Chapter 9
ALICE - NOW
Landon convinces me to try on several pairs of shoes, including a high-end pair of running shoes.
“But what if I never wear them?” With my fingertips, I trace the perfectly-stitched logo on the running shoes. “Landon, this is a waste of money.”
“It isn’t a waste if it’s for you.” His gray eyes hold secrets as he looks at me, his expression soft.
While I put my new, everyday shoes on, Landon takes the boxes to pay. My feet slide into the shoes and I sigh in relief. No more squeezing myself to fit into something Brayden wanted me to wear.
Now I’m in a skirt and top I picked out. I’m wearing a bra that fits, finally. Even when I was married, I never bought underwear this nice. I never dared to. I never would have dreamed of coming to a store like Navarre, because Braydon would’ve said it was a waste of money.
My phone, tucked into my skirt pocket, buzzes. It isn’t the first time Brayden’s tried to get in touch since last night. And like all the other messages, this one is laden with outraged disapproval.
How could you leave? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you out there?
Where are you? I’ll come get you and bring you home where you belong.
Do you want to get kidnapped again?
That last one, which I saw this morning before leaving with Landon, nearly had me flushing my phone down the toilet. Instead, I’d texted a quick message that I was safe, I need space, and I’ll call him when I’m ready to talk.
Naturally, he ignored my request for space, and now he’s calling me.
The last thing I want to do is talk to him. But if I get it over with, maybe he’ll leave me alone for a while and give me time to think.
I glance around the shoe section. I don’t want my call to disturb other people, especially if I get upset.
The store has filled up over the past hour, and families, couples, and individuals weave through the shelves of shoes.
Beyond this area, they stop and touch different items of clothing, holding shirts or dresses up to their chests.
Do I like this? Does it suit me? Would I prefer another color?
They have so many choices. They can make their own decisions.
I don’t understand this bitter, hard feeling forming in my heart.
My phone stops ringing. I waited too long to answer. It’s for the best.
As I tuck my phone back into my pocket, a figure on the other side of the shoe display catches my attention.
He’s Abe’s height. Abe’s build.
I freeze in place.
The man is just standing there on the other side of the shoes. I can’t see his face, but the way his body is oriented, he could only be staring at me.
He found me. My heart hammers in my chest, faster and faster. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Every part of me is ice.
He’s going to grab me, bring me back. I’ll be surrounded by the silent trees and the clucking chickens and the chilling certainty that I’ll never be free again.
“Hey, Wonderland, are you ready to go?” Landon appears at my side.
I don’t answer. I can’t. My throat won’t move. My lips won’t open.
“Alice.” He jostles my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
It takes more effort than it should, but I lift my arm and point at Abe.
Immediately understanding, Landon springs into action. He hurries around the side of the shoe racks and grabs Abe’s shoulder. “Don’t fucking move,” he growls.
“What? What the fuck, man?”
I snap out of my reverie. That wasn’t Abe’s voice.
Oh, god. What have I done? “It—it isn’t him.” The words come out as a faint croak, so I repeat it louder, adding. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”
“The fuck?” The man twists away from Landon, who lets him go. “I should sue you, man. You can’t just grab people like that.”
“Please,” Landon says in his authoritative voice, “allow me to explain.”
I bring my feet up to the bench where I sit, and rest my forehead on my knees. I can’t believe how badly I’ve messed up.
LANDON - NOW
It takes a while to talk with the man I accosted.
Convincing him to let this go is harder, because I honestly have no regrets.
I’d do it again. Someone scares Alice like that, so badly that she’s white and shaking and can’t even speak?
Yeah, I’m going to go after the guy first, and ask questions later.
What if it had been her kidnapper? I’d have caught the guy and all of Alice’s most immediate problems would be over.
By the time I’ve handed him my business card and explained as much of the situation as I can without betraying Alice’s secrets, Alice has more or less recovered on the padded bench where she’d been sitting to put on her new shoes.
I squeeze myself onto the bench next to her, half my ass hanging over the side. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I lean in. “Hey. He left. He’s fine.”
“I’m such an idiot.” She holds herself rigidly, not leaning into my embrace like I wish she would.
“You’re not an idiot. Alice, you’ve been through more than just about anyone I know. It’s going to come out in ways that surprise you.”
“Was he even looking at me like I thought he was?” she asks.
“He was looking at his phone, but he was facing your direction.”
She groans in dismay.
I want to lift her into my lap, cuddle away her misery. But she isn’t mine—not like that, anyway. “How about we go get some food?” I ask in a soft voice. “Or ice cream?”
“We can’t fix this with ice cream.” Finally, though, she leans into me.
“Maybe we can’t fix it, but we can make it taste better.”
She laughs quietly and shakes her head. “I guess you’re right. Okay, let’s go.”
On the way back to San Esteban, Cody calls me. I answer over the car’s system, and his voice fills the cab. Without even a hello, he says, “Sprechter, I need you to come to the foothills.”
“Hey, Cody,” I say. “How are you? Is your day going well? Mine is great, thanks for asking. Alice and I are on our way to Isabelle’s Creamery. Should we pick you up a cone?”
“Fuck you, just get your ass up to Farnton. Bring Alice, too.”
“Did SEPD find something?” I try to mentally place Farnton on a map, but I’m coming up blank. “Where the hell is Farnton?”
“They didn’t find something. I found a suspicious-looking compound. Go east on 373, turn off at Vale, then go north. I’ll send you a pin.”
“Got it.”
The mannerless dickhead ends the call without another word. He doesn’t even say hello to Alice, who has been sitting in the passenger seat with wide eyes since the conversation began.
In the new quiet, Alice says, “I don’t want to go there, Landon.”
I reach over and give her hand a quick squeeze before reluctantly letting go. “We need to find your kidnapper,” I tell her. “The sooner we do, the sooner you can move on, and not fear that he’s coming back.”
“Are you worried he’s coming back?”
“Wonderland, I only know the very basics of your case. I haven’t wanted to push you to talk about it before you’re ready. So I don’t know what’s going on, how you escaped, or anything.”
“He let me go.” She folds her hands in her lap, fingers interlaced. “One morning, I woke up, and the chain was unlocked and neatly placed beneath my cot. He was gone. I don’t know why he did it. So I don’t know what to expect.”
My brain trips on the chain. There was a chain on her? What the actual fuck. I force myself to take deep, even breaths. Losing my cool might scare her, and she’s finally talking about it.
“Do you know his name?” Before she can answer, I add, “I know you told everything you know to the police. They can’t share everything with Cody and me, though. And given our profession…I’d like to know, too.”
In fits and starts, she gives me details.
Her voice fades in and out as she falls into old memories and terrors, and I mentally catalogue everything she says.
She didn’t know his name, so she called him Abe.
They lived in a tiny cabin without any insulation.
An old wood stove gave off some heat in winter.
She cooked and cleaned for him, like a wife, but he treated her more like a sister or a pet.
She hated him, she tried to escape, and then eventually she got used to her new life.
Then without any warning, he let her go.
She’s so focused on her story, she doesn’t notice right away when I drive past the last San Esteban exit. When she finally realizes, she tenses up. “Landon?”
“I know. We’ll take a quick look, just to make sure. Cody and I can’t gauge on our own if he’s on the right track.”
She shakes her head. “Didn’t you see what just happened at Navarre? I’ll probably freeze at the sight of anyone, and embarrass you and myself and Cody. And what if Abe really is there? What then?”
I take the next exit, cutting across a lane at the last second. Alice’s bright blue eyes widen in surprise.
Pulling over to the shoulder, I turn in my seat.
“If Abe is really there, we’ll get him. If someone else is there and they even look at you funny, we’ll get them, too.
Alice, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.
Do you understand? You’re with Cody and me now, and nothing and no one can ever change that—except for you. ”