Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“Considering he’s still alive, I’d say we did a pretty good job at keeping our cool,” Knox counters.
Craig grunts, clearly disagreeing.
“Forget about it,” Justice says, cutting in. “We need to be discussing the fucking plot twist that’s just been revealed.”
“If what he says is even true,” Craig returns.
“It’s true.” I saw the truth in his eyes, in the shock that registered on his face when he heard about Alice. Even the motive he gave makes sense, in the most completely fucked up way.
Denton hated Alice for what Hobbs did to him and he made her pay for it. The same way I am going to do to him, but the vicious cycle ends there. With his death by my hands.
Craig’s work phone goes off at his hip.
Lifting it from his belt, he brings it to his ear. “This is the sheriff.” His entire demeanor changes in an instant. “Calm down and tell me what happened.”
The female voice on the other end of the line is in hysterics, her rambling indistinguishable.
“Hang tight, we’re on our way.” He ends the call, looking to my brothers and me. “That was Gwen, we need to get to the farm, now.”
Her name was the last I expected to hear and it puts us all in motion.
“What happened?” Justice asks as we run for our vehicles.
“I don’t have all the details, but it’s bad.” His tone leads me to believe he knows more than he’s saying, but I don’t waste time calling him out on it.
Jumping into my truck, I bring it to life. The engine explodes through the lot, the loud noise doing nothing to drown out the panic hammering in my ears.
I follow Craig’s flashing lights, the front end of my truck tailing his bumper as we speed down the backroads.
Justice tries calling Ryanne several times, but each attempt goes unanswered. “Fuck! Why the hell isn’t she answering?”
“Dad isn’t either,” Knox says, adding to the fear coursing through me.
My mind races with all the possibilities that could have happened, but I’m unable to fathom a single one. Not with my father there, not with the security we have.
Did someone get hurt?
That thought doesn’t make me feel any better.
We make it to the farm in half the time. I speed down the driveway of our home and find my father on the porch holding a hysterical Hannah while Gwen comforts an emotional Ryanne.
Dread strangles me when I don’t see Alice among them.
Hannah jumps out of my father’s arms and runs over to Justice as we all climb out of my truck.
“Daddy!” she cries, launching herself into his open arms.
“Easy, baby girl,” Justice soothes. “I got you.”
I bypass Ryanne as she runs to hug them both, my fast strides taking me up the porch steps to my father. “What’s going on? Where’s Alice?”
Guilt floods his dark brown eyes as he peers back at me.
“Where is she, Dad?” I bellow, panic threading through every word.
“I’m sorry, son,” he forces out gruffly. “He took her before I made it back in time.”
His words reverberate through my hollow mind like an echo, my brain struggling to comprehend. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s my fault,” Hannah says. “I’m the one who lost my ball in the woods. I didn’t see the bad policeman until it was too late.” Her sobbing confession only adds to the confusion spinning through me.
“What bad policeman?” Craig asks before I can.
“It was Pierce,” my father explains, breathing fire into my angry soul like a raging dragon. “It’s why I had Gwen call you and not the station, I didn’t know who we could trust.”
He starts from the beginning, telling us about the distraction of the horse, to Pierce using Hannah as a lure to get to Alice.
Every word he speaks, every detail he reveals, thrashes through my veins with a rage so profound it sends me spiraling. “Motherfucker!” My fist slams into the house window, shards of glass slicing through my hand and shattering around us. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
My violence puts me face-to-face with Craig. Grabbing him by the shirt, I slam him up against the house, ignoring the remorse on his face. “I told you! I fucking told you, you couldn’t trust him! Why didn’t you listen to me, goddamn it?”
It takes the strength of both my brothers to pull me off. Justice pins me against the railing, his face crowding mine. “Listen to me! I know you’re angry and I don’t blame you, but you need to keep your fucking head straight. It’s the only way we’re going to get her out of this.”
My lungs expand rapidly, filling with the fire of my rage and sorrow of my guilt.
I shouldn’t have left her. I should have let her come with us.
“I’m sorry, son,” my father chokes back. “I thought it would be safe for me to leave for those few minutes. It wasn’t until I was past the property line that I realized our security had been tampered with.”
“Tampered with how?” Knox asks.
“The trip wires were cut.”
“How the fuck is that possible?” Justice fires out, turning to my father. “No one knows where they are but us.”
Realization quickly sets in. “That’s what last night was,” I speak numbly, each word falling on their own accord. “The son of a bitch searched them out. He set them off to find out where they were.”
My father nods, clearly already figuring that out. “Even the surveillance cameras in the shop had been messed with.”
“Shit,” Craig breathes out. “Pierce was in there today dusting for prints.”
The consuming need for vengeance burns through me.
“As soon as I realized the security had been breached, I went back to the house and that’s when I heard Hannah J. screaming,” my father continues. “I grabbed my shotgun and ran like hell, but the damn car was already halfway down the road. Someone was with him though. I saw him through my scope.”
Denton.
How he and Pierce hooked up I have no idea, but they are both going to suffer the wrath of my fury.
Craig walks away, pulling out his phone.
My father peers back at me, his gaze a black void. “My rifle was lifted, scope in focus, but I couldn’t risk taking that shot, not with her in the car.” His head lowers with remorse. “I’m sorry, I failed you both.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Hannah sniffles, walking up to me. “I tried to save her, but I wasn’t fast enough.”
At the explosion of her sob, I bend down and scoop her up into my arms, hugging her close.
“It’s not your fault, squirt. It’s not anyone’s fault here,” I add, directing a look at my father. “I’m going to get her back, I promise.” After a kiss to her cheek, I pass her over to Justice.
Craig walks back over, pocketing his phone. “I have a team on the way and I also called in State Troopers. Pierce’s squad car is off the radar, but they have the number and are on the look out.”
“He’s fucking dead,” I tell him, pointing at his chest. “You hear me?”
He nods, knowing better than to fight me on it.
I look over at my brothers. “We need to spread out. He can’t be that far. We search abandoned places, warehouses, motels, anywhere remote enough that would keep them out of sight.”
“I have a map of when Winchester was first founded,” my father says. “Several of the surrounding counties are on there. It will have original buildings, that might be a good starting place.”
I’m about to send him for it when my phone vibrates in my pocket. Adrenaline spikes in my veins, kicking into overdrive. Pulling it out, I don’t even look at the number, already knowing who it is. “Where is she, you son of a bitch?”
“You’re back, excellent.” The distorted voice is down right gleeful. “I must say, it was easier than I thought it would be, Creed. Though, having one of Winchester’s finest at my side helped.”
“I’m going to rip out your fucking throat, Denton, I swear to God.”
A long moment of silence fills the line. “So, you figured it out. And here I was hoping to reveal it in the grande finale.”
“The only thing that will be revealed is your heart when I carve it out of your chest.”
“I guess that means you’re ready to come knocking on death’s door.”
A rage induced calm settles over me. “I’m ready, motherfucker.”
“Good. Then listen up because I have two very important rules.”