Tears rolled down my face as I curled my lips between my front teeth. Anything I said would piss him off more, and I didn’t dare push him.
“Nothing smart to say?” He sneered.
I shook my head back and forth; the motion caused more tears to roll down my cheeks.
“About time. Eat your fucking dinner or go hungry until lover boy shows up.”
How long before Nathan finds me? Had Al left clues behind?
When will Nathan get the box? The one with my picture and a black rose. Al didn’t strike me as the patient type, so I’d bet he put the address in there.
Chapter 39
Nathan
Ateenage girl stood in the lobby holding a pizza and a small sealed brown box.
“Did you order pizza?” Meg asked again.
“No.”
My volume was polite, but my tone wasn’t when I asked, “Who sent you?” The girl went from bored to nervous in the blink of an eye.
John, Cate, and Doug joined us in the lobby.
“He didn’t say.” She took two steps back. I couldn’t blame her; she wouldn’t know the box on top of the pizza might contain a ransom note.
John asked Dean to take Violet upstairs, so she’d be out of hearing distance.
Then he stepped forward and took over questioning the girl. “Russo’s doesn’t deliver this far out.”
Her eyes skittered between us, looking like a cornered cat.
“Dude paid me an extra hundred bucks.” She held out the boxes. “Look, I’m just the delivery guy. Can you take these so I can leave?”
John stepped forward and took the boxes. “You’re not in trouble, but I’d like to ask you a few more questions.”
She swallowed so hard I practically heard it before nodding.
John set the boxes on the lobby table and walked her towards Meg’s desk. “Did you see the guy who placed the order?”
She nodded. “But he was wearing a hat and sunglasses.”
Nothing odd about that in early August.
“Did he use a credit card?” As expected, he’d paid in cash.
“What did he tell you to say about the extra box?” John asked, tilting his head towards the table. I was taking pictures of the boxes from all angles and looking for clues.
“He said it was a surprise for his old friend, Scott.”
My head snapped up. “What did you say?” My stomach dropped as fear and rage burned through my veins.It can’t be. I killed them.
It could be someone who’d stepped up and taken the reins. But then, why all the games? Why not just kill me?
Knowing what they’d done to me, blind rage filled my head, making me see red at the thought of them touching Ashley.
“Can I go?” the delivery girl asked.
