“I’m closing the shop,” Violet informed us. “We’re all going to the house. Trevor is headed there to wait with us. Dad and Cade are on the way to Portland.” She scribbled down an address then handed it to me. “Meet him there. Between thecar description and the partial plate numbers they have an address to start with.”
“Dylan, I’m so proud of you,” I cupped his cheek, wiping away a tear with my thumb.”
Rose picked him up. He buried his face against her shoulder, crying too hard to answer me. “I’ve got him. You go get my sister,” she said through her own tears.
“I will.” It was a promise.
Liam and I headed to my truck while everyone else loaded up to head to Ben and Dahlia’s place.
“Should we stop at my house first? Do you think they’ll let us borrow any of their weapons?” Liam asked. “Because I do not intend to stand around and wait.”
“Probably not. But we don’t have to stop. I have what we need locked in the back of the truck along with my other tools.”
He laughed. “Of course you do.”
I drove us out of town, gathering speed once we merged on the highway toward Portland. My mind raced through endless horrific possibilities, but I shut each of them down while keeping one thought at the forefront:I will find her.
We made it to the address Violet gave us, which was an old diner across the street from a warehouse. I pulled to a stop next to Ben’s SUV to see it surrounded by what were clearly unmarked police cars.
I got out and unlocked the toolbox in the bed of my truck and removed the metal case I kept inside. I passed Liam a Kevlar vest and took one for myself. I put it on, gesturing for Liam to choose what he wanted from the case as I headed over to Ben.
Chapter 32
Lily
Iwoke up in a trunk. Before I could even try to remember how to get out, it popped open. I blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. I looked up and saw a huge, hairy bad guy glowering down at me. He reached out and touched the side of my face. Even though he looked concerned I flinched away from him. I didn’t care about his concern. I was in a freaking trunk, for flip’s sake.
“I don’t care what’s going on. You don’t punch a girl. You okay?” he barked.
I nodded. “Are you going to let me go? Please?”
“No. I can’t.” The trunk slammed shut, sinking me into darkness once more. I listened to his footsteps fade. I was pretty sure he’d walked away.
I knew,I just knew, if I got happy, something or someone would come along and mess it up. Something like being in a motherflipping, effing, fucking trunk. I squinted in the dark, trying to see the safety lever. I had spent time in the trunk of a car on several occasions during my youth. Cops and Robbers could get kind of dicey with my brothers and sisters.
My eyes finally adjusted enough to see it. This was an older model car and I was lucky it even had one. My handswere cuffed behind my back, so I flipped over to reach it. For once, I was glad to be short; it allowed me room to maneuver. I just wish I didn’t have heels on. Being a slob could pay off sometimes, and I would kill to be wearing my jeans and sneakers right about now. However, the pins in my hair would probably come in handy.
I pulled the lever and sat up when the trunk lid popped open. It appeared that I was in a warehouse type of building. The roof was very high, but the space was not open. It had been divided up with walls that gave it a maze-like quality. The ambient sounds bouncing off the metal walls echoed in my ears. I tried to focus my eyes in the dim light. Luckily, I could see the sun peeking through the high windows, and I hoped I would find my way out before it grew completely dark. My head pounded, and the side of my face felt tight from the hit at Violet’s.
I pushed up onto my knees and half-stepped, half-rolled over the side of the trunk and landed on my ass on the cement floor. I tucked my legs to my chest, tight as they could go, so I could slip my feet through my arms. I didn’t even need to take my shoes off.
God bless my brothers and sisters and our deranged childhood games.
God bless Will and his excessive self-defense lessons.
I reached into my hair and located a bobby pin. I used my teeth to take off the little plastic thingy on the end, then bent it at an angle. The trick was to stick the pin only halfway into the lock mechanism. I did it! My hands were now free.
I kept the handcuffs in my hand as I looked around for something else to use as a weapon while simultaneously looking for a way out. There had to be a garage door somewhere around here—someone had driven a car inside, after all. I walked around one of the makeshift walls and saw more walls. Some had doors that probably led to small rooms, and some just snaked around and led to who knew where. Idecided to follow pathways that were wide enough to drive a car through. I needed to get to an outside wall. Then I could follow it around until I reached a doorway.
Instead of a way out, I found Hawaiian-shirt Derrick with his stupid effing ponytail and handsome but hostile grin. I held the cuffs in my fist and immediately took a swing at him, clocking him hard in the throat. He immediately started gagging and gasping. He also immediately got pissed off and moved to hit me back. Ducking his swing, I kicked him in the balls. He doubled over and I swear he started to cry, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I turned on my heel and ran the opposite direction, forgetting Will’s and Cade’s and my father’s previous instructions to completely incapacitate an attacker. I should have kicked him in the head a few times.
Too late now. I was already running around the corner, turning around weird, nonsensically placed walls and stacks of boxes and crates. I was hopelessly lost in this ridiculous, cavernous warehouse. I froze when I saw Derrick’s partner in front of me holding a gun.
I dropped the handcuffs and held my hands out to my sides. He gestured for me to go to him, so I did it. At this point, I was out of options and a little bit out of my mind. I stopped in front of him, and he grabbed my arm and zip tied my hands behind my back without saying a word.
He pulled me through a narrow pathway forged between stacked-up boxes and crates. Dust kicked up with every step and filled my nostrils until I couldn’t breathe. I gasped as I struggled not to fall. I stumbled once, and he hauled me up by my arm, shaking me forcefully. So much for his earlier concern.
It was getting darker, and the sound of our footfalls stomping and scraping across the dirty floor echoed throughout the warehouse. We reached a door, and he shoved me into a pitch-black room. Careening through the doorway, Itripped on my heels. But instead of hitting the floor, I hit a body.
