Chapter 19
S even motherfucking weeks since he’d come home to find her gone.
Seven weeks of rage at the audacity of the fucking little bitch.
Eric had let that rage settle into a specific plan of action.
He had been tracking that slut with her watch, but it went dead right here.
In Hollister. The bitch had probably let it run out of power.
But he figured she’d charge it back up. She hadn’t.
So, he did what he thought she would do.
He went to her aunt’s in North Dakota. That was a waste of time.
He'd taken as much vacation from work as he could. Then that bitch made him quit a good paying job to find her. Whatever. He’d find her, and she’d pay.
His knuckles cracked as he gripped the steering wheel.
For over two weeks, he’d parked down the block from her aunt’s house in Fargo.
Two weeks of watching the front porch, the back alley, and the curtains at night.
Nothing. Not a shadow. Not a whisper of her.
He'd waited. He'd followed deliveries. He meticulously tracked her aunt to church, the grocery, and even a hair appointment.
Loretta never showed.
Which meant she’d lied .
Which meant she knew exactly what she was doing when she ran. She’d had a plan, and she was laughing at him now. Laughing because she’d played him.
His jaw flexed, slow and tight. His hand curled into a fist on the worn leather of the steering wheel.
He couldn’t forgive her for making him look like a fool. No. That had to be corrected.
The truck engine ticked as it cooled, the only sound in the otherwise dead parking lot of the Bit and Spur.
No cars. No lights. The bar was closed. It was too early even for the drunks and the drifters, and that was why he liked it.
The parking lot was roped off, and the building was decorated.
Obviously, a big party was happening soon.
What the fuck ever. He would be gone as soon as he found her.
Eric sat behind the wheel of the Silverado, watching the sleepy town of Hollister across the highway like a hunter waiting for a twitch in the grass.
So small. So smug. The little Main Street was lit by a string of old-fashioned lamps, one or two flickering yellow against the lingering darkness.
A bakery light glowed like a beacon down the street.
He’d been there before. He stared at it the longest. Her watch had pinpointed that building.
But the business was closed. It closed at two, and when he was there, it was two-thirty.
Loretta was there. He could feel it. He’d followed the trail of her smart watch. He’d enabled that tracker on the watch before giving it to her.
Eric smiled coldly. The last ping from her watch was smack dab in the middle of this town.
It might not have been the bakery, but she was close.
He knew it. Then it went dark. But not before it gave him a place to come back to, after he returned to the house and gathered a few things.
He even went back to North Dakota, not believing the bitch was smart enough to go somewhere else.
But once again, he couldn’t find her. He’d even broken into the fucking house when the aunt had left for church.
Nothing. No clothes, no extra things that indicated another person was in the house.
He’d left a message, though. He’d trashed that house and taken out his anger on every possession that old woman had.
It had been therapeutic and dulled his rage.
That was how he’d devised the plan of watching the sleepy little town.
She wouldn’t say shit. She knew he’d kill her if she did.
So, he only needed to wait, watch, and be invisible.
He reached for the coffee he’d bought an hour ago from the diner and took a slow sip. It was damn good, but taste didn’t matter. What mattered was that Hollister felt … soft.
Too few buildings. Too many open spaces.
These were the kinds of places where people left doors unlocked and assumed their secrets were safe.
He could already picture it. The look on her face when she saw him again.
Shock, then maybe terror. Oh, then … yeah, then that empty look of resignation she always gave him when she knew she’d gone too far.
He missed that look. It was his favorite.
The one he loved the most. Just before the first strike.
That was the best. He craved that look and that feeling of his fist against her body.
The rest of the blows didn’t give him that high, but her small cries got him to the point where he could stop and go jack off.
She always got him to that point. Others hadn’t.
And the bitch thought she’d gotten away. He’d taught her better than that. She would leave him when she was dead. Not before.
Eric’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, scanning the empty lot again. He hadn’t parked facing the street. That was amateur stuff. Park at an angle where his plate couldn’t be seen from the highway. He wasn't stupid.
He’d give this town more time. Just watch. Map out the comings and goings. Who went where? What businesses opened early? What buildings had upstairs windows? There weren’t many.
Then he’d move. He’d start at the building where he lost her signal. And locked doors wouldn’t stop him this time.
The bakery smelled like yeast and butter and fall seasonings.
Allison had just pulled the first tray of pumpkin coffee cake from the oven when the bell above the front door jingled.
She frowned. It was too early for her regular customers.
She frowned, wiping her hands on her apron as she crossed into the front room.
“Edna?”
The older woman didn’t smile. Her winter coat was unzipped, lipstick smudged a bit, so she’d probably been at the diner having her caramel roll. Her wispy gray hair frizzed around her ears from the brisk wind outside.
“Morning, sweetheart,” she said, voice low. “You got a minute?”
Allison nodded. “Hi, yourself. What brings you by so early? Come on back. Coffee’s fresh.”
Edna followed her behind the counter into the kitchen, her boots tapping sharply on the tile. She didn’t sit. Just stood there, her eyes flicking toward the stairwell that led to the apartment upstairs.
“She still up there?” she asked quietly.
Allison nodded. Everyone knew where Lottie was staying. The news had spread like wildfire as soon as Ken had told Edna. The people of Hollister now did a double-take at everything and everyone. “She is. I haven’t heard her, so she’s still sleeping, I think.”
Edna exhaled through her nose, then leaned in. “I saw a truck this morning. I was heading into the diner. Took the long way because it’s my morning to have a caramel roll with Kate. Need to burn some calories.”
Allison’s stomach dropped. “What kind of truck?”
“Dark blue Chevy. Extended cab. Dent on the passenger side big as a sin. Parked outside the diner before sunup.”
Allison gripped the edge of the counter. “Did you see the driver?”
Edna nodded slowly. “Didn’t recognize him. Not local. Stocky fella, military haircut. Face looked tight. Mean. Like someone who hadn’t smiled in a long time and didn’t plan to.”
“Did he talk to anyone?”
“Nope, not that I saw. I came in just after him. He got a coffee to go from Corrie. Didn’t make eye contact. Left fast. But he looked around like he was checking every corner of this town. Like he was mapping it in his head.”
Allison swallowed hard. “He see you watching him?”
Edna gave her a sharp look. “Honey, I’ve been blending into diner booths since before you were in training bras. He didn’t give me a second glance.”
The tremble Allison had been holding at bay settled in her hands. She turned toward the coffee pot, pouring herself a mug so Edna wouldn’t see her face.
“Damn, what do I do now? What do I tell her?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Edna’s hand came to rest gently on her back. “ You keep your chin up. You keep that girl safe. And you let the rest of us do what we do best.”
Allison turned.
“And what’s that?”
Edna’s eyes narrowed. “We notice everything. We talk. And when danger rolls into town wearing a dented truck and a bad attitude, Hollister circles the wagons.”
Allison reached for her phone. “Ken knows?”
“I called him before I came. He’s already moving. Seth, too, I imagine. Although he has Chester to care for.”
Allison shook her head. “No, Sarah, his sister came in last night. Seth called her when Lottie told us what had happened. He wanted to be able to move without worrying about his dad. She’s staying for a week but can extend it to two weeks if …
” Allison swallowed the knot rising in her throat.
“Can you watch the shop? I’m going to run up and tell Seth. ”
Edna leaned in, voice like gravel and steel. “You got it. This asshole picked the wrong damn town.”