by Claire Raye
“I know Reid well enough to know he wasn’t involved. It was you who couldn’t see it,” Caleb says and his words are like a slap in the face. I never gave Reid a chance. I just immediately put him in that pile of people who suck.
“I didn’t because I’m so used to being screwed over and you can’t tell me that the thought didn’t cross your mind, too,” I shoot back, attempting to defend myself but knowing it’s fruitless. It was me who was being the asshole. All this time at Hawthorn when I thought he changed, it was me who saw him differently, because I couldn’t see how much he was hurting. He did what he did because living without me was killing him and now I’ve put him back in that same situation.
“It never crossed my mind,” Caleb states, a simplicity in what he says. “I know Reid and I trust him with my life.” He lets out a hard sigh, looking at the two police officers as they make their way back toward our front door. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but something changed, and you need to make things right again.”
“We all changed,” I start to say, looking at Caleb, but the officers’ radios cut into the conversation, a static-laced voice barking out orders. Neither one of them moves, listening to the voice, but it falls flat for Caleb and me, as the police jargon, numbers and letters are pushed out. It isn’t until we hear our names that we take notice.
Grabbing the walkie from his shoulder Thomas asks the dispatcher to repeat and this time, listening closely, we catch everything that is said.
“Raymond Bowen is missing. You need to get Sienna and Caleb Parker out of their house immediately. Information is being sent about where to take them,” the dispatcher states, this time leaving out the police talk and by the sound of it, Caleb and I are clearly not safe.
“I need both of you to gather up anything you’ll need because until Raymond Bowen is apprehended, we’ll be sequestering you in an undisclosed location. Given the information we have, we have reason to believe your lives are in danger.”
Neither of us moves, frozen in place as we both try to process what is about to happen. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Caleb’s face is ashen white, his eyes wide with fear as sweat begins to bead up on his forehead. I want to be stronger than my own fear, but seeing his face, hearing what we’ve just heard causes my body to shake. My legs go weak, my hands trembling as I lift them to cover my mouth, hoping to suppress the scream I feel building. I can’t imagine feeling safe anywhere now.
Reid’s father is missing and while we’ve known him our whole life, he has no connection to us, nothing that will stop him from hunting us down and killing us.
“Where’s Reid?” I suddenly spit out, my fear now magnified as everything hits me at once. “You have to find him. His father will kill him.”
The words leave my mouth in a rush and I’m sure everyone has said them before. “My father’s going to kill me.” Wrecked the car, lost a football game, got a speeding ticket; all these things have led people to utter those words, but in this case, they’re real and terrifying, because Reid’s father will stop at nothing to protect his secrets.
“Right now, our concern is for your safety,” one of the officers says, but I shake my head, not caring in the least about my safety. It’s strange how my own fear can suddenly be tossed to the side, consumed with someone else’s safety when I know all of ours is at risk. My every thought is overcome with Reid and I grab for my phone.
“We’re going to need your phones, too,” the officer insists and I ignore his request completely, bypassing his outstretched hand as I take the stairs two at a time, heading for my bedroom.
“Sienna!” Caleb yells after me as I hit the button to call Reid. I hear Caleb’s feet stomping after me, each step reminding me that we have only a little bit of time left.
The phone rings several times and goes to voicemail, but that doesn’t stop me from calling back immediately. This time it instantly connects with Reid’s voicemail, but I’m smart enough to not leave a message. I don’t dare give anything away. I call three more times in the span of thirty seconds, the panic rising fast like water filling a bucket. I choke for air, gasping as my chest tightens painfully.
“Sienna!” Caleb yells again, grabbing me by the arm, spinning me around so I’m looking at him. I’m looking right at him, but I don’t see him. It’s like I’m looking right through him and what I see is Reid laying in a pool of blood, beaten and battered the same way we found Caleb just a week ago. But in my nightmare, in my horrible, scary thoughts, Reid dies because no one gets there in time.
My stomach feels like I swallowed a boulder, heavy and solid and when I try to speak nothing comes out. I cling to Caleb’s shirt, my lips quivering as I feel our lives take a turn I never saw coming.
“We have to go,” he whispers, his hand stroking my hair as my head falls against his chest. “Reid will be okay. You have to believe me, but if we don’t leave, we won’t be. Trust…”
“Trust? Trust?” I practically shout, each word spit out with an intensely loaded amount of cynicism. “Trust what? I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
“Trust me, Sie. Trust Reid. We’ll find a way out. This will all be over soon.”
“How can you say that? How can you possibly know that?” I’m crying again, the headache from all the tears now becoming permanent.
“I can’t,” he whispers back, his voice calm and controlled. “But I can’t keep living like this. I’m fucking terrified.”
“Me too.”
An hour later, Caleb and I have packed what we need, leaving behind anything that isn’t necessary, knowing we may never come back here. Caleb hands his phone over to the officers, but I hold onto mine hoping to hear from Reid, and then climb into Caleb’s car, having been given strict instructions on how everything will play out from here.
We’ve been told that we’re probably being watched and now followed since this will be the first time we’re leaving the house since Reid turned on his father.
The officers have asked us to make it look like we’ve left town and to tie up any loose ends before we go into hiding. Our first stop is the bar and we pull around back with the police cruiser slipping in right behind us.
“How bad is it?” I ask, Caleb cutting the engine and looking over at me.
“Bad, Sie. It’s over. Every penny the bar made went to Ray. The rent hasn’t been paid in months and they’re evicting us. Dad sold the building to an investor when things got really bad with Ray, but even that money didn’t help.”
He closes his eyes and I can see the shame flush his cheeks bright red. He was supposed to save the bar and restore everything our great grandfather and our grandfather worked so hard to maintain. But it was lost even before Caleb stepped in and he was like a rat on a wheel.
“This isn’t your fault,” I say, trying to appease his shattered reputation.
“I know it isn’t, but I’m fucking wrapped up in all this and now you are too.” He shakes his head, his eyes falling closed and I don’t even know what to say to make this better. Nothing can ever fix what has happened. We’re irrevocably damaged.
“Ten minutes,” an officer calls from the squad car as Caleb and I step inside the bar for what will probably be the last time. We both nod, hating that this is what it’s come to—us running away in the night.
As soon as we walk in, Joe looks right at us, smirking but it falls far more quickly than either of us wish.
“We gotta close up,” Caleb says, a finger in the air as he circles it around in a motion that tells anyone inside to wrap it up. The place is nearly empty with only a few people inside, a couple of regulars who are still drunk from the night before and they clear out of the place fast, especially as one of the officers enters through the front door.
“We’re done, Joe,” Caleb announces once the place is empty. He slides an envelope across the bar to him. “It’s a month’s worth of pay plus tip money, but I know it’s not enough.”
“I figured it was coming with your dad passing away,” Joe says shrugging and shaking his head. The sympathy that radiates from him nearly brings me to my knees. I hate that this is what this has become. “I’m sorry, guys.”
“We’re the ones who should be sorry. You’ve been with us for so long and this is the way we send you off. A shitty thank you note and a month’s worth of pay.”
“Don’t, man. I’ll find another job. I just want you and Sienna to be okay.” We both watch Joe’s eyes shift to the side, taking in the police officer. “Everything is okay, right?” he questions.
“Nah, but it will be,” Caleb responds, and Joe doesn’t push for any more answers, like he knows he doesn’t want to be involved. “Take what’s in the till and if anyone asks about us, tell them you don’t know where we are and then call the police,” Caleb instructs and Joe responds with a curt nod of his head.
We hug him goodbye, the tears slipping out on a few occasions, but we all somehow hold it together better than I thought we would. We take what’s left in the safe and leave everything else untouched. All the paperwork is no longer a security risk with everyone being dead: no social security numbers or tax ID’s to risk and Caleb and I walk out the backdoor lighter, but still somehow plagued with regret and sadness.
I still have yet to give up my phone and I call Reid one more time, hoping this is the time he picks up, but I fall short once again. The phone connects with voicemail on the first ring and my stomach sinks, a feeling of dread weighing it down.
“Do you think Reid is okay?” I ask, trying not to sound desperate for an answer.
“I do,” Caleb responds, nodding his head, but his words don’t appease my anxiety. With Ray missing and Reid out of contact, I can’t help but think the worst.
“I don’t,” I reply back. “We know what Ray is capable of and if he’s found out Reid…” I can’t finish my thought, it feels like saying it out loud will only bring more trauma, more fear and make my thoughts far too real.
“Remember the plan?” the officer calls out his window and Caleb gives him a stiff nod, trying not to seem too involved.
I look around, watching for cars and wondering if we are actually being followed as I climb into the passenger seat. Caleb scans the rearview mirror more than normal and I can sense his unease and even though he hasn’t said it out loud, he’s wondering the same thing I am.
Can we really ever escape this?
We switch cars in an abandoned warehouse near the harbor and again somewhere near Pawtucket, this time it’s an officer driving, a state police trooper. He doesn’t speak to us until we pull up outside a small cottage beside a lake. It has weather-worn clapboard siding and a tin roof, and I have no idea where we are. The house is set so far off the gravel road we came in on and for a split second I wonder if this is even safe. We’re so far from civilization that should Ray Bowen or any of his men find us, we’re sitting ducks in this place.
“There will be an officer stationed at the end of the driveway and one stationed on the main street to the house. There will also be ones staked out throughout the property with shift changes throughout the day.” He takes his hat off, revealing a bald head and he rubs a hand over it, letting out a sharp exhale of air. “We’ve been after Raymond Bowen for nearly twenty years and what his kid gave us will take him and his whole crew down. But he isn’t the kind of guy to just turn himself in. He isn’t going down without a fight and we aren’t losing anyone else in this.”
The trooper drops a set of keys in Caleb’s hand and begins to walk toward the house before turning back to the cruiser and grabbing two burner phones.
“Here, these are for if you need to contact anyone, but once it’s used it has to be tossed.” He motions to the lake and gives us a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. “And I need your phone,” he adds, looking right at me, his hand now extended. I hesitate, checking my texts and missed calls one last time, but still coming up short. Feeling defeated and lost, I hand it over, but still unable to fully let go.
“What about Reid Bowen? Do you know where his son is?” I ask, never getting the answer I want no matter how many times I ask the question, no matter how many times I will him to just appear in front of me.
“Ray Bowen will go after his kid first. We know this. We know he has no loyalty, but his kid is safe.” The trooper nods his head with finality, yet it still doesn’t appease the worry that consumes me.
I want to beg him to tell me where he is. I want to find Reid and scream my apology, cling to him and never let go. I’ve been so foolish and petty, and now I’m faced with the prospect of losing him. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, I won’t know he’s safe until I see it with my own eyes, until I feel him in my arms once again.
How could I have ever doubted him?
We’re given more instructions and we’ve now both handed over our phones, any connection to the outside world is long gone. They explain that our house and the bar will be searched for evidence, and I tell them everything I found that could incriminate Ray Bowen is waiting for them on the kitchen table. We can only hope at this point Ray is caught and we have enough evidence to put him away for the rest of his life.
Because Caleb and I can’t hide out here forever.
And I can’t go on wondering if Reid’s okay.
Chapter Thirteen
Reid
“I’m gonna get us out of Providence first and then get you some food, okay?” Detective O’Connor asks, glancing over as he navigates the car out of the city.
I shrug. “Sure.”
We drive in silence, heading out on I95 toward Pawtucket, the city lights of Providence fading behind us. My phone burns in my pocket, my fingers itching with wanting to call Sienna and check that she’s really okay, even though I know using my phone is a bad idea. I’m surprised he’s letting me keep it and I don’t need to remind him I still have it.
“So, this safe house,” I start, trying for conversation, “there’ll be cops out there?”
Detective O’Connor nods, indicating to get off the highway. “Yeah it’s secluded, out by a lake,” he says as he heads toward a neighboring town. “You’ll be perfectly safe, Reid,” he says.
I wonder just how true that is. Now I’ve seen first-hand exactly what my dad is capable of, I’m not sure what I believe anymore. Or whether I’ll ever truly be safe.
“And Sienna and—” my words are cut off by the sound of his phone ringing and he holds up a hand as he answers it, holding the phone to his ear so I can’t hear the other side of the conversation.
“Uh huh,” he says, shooting me a quick look. “Yeah, he’s with me now.”
I watch him the whole time he speaks, looking for clues as to what this might be about. But he doesn’t look at me, his eyes on the road as he continues to drive and talk, giving nothing away.
“What the hell?” he suddenly shouts. “Are you serious? Shit. And the Parker twins?” he asks, and I immediately sit up, a jolt of fear shooting down my spine.
“Has something happened?” I half shout, not giving a shit that I’m interrupting his conversation.
He gives me a quick look, clearly telling me to shut the hell up while he listens to whatever’s being said on the other end of the line. It’s almost impossible to keep still, my heart pounding in my chest as all sorts of worse case scenarios run through my head.
Maybe going to the cops wasn’t a good idea after all. Maybe Sienna, Caleb and me should’ve just packed up and run; taken the money from my dad’s safe and just gotten the fuck out of here.
But then where would we go? We’d be forever running, forever looking over our shoulders and forever expecting the worst. It would be a shitty way to live and not what I’d want for any of us.
“Okay, thanks. And yeah, we’ll still head over there,” Detective O’Connor says. “Probably be a couple of hours still.” He pauses as whoever’s on the other end of the line says something. “Yep, no problem,” he says n
ow. “Okay, call ahead for me and I’ll check in after it’s done. Thanks.”
After he hangs up, he slides his phone into his pocket and lets out a long slow breath. Up ahead is a huge neon sign for an all-night diner, and I watch as he indicates as though to pull over, parking the car at the curb out front. I’d hoped we would just grab some take out and go, but that’s clearly not happening.
“What the hell was that about?” I ask, when he switches off the ignition. “Are Sienna and Caleb okay?”
Detective O’Connor undoes his seatbelt before turning to me, his hand scrubbing across his jaw as though he isn’t sure how to tell me whatever he has to say. It makes my already pounding heart go double time, smashing out a hard beat behind my ribs as though it’s actually trying to crash through.
“Sienna and Caleb are fine,” he eventually says and the relief I feel is immediate. “They’re at the safe house now,” he continues. “We have people watching the place and we’re confident they weren’t followed. So…”
I’m nodding, letting out the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. “So, what was all that about?” I ask, gesturing vaguely toward him.
“Let’s go inside,” he says, opening the car door. “And I’ll explain.” He gets out of the car, his eyes scanning the street as though he’s looking for something. Or someone.
It makes my skin prickle with fear for some reason, as though I can suddenly feel the eyes of my father watching my every move. Reluctantly, I open the door and step out, following him inside the diner as he asks for a booth in the corner, but still by the front window.
He takes a seat on the far bench, his back to the wall and his eyes scanning the restaurant. I realize as I sit down that this position allows him to watch both the door and his car parked outside on the street and once again that prickle of fear dances over me.
The waitress comes and tops up our water glasses before offering us some menus. It’s pretty obvious Detective O’Connor isn’t saying anything until we’ve placed our order, so I scan the menu, quickly looking for something to get. I’m not even hungry anymore, the weird phone call in the car all but killing my appetite.