Bea finishes her slow trek down and sends a glare in my direction. “Just a matter of time now.” She holds a set of papers in her hands. “You’ll sign these.”
“I couldn’t sign anything if I wanted to; jackass broke my finger,” I remind her.
“You can use your other hand. It works just fine for now.” Bea steps toward me and tosses the papers onto the mattress.
Using my good hand, I pick them up and fling them back at her. “I’m good. Thanks.”
Fury crosses her features, and she steps quickly up to me, backhanding me in the face.Fuck, that hurts. My brain is bouncing around in my skull, but I need to stay conscious. If Aidan isn’t here, that means I only have Bea to take on.
“You’ll do as you’re told. Noah will be here soon, and then I’ll be on my way with him.”
Nope. Not fucking happening. I know she plans to make me disappear somehow, but I will not make it easier for her.
“Ya know what, Bea?—”
She cuts me off with a look when she pulls out her phone. “Be quiet, or you’ll be put back to sleep again.”
I sit back quietly, curiosity winning.Who the hell could she be calling at a time like this?She’s quiet as someone answers, then snarls into the phone. “Don’t talk to me like that, you ungrateful jerk. Did you get him or not? You should have been back by now.”
Panic courses through me that he could have gotten Noah. I hope the school didn’t just let him walk out.
Smirking, Bea waits a moment, then says, “So, you failed?”
Thank God.I almost smile, but given the look on her face, I wait.
“You’d better hurry up, or I’ll do more than break her finger like you did.” She smiles at me cruelly.
When she stares angrily at the phone, I’m guessing Aidan hung up. Good. Knowing that he’s still preoccupied, and that he doesn’t have Noah, gives me hope. If I can overcome Bea, maybe she has the keys on her. I doubt she’d leave them with Aidan.
The bell of the house rings, and Bea shoots me a sharp look. “Don’t try anything stupid. No matter who it is, they can’t hear you,” she tells me as she walks back up the stairs. Whoever it is has bought me some time.
As soon as the door to the basement slams shut, I pull my screwdriver out and run it across the floor. I’ll need it to be a bit sharper for what I have planned.
Chapter Fifty-One
Atlas
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rhett looks from me to Aidan. He’s currently slumped over in the chair I tied him to, only in his T-shirt and jeans. I took his coat off when we arrived so I could tie him down properly. It doesn’t matter if he gets cold; hopefully, this won’t take long. I smile when I notice the bat left a bruise on his neck.
Seth maintains a workshop on his property, where he works on his car projects during his downtime. He offered to let me use it, saying, “Don’t worry. There’s a drain and no neighbors around.”
When Aidan attempted to walk up to them in the parking lot, I think something changed in Seth. He went from thinking I was crazy to being fully on board with whatever I had planned. I know he feels partially responsible for the shit with Cora and me, as he should, so this is his way of making up for it.
“There is no doubt in my mind that he has something to do with Cora going missing, and he tried to snatch Noah from Seth. He’s going to tell me what I want to know, or I’ll hurt him.” I pause to think for a minute. “Actually, I’m gonna hurt him anyway. I heard their conversation, and he hurt Cora. Broke one of her fingers,” I seethe.I’d love nothing more than to wake Aidan up with a bat to his knee, but Rhett stops me.
“He broke one of her fingers?” he asks in disbelief. “Like, Cora? The sweetest person alive, and he broke her finger…onpurpose?” Rhett shakes his head. “I’ve heard of some fucked-up shit, but this ranks high up there. Atlas, once you do this, there’s no going back.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’ll do anything to protect Cora and get her back. There’s no line I won’t cross, but if you can’t handle it, then feel free to leave. No one will come between us. She ismine, andno onemesses with what’smine.”
Nodding in understanding, Rhett’s eyes look from Aidan to me. “What do you need?”
“We’re going to wake our friend up.”
“You’ll never find her.” Aidan snickers.
My gaze swings toward him, now leaning back in the chair, fully awake. His eyes ping-pong between Rhett and me before finally landing on Rhett. “That was some right hook,” he quips. “I haven’t been caught off guard like that in a long time.”
Rhett offers him a big grin. “I haven’t felt that good in a long time, so I appreciate you taking one for the team,” he jokes, earning a glare from Aidan.
