The back doors of the van swing open, pulling my attention away. A body jumps from the back and stalks toward them. When he lifts his head, my heart stops beating. Erick stiffens as Phil approaches them.
“What seems to be the problem, boys?” Phil watches Erick warily and glances my way. His lip twitches; notso much into a smirk, but more of a snarl.
I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate. This bastard has my best friend hidden away somewhere, but I’m so terrified I can’t move—even if it meant saving my life. Is this how Hazel felt when he attacked her? Phil stands there with his hands on his hips, like he asked them what their favorite food is, waiting for one of them to answer.
“Nothing, boss.” Bobby smiles at him and continues, “I’ve got it taken care of.”
Phil glances at Bobby and turns back to Erick. “If that’s the case, why does he look so pissed?”
“Because you’re gonna get him fucking killed, that’s why!” Erick yells at Phil.
Phil doesn’t even flinch. He just stares at Erick like he didn’t say anything. Now is not the time for Erick to be losing his shit. I open the door and step one foot out of the car. Bobby turns to me and widens his eyes as if to say get back in.
“Erick,” I speak quietly. “Get back in the car.”
“I never thought I’d say this, but for once Cady is the sound of reason.” Phil’s voice drops menacingly lower. “Maybe you should listen to the little cunt.”
“Why, so you can destroy our lives more than you already are?” Erick says as Bobby steps between him and Phil and pushes him back toward the car. “No, I’m done with all this. Fuck you, you fuckin’ pussy!”
Bobby’s arms drop to his sides in shock. There is no saving Erick from Phil’s wrath now, or he’ll give himself away. I clutch the top of the door, petrified, as Phil shoves Bobby out of the way.
Phil’s face contorts in hatred as he snarls, “I haven’t even begun to destroy you.”
A gun discharges, and Erick falls to the ground. Ringing fills my ears along with the sounds of screams. Bobby wraps me in his arms, his hand running consolingly through my hair, but I can barely hear his soothing words through the screams.
“Shut that bitch up or I will,” Phil shouts, and I realize I’m the one making all the noise.
I cover my mouth to muffle my terrified cries. He’s going to kill every last one of us. This was not how this was supposed to go. This was not how my life was supposed to end—shot in an abandoned industrial park by a fucking nutcase.
Bobby eases me down into the passenger seat and squats in front of me. His hands clench in fists of rage he can do nothing about. If he retaliates now, we may never find where Hazel and Joseph are being kept. We aren’t even sure if Dustin knows where they are. They could waste away and die, if they aren’t dead already, and no one would ever find them. I drop my face into my hands and sob. There is nothing else I can do besides be a sitting fucking duck.
“Put him in the van.”
I scramble farther into the car at the closeness ofPhil’s voice. Bobby looks at me with regret as he stands and walks away. Phil lowers himself to my eye level and watches me. I dare not look away from him, no matter how badly I want to see Erick. I don’t know if he’s okay or dead, but I know one thing for certain. Once he gets in that van, I’ll never see him again.
Tears cascade down my face as I stare into the eyes of a killer. He watches the drops roll down my cheeks in fascination before reaching out to touch one, and I yank my head away. The normal coldness returns to his face as he grips my chin and jerks my head to face him again. He raises the gun, and I choke on a sob, not wanting his face to be the last one I see.
“I want you to deliver a message for me.”
CHAPTER 16
CASH
“SHE’Snot going to message you back.”
Dale places his phone on the table and raises his brow. I chuckle thinking about the number Cady saved to his phone. She’s not a stupid woman. Cady has more common sense than most people I’ve ever met, and she could see what kind of man Dale was the first time she met him. He’s the hit-it-and-quit-it type. From what Hazel told me, so is Cady, but it seems she found what she was searching for in Erick. Dale doesn’t need to step between the two of them and ruin what they have together.
“Cady has a boyfriend,” I remind him.
“That dude is worthless,” he says solemnly. “He left her here alone not knowing what kind of people we really are to save his own neck. Who the fuck does that? A coward, Cash. Only a coward does that.”
I’m not going to argue with him; he has a valid point. But Erick has been around me enough to know that I would never hurt a hair on her head. At least, I hope he knowsthat and didn’t bail thinking it would save him.
Dale just shakes his head as he spins his cellphone on the table in a slow circle with his finger. He’s already slipped off into Lala land. He needs to stay focused, or he’s going to be blindsided like I was, and in a world of hurt. He and Cady would be good together; I won’t deny it. They would drive each other batshit crazy, and she would constantly put him in his place. Amusing? Definitely. Bad timing? Absolutely.
“Carl and Brad being here is pointless,” I tell him, trying to get his mind back on what’s important.
“I know,” he sighs and leans back in his seat. “They should be prepping for the sale, so it’s all done when it happens. They can’t follow Dustin because he always heads off on backroads, and they would be spotted immediately. Wherever Phil is hiding out, he picked a damn good spot.”
