Chapter 451
Effie Bagnold glanced at the unconscious man sprawled on the ground, tossed her makeshift club aside, and shrugged off her jacket. She threw it to Fidelia Etheridge. “Put this on,” Effie said briskly. “Vinson Elliott and his guys are searching for you. If they spot you like this, it won’t look good.”
Fidelia felt a flicker of gratitude, though she had no intention of letting it show. She tugged the jacket on and muttered, “Don’t expect me to thank you.”
The girls were just about to slip away when Effie suddenly felt something clamp around her calf. She looked down- the man she’d knocked out had come to.
“You little witch-how dare you lay a hand on me?” he spat, his eyes wild with rage, as though he might tear Effie apart at any moment.
Fear surged through Fidelia as she saw the man lurch upright. She shrieked, backing away in terror.
Effie shot her a look. “Don’t just stand there! Run! Go get help!”
While the man’s focus shifted to Fidelia’s scream, Effie crouched to grab the club she’d left on the floor. But the man caught the movement and lashed out, kicking her hard. Effie crashed to the ground.
“Effie!” Fidelia screamed.
But the fall worked in Effie’s favor-she managed to grab the club. She seized it and swung, cracking it against the man’s head once more. He’d already been woozy from the earlier blow; now, with this fresh hit, he slumped over, well and truly out cold.
Effie wasted no time. She gripped the club tight in one hand, grabbed Fidelia’s wrist with the other, and the two of them bolted out of the abandoned school.
At the front gates, they finally spotted Vinson Elliott, Randell Hoffman, and the others. Nita had been found, along with the rest-among them, Isabel Foster.
Isabel’s eyes narrowed as she saw Effie leading Fidelia out, a flicker of annoyance.crossing her face before she quickly masked it with a practiced smile. She hurried over, feigning concern. “Fidelia, thank God you’re safe!”
She reached for Fidelia’s hand, but Fidelia jerked away, refusing to be touched.
Isabel’s expression crumpled in hurt. “Fidelia, why…?”
Fidelia scoffed. “Cut the act, Isabel. I saw you earlier! I called for help and you ran away!”
The group fell silent, all eyes snapping to Isabel in shock. If Fidelia was telling the truth, Isabel’s behavior was downright shameful.
Isabel’s practiced innocence didn’t falter. “Fidelia, you’re mistaken, I swear! I’d
never leave you if I knew you were in danger.”
Fidelia, naïve as she might seem, wasn’t easy to fool. “Isabel, I’m not blind. I know what I saw.”
Isabel tried again, voice trembling with false sincerity. “I really—”
“Whatever,” Fidelia snapped. “Say what you want. I don’t believe a single word
out of your mouth, not even a comma.”
Nearby, Vinson Elliott was in the middle of giving Nita a stern talking-to.
“Nita, are you out of your mind? Didn’t you realize what that creep was after?” Vinson’s frustration was palpable; he looked as though he might pop a blood vessel
Nita’s lower lip trembled. “Of course I knew. But isn’t it just business? He likes pretty girls, and I figured could use that to negotiate. How was I supposed to know he’d actually try something?”