Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Road trip in a van with my brother and his bandmates.
Maybe I’ll take my own car.
I really want to hear Brock’s voice. He said everything was going okay, so maybe he’ll be able to take a call.
I call him quickly, and after a few rings, I get a text from him.
Will call you as soon as I can.
Okay. Good enough. Maybe he’s in the middle of an important conversation. He said everything was okay, so I need to take him at his word, right? Still, I can’t shake the feeling of worry that’s permeating my gut.
Something’s wrong.
Something’s wrong, and he’s not telling me.
I hover my finger over his name on my phone, ready to call him again.
But he won’t answer. Already I know this.
Something is keeping him from answering me.
And deep in my gut, I know it’s not good.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BROCK
“Brock,” Dad says. “Brittany.”
Brittany’s entire body trembles, but she does not say anything.
I can’t imagine my father pulling a gun on a young woman, but she’s scared. For her father, of course, but also for herself.
She’s twenty-seven years old, a year younger than Rory and three years older than I am. Yet still she depends on this man—her father—for so much.
“Dad…”
“Dr. Sheraton has agreed to cooperate with me,” Dad says.
I nod. Although the word agree may be stretching it.
“I don’t want my daughter involved in this,” Doc says.
Dad gestures to Brittany with his free arm. “She’s already involved.”
“Everything, everything is my fault.” Doc shakes his head. “Please. Let her go.”
“You do know that your daughter poisoned two high school students ten years ago,” I say.
“She was a kid then.”
“So you are aware,” I say. “Does it really matter that she was a kid? She’s hardly innocent.”
Brittany widens her eyes and looks at me. “Brock, please.”
“I told you I would protect you if you cooperated, Brittany. But if your father’s going to cooperate, I no longer need you.”
“No,” Doc says. “You have to protect her.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” I say. “She and her boyfriend have been tormenting the woman I love.”
“Brock…” Dad shakes his head slightly at me.
“Are you kidding me, Dad? I get that we’re uncovering something much bigger. But this woman is far from innocent. She—along with our supposed cousin, Pat Lamone—has been making Rory’s and Callie’s lives hell.”
“We will deal with Lamone,” Dad says, his voice still never wavering. “But right now, we have something much more important to flesh out.”
I look outside. The sun is already setting.
“What are we going to do?” I ask.
“You and I are going to stay here tonight. One of us will be awake at all times. As soon as the sun rises in the morning, Doc is going to show us around his…property. And by that, I also mean the property he’s leasing from us.”
“I see.”
“Brittany,” Doc says. “You need to make us some dinner.”
Brittany is still shivering on the couch.
“I’ll make dinner,” I say.
“Fine,” Dad says. “The door will also remain locked. Brittany and Doc may sleep, of course, but one of us will be watching them at all times.”
“You’ve made your point, Joe,” Doc says. “I’ve already agreed. Brittany and I aren’t going anywhere.”
“Yes, so you said,” Dad says. “I’m sure you’ll pardon me if I don’t quite trust you.”
“You’ll never understand why I’ve done any of this.”
“You’re right,” Dad says. “I never will.”
“I haven’t hurt anyone.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“I haven’t. I only move…cargo.”
“Right. If that’s what helps you sleep at night, Mark.” Dad shakes his head.
“Look, I’ve told you I would help you. I’ll be honest with you, and I’ll show you everything. But I don’t even know who’s behind all of this,” he says. “No one gives me their name.”
“But they give you a hell of a lot of cash, don’t they?” Dad says.
Doc doesn’t reply.
“Come on, Brittany.” I pull her up off the couch. “You and I are going to make dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.” Her lips tremble.
“Me neither, but we’ve got to eat.”
Brittany and I head into the kitchen, where I have a look around. The pantry is stocked with dry goods and canned goods, and there’s a chest freezer in the hallway leading out to the back door. Inside are all kinds of frozen meat.
“You have any specialties?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“All right, then. Hamburgers it is.”
“We don’t have any buns.”
“Then bunless burgers it is.” I point to the pantry. “Get out some potatoes and fry them. Find some cans of green beans or corn or something.”
She meekly obeys me.
So this is what I’m reduced to. Cooking dinner with Brittany Sheraton, whom I can’t stand, when I’d much rather be with Rory, going on tour with her and the band, sitting in the audience every night and cheering her on. And knowing that I’m the lucky one she comes home to at night.
I grab the burgers out of the freezer and defrost them in the microwave. I don’t want to go outside to grill them, so I find a frying pan.