“I’m driving as fast as I can. Just keep your phone on. I’ll call you back.”
I heard her muffled protests as I disconnected again. Cam texted the number of an exit ramp eight miles ahead of me. I gripped the wheel, trying not to think about everything that could go wrong inthe span of ten minutes. My gut said these women weren’t going to drive too far tonight. Destiny had kids at home, and they all had jobs to report to in the morning. The women would have to handle their business quickly once they arrived at their destination.
I drove with one hand, my thumb hovering over Nick’s name on my phone.
When are you going to start trusting me?
I tapped his number before I could talk myself out of it. He picked up quickly. Too quickly. I didn’t have time to think about what to tell him or how to explain. “Hey,” he said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “I was thinking about calling you but I didn’t want to wake you. I was just leaving the station. Want me to come over?”
I tried and failed to control the tremor in my voice. “Do you remember when you said I could trust you with anything?”
I could feel his smile slip. “What’s wrong?”
“Before I tell you, you have to promise me you’ll come alone. No backup. Not even Georgia or Sam.”
“I can’t make that promise. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“You said we have to trust each other. That means you have to trust me, too.”
The tension between us crackled through his pause. “Tell me where you are.”
“I-66. Westbound. I just passed exit 18. I’ll explain everything when you find me, I promise. But Vero is in trouble, and I don’t know how much time we have.”
Tires squealed through the phone. A siren began to wail. “Pull over and stay where you are. I’m on my way.”
I checked a mile marker as it blurred past me. If Nick was just leaving the station in Fairfax, even with his lights and sirens blazing, he was still fifteen minutes behind me. “I can’t pull over. I have to getto Vero. Cam is tracking her phone. He’s texting me directions. I’m getting off at the exit for Linden. Just get here as soon as you can. I’ll forward you my location as soon as I have it.”
I disconnected, one hand on the wheel and one eye on the road as I veered off the interstate and began maneuvering the dark country roads, following the directions Cam had sent me.
I dialed Vero. “Are you okay?” I asked the second she answered.
Her teeth chattered. “I don’t know. We slowed down. The van’s bouncing all over the place. It feels like we might be on some kind of dirt road. Wait…” Vero’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I think we’ve stopped. They turned off the engine. I think they’re getting out.” A car door slammed and Vero whimpered.
I mashed my foot down on the accelerator. “Just stay quiet! Turn off the notifications on your phone. They have no idea you’re in the truck. As long as they don’t see or hear you, you’ll be—”
The line went dead.
“No!No, no, no!” My van skidded, nearly running off the pavement as I let my eyes drift from the road to reconnect the call. It went straight to voice mail.
Another text came from Cam with my next turn. Then a second text with a map pin embedded in it. I reduced my speed as the road began to wind and narrow. Ten torturous minutes passed before I reached the final turn onto a winding, gravel driveway. My headlights ghosted over the overgrown branches that formed a dense tunnel around it. I slowed, turning my lights off as I closed the distance to the red pin on the map.
Gita’s flower truck appeared around the next bend. The Eggplant was parked beside it, along with two other cars. I recognized one as Viola Henry’s Honda, but I had never seen the hatchback parked beside it.
I put the van in neutral and leaned forward in my seat, searching the woods around me for signs of the book club. A distant light burned in the window of a cabin through the trees.
My phone vibrated with an incoming text from Cam.I like my steaks medium rare.
I swiped the message away and sent the map pin to Nick before killing the engine.
Pine needles crackled under my feet as I slipped quietly out of my minivan and crept to Gita’s flower truck. I pressed an ear to the door.
Not a peep came from inside it, and I tested the lock. My heart missed a beat when the handle didn’t budge.
Oh, god.They must have found her. By the time Nick got here, it would be too late. Vero could be chopped up into little pieces. Her head could be stuffed behind a bag of broccoli in a freezer in that cabin before—
The back door of the truck flew open, bouncing off its hinge.
I shrieked, suddenly face-to-face with the barrel of a gun.
