Chapter 19
19
Ryan
“Damn, this place really is remote,” I observed as we pulled off the windy two-lane road onto a dirt driveway.
Court glanced around and nodded. “Yeah, it doesn’t look like there’s any neighbors nearby either.”
We continued for another half mile through the towering white pines lining both sides of our path until we reached a clearing. A small log cabin was on the right, and an even smaller workshop-type building sat about a hundred yards straight ahead. Its doors were wide open. Court turned toward the cabin and parked in front of it.
Stepping out of the Durango, I didn’t see any other vehicles around. “You don’t think they’re still at lunch, do you?” I murmured as we stepped out of the car.
He shrugged. “Beats me.”
We made our way to the front door, where Court knocked a couple of times, and I pulled out my phone to call Morgan.
“The signal here is shit,” I grumbled.
“Try standing next to my car. I still had service right before we got out.”
We walked back to his SUV, and as I was about to hit the call button on my sister’s contact, I noticed a BMW coming up the driveway, followed by an older Toyota 4Runner.
“The bimmer is Donnie’s car,” Court explained.
Tossing my phone through the open window onto the passenger seat, I watched the BMW turn to pull alongside the Durango, while the 4Runner continued past the cabin. Morgan climbed out of the driver’s side of Donnie’s BMW and slammed the door closed.
My gaze flicked between her and where the other vehicle had passed us, but I could no longer see it. “What’s going on?”
She let out a harsh breath. “I don’t even know. Donnie said his friend bought that piece of shit to use during the winter and asked Donnie to handle the purchase and bring it back here. Supposedly, that’s where he was yesterday, and then he needed my help bringing it back this morning after lunch. I’m so fucking over this trip.”
Donnie rounded the corner a second later and shouted, “What the hell are you two doing here?”
Other than the night Morgan OD’d, Donnie had always given off a calm, relaxed vibe. I’d assumed then he was just worried about Morgan, but now, as he stomped toward us, his face red with anger and his hands clenched into fists, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was getting a glimpse of the real Donnie Pierce.
“Ugh. I can’t deal with him right now.” Morgan spun around and stormed into the house.
I wanted to follow her, but I also didn’t want to leave Court outside to deal with Donnie alone.
Court held his hands out in a placating gesture. “Hey, there’s no reason to get upset with us. Morgan called Ryan and asked him to pick her up. We happened to be together at the time, so I offered to drive him here.”
Donnie glared at him. “You’re my fucking employee. You shouldn’t be inserting yourself into shit with my girlfriend.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I grunted a humorless laugh. “He’s the one you trusted to watch over Morgan when she was so drunk she didn’t even remember calling me. And he’s the one you called when you gave my sister Molly laced with shit that could have killed her.”
Donnie threw his hands up in the air. “Whatever. If your sister wants to be a bitch and go crying to you, then she should just fucking leave.”
So, he wasn’t proposing then.
“Are you serious?—”
Court placed his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from saying anything else. “It’s not worth going back and forth with him right now. Go help Morgan get her things, and they can figure shit out later.”
“You might as well go with him, and we’ll talk about this when I get back into town,” Donnie addressed Court before he walked around the side of the house.
I rested my hand on Court’s shoulder and squeezed. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to cause problems for you at work.”
“Don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.” He sounded confident, but the tension in his muscles under my touch betrayed his words.
Once inside, we crossed through the living room with a small couch and chair that looked straight out of an eighties sitcom and entered the single bedroom, where Morgan sat in the middle of the bed with clothing and toiletries strewn all around her as she typed on her phone.
“What are you doing?” I clipped, eager to get on the road.
Morgan glanced up, tears streaming down her face. “I’ve been texting Faye, but it’s taking forever for my messages to go through, and she’s not responding. Even when I texted her from the restaurant.”
She must not have heard the news or got the emergency alert. “She’s probably dealing with the Secret Service right now. Joseph Hughes escaped prison.”
“Joseph ...” Her forehead wrinkled in confusion and then her eyes widened. “You mean the guy who was responsible for Fallon getting shot?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
“Faye must be freaking out.”
“I’m sure all the Donnelleys are. I talked to Dad. He was going to call Uncle Patrick to check in, but he assumes their security measures will be increased. The Secret Service will likely add some agents to each of their details.”
“I should call Faye.” She held up her phone as if that would help her get a better signal.
I placed my hand over Morgan’s. “Let’s finish up here, and then you can call her on our way home.”
She nodded and started packing her toiletries in their specific cases and bags. If it were up to me, I’d shove it all in my suitcase and deal with it later, but Morgan was very particular when it came to her skin care and makeup.
As we waited for her to finish packing, Court’s phone pinged with a text notification, and he checked the device.
“I need to make a call,”he said, holding up his phone, looking for a better signal. “But the reception’s better outside. I’ll be right back.”
“You want to speed things up a bit?” I crossed my arms over my chest, no longer able to hide my impatience with my sister.
Morgan narrowed her eyes at me. “Sorry for being such an inconvenience. You didn’t have to agree to come get me.”
“Are you kidding me right now? Why are you acting like I’m the bad guy?”
She swiped her hand across her cheeks, brushing her tears away. “Sorry. I shouldn’t take my anger out on you. I’m just so mad that Donnie isn’t in here begging me to stay. Do you think he actually doesn’t care if I leave?”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course, it matters. If he loves me as much as he claims, he should want me to stay with him.”
“Morgan, I’m not saying this to be a jerk, but do you think a healthy relationship should have this much drama?”
“Since you’re in a relationship now, you think that makes you some sort of expert?”
“I’m not going to argue with you right now.” I leaned against the wall as she went back to packing.
“Shit,” she mumbled a few seconds later as she dug through her pile of clothes.
I took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?”
“I left my bikini outside.” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed like she was going to get up.
“I’ll go get it so you can hurry the fuck up. Where is it?”
“Next to the hot tub out back. It’s the only decent thing here.”
The hot tub wasn’t far from the workshop I’d seen when we’d first arrived. I assumed that’s where Donnie was since the 4Runner was parked in front of it, and I really didn’t want to have another confrontation with him, so I grabbed her swimsuit as quickly as possible and tried to get back to the house unnoticed.But the sound of two people arguing stopped me in my tracks.
“How the hell did you get here a day earlier than you were supposed to?”Donnie asked.
“An opportunity arose, and we had to jump on it,” a man replied. “Now tell me why the hell you brought your girlfriend with you this weekend?”
The pair walked over to the 4Runner, and I crouched behind the short fence separating us, hoping they hadn’t noticed me listening to their conversation. My leg dug into a piece of firewood but I didn’t budge, afraid I’d make a sound.
“I wanted an alibi in case anyone questioned what I was doing here,” Donnie quipped.
An alibi? What the fuck did he need an alibi for?
“And you didn’t think she might recognize me?” the other person growled.
“She’s hot as fuck, but not the brightest.” Donnie chuckled. “Besides, you don’t exactly look like you did during your trial.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” the unknown guy roared. “All it will take is for her to realize what’s going on, and she could fuck everything up.”
Who the hell was this guy? I was tempted to sneak a peek, but they sounded too close for me to take the risk.
“That’s not going to happen, but you need to keep your voice down. One of my employees and her brother are here because Morgan wanted to leave early. While I can get her to believe anything I tell her, I’m not so sure I can do the same with the other two guys.”
“You really are an idiot, aren’t you? Your mom said I could trust you to handle this, but how do I know you’re not setting me up?”
“Why the hell would I set you up?” Donnie questioned angrily.
“Because then your mom gets all my money. Maybe that was the plan all along.” The other man’s words were laced with agitation.
“You sound crazy right now—” The faint sound of a siren in the distance cut off Donnie’s words.
“You fucking traitor!”
“Fuck, Joe. Put the gun down.”
Gun? I couldn’t comprehend what Donnie said before the deafening crack of a gunshot echoed through the air. Birds scattered in every direction, but the ringing in my ears drowned out all other sounds.
I frantically searched for my phone in my pocket, only to remember I’d left it in Court’s vehicle. Panic set in as I realized I needed to make a run for the house. My hearing hadn’t returned, so I slowly lifted my head to peek over the fence to make sure the coast was clear. As I scanned the area, my eyes locked on the man sitting in the driver’s seat of the 4Runner, and his icy glare sent chills down my spine.