “We need to make him believe that you left her and that you are not close by. You can come to the principal’s office instead. We will be there, and we will be listening to what is going on. The office is on the other side of the building, so he won’t see you come here. Your friends can come too. Neither one of you can be close to the library. He needs to see that she is alone.”

“That is too far away.” I said angrily. “What if something happens?!”

“Our officers will be there.” Price said calmly. “If something happens, we won’t let you in before we eliminate the threat. You being in the other room wouldn’t change a thing. We would stop you from entering because it’s our job to keep you safe.”

As if I would let them stop me. I would rip them all to pieces to get to her.

“This is my phone number.” Peters said, as he gave me a small piece of paper with his name and number on it. “Call me in an hour with your decision. We need to start preparing. Time is running out.”

“Thank you, detectives.” Emma spoke for the first time.

“You are welcome, Emma.” Peters said softly as he stood up.

The other two detectives followed him out of the room.

Nobody said a word after they left.

The silence made me want to scream. The fear and pain made me want to scream.

She is okay. She is right here in my arms.

What the fuck should I do?!