Chapter 6
SIX
Blakely
Before she left, Valerie showed me a video of Shelly from that morning. Whoever was recording was hidden in the hallway while Shelly stood in her bathroom, fixing her makeup in the mirror. It was hard to hear, but it was also hard to miss the sound of my voice.
Shelly laughed at something I said, and the video cut off a second later. There was no doubt it was from that morning.
Valerie and her friend left me in the alley with the threat that they would be watching. I couldn’t contain it any longer, and I finally gave in to the tears.
Closing my eyes, I fought the terror that was eagerly waiting on the edges of my mind and considered my options. There weren’t many, and most of my decisions would have to be made in the moment, because I couldn’t begin to contemplate what Valerie would do next, but I could do it. I had to do it.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I was positive it had been longer than half an hour, and Hazel was likely already inside.
I retrieved my bag, covered in dust and debris, from where it had fallen when the man shoved me to the ground. I dusted it off the best I could, but I wasn’t concerned about how dirty it was or how disheveled I looked.
Walking down the alley, I braced myself as I rounded the corner. The wind that preceded the storm sitting on the horizon whipped around me, and the street was nearly empty. In less than ten steps, I was standing at the front door of the restaurant.
The door was heavy, and it took more force than I expected to pull it open. A gust of heat blew through the door, and I didn’t realize how cold I was until I was inside.
“Hi, there. Just one?” the hostess asked. I glanced at her, poised behind her hostess stand to my left, and the smile she wore faltered. “Oh, umm…are you okay?”
I nodded. “Just meeting someone,” I murmured quickly, not waiting to head toward the back of the restaurant.
I couldn’t even begin to describe the restaurant—I wasn’t paying attention to the trivial details like the lighting or decor. I rounded a short half-wall that separated the entrance from the dining room and weaved between tables of patrons. Everyone was eating, talking, and enjoying their meals, and they were all completely unaware.
Just like Hazel.
I stopped several feet short of the table, which was partially hidden by another short wall that divided the dining room even further.
Her head was bowed, brown, almost auburn hair brushing the table in front of her as she read the menu. She tucked it behind her ear as she idly chewed her thumbnail. Beneath the table, her crossed legs bounced nervously.
She was wearing a white knit dress with brown boots. And it took me a second to notice the bow neatly tied in the back of her hair.
All I wanted to do was grab her and sprint in the opposite direction. If I called the cops the moment I had Hazel, I was sure we’d be able to get to Shelly in enough time .
But that was the thing, I wasn’t sure. And that was a very dangerous bet to make with someone known to make good on their threats. Still standing awkwardly among the tables, Hazel hadn’t spotted me when my phone vibrated in my jacket pocket.
My first instinct was to ignore it, but it vibrated again and again.
Angrily, I yanked it out and stared down at the screen. I blinked a few times before I truly saw the photos that came in one after the other.
Amanda was wearing the blue dress I’d helped her choose that morning. Reed was jogging on a treadmill like he did every Saturday afternoon, and James was right next to him. Josh was turning on the “open” sign at Murphy’s. Luke was walking into his vet clinic.
Devon was grocery shopping with his sister. His smile broke my heart.
And below all of these photos were five words:
Do it, or they die.
Nothing after that felt like real life. I walked forward and slid into the seat across from Hazel. Even after everything that happened, she greeted me with a smile. But it didn’t last long.
She began to say something, but there wasn’t any time. From a back hallway, I saw the man who’d grabbed me turn the corner. Valerie was hot on his heels.
“I’m so sorry,” I said when they were a few feet away. “Don’t scream. I’ll?—”
The syringe in his hand was long, and it disappeared when he plunged it into the side of Hazel’s neck. Her head lolled to the side before I could finish my thought: I’ll get you out of this.
In one swift and practiced motion, the man scooped Hazel into his arms and disappeared down the hallway once again. Valerie waved at me to follow, and whether I should have or not, I didn’t really consider. I wanted to follow Hazel. To get her out of it, I had to know where they were taking her.
Valerie walked down the hallway with purposeful strides and pushed open the metal door at the end.
The wind was still whipping wildly; the storm had yet to blow through. But by the time we got outside, the man was already duct-taping Hazel’s mouth and binding her arms and legs.
“Valerie, this is insane,” I said. “What the fuck is wrong with you? He doesn’t love you anymore. He is better off without you. We all are!”
She whirled on me and looked like she was finally going to lose it. But she didn’t. Her features morphed from rage to smugness that I should have recognized sooner.
“I can’t take anything you say seriously, B. God, you are so easy to manipulate,” she said, then glanced over my shoulder. “Grab her.”
An arm, even stronger than the other man’s, wrapped around my waist while the other covered my mouth. My strength was depleted, but I still found it in me to fight. Kicking and thrashing, I tried to bite his fingers or make contact with his shins, but nothing worked.
The other man tossed Hazel into the trunk and handed Valerie a new syringe. She plucked off the cap and walked toward me. Each step closer made her lips curl up in a cruel smile.
The man holding me tightened his arms even more, jerking my head to the side and offering my neck for Valerie to stab. Tears were flowing freely at that point, and my muffled pleas were punctuated by stuttered breaths and hiccuped sobs.
When she stabbed me, it was more than a pinch. It stung and then burned down my neck to my collarbone and up into my jaw. The whole world tilted, and if it weren’t for the man behind me, I would’ve slumped to the ground .
“That’s a smaller dose,” the other man said as my eyelids grew heavy.
“No problem.” The man behind me spoke for the first time. “I have more in the car.” I didn’t recognize his voice, but I wished I had.
“We already took care of her car,” Valerie said. “So, you should be in the clear. Just be careful when you leave the state.”
“I know what I’m doing, Val,” he said, and their voices grew distant. A thick layer of impenetrable fog was closing in on me from every side.
“What are you going to do with her?” I wasn’t sure who was talking as the edges of my vision blackened and blurred.
“Whatever I want.”