Taken: The MISTAKEN Series Complete Third Season by Renna Peak Read Free Book Online Page B

something much bigger than either of us could have imagined when we were sharing a room at Georgetown.
    My best friend—my only friend—had betrayed me. And other than doing it for Ryan, I couldn’t even imagine why or how she could have done this. Whatever this was.
    I just knew I needed to get out of there before someone else came. If Ryan and Melissa hadn’t wanted to take me, there was at least one other person who did. Daniel. And I somehow knew that he would be the next one through the door.
    I jumped up again and grabbed a large gym bag from the closet. The bag Brandon had insisted on me preparing—the one with cash and clothes to get me to wherever it was I needed to go. Not that the clothes I had brought were appropriate for Montana. I didn’t really know what I was doing—I was breathing too fast and my heart was beating too hard to form any kind of rational thought, but I knew I needed to leave. I needed to run as far and as fast as I could, and I couldn’t wait for day to break—it needed to be now.
    I shoved some clothes into the bag and was almost thankful that Brandon had insisted on having me pack it. All of that seemed like even longer ago now—that car ride home from Sacramento after my father had threatened both our lives… I only prayed that the senator wasn’t behind this latest mess. Something inside of me told me that if he was, I would never see Brandon again.
    I changed out of my bloodied clothes quickly, pulling on jeans and a t-shirt and sliding my most sensible shoes onto my feet. I pulled on a sweater and slung the bag over my shoulder before pulling the gun out of the drawer. It was lighter than I thought it would be, but just as scary. I knew I wouldn’t know what I was doing if I tried to use it, but I only hoped that if I needed to, it would buy me a few seconds to get away. I wasn’t sure who or what I was running from, only that I needed to run.
    I held the thing in my hand, making sure the barrel was pointed away from me as I walked into the living room. I almost dropped it when the scream came from my lips as the front door swung open.
    The large, gray-haired man smiled at me and held out his hand for the gun. “Hey, kiddo, you should probably give that to me. And you should really lock your door.”

5
    N ine Months Earlier - Brandon

    T he sunlight streaming through the window was warm—and it only magnified the warmth I could feel almost trying to burst through my chest. I nestled my head into the pillow, still able to smell her scent on it. I knew that this was what it meant to feel content. Happy. I had felt it a few times with her before, but not like this. The past seven days had been filled with listening to her play the piano and the best sex we had ever had. I didn’t think anything could make me happier than being here with her.
    Not that this little cabin in the middle of nowhere was what she deserved. I knew she wanted the house on the beach—the place that overlooked the ocean where she could look out over the waves while she played the piano. I was going to give it to her, too, but we would have to wait a little longer. We could make it through the winter here—I had stocked enough food and wood here to make it at least six months if we had to. And in six months, things would be different. The media circus would have died down enough that she could live a normal life. I knew that was what she wanted—what she longed for. She had been born into that family by pure shitty luck—the family everyone seemed to “know,” even though they didn’t know a goddamned thing about her. I would make sure she never had to deal with it again, unless it was on her terms.
    The smell of eggs cooking made me smile. Jen was never going to be Holly Homemaker, but I loved her for trying. She had no idea how much I loved her for even attempting to learn how to cook—not that I expected her to. She had asked me to teach her. She made my heart melt in my fucking chest—I had