Page 147 of Dark Tangled Truths
“I came from the school because Annie’s missing. Someone beat the shit out of Chase Chadwick and took her during the break.”
Elizabeth sets her wineglass on the table with shaking hands. “Brandt?”
Good, these fuckers deserve to be nervous. Maybe they’ll learn that they pushed too far this time.
Brandt stands, but doesn’t make a move toward me. “We haven’t done anything illegal. We didn’t tell him to kidnap her.”
“But you basically let a psychopath back into her life. You pushed him to the object of his obsession, knowing it might hurt her, wanting it to, maybe not physically, but emotionally.” My words are cold. The anger burns inside me, but I need them to give me something. “He’s taken her.”
“And how is that my fault? You don’t really have anything on me.” Brandt tries to sound haughty.
I stop the recording and send it to Damon and Cam. I slide my phone into my pocket and step closer to Brandt, looking down on him. “You know fucking everything, so where would he take her?”
He glances at his sister. She wrings her hands together.
“If I can’t find her, I will kill you.” I look at him, waiting.
He lifts his gaze to mine and steps back before pretending to be cocky again. There’s an edge of fear in his voice though. “And get put away for murder? Even you aren’t that stupid.”
“What good is my life without her?” And there’s the truth. Before Annie, I would have been fine heading off by myself to college, but now that’s not an option. Damon, Cam, and Annie are my future. All of them.
“He bragged about a farm his family owned.” Elizabeth’s voice is small, like she’s shed the persona she wears like a shield.
Brandt looks at her. “Liz?—”
“No, Brandt.” She stands and pulls her shoulders back. There’s censure in her eyes. “I saw the way his eyes lit up when we talked about EvanAnn. I’ve heard rumors of how he treats other girls. This is on us. It’s one thing to try to win by breaking her heart. It’s another thing to break her. I’ve seen that coldness in his eyes. He could kill her.”
She trembles. So murder is the limit for these two? Or is it because they could be pinned as part of it? How would their father deal with them? How would the media portray them?
I glare at Brandt, waiting for him to break. I’m not opposed to hurting him if he has information that could help us find her. Brandt presses his lips together, but he’s not really brave. Under all that sleek veneer, he’s a coward who doesn’t want to get into trouble. Which is why he makes others do his dirty work.
“He said we could go ATVing out there sometime.” He shakes his head. “Not that we wanted to go, but he seemed to think we liked him. We had a good laugh about it, and he even sent us directions.”
“I need those. Now!”
CHAPTER 45
EvanAnn
The house issmall with the bare minimum of furniture. The electricity works, so there’s light, which hurts my eyes a little and my head a lot after the darkness of outside.
A small galley kitchen. A table with a couple of chairs that look like they might or might not hold an actual person sitting in them. A couple of soft covered chairs in what must be the living room space. An open door leading to a three-piece bathroom barely big enough for a person to fit in. And a closed door I assume leads to a bedroom that I have no desire to explore.
Jackson sets me down on one of the chairs at the table. I put my hands on the table to brace myself for the spinning. He walks away from me and water runs.
When he returns, he kneels in front of me and tips my chin to the side so he can look at the wound. As much as I want to pull away, I don’t flinch from his touch. Even though it creeps across my skin like spiders.
“It’s not so bad.” He dabs at my scalp with a warm washcloth.
I hiss at the sting, but keep my hands on the table buried in my sweatshirt. I don’t want to remind him I’m not tethered here. And there’s no way I want him to focus on my ring. It’s my only hope. My link to the Devil’s trio. My link to home.
“That school is bad for you, Evan. You have to know that. It’s so fucking toxic with those rich kids who think they can do anything to you and get away with it.” His voice is low and soothing. He shakes his head and leaves me. He’s in the bathroom rummaging under the sink. “I didn’t plan for you to get hurt, but there’s a small med kit in here.”
I glance at the windows. There are a couple in here and in the living room. Not in the bathroom or the kitchen though. The pitch black of the night presses against the windows, making them reflective of what’s happening inside. I don’t know how long I’ve been gone or what time it is.
My head still aches, and my hands shake in my sleeves. I curl my fist around the ring. Damon and Cam have to be back by now. Hawk will have told them someone took me.
They’ll find me. I just have to hold on.
