My head was spinning, my thoughts vibrating between the shock of his confession and my rage over the realization that he had killed Annabelle.
“You fucking bastard!” I screamed in his face, unable to lock down my emotions and not make a volatile situation worse.
He pounced with the reflexes of a wild animal, straddling my hips while I struggled against my bindings to fight him off.
“Hmm.” He licked up the side of my face. “Now I’m glad I didn’t kill you earlier, because I like this fight you’ve got in you. It makes me hard as fuck.”
“It was you. You’re the one who drove me off the road?”
“That and tainting your food with oyster sauce.”
“How did you—”
“Just about anyone can become a delivery person these days. I knew of your allergy from your sister. While she was usually very tight-lipped about you, in fact, it was the only time Annabelle would fight me and grow a tailbone, but one night—let’s just say I broke her down and filed that little detail away for later.”
“What did you do to her?”
“I think the better question is, what didn’t I do?”
“How did you kill her?” I asked. Desperately needing to know the truth.
“I poisoned her over time until her heart couldn’t handle it anymore. Poor thing didn’t even see it coming. She was all alone with no one to help her, and the best part of it all, my hands were clean because of the few palms I’d greased along the way.” Bile burned my throat. “You see, I’d taken a life insurance policy out on your sister years prior, so all I had to do was sit back and bide my time until she died from what looked like natural causes.”
“You’re going to pay for killing her if it’s the last thing I do.” I all but snarled, not recognizing the sound of my own voice.
The beast that reared its ugly head when he flat-out snickered in my face was that of a self-righteous asshole. I just hoped his boastful attitude toward his criminal actions would ultimately be his downfall. Also, I was willing to bet those who lacked a moral compass and accepted his bribes would flip on a dime if presented with a more lucrative offer they couldn’t refuse.
“And exactly how is that going to work? I’m holding all the cards here, sweetheart.”
I wanted to shout in his face that I knew people with connections but wouldn’t risk jeopardizing anyone else’s safety.
“It’s such a shame that I won’t be able to explore this aggressive side of you, but it’s clear to me you need to go. I can’t have any reminders or loose ends lying around.”
I knew the moment he divulged his secrets that there was no way he’d risk letting me walk away.
He’d sealed my fate.
Ice bled through my veins, blanketing me with sadness and dimming my light while the real realization slammed into me that I’d never see Boden again. It crippled me to the core. My stomach churned with regret over not telling him I loved him when I had the chance. It was a bitter pill to swallow, as was knowing the distress my disappearance would cause him. I’d be another person ripped from his life, and that knowledge shattered my heart.
Anthony crawled off me and headed toward the metal door. Understanding this might be my only chance, I didn’t hesitate and screamed at the top of my lungs as loud as I could the second the door slid upward.
He spun around, dropped the door to the ground, and gave me a swift backhand across my face. With limited lighting from the flashlight, I watched him curl his fists into balls as he paced around the small space.
Then, the sound of a cell phone ringing on the other side made him freeze before he lunged for the baseball bat I’d spotted in the corner earlier. With my heart in my throat, Anthony lifted the door again and charged forward, swinging the bat like a crazed animal.
The man on the other side quickly tried to shield his face, but my captor was too strong for his frail frame. The man crumbled to the floor, dashing my hopes of being rescued. I was helpless. Anthony took three steps backward, and just as he was closing us inside the steel box, my attempted savior made eye contact with me. It was the last thing I saw before I met the eyes that would forever haunt me until my last breath.
“Time’s up, sweetheart. But this time, we’re going together.”
Chapter32
Boden
Iparked down the street from the small decrepit house Jaxon, and I were here to search. The same road where I’d processed the abandoned U-Haul. It was also the only house where no one answered when police canvassed the neighbors, and acting on instinct, I felt it was worth revisiting.
As we approached, I noted the closed curtains and empty driveway.
“I’ll head around the back. You check the front.”
