I stop to run my hand across the prefect badge on the shirt that's still lying on my bed, trying not to cry. I wish I was coming back to use it.
I shake my head and focus on the task at hand.
Then I go meet Dallas. He's walking with me to the chapel, where we'll sneak down to Stockton's.
Riley and Aiden went into town to get pizza, so I have a small window of opportunity to stash my backpack down there without anyone knowing I'm planning to leave tonight.
"You're not thinking of running away, are you?" Dallas asks.
I hate to lie to him, but I do. I hold up my backpack and say, "I'm taking this down there, just in case."
"Just in case what?"
"Garrett reneges on his promise. We agreed to seven days. But I can see him trying to keep me here longer than that."
"And if he does?"
"Then I'll sneak out of Stockton's, go home, and try to find Brooklyn myself."
Vincent can't believe his luck. As he's making his way up the hill toward a chapel, he spots her. She's walking with the boy named Dallas. There aren't many other students around. This is it!
He parks the van, jumps out of it, and sneaks up behind them, hitting the boy on the back of the head with his gun, causing him to crumple to the ground.
"Ugh," Dallas says.
Keatyn turns around, still not knowing he's right behind her. So close that he can smell her sweet scent. "Dallas! Are you-"
"Keatyn!" a man yells out from across the street. I waste no time, raising the gun and firing, hitting him twice in the chest.
Then I grab my prize, wrapping my arm around her neck. "Eastbrooke Homecoming Court, huh. Congratulations."
Oh my god. I forgot all about the Homecoming Court sash that's been hanging off my bedpost since October. He must have seen it during our video call last night. I was so focused on trying to find a clue on his screen that I never even looked at mine.
I'm an idiot. I led him straight to the one place I wanted so badly to protect.
"This looks like a fancy place," Vincent continues, "but their security is pretty lax. I drove right through. I mean, after I shot the three guards."
Ohmigawd.
He's going to shoot anyone who gets in his way.
I have to get him out of here-and fast.
"Where's Brooklyn?" I ask him.
"He's fine. A little tied up at the moment," he says again with a maniacal laugh, pressing a gun into the small of my back and pushing me toward a white delivery van.
"You don't have to push me, Vincent. I want to come with you."
"Don't move," he says, keeping the gun trained on me while he lifts Dallas up and puts him in the back of the van.
I've got to convince him not to take Dallas, I think, as I'm hit on the back of the head and everything goes black.
Vincent loads Keatyn into the back of the van. Not the best accommodations for his star, but he doesn't have time to worry about that right now. He's shot four people, and it won't be long before someone notices. He gets into the van, and having left it running simply throws it into drive and hits the gas. He races down the hill, not caring if anyone gets in his way. He rushes through the gates, thankful they are still open, and barely hits the brakes, cutting the corner and nearly sideswiping a white Maserati. No wonder she likes it here. Kids with money-just like L.A.
His watch beeps, and he smiles, knowing that the bombs are about to start going off.
He looks in the rearview mirror at Keatyn lying prone in the back of the van and says, "We're still going to Egypt together, Lacy. And it will be perfection."
Riley and Aiden had picked up a bunch of pizzas and are turning into the Eastbrooke driveway when a white delivery van barrels around the corner, almost hitting them.
"What the hell?" Aiden yells.
"Wonder what delivery he needs to make in such a big hurry?" My phone rings with a call from Dawson. I answer it as Aiden flips a U-turn. "What's up, bro?"
"Keatyn and Dallas were just kidnapped! Thrown in the back of a white van! The guy shot Cooper when he tried to stop it!"
"A white van almost hit us . . . Wait!" I see that, somehow, Aiden already knew. He's racing down the road. But I still say, "That delivery van. Keatyn and Dallas are in there. Kidnapped. Cooper shot!"
I know what I say doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm all hyped up. Panicked. "Follow them! We can't lose them!"
"Tell me what happened!" Aiden yells as he's gunning the engine and slamming through the gears.
I plug my phone into Aiden's car, so we can both hear Dawson.
"Dawson, you're on speaker. Tell us what happened."
"All I know is I heard gunfire, ran toward it, saw Cooper hit the ground. Dallas was already down. The guy was talking to Keatyn. He held a gun on her as he put Dallas in the van and then hit her on the back of the head with the gun, threw her in the back, and took off. Brooke called 911 and the school is on lockdown."
"He got a head start on us, but we'll catch him if we go the right way," I say to Aiden.
"We have to go the right way," Aiden replies. "Think. Where would he take them?"
"Keatyn was going back to Malibu tonight to find Brooklyn."
"What do you mean? They wouldn't let her leave."
"She found a secret way out of school through Stockton's."
"Was she going to tell me?" He stops staring at the road and turns to me, fire in his eyes. "Were you going to tell me? Were you going to let her go?"
I hang my head a little. "I was going with her."
Aiden shakes his head. "She said he wanted to film a movie with her. The script she got was set in California. She didn't think he'd hurt Brooklyn until after they filmed the movie. So, if she was right, he'd take her back to California. So the airport?"
"I think so, but the highway's right there!" I point to the turn off, which we are closing in on way too fast. "Slow down!"
Aiden handles his car perfectly, tapping the brakes, and then veering us onto the highway.
He barely even slowed down.
Fuck if I'm not impressed with his driving skills.
"We have a problem," Aiden says. "I'm almost out of gas."
"Then we have an even bigger problem," I tell him. "Keatyn may not have on her tracking necklace. She didn't want anyone to know when she'd left. God, why did I go along with her plans?"
"Because you're a good friend," Aiden says. "But we can't worry about that now. We've got to find that van or they'll both be dead. They've been searching for Brooklyn for three days with no luck."
"We can't call Cooper. He got shot. I don't have Garrett's number. Do you?"
I watch as Aiden takes one hand off the wheel and runs his finger over the clover keychain Keatyn gave him. When I look back at the road, I see it in the distance, up ahead.
"The van!" we both yell at the same time.
Vincent notices the white Maserati racing up from behind him. As they get closer, he recognizes them as Riley and Aiden-two of the boys from the video. Riley was introduced along with the other boy as one of her best friends. Aiden, on the other hand, clearly had a mad crush on her. Not that he blames him for that. Pretty soon, the whole world will feel that way.
Vincent doesn't even care if the boys know about his cargo. Their car might be faster, but it's no match for the van in weight. If they try to get close to him, he'll shoot them, shoot out their tires, or even ram into them. Bye, bye, Maserati.
"Get close to it so we can get the license plate. I'm calling Senator McMahon."
"You know he didn't come for Dallas."
"It doesn't matter who he wanted. Kidnapping Dallas was the wrong move."
The senator answers his private line after a few rings.
"Riley," he barks. "This is the number you are supposed to call only in an emergency."
"It is an emergency, sir. Dallas and Keatyn have been kidnapped from Eastbrooke and are in the back of a white van. A teacher was shot."
"I need to make a call on the other line. Hold on."
"Grab my phone," Aiden says. "Take a picture of the back of the van and the license plate."
"Are you sure it's the same van?"
"Yep. It says Charlie's Produce on it. But, look, there's no plate."
"Riley," Mr. McMahon's voice booms through Aiden's speakers. "I have the Service on the line. Did the van leave school? Do you know what direction it was headed? License plate? Description of the assailant?"
"We're following the van right now. Keatyn usually wears a tracking device, but we don't know if she has it on. We need to reach Garrett Smith, but don't have his phone number. We believe the kidnapper is Vincent Sharpe, Keatyn's stalker; the guy from the club in Miami. But we're not sure."
"Doesn't matter who or why, son. We need to get them. Where are you?"
I give him the mile marker of the highway we're traveling on. "If it is Vincent, we think he will be headed to an airport, but we don't know which one."
"Help is on the way, boys. Don't lose the van. What are you driving?"
"White Maserati," I say. "California plates: Golf, Oscar, Alpha, Lima, India, Echo, One."
"We can't keep up this speed," Aiden says frantically. "I'm burning through fuel. We're going to have to do something else."
"Like what?"
"Hit them," he says.
"Hit them? This car against a full-sized van? It will crumple."
"I sat in on a stunt planning meeting while Keatyn was filming. They talked about what would happen in real life as opposed to what would happen in the movie. I'm going to do the stunt. I'll speed past him. Double back. T-bone the driver's door."
"You'll kill us. Them too, probably."
"Not if I do it right. And we don't have another option. The cops aren't here. The feds aren't here. It's just him and us. Besides, we have airbags, right?"
"I'm more worried about my head."
"Helmets!" he yells. "Keatyn bought them for my birthday. They're behind the seat."
I strap on a helmet, then hold the wheel while Aiden does the same.
"You look ridiculous," I tell him. "I totally have to record this."
I grab my video camera out of my pocket and mount it to the dash. "One DashCam coming up."
After getting it in place and hitting record, I'm feeling claustrophobic. "This must be her helmet. It's too tight."
"It will protect your head. That's all that matters. Okay, so I'm going to speed way up. Pass them. Come back. We'll time it so we hit the driver's door."
"Where the hell is the Secret Service? In Miami, they were there in minutes."
"It's just us, Riley," Aiden says solemnly. "And I'm on fumes. Just before we hit, I want you to pull the emergency brake. It'll spin us around and we'll hit him with the back of the car. It will protect us."
"Do you think you can do that? Drive right into the side of it?"
"I don't have a choice. Here we go."
Aiden pushes the pedal down, slamming through the gears.
The Maserati flies past the van. Vincent lets out a sigh of relief. They weren't following him, just a couple of dumb rich kids driving way too fast. He looks down at his speedometer and slows down to the posted speed limit of seventy. Not that he needs to worry, if there are any cops around, they'll go after the speed racers first.
We pass the van.
Trees and power poles fly by us.
"How far do we have to go before we turn back?"
Aiden's screeching brakes are the answer to my question. He flips the car around and drops the clutch.