“I need them and your phone. Get dressed and get out here,” he said in not much more than a whisper.
“No.”
“Excuse me?” he said as his hand shot through the screen.
He yanked the window higher and clamped his hand around her wrist.
She bit back a cry.
“Every second you stall puts her closer to death.”
Oh God.
She swallowed hard. “Carly.”
“Yes. You don’t want to be responsible for her death, do you?”
“What?”
“I’ll explain later. Get dressed, get my keys and your phone, now. The longer we take, the more likely they’ll kill her.”
Tears flooded her eyes.
“Emma.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t signal your boyfriend, or else.”
With as conflicted as she was, she knew she needed to quietly go with Jonathan; Carly’s life depended on her.
Emma grabbed her belongings and climbed out the window, falling into Jonathan’s arms. An embrace that once felt good now felt repulsive.
Rain beat down on her. The wind slapped at her. The storm had not let up one bit, like it was supposed to.
With his hand wound tightly around her upper arm, Jonathan pulled her along down the driveway. It got darker the further away they got from Cap’s house. Once on the road, it was about as black as it could be. He didn’t stop until they reached a small car parked half in the ditch and half on the road.
“Whose car is this?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
He shoved her into the passenger seat, and then he climbed into the driver’s seat.
The stench of cigars assaulted her nostrils.
Jonathan turned the key. The engine roared loudly. She glanced through the woods toward Cap’s house, hoping he would hear the noise and wonder what was going on. A faint glow from Cap’s porch light flickered through the rain.
Please hear us.
She glanced at the dashboard. It was old school. No bright display of a touchscreen. She looked down at the seat and ran her fingertips over the stitching in the vinyl until she reached a tear where she felt the foam filling. God, the smell was horrible. Despite the rain, she needed to open the window to air out the car. Running her hand along the door searching for the lever to open the window, she discovered the vehicle’s age when her hand found a crank.
With a couple of turns, the crank broke off in her hand.
“What are you doing?” Jonathan asked.
“I needed some air.”
“Could you just sit there without touching anything and keep quiet? We’ll be out of this piece of shit shortly.”
