“What?” he shouts.
“Don’t yell at me, you ungrateful jerk. Did you get him or not? You should have been back by now,” a woman’s voice shouts over the speakers.
“Shut it, you old bag. I’ll get him.”
“So, you failed?”
“No,” he scoffs. “I’m just readjusting my plan. I’ll be back soon.”
“You’d better hurry up, or I’ll do more than break her finger like you did.”
“Whatever.” He ends the call.
Rage flows through my veins. I wasn’tsure how quickly I was going to kill him earlier, and now I’ve just decided it’s going to be slow and painful. I’ll break every bone in his fucking body. Taking advantage of his distraction, I slide up and grip the bat. Swinging it quickly over the front seat, I jerk it against his throat. Aidan starts thrashing around, but I just pull harder.
Leaning forward, I whisper in his ear, “Hello, Aidan.” He freezes at the sound of my voice. “We’re going to have a little chat, and you’re going to be really honest, or really fucking hurt. Actually, both works for me,” I finish, jerking the bat into his neck, enjoying the choking sound he makes.
“I don’t—” he starts, but I pull against his windpipe.
“Don’t lie to me. I saw you at the school, and I watched you follow my brother, but you hurtmygirl. That is your biggest fuckup,” I growl.
The passenger door opens, and Rhett climbs in. “Sup, asshole. Tough day?” He laughs. Aidan tries to turn toward him, but Rhett moves faster and punches him in the head. He slumps to the side, and I look at Rhett.
“Dude. The hell?”
“We can’t do this here,” he states, looking around. Loosening my hold on the bat, Aidan slumps forward. Good, he’s out cold.
Pulling some zip ties out of his pocket, Rhett leans forward and ties his hands together. Climbing out of the back, I pop the trunk and shove some things around. Smiling, I pull out a roll of duct tape.Thanks for coming prepared, Aidan.Moving back around to the front, I wrap the tape around his hands and pull him out.
Rhett acts as a lookout, and when he sees the coast is clear, he helps me drag him out and toss him in the trunk. I wrap tape around his legs and toss the roll in with him.
“He won’t be out long.”
“I know.”
“So, now what?”
“Now”—I slam the trunk shut—“I get my fucking girl back.”
Chapter Fifty
Cora
The sound of things being slammed around upstairs wakes me. I’m shocked I could sleep at all; it’s freezing down here. I stare at the window across the room and take in the broken pane. I’ll probably get hypothermia at this rate. I fell asleep for a few hours, but there’s still a bit of sunlight coming in the window.
The urge to escape is overwhelming. I have no idea what’s going on with Noah, and if it snows like they say it will, I don’t want to be stranded. The cuff around my ankle has rubbed the skin raw, and the only progress I’ve made is scratching the surface.
My finger throbs, and I grimace when I look at it. I tried resetting it, but who knows if it worked. It’s swollen, angry looking, and bruised. I’ve been down here for hours, but I’m worried that no one realizes. A dull throb has taken up inside my head and makes me wonder if I have a concussion. I’m grateful it’s getting darker; the small bit of light from the hanging bulb feels blinding.
Tucking my feet back under me, my mind drifts to Atlas. I’ve tried to avoid thinking about him, but I don’t know how this is allgoing to turn out. I was so mad at him over Thanksgiving, but now I wonder if I should have demanded an explanation.
He has some issues, and is still battling his own demons, but he did seem happy with us. He drew or helped Noah with homework on countless evenings and became a fixture in our lives.
He fit in so perfectly, like there was always supposed to be a spot for him. He made our little family feel more complete. You can’t fake that, right?
If I make it out of here in one piece, I’m going to talk to him. I owe him an apology for freezing him out. If he really doesn’t want to be any part of our lives, then fine, he doesn’t have to. A nervous feeling tugs at me when I realize I let my fears take over. I don’t want him to feel trapped, but we’re a package deal. My biggest fear is falling hard and having Atlas realize that I’m not worth it. I don’t want him to regret me.
The door at the top of the stairs opens, and light streams down. I’m not sure who it is, but judging by the way they slam the door, something is wrong.
