Page 57

57

Will was panicking here. He was panicking.

He had opened the door to Braelyn’s car and started it. Then he had seen her.

Dylan. Right there. Just two cars down.

Her nearly white hair was so distinctive, and from the size—he had known right away that it was her.

What if Dylan had seen him? His head hurt, he just couldn’t think.

He didn’t want her calling the cops for him taking Braelyn’s car. Not with Abby out there.

With Bruce.

Abby couldn’t fight Bruce. And if the cops got involved, Bruce would tell about Will. And about Will’s dad. What was he supposed to do?

He had just taken Dylan. He had to make her be quiet. Not tell the police on him or anything. Until he got Abby back.

He’d wrapped his belt around Dylan’s hands. Probably too tight. He felt like a complete asshole when she cried out. “I don’t want to hurt you. I really don’t. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry about this.”

He barely got out of the way where she tried to kick him.

“Let me go. Why are you even doing this?” He could hear how afraid she was. Will could hear it, and he felt like a stupid, fucking monster.

He liked Dylan. So much. He didn’t want to hurt her. He just didn’t.

They were a mile from the inn when he just couldn’t take it any longer. Her eyes were drilling into his soul.

He pulled her out of the backseat. Where she couldn’t look at him.

And carried her to the rear of the hatchback. “Just stay back here. Keep quiet. I’ll let you go later. When I am finished.”

“What is this even about?” She was shaking. He’d scared her. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. Or hurt her, she’d been in the hospital and everything recently. She was looking at him like he was a monster. Why wouldn’t she just stop looking at him?

“I’m sorry. But he’s got my sister. He’s got Abby, and I need to get her back.”

“Who has Abby? Abby just left five minutes before I did!”

Will ignored how she flinched when he pushed the hair out of her eyes. She had really soft hair. He grabbed a blanket he found in Braelyn’s backseat and covered her with it.

He didn’t want her to be afraid like this. “I’m sorry. But Bruce Tyler has my sister. I have to get her back.”

He would never forget the fear in her eyes when he closed the trunk.

Will got back in the driver’s seat. He could just see the outline of her head in the darkness, where she leaned against the rear seat. “I’m sorry, Dylan. I really am. I’ll make it up to you for this. I promise. I just need to get my sister back.”

“Let me call the police! I can call Sage. She’s a cop, the chief deputy. Please. I can call her. She’ll get Abby back real fast and everything.”

“I can’t do that. Bruce knows things. He knows things, and I don’t know how to stop him. He’s a monster and I can’t stop him.”

“Please just let me go. Take this car and just let me go. I’ll walk home. Back to Fletcher. Please. Sage and the cops are already looking for Bruce. They want him really bad. Please, just let me go.”

She would call the cops and ruin everything. Will couldn’t do that.

He rubbed his head. The OPJ was still making him cloudy right now.

That drug had been nothing but trouble since the moment he’d gotten involved in it. It was all Toby’s fault. His friend had told him about a way to make easy money, and Will had fallen for it. It was all Toby and Oliver and Sammy’s fault his life had turned out like this.

It was their fault, but now Will had to find a way to fix it.

He got back behind the wheel just as his phone rang.

He answered it blindly, hoping it was Abby telling him everything was okay and she was safe.

“Hello, Willy boy. Missing something?”

He could hear his sister screaming in the background.