Danger Zone

by Stacy Claflin

  “Alex …”

  “You’re going to want to sit for this.”

  Zoey gave him an exasperated look but traipsed to the living room. Macy threw him a sympathetic frown and locked the door.

  Alex sat next to Zoey and took her hand in his.

  She stiffened and looked away.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you, Zo. I was shocked and hurt, but that doesn’t excuse how I acted.”

  She turned slightly toward him but didn’t make eye contact.

  “I know you’d never do anything to hurt me—especially nothing like that. The picture looked bad, and it was even worse since you didn’t come to me first, but I can understand why you had a hard time given your history.”

  Zoey finally turned to him. “I wanted to tell you. Really, I did. I just couldn’t get the words out.”

  “I understand. I—”

  “What’s so urgent? What do I need to hear?”

  He took a deep breath. Where to even begin? Everything had gotten so complicated and convoluted. “The guy who did that to you, he specifically sought you out to send me that picture.”

  She gave him a blank stare. “You’re going to have to explain.”

  “You know that guy who has been threatening me to take down my blog?”

  “Your blog?”

  “I know this is confusing. I’m trying to make sense of it myself. But it turns out this guy is so desperate for me to take down the blog, he’s willing to try and destroy our family if he doesn’t get his way.”

  Zoey’s mouth fell open.

  “Are you sure?” Macy asked.

  Alex had forgotten she was there. He nodded. “I’ve got a PI on it. He believes this person is on the Dark Web—that’s how he was able to pull off something so complicated as setting you up.”

  “Then close your blog! It’s not like you make that much money from it!”

  He shook his head. “It’s not about the extra money. We’re finding kids, and this guy is a criminal. If he isn’t kidnapping kids himself, then he works with or for people who do. People whose disgusting work is threatened by me. I’m not going to stop.”

  “Even if they’re willing to go to such drastic measures to get your attention?” Zoey closed her eyes and rubbed her temples before looking at him again. “This could’ve ruined our marriage.”

  Alex shook his head. “We’re stronger than that. He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”

  “But that was his plan, wasn’t it? To destroy us!”

  “Maybe. But I think it had more to do with getting my attention.” Alex licked his lips. “There’s more.”

  Zoey buried her face in her palms. “What?”

  “He might also have a plan for Ariana.”

  “Ariana?” Zoey looked back up at him, her eyes wild. “What makes you think that?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but think about it. Ari’s done a complete one-eighty lately. Can’t stand me. Won’t talk to me.”

  “That’s how teenagers are! You of all people should know that.”

  Alex clenched his fists. “Of course I remember. But I didn’t flip a switch and suddenly go haywire one day. It was a slow build-up. In fact, my downhill decline was so gradual, my parents didn’t even notice until one day at thirteen, I told them I was going to be a father.”

  “See?” Zoey said. “It felt like a sudden switch for them. Just like you’re experiencing. There isn’t anything sinister going on with Ari. She’s just being a normal teen, and nobody’s bothering her.”

  “We’ll find out.”

  “What does that mean?” Zoey’s eyes widened.

  “Lieutenant Johnston is at the school, keeping an eye on her.”

  “On top of the police they already have there?”

  Alex nodded. Just as he started to say something, his phone buzzed with a text. He glanced down, and the message made his stomach drop to the floor and shatter.

  “What?” Zoey demanded.

  He held up the phone. “It’s Johnston. He says she snuck away from him.”

  She squeezed the arm of the couch. “He doesn’t know where she is?”

  Alex shook his head. “No. Like I said, something’s going on with her.”

  Zoey threw herself into his arms.

  Evade

  Ariana glanced down the hallway as she ducked into her next class. The burly officer was waiting for her—his look of relief confirmed it. Not that she had any doubts as to why he was there. He pulled out his phone and brought it to his face. Clearly calling to report her whereabouts to Dad.

  She held back an eye roll as she went into the class and took her seat. At least it was science—something that had always come easy to her. Even the advanced classes. Not to say the material was never challenging, but she never had the dramatic complaints the other kids did.

  The rest of the day passed without any issues. She focused on the lessons despite the cop following her around. The only thing that worried her was not being able to lose him after school. Taking off at lunch might’ve alerted him to keep a closer eye on her.

  Great.

  By the time school ended for the day, he was tailing her closer than he had prior to lunch. Didn’t want to give Dad bad news about losing her again. He was so obvious. But hopefully all she needed was to get off the school grounds. Maybe he’d go back to the station and forget about her once he saw her get on the bus.

  She pushed her way into a crowd of kids waiting for the line of buses out front. The cop was standing near the building, looking in her direction.

  Of course he was.

  Ariana turned to a girl from history class and asked a question about the upcoming test. They talked about it until they got on the bus. Ariana sat near the back and watched for police cruisers. There were none, but a silver sports car was about ten cars back, and it turned every time the bus did. Never went around it.

  He was still following her.

  She pulled out her phone and sent Damon a quick text.

  Ariana: Change of plans.

  Damon: OK. Where we meeting?

  Ariana: Stay tuned.

  He sent a thumbs-up emoji followed by a string of kissing ones.

  Her heart skipped a beat. She really needed to lose that officer—and the sooner the better. If only she could get off at a different stop, but they were only allowed to leave on parent-approved stops.

  Then a thought struck her. When she’d been dating Scout, before he moved away from the trauma of the school shooting, she’d had permission to leave at his stop. She was pretty sure her parents had never revoked that. Probably never even crossed their minds. And even better, a large group of kids would exit with her. She could hide from certain onlookers.

  She glanced outside. They were almost to Scout’s stop. It was worth a try. Worst thing that would happen would be the driver saying no. Kids always tried to leave with their friends. Nobody would even notice. Then she’d just have to sneak out of her house. That’d be easy enough. Just tell Mom or Mimi that she was going next door or to Zarria’s down the street.

  No big deal.

  The bus pulled over to let kids out. Just one more until Scout’s old stop. Her heart raced, despite knowing it wasn’t going to be a problem either way.

  Her phone buzzed. She ignored it. Had to focus on this first. Then she could tell Damon where to meet her.

  The bus pulled back into traffic. That silver car was now closer—just a minivan between them. With any luck, the van would be big enough to block the cop’s view.

  Ari’s pulse drummed in her ears. It wasn’t like she was nervous. Her nerves just made it harder to focus. She pulled out her hoodie from her bag so she’d look different from what the officer was looking for and pulled it on.

  After what felt like forever, the bus finally stopped at the end of Scout’s old street. Her knees nearly knocked together as she made her way to the front. The driver glanced at her, then down to his clipboard, before nodding her to go on.

&n
bsp; Ariana nearly passed out from relief. She stayed close to the other kids and flipped the hood over her head for even more cover. Glanced at the silver car from the corner of her eye. Couldn’t see the driver because of tinted windows. She made small talk with a girl who lived two houses down from where Scout had lived.

  The silver car drove right past them, still following the bus. Hopefully it wasn’t a trick, and he was only pretending not to have seen her exit. He could be telling Dad where she was that very moment.

  All the more reason to get out of this neighborhood as fast as humanly possible.

  The bus turned left, and the silver sedan followed. Then they were both out of sight.

  Ari darted down a different street and pulled out her phone, reading over Damon’s texts asking what was going on. Her mind raced for a meeting spot.

  Ariana: Meet me at the sushi place.

  Damon: Down from the horse stables?

  Ariana: Yes! Heading there now.

  Damon: Cu soon.

  Ariana: OK.

  She had to cut through a few yards to get there, but it wasn’t a big deal. She and Scout had done that countless times when they’d gone to the yogurt place next to the sushi restaurant. She’d have told Damon to meet for yogurt, but it still felt like it was Scout’s and her place.

  The door dinged when she entered and a bored-looking lady asked what she could get her.

  “I’m waiting for someone.”

  “Order or leave. This isn’t a free hangout.”

  “He’ll be here,” she insisted.

  “Order or leave,” the woman repeated.

  “Fine.” Ari read the menu on the wall and picked out some of her favorites, not sure what Damon liked.

  She was just sitting when his red convertible pulled into the lot.

  Upset

  A whiff of Damon’s cologne surrounded her as he slid into the booth next to her and wrapped his arm around Ariana’s shoulders. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Just had a harder time shaking that cop than I thought.”

  He glanced around. “But you did lose him?”

  Ari nodded. “He didn’t see me get off the bus.” She pulled off the hoodie. “This helped.”

  “Smart thinking.” Damon nodded with approval, then glanced at the food. “Mind if I have some?”

  She shoved the plate in front of him. “I’d have waited to order until you were here, but she” —Ari glared at the woman behind the counter— “made me order or I couldn’t stay.”

  “They’re like that here.” He grabbed a piece of California roll. “‘Order or leave.’” He used the same sharp tone the woman had. “Must be great for business.”

  Ariana laughed. “Seems to work for them.”

  “Do you know why your dad has a policeman following you around?”

  “Because he can.”

  Damon grabbed another roll. “Must suck to have a cop for a dad.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “So, you want to study here or go somewhere else?”

  She took the last piece of shrimp. “We should go somewhere far from here. Don’t want that guy figuring out which stop I took. This is barely around the corner. It’d be too easy to find me.”

  “Sure you want to study? We could blow off some steam?”

  Heat crept into her cheeks. “Doing what?”

  “Whatever you want.”

  Her face flamed. She’d die if he knew how badly she wanted him to kiss her again. Instead of answering, she just shrugged.

  “There’s that bowling alley about a mile from here. Doubt that’s on your bus’s route.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not, but I think we should go somewhere farther away.”

  He tilted his head. “How far are you thinking?”

  “I’m not sure. Just somewhere they won’t find us.”

  “Like my house?”

  His house?

  Damon cupped her chin. “They’d never think to look there, right?”

  She swallowed. “That’s true. Where do you live?”

  “Not too far from the high school, but it’s down a long, wooded driveway. Nobody ever ends up there by accident. If you want to hide, it’s the perfect place.”

  “Okay.”

  “Great.” He grinned. “Let me throw this garbage away, then we can head out.”

  Ari nodded, her mouth too dry to speak. Going to his house felt like a huge step. It hadn’t really been with her other boyfriends, but that was probably because they were just kids. Damon was practically an adult. He sure looked like one.

  He returned to the table and held out his hand. “Let’s hit the road.”

  She took his hand and let him help her out of the booth. Tried not to show how nervous she was. Couldn’t have him thinking she was a baby.

  Soon, they were driving down the road in the direction of the high school. Before they reached it, he turned down a residential road and went through several neighborhoods until they came to a narrow road with a sign saying it wasn’t maintained by the county.

  Something about that made her nervous. Why wouldn’t the county take care of the street? The houses were spread really far apart, and thick trees hid some of them.

  “You weren’t kidding about living way out away from everything.” She laughed nervously.

  “We aren’t too far away. You’ll see.” He squeezed her hand.

  His touch was comforting. She relaxed a little and tried to enjoy the scenery. “People have horses out here!”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “That’d be so cool.”

  “Our neighbor to the right has a few. I’m sure she’d let us visit them. She’s really nice like that.”

  “For real?” Ariana exclaimed. “I’d love that.”

  He smiled at her and then turned up a driveway on the right. It winded right and left before finally coming to a cute yellow two-story house. The yard was well kept, with short grass and trimmed bushes. Flowers lined the walkway, and a Seahawks flag hung from a pole near the door.

  Ariana chastised herself for being such a worrywart. Clearly, this place was fine. Picture perfect and as normal as could be. In fact, she could imagine his mom inside baking cookies or folding laundry.

  Damon got out and held open the passenger door for her. She grabbed her bag and followed him up the walkway. A horse whinnied in the distance, though she couldn’t see it due to the thick blanket of trees. It was as though she and Damon were alone in the world. He unlocked the front door and gestured for her to go inside first.

  It smelled strongly of a cinnamon air freshener, and bags were piled in the room to the right.

  “Sorry about the mess.” Damon closed the door and locked the deadbolt, though that seemed unnecessary given the location. “My dad travels a lot and doesn’t always pick up after himself. Sometimes just drops off his luggage and grabs new clothes.”

  “Must drive your mom crazy.”

  Damon’s expression fell. “She died.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

  He blinked a few times and looked away. “I don’t like to talk about it. She” —his voice cracked and he cleared his throat— “Never mind. Let’s grab a snack and study at the kitchen table.”

  “I’m not really hungry after the sushi.”

  “Right. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He led her down the hall and they came to a bright kitchen with lots of windows. The counters and table were as cluttered as the front room.

  “Another mess?” Damon sighed loudly. “Dad has gotten so much worse since Mom’s passing. I’m going to have to talk to him about this. This is no way to live.”

  Ari shrugged. “Looks like two single guys live here. No biggie.”

  “Except it shouldn’t be this way. And now where are we going to study?”

  She glanced over at the living room. “What about the couch?”

  “Maybe.” He wandered over and tossed some clothes from the furniture. “I guess thi
s’ll work, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.” She smiled and plopped down.

  His expression was still clouded over. “Want something to drink? I’m thirsty all of a sudden.”

  “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

  Damon gave a slight nod and wandered back to the kitchen.

  Ari’s stomach knotted. It wasn’t her fault, but she felt bad that the house put him in a bad mood. She scooted over to the edge of the couch and picked up a framed family photo. It had Damon, probably one or two years younger, with his mom and dad. They looked really happy. His mom was really pretty with wavy chestnut hair and big brown eyes.

  The couch cushion shifted as Damon sat down and handed her an energy drink. “This okay?”

  She nodded. “Is this your mom?”

  Damon’s eyes shone. “Yeah.” His voice wobbled. “Mind if we get back to A Midsummer Night’s Dream?”

  “Sure. Sorry.” She put the photo back and purposefully faced it away from them. “You must miss her a lot.”

  He blinked quickly and nodded.

  “Do you want to go outside? Seems like you’re not very happy in here.”

  Damon took a deep breath. “I don’t usually come in here. The photos kind of haunt me.”

  “Let’s go somewhere else. I don’t want to—”

  He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. Her eyes widened. She snapped them closed and kissed him back, trying to keep up, tasting his energy drink.

  Without warning, Damon pulled away. Jumped to his feet and looked around. Swore.

  “What is it?” Ari’s pulse quickened even more than it already was pounding.

  “My dad’s home. He can’t see you here.”

  “Why not?”

  “He just can’t. Hurry.” Damon grabbed her hand. Raced down the hall then up the stairs.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Can’t explain now!” He flung open a door and pulled her into a bedroom full of music posters. It was tidy, a stark difference from the rest of the house. He closed the door behind them before opening a closet door. “Quick! Hide in there!”

  She gave him a double-take. “Are you serious?”

  “Deadly. Get in!”