Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that another charter would get to Kali first. On that meet, so many things could go wrong. If she didn’t trust them? If Shelly had a gun? But it was better than anything right now.
“Oh.” Stripes’ tone got all our attention, and he was listening to his phone. His gaze went to mine and he didn’t look away, not one time until he lowered the phone. Things were already serious, but I had a fucking feeling things were going to get a whole lot more serious with whatever he was just told. “They hacked Shelly’s phone. They know why she’s doing what she’s doing, and they know where she’s taking Kali.”
I turned to him slowly and squarely. “You gonna fill me in, or are we playing I Don’t Have the Patience to Read Your Fucking Mind?”
He didn’t blink before he said, “They took her daughter. Estrada didn’t send two teams up. He sent three. Shelly’s supposed to deliver Kali to a location or they’re going to kill Katie.”
I was right.
Things just got way worse.
“Let’s go.”
At this rate, there was nothing more I could do so I did what I could do.
Stay alive, Kali.
45
KALI
Two hours later, and I was out of things to say except for, “I gotta pee in Flagstaff.”
There. Not obvious at all.
Shelly let out an exasperated sound, her eyes bulging as she glared at me. “Are you serious?”
I shifted in my seat. “It was the coffee. And I’m a pee-er when I’m nervous.” Totally lying. I was not a pee-er when I was nervous. “You’re all tense and I don’t know what we’re driving into.”
Another exasperated half growl before she turned on the signal and slowed down to turn onto another road. I had no idea what her exact route was because she kept changing and taking other roads, and then other roads, and other roads until I was pretty sure one time we did a full circle and started all over again. The only thing I could get was that she was trying to stay off the main roads and trying to be unpredictable? Either way, I was glad when a sign popped up saying Flagstaff was nineteen miles ahead. I was also relieved when I saw other cars on the road with us.
I was not expecting to see all the trees.
We’d definitely been north of this area when I was road tripping with Aly and Harper before.
Harper.
Fear and panic seized me for a moment.
I hoped he was okay. I hoped he was alive? I hoped he was being fed chocolate covered strawberries and being fanned by hot shirtless guys. He joked that it was his fantasy. I doubted that was happening, but I needed to focus on that and not the other thing that I was thinking might be happening, him being hurt or starved or I didn’t know. I just needed to get away from Shelly, see if my call ever went through to Shane because I’d been terrified to check and then get my friends back. Safe. I wanted everyone safe.
When we got to the station, she pulled to fill up with gas. I guess she was being extra cautious, but I went inside and this time, she wasn’t following me. I pulled my phone out and saw the line was still connected. Holy–thank God for helping! “Shane?!”
I only heard motorcycles’ engines.
“Shane!”
There was a click, then silence. I panicked, thinking I’d lost the line, but a different, calm voice said, “Is this Kali?”
“Yes.” I frowned and looked at the screen. It showed I was connected to Shane’s phone. “Who is this?”
“My name is Seth. I work with the Red Demons. We’re their IT department. You’re at a gas station on the north end of Flagstaff?”
“Yeah! How’d you know that?” I needed to quiet down, but my heart was picking up. If they knew where we were, then things were starting to look way up for me.
“That’s not important. What is is that you need to tell me the exact whereabouts of Shelly. Where is she right now?”
I looked, and stepped out of the hallway, moving to a window where I could see the car.
The car was gone.
“Wha–” I started to go outside, seeing if she pulled to the side. “She’s gone.”
He got quiet on his end.
“Hello? You still there?”
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
“I mean,” I stepped more fully outside, looking to the right and left, “she’s gone. I can’t see her car anywhere and she wouldn’t go inside with the car not being here.” I was so happy that I was almost shouting. I was free. “She totally left without me.”
“Kali,” the voice came back, insistent. “You need to listen to me. Shelly would not have left you behind.”
“Well, she said that she overheard–”
“No. What she told you was a lie. She has to take you to Marco Estrada. If she doesn’t, they will kill her daughter.”