Page 26 of Wedding Cake Carnage
Noah’s dimples dig in and out. “Yeah, well. I’ve had a lot of time to think. I let my pride and jealousy get in the way of my relationship with Everett one too many times. Don’t get me wrong—the thought of you two together kills me, but he’s still family. He’ll always be family.”
“We’ll always be family, too, Noah.” There’s an ache in my chest as I push the words out.
“We will, Lottie. And if I’m right, we’ll be husband and wife one day, too.”
We drive another ten minutes and follow the silver hatchback as it makes two stops right here in town before getting on the thoroughfare that leads to Hollyhock. We bypass the tract houses, the shopping mall, and any forms of quasi-city life as we head up the backroad toward Pine Brook Road.
The evergreens close in on us, darkening the skyline with their lofty limbs. Every now and again a cabin pops up between the thickets of pine trees. They’re tiny, and adorable, and look as if they’re made entirely out of Lincoln Logs.
“Oh my God, Noah, this is it!”
“Let’s hope so.” He hands me my phone. “I want you to text Ivy. Tell her I want her to monitor my vehicle until I contact her again.”
“Does Ivy have a tracking device on your truck?”
“We both do. I’ve got one on yours, too. I’m thinking of adding Everett to the mix.”
I know for a fact Noah put one on my mother’s car and I’m thankful for it. That was back when she had a borderline psychotic boyfriend who needed to know her every move. Honestly, we all thought he was going to steal her away to some abandoned cabin and we’d never see her again. And here it was Everett we had to worry about the entire time. I put the text in to Ivy and she messages back with a thumbs-up. As much as I don’t care for Ivy, she sure as heck just gave me a world full of comfort.
“They’re slowing down,” Noah whispers as he pulls off the side of the road and tucks us against an embankment lined with young pines.
“His car is going up that dirt road. Noah, we’re going to lose him.”
“No, we’re not.” He pulls out his binoculars and bites down over his lower lip as he inspects the road ahead. “Pine Brook Road number fourteen.” He puts the car in reverse and starts to turn around.
“Noah, stop. What are you doing? The cabin is the other way. We have to go get Everett.”
“Lottie, we can’t just knock on the door and expect her to open it. We need to get a search warrant. I’m coming back with the deputies.” There’s a mournful tone in his voice. “Lottie, I’m sorry. I don’t know what we’re up against. I’m not putting you in that kind of danger.”
Beasty and Lea pop their heads in from the back before forming fully in the back seat of the truck and I take up Noah’s hand so he’ll be apprised of whatever they might say.
Beasty growls as if he were as frustrated as I was. “Assign me a duty.”
“Me, too,” Lea snips. “I’m bored and you don’t want to know what I’m capable of when I’ve been left to my own devices.”
“Oh yes, I do. Beasty, you take Lea and go up the road to number fourteen. Go in that cabin and do a thorough search. And as soon as you find Everett, come right back down.”
Noah’s jaw redefines itself as he studies the road up ahead for signs of the silver hatchback.
“You both have less than twenty seconds, and then I’m turning this car around. The last thing I want is to arouse suspicion.”
Beasty and Lea won’t be stranded in the traditional sense, but they’ll disappear from the area as long as I’m not in it.
In a flash of light that can rival a nuclear blast, Beasty and Lea bullet down the road and up the dirt driveway leading to the cabin just out of sight.
My body begins to tremble, and my breathing becomes erratic.
“Hey”—Noah wraps his arms around me tightly, warming my back with his hands—“you’re shivering.”
“I’m not cold. I’m just…” My teeth begin to chatter, disputing my claim.
“You’re in shock, Lottie. You have both fight and flight working against each other.” He pulls back, his sad eyes grazing over each of mine. “I love you, Lottie Lemon. And there’s no way in hell I’d risk anything happening to you. This is as far as I come.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry.”
Before I can berate him, or scream, or pull my hair out properly, Beasty and Lea appear in the back of the truck and I take up Noah’s hand again.
“We saw nothing,” Beasty growls it out in a fit of frustration as Noah backs up out and spins us in the opposite direction in a flash.
“What do you mean you saw nothing?” I peg Lea with a look as she glowers out the window as if she were planning a mass slaughter of the entire neighborhood.