I twisted and turned my hands. My palms were wet with blood. My bindings only seemed to tighten more as they ground into my flesh.
Draven licked his lips as he stared down at my breasts. He left a thin, painful scratch as he dragged the tip of the knife from my throat down to my belly button.
His grubby fingers grabbed my bra, but before he could rip it, the solid metal door on the shelter opened. Landon Gregor stepped inside. For the briefest second, I let myself believe that my earlier suspicions were wrong and that he was there to save me from Draven. But then he walked over and stood in front of me. His sickening expression made the room sway. I could barely keep my legs beneath me.
“Well, boss, here she is again. A little older but still just as pretty.” Spit sprayed from Draven’s mouth as he spoke.
Landon looked at me. There was no sign of the weak, shaky man I’d seen standing behind his grocery counter. “You got away the first time.” He clicked his tongue. “Too bad you came back.”
Chapter 33
Jem
I rode like my hair was on fucking fire but it still felt as if I was plodding along. I pulled the bike up to Everly’s house and hopped off. I’d told Tashlyn to stay near Everly this morning. Long before my visit to Rebecca, I’d had a hunch that Landon Gregor was behind everything. I decided he wouldn’t try anything in front of his niece. They were going to spend the morning stocking shelves, right under the murdering asshole’s nose, but as long as Tashlyn was near Everly, she’d be safe. I hadn’t been able to find Draven yet, and I was sure he’d slithered off to one of his holes to hide. But I would find him, and he’d be plenty fucking sorry.
I reached the porch and knocked. The door hadn’t been latched shut, and it popped open. I stepped inside. “Tash! Everly!” No answer. The house was empty.
I raced back to my bike and rode to Gregor’s Market. I wasn’t completely sure yet what I’d do once I came face to face with Landon Gregor, but ripping him to shreds seemed like a good place to start. The usual Saturday morning shoppers were streaming in and out of the store, and I briefly imagined myself outing Landon in front of all the people who’d respected him for years. He’d been mayor almost my entire childhood, and he was considered one of the town’s most upstanding citizens. The fucking irony of it all.
I yanked open the front door and several customers stepped back as I lumbered to the counter. Everly was behind the register ringing up an order. Her eyes rounded with surprise as she looked up and saw me stomping toward her.
“Where’s Tashlyn? I told her to stay with you.”
Her mouth dropped in confusion. “She went home to wait for you. She didn’t say anything about staying with me. What’s wrong? Is she in danger?”
I looked around. “Where’s your uncle?” My pulse was pounding so rapidly, it was hard to think.
“He didn’t feel well. He left me in charge of the store. Jeez, Jem, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
I looked at her. The fright in her face made me soften my tone. Her life was about to be turned upside down. “Everything will come out soon enough, Ever. And I’m sorry. But right now, I’ve got to find Tashlyn.”
I flew down the steps to my bike and headed to Landon’s house. Something told me he wouldn’t be home. His car wasn’t in the driveway, but I walked up to the door and pounded on it just to be sure. No answer.
Adrenaline was pumping through me like fucking jet fuel. I got back on the bike and raced toward the end of the street, toward Dad’s house. Milly’s Diner was bursting with customers, but I didn’t see Draven’s truck in the lot. I was going to twist his ugly fucking head off the second I saw him.
Dane’s bike wasn’t in the driveway as I pulled up. I flew onto the porch and threw the front door open. Dad was in his usual spot on the couch. I’d entered the house like a madman, but he hardly even glanced up.
I stood in front of the couch and glared down at him. “Where can I find him?”
He lifted his yellowed eyes to me. “I assume you’re talking about Landon. I told you to leave it alone. Shit, you’re stubborn.”
I had no patience for his theatrics today. I reached down and grabbed his shirt. He had no choice but to look at me. “Just how many of those truck drivers did you murder personally?”
He flinched at the question. “None. Rocky and I unloaded cargo, but Draven did the killing. He was the one who sent the trucks over the ridge and set them on fire.”
“As you stood by and watched?”
His gaze was like ice as he stared up at me. “Yeah, while I stood by and watched.”
I released his shirt. “What was in the newspaper article? The one you took from Aunt Alice?”
He scrunched his face up as if just thinking caused pain. His chest lifted with a long, stuttering breath. “A couple witnesses claimed that they saw a little girl with the truck driver. They stopped in at the diner. But the driver was alone when they found his remains. Guess you already knew that.”
I stood and stared down at him, wanting to throttle him and yet, wanting to let him know that there were times when I loved him, back when I was young and he would hold me upside down and tickle me or throw a football with me in the yard. “All my life, the one thing about you I could be proud of was that you were too tough to be pushed around by anyone. But I was wrong. You were Landon Gregor’s fucking whipping boy. He had you by the balls, and you fucking handed them to him on a platter.”
“I didn’t deserve better. Elizabeth died because I ran off like a coward.”
“She died because Landon threw her in the fucking water, then told you it was your fault she died.”
“Who told you that?”
“Rebecca Gregor. She told me what happened. Landon framed you and then blackmailed you for your whole fucking life. You knew what fucking scum he was, yet you never questioned him. You’re pathetic.”
He rested back and closed his eyes.
“No, don’t sleep.” I reached for his shirt again. “Where would Landon be? He has Tashlyn.”
“He’ll kill you.”
I shook him hard. “Where the fuck would he be?”
“Try the trappers’ shelter.”
I let go of him and raced out the door. The quickest route to the shelter was to park on Phantom Curve and hike down. I had no weapon, but I wasn’t going to need one. If Gregor or Draven had touched one hair on her head, I was going to kill them both with my bare hands. I had to push the idea that I was too late out of my head or go fucking mad. There was no way I could lose the one person who had ever meant anything to me in my whole fucked up life. I’d promised Tashlyn that I would keep her safe, and I’d failed.
The road peeled away beneath the bike as I tore along the highway. I was running purely on rage and adrenalin. Phantom Curve came into view. Instead of slowing for the turn, I twisted the throttle. I reached the section of metal railing that had been welded together, the place on the deadly road where my dad had been an accomplice to grisly murders. I stopped the bike and jumped off.
I ran down the steep terrain toward the shelter. The trail had not been maintained. Weeds and debris choked it off, but I stomped through. The rusty hatch door had been cleared of forest litter, assuring me that I’d come to the right place.
The shelter had been built at the base of a granite outcropping and you had to step down into it, like a cavern. The no trespassing sign to stay off the historical landmark had been kicked down and buried by pine litter long ago. The town had basically ignored the site.
There was one opening and exit and there was no way to sneak up on them. I grabbed the handle on the hatch door. My feet stomped down the steps. Two flashlights were hanging from wires on the ceiling and one was dangling right over Tashlyn’s head.