Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Farther and farther, Dennis drives until the landscape changes around us. The buildings thin out, changing shape from homes and shops, turning into factories and warehouses. There are a few other cars on the road to give me cover, mostly trucks and vans, but at least I don’t stick out too much.
By the time the car in front of me slows down and the right turn signal blinks, my palms are sweaty enough to make steering a challenge. I go around them, slowing down, watching in the rearview mirror as Dennis turns into the gravel lot of an old, darkened building whose windows are either broken or boarded up. After driving another block to make sure I don’t raise suspicion, I make a U-turn and park across the street.
My feet don’t make a sound as I run, or maybe that’s the pounding of my heart drowning out everything else. What the fuck do they think they’re doing? And what can I do to help her? How can I do anything when I can’t let them see me? But I can’t stand back and watch without doing everything possible to help her, either.
By the time I reach the building, they’re inside, bickering. Dennis must be desperate if he is willing to put up with Deborah’s shrill voice. “Tie her the fuck up,” she demands. “I can’t wait to have a little fun with her.”
“Remember what we talked about,” Dennis warns. Peering through one of the broken windows, I find the space barely lit by a handful of lanterns surrounding a folding metal chair where Leni is now slumped, with her head hanging forward and her eyes closed. The only thing keeping her up is the way they’ve tied her hands behind the chair. She’s going to be in pain when she wakes up.
They are going to make her hurt.
Everything around me goes red while my heart pounds harder than ever, and I imagine the satisfaction of snapping Dennis’s neck. Deborah’s, too.
But I can’t do it alone. Fuck me, I need help.
There are only three people in the entire world I care enough about to do what I’m going to do now: Mom, Leni, and Colt.
Backing away from the window, I take my phone from my pocket and dial up one of those three people. All I can do is hope he won’t waste any fucking time on things that aren’t important now.
Shouldn’t I know him better? “Oh, so you’re finally going to sack up?” Colt asks as soon as he’s answered the phone.
“There’s no time,” I whisper, cutting off anything else he was about to say. “They took her. Deborah and Dennis.”
“What?” he barks. “Where?”
“A warehouse on Lake Street between Pine and Poplar,” I tell him. “I need you to get down here now. We’ve got to go in and get her out of there.”
My brother isn’t perfect, but he has his good points. Right now, that means taking my word for it without asking a bunch of questions. “I’m on my way. Don’t do anything until I get there.” The thing is, I can’t make that promise when I can’t predict what they’re going to do next. All I can do is grunt in response before ending the call and hoping he gets here soon.
Creeping back up to the window, I see Deborah leaning down, lifting Leni’s chin. “Wake up,” she croons, giggling nastily. “It’s time to have some fun. But we can’t if you’re still sleeping.”
“I soaked the hell out of that rag,” Dennis explains. “She’s going to be out of it for a little while.”
“We’ll see.” Deborah pulls back her hand, and I bite my tongue, watching her slap Leni hard enough to make her head snap to the side before her chin drops to her chest again.
“Wake up, you stupid bitch,” she almost sings, giggling before taking Leni’s jaw and squeezing. “Time to answer some questions, just the three of us.”
I am going to enjoy the fuck out of bringing her pathetic life to an end. Grim satisfaction spreads through me at the thought and even makes my dick twitch before finally, there’s a buzz in my pocket. A text from Colt. Almost there.
He needs to hurry. Deborah is getting frustrated, like a kid who can’t wait to play with a new toy. “How is she supposed to give us any answers if she’s unconscious?” she whines, wiping her hand on her thigh like Leni’s skin soiled her. Like it isn’t the other way around.
“She’ll come around soon,” Dennis mutters. I recognize the tone in his voice. He’s tired of her, probably wishing he hadn’t gotten involved in the first place. “Be patient.”
Patience isn’t something I have a lot of, either. Looking over my shoulder, I catch sight of a car pulling into the lot with its lights turned off. Smart move. He pulls to a stop close to the chain-link fence at the sidewalk, then jogs my way.