Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
My eyes roll, my head dropping to one shoulder. “Whatever this is,” I say, motioning between them, “I’m not in the mood for it today.”
Two sets of hard eyes bore into me, neither one responding.
“Okay…” I say, walking toward my car. Holden is against the hood and Thayer’s to his right, in front of the driver’s side door. I hit the unlock button on my keys, but when I reach for the handle, I’m scooped up and thrown over Thayer’s shoulder, my keys, bags, and phone falling to the pavement.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelp, trying to get out of his hold, but he has one arm banded around my waist and the other around my thighs, making it impossible.
“Get her shit,” he orders before prowling away from my car. I lift my head, twisting around to see Holden’s black Range Rover parked on the other side of the parking lot.
“Put me down!” I kick my feet, trying to wiggle my way out of his hold, to no avail. Holden jogs in front of us and opens the back door before tossing my bags inside.
“Drive,” Thayer tells Holden, then dips his shoulder, shrugging me off into the back seat. I scramble onto my feet, trying to jump out, but then he’s climbing in the back with me, shutting the door behind him.
I scurry backwards to try the other door, but I hear the locks click into place. I unlock it manually, and when I pull on the handle, nothing happens. Thayer doesn’t react. He doesn’t try to stop me, doesn’t send me one of those smug smirks. Boredom shines in his eyes, as if he’s waiting for me to get it out of his system so he can proceed with…whatever his plan is.
“Really? Child locks?” I jiggle the handle hard enough that I think it might break off in my hand.
“If the shoe fits,” Holden says from the driver’s seat. He starts the car, throws it in drive, then peels out of the parking lot. I fall backwards at the sudden movement, hitting my head on the window.
“Ow!” I rub the back of my head, then situate myself, my back against the door, facing Thayer, with my right hand on the front passenger seat to steady myself. “What, the cockroaches and late-night stalking weren’t enough? You’re adding kidnapping to the list?”
“Calm down, drama queen. We just want to ask you some questions.”
“And you couldn’t do that without locking me in your car?” I try to steel my voice, hoping they can’t detect the uneasiness I feel. They won’t hurt me. This is Thayer. Although, I wouldn’t have guessed he’d end up hating me either, but here we are.
“What do you know about my brother?”
I cut my eyes toward Holden.
“Not him. My other brother.”
Danny.
“What kind of question is that?”
Thayer hits the headrest behind him with the side of his fist and I flinch, not expecting it. “Don’t play games with me, Shayne.”
“I don’t know anything!”
“Her phone’s locked,” Holden says, reaching back to hand said phone to Thayer over his shoulder.
Thayer takes it, punching in the password, giving me a look I can’t decode when it works. I roll my eyes and look away. I really need to change my password…for everything. I don’t know what he’s hoping to find, but I don’t put up a fight because I know he won’t find anything. I have nothing to hide, especially when it comes to Danny.
“Your brother ignoring you?” he teases, angling the screen toward me, displaying our one-sided text thread.
“He’s busy with school.” I lunge for my phone, but he raises his arm, holding it out of reach. A dark look passes over his features, but he schools it quickly.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. What do you know about Danny?”
I shake my head, confused, and open my mouth to tell him again that I don’t understand, but he cuts me off before I can.
“About…that night,” he clarifies. His jaw is tense, eyes sad, and for a brief second, I forget that he’s holding me here against my will. I forget all the mean things he’s said and done, and I just want to wrap my arms around him. But then his mask slips in place, reminding me that the old Thayer is nowhere to be found.
“You know what I know,” I say quietly, hoping Holden doesn’t pick up on it. I was with him when we found out, after all. “He fell at the falls.” I try not to choke on the words.
“He fell,” he repeats flatly. “Come on, Shayne. You’re going to tell me that you—the girl who listens to murder podcasts and has a conspiracy theory for every goddamn thing—thinks it’s likely that my brother happened to go for a swim in fucking thirty-degree weather? Alone?”