Page 109 of Poisoned Promise
Everything I knew for the past fifteen years of my life has been a lie and Dove still has the kindness to forgive me.
It’s got to be some kind of special treatment because she likes me, although I can’t quell the little voice in the back of my mind that tells me she’s only acting like this because she’s using me to get her son back, and once they’re together again, she’ll vanish.
If that’s the case, I won’t be mad.
After everything she’s been through, both back then and now, I can’t find it in my heart to be anything but sympathetic toward her.
Dove’s grip tightens as we draw into the gas station and Bree’s men have barely pulled the car to a stop before she’s flying out of the car without a care in the world.
“Dove!” I launch after her with Toph bringing up the rear. The parking lot is absent from any other vehicle with only a sickly yellow light radiating from inside the station. Dove spins on the spot as she scans around herself, then she races into the gas station with me hot on her heels.
“Hey!” Her bark makes the attendant jump out of their skin. “There was a boy here, right?”
“Excuse me?” The man adjusts his square glasses and glances nervously past Dove to me, then his eyes dart south to the counter as if contemplating hitting some kind of silent alarm.
“I’m asking you a question!” She reaches the counter, grabs the man violently by the collar, and half-drags him over the counter until he’s face-to-face with her.
“Hey lady!” The man, who can’t be any other than twenty-five, looks ready to cry at Dove’s aggression and he blinks rapidly. “What the hell? Let go of me!”
“Dove,” I warn softly, not wanting to tell her what to do, but this situation could rapidly decline before we get any answers.
She ignores me. “I’m looking for my son. He’s about my height, thin for his age. Dark hair with curls. Has a broken arm and thecast will probably look pretty fucked up by now. Have you seen him?”
“I said let go!” He grabs her forearm with both hands and begins struggling so hard that he kicks several boxes of cigarettes off the shelves behind the counter. “Let me go!”
“Dove!”
She snarls and releases him with a shove. “Tell me the truth!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, lady,” the guy gasps as he stumbles backward. “But you better get the hell out before I call the police.”
“No need for that. Terry, is it?” His skewed name tag dangles low on his work overalls. “Look, we’re just looking for a missing kid. Have you seen anyone by that description?”
Before Terry can answer, one of Bree’s men finally joins us within the gas station. “Terry, you know the McCarthys, don’t you? Your brother works for us and I know you got the call about what we’re looking for or we wouldn’t be here.”
Terry’s eyes widen. “Oh shit, yeah. Yeah I know. Why didn’t you just say so?” His eyes narrow at Dove and her lips part, but she quickly closes them as if swallowing an insult.
“I got the call,” Terry continues, adjusting his clothes. “I saw that kid on the CCTV that’s why I called back.”
“You saw him?” Dove’s already at the counter and Terry flinches back, visibly wary.
“Yeah. Only on the CCTV though. I was out back restocking. I saw him take a bunch of shit but before I could get out here, he put money on the counter and left.”
“Let me see,” Dove demands.
Terry glances past both of us to Bree’s security, then sees something that makes him nod and he jerks his head sideways. “It’s all set up out back.”
As we follow Terry through the gas station to the back room, Dove’s hand slips back into mine and grips so tightly that her nails cut into the soft flesh on the back of my hand. I welcome the pain. If this is how I can support her then I’ll take all the pain she can give.
On the flickering, grainy CCTV footage, a wobbling image of Alex appears on the screen and Dove immediately gasps. She covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head. True to Terry’s words, Alex grabs some food and snacks, then leaves money on the counter and vanishes.
“How long?” Dove asks hoarsely. “How long ago was he here?”
Terry taps the date and time on the screen. “A couple of hours ago.”
Dove lifts her worried gaze to mine. “He could be anywhere by now.”
After thanking Terry for his help, we head back outside and Dove releases my hand. She walks away from me, lifting both hands into her hair and gripping the strands tightly.
