Archer took Atticus’s hand and steered him around to the passenger side, urged him into the truck, then made his way back around.He got behind the wheel and started the engine.He shifted intoReverseand used his taillights to guide him the short distance to the road they’d turned off of.
Once they were headed toward town, he grabbed his phone, doing his best to keep from driving into a ditch while he pulled up Brantley’s number.
“Yeah?”Brantley answered, his voice echoing in the truck.
“We’ve got a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“We found Allison Bogart.”
“Good.Where?”
“Not good,” he corrected.“She’s dead.”
“Son of a bitch.Where are you?”
“On the backroads where we lost the tails the other day.We followed JJ’s coordinates to a field, found Allison’s body.Now, we’re heading to Johnson City.”
“You touch her?”
“No.”No one had needed to.Whoever had killed her had done so by slashing her throat.It had been a gruesome scene.Enough that Archer knew there was no surviving it.
“Okay.Get to town.We’ll head that way.I’ll call Kieran so he can bring in the authorities.They might want to talk to you.”
“I’m pretty sure we crossed paths with whoever did the evil deed.Silver Honda Accord,” he told his boss, then rattled off the license plate number he’d noted when it passed.“It’s the same one that was tailin’ us.”
“Good work.Sit tight.”
“Will do.”
Archer set his phone in the cupholder when the call disconnected.He glanced over at Atticus, noticed the man was staring straight ahead, hands clasped tightly in his lap.
Shock could be a bitch.
Fifteen minutes later, Archer was walking out of the small convenience store with two Dr.Peppers.He made his way to the side of the building where he’d parked to keep them off the security cameras.Turned out, it wasn’t necessary because he’d noted the store didn’t have any.
He caught sight of Atticus still staring straight ahead, so he went over to the passenger side and opened the door.He reached across him and unbuckled his seat belt.
“Here.”He unscrewed the lid on one of the Dr.Peppers, then held it out to him.“Drink this.Then get out and walk around for a minute or two.”
Atticus took the bottle, lifted it to his mouth.He drank.As he did, some of the color returned to his face.
Archer remained where he was, standing beside Atticus, the door open wide.“That was horrific,” he said.“And let me tell you, it never gets easier to see.”
“They…” Atticus shook his head, not finishing the sentence.
Archer didn’t need him to.He knew what the man was referring to.As though slashing her throat wasn’t enough, they had cut out Allison’s tongue, likely as a warning to whoever was looking for her.According to Kieran, Allison had helped him get Kylie to a safe place when they learned Calloway had given the order to kill her.And because she had betrayed him, Calloway had probably ordered Allison’s death, too.
“Do you think he did it?”Atticus asked.
“Who?Calloway?”Archer shook his head.“I doubt he gets his hands dirty.”The bastard had too much to lose.“But he instructed her killer to do it.”
Atticus took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, his Dr.Pepper still in his hand.Archer took it from him, then reached over him again and placed it in the cup holder.
“I’ll never get over seein’ her face.”
“You will,” he assured Atticus, placing his hand on his thigh.As soon as he did, he realized what he was doing, so he jerked it back.“Sorry.”
