“I was just going to see what was taking you so long,” he said. I looked away from him and crouched down, knowing I was a really bad liar. I fiddled with the laces of my running shoes by the front door as I spoke so that I wouldn’t have to look him in the eye.
“I was just getting ready, sorry. And I couldn’t find a hair elastic.” I was already sure I didn’t sound convincing. “Look,” I said, changing the subject, “I have to go to the bar. I need to get something I left there.”
I stole a glance up at Jeremy and recognized immediately that he wasn’t buying my story. I guess the guy is a cop for a reason, I thought to myself as I focused my attention on my shoes again.
“That’s fine,” Jeremy said coolly, “I’ll drive you there.”
Follow the rules. Ethan’s words sounded in my ears. No, he had told me to walk to the bar and to keep Jeremy in the dark about everything. That’s what I had to do for Cole’s sake.
“I don’t need you to do that. I’ll walk. You need to go find Cole.” I didn’t even buy into my own lies, so there was no way I expected him to. At this point, I needed to just do what I could to make sure I did exactly what Ethan instructed so that I could keep Cole safe.
Jeremy looked at me and I could tell he wanted to fight me on my answer. “What’s going on, Amy?”
I didn’t even try to keep up the pretense. “I don’t know yet.”
The silence in the room was suffocating. Wisely, he decided against wasting more time and I silently thanked him for it. I was not sure of another way to keep him away from Ethan other than to scream at him and tell him to leave me alone. I was glad it didn’t have to come to that.
“Fine. Give me your cell number and I can pick you up when you’re ready to see Cole’s truck like you wanted to.”
Oh, now he was ready to listen to me and let me see the truck wreckage? Yeah, right. I knew he was attempting to keep tabs on me. He knew something was up, and maybe that was a good thing. I knew he’d be ready for my call when the time came. I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and handed it to him, watching him punch numbers into it. Then, I heard his cell ring from his pocket. He had used my phone to call his cell so he would have the number saved on his caller display. I arched an eyebrow at him speculatively.
“Now I have your number and you have mine,” he explained, handing the phone back to me. No more explanation was needed, and I did appreciate the gesture.
“I have to go,” I stated, shoving my phone back into my pocket.
“Keep your phone on,” Jeremy warned.
The look in his eyes pierced into me and he hesitantly reached out and touched my arm gently. I attempted to avert my eyes anywhere but on him, and Jeremy used the moment to step forward and embrace me tightly.
I wanted nothing more than to tell him about the phone call from Ethan on Cole’s phone, but I knew I couldn’t do that. It was safer for all involved if I just kept my mouth shut. Although I had no clue what I was walking into by heading for the bar or even why I was going there in the first place other than because I was told to, I knew it was something that I had to do. The reasoning behind it would surface soon enough, and when it did I needed to be ready and able to help Cole in any way that I could.
So, instead of speaking, I hugged Jeremy back, leaning my face into the warmth of his chest. When I pulled away, we gave each other knowing expressions. Everything was about to change, if it hadn’t already.
I walked out of the house without another word or glance in Jeremy’s direction, and he let me.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
The walk to the bar was seemingly endless but uneventful. My sense of paranoia was on high alert and I spent just as much time looking behind me and into the trees as I did moving forward. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, but every twitch of the tree branches and car that passed by grasped my attention. My heart was pounding with each step I took. I didn’t know what I was looking for as I glanced around, but whatever it was, I didn’t see it.
When I made it to the parking lot of the bar, Ryan’s truck was parked outside just as Ethan had known it would be. There were no other vehicles in the parking lot at all. I stopped and looked around tentatively, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary outside the bar. Was I being set up? I made the quick decision to go into the bar. I figured it was safer inside with Ryan for the moment than it was in the middle of an empty parking lot.
The bell on the door clanged loudly in the silence of the bar and I saw Ryan look up at me. Even from just inside the door, I could see that his face was pale, the dark circles under his eyes evident from a distance. I immediately knew he must have heard about Cole’s accident and disappearance, and the news was taking its toll on him.
“Ryan…” I began, but I was at a loss for words. He crossed the room and hugged me tightly, surprising me. I hugged him back and tears stung my eyes.
“I don’t understand,” Ryan whispered as he held me against him. Tears welled in my eyes and fell in heated streaks down my face. My heart broke even more when I heard the emotion in his voice and I was afraid to pull away from his embrace and have to see the pain in his eyes.
“He’s going to be okay, Ryan. We’ll find him,” I said soothingly, as much for my own benefit as for his. He pulled away from me reluctantly and met my gaze for only a second. Once he seemed to regain his composure, he spoke, but his voice was still riddled with anxiety.
“So, what are you doing here, Amy? I thought you’d be at your place seeing as your brother was just here. He told me to tell you he would meet you at your house. Thanks for calling him to help in the search for Cole, by the way.”
My eyes widened, my breath catching harshly in my throat. “My brother? He was here?” I mumbled. Damn you, Ethan, I thought to myself, what game are you playing at?
“Yeah, you just missed him not even a few minutes ago. You didn’t know he was coming?” Ryan looked at me curiously and I managed to keep my voice steady.
“I, uh, just didn’t think he would come here first. I better go, Ryan. Call if you hear anything, okay?” It was everything I could do not to break into a full-blown run for the door.
“You too, Amy,” Ryan said, then added, “And you’re right. He’s okay. I know he is.” He meant well in saying this, but his words were hollow and forced.
I headed back outside into the cool air and closed the door. Standing there, I thought about things for a moment. Ethan had purposely had me leave my house so that he could enter it when I wasn’t there. I quickly cursed myself for being hasty enough in my departure that I had left the broken window pane as Ethan had left it before. So, he knew how to get in, even if Jeremy had locked the door behind him.
Jeremy. Did he leave immediately? I hadn’t stuck around to find out. Was that why Ethan had told me to leave, so that Jeremy would as well? The last thing he would want is a cop in the vicinity, especially one who would be out for vengeance against the guy who purposely hurt his best friend.
There was no other way for me to see it. Ethan was setting me up to walk into the dragon’s den. Alone, which was exactly how he wanted it. Cole, and perhaps Jeremy, were merely pawns in Ethan’s little game. He had rigged up the truck crash and taken Cole as a way of proving to me that what I did to him had significant consequences and that the involvement of other parties could have been prevented if I had done as I was supposed to. All I could do was hope and pray that Ethan didn’t harm them any more than he already had. The guilt I already felt at allowing this to happen to Cole was staggering, and that guilt let me know that I needed to do what had to be done. For Cole. For myself.
The thought crossed my mind to call Jeremy and take him with me to my place. Perhaps he could call for other police and Ethan could be taken down without any further damage to Cole. Sadly, the thought was fleeting and I knew all too well that it could never come to realization.
Ethan would never allow himself to be arrested. If he was taken down in his plan to exact revenge on me, he
surely would not go without taking me and Cole with him. It scared me to know that Ethan would only allow the three of us to leave this situation one way, and being arrested wasn’t it.
I sighed and put one foot in front of the other, heading back toward my house. This was going to end now, and I was sure I knew how. I truly hoped walking headlong into Ethan’s trap was the way to save Cole. Either way, I had to try.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Once I was out of view of the bar, I began to run back toward my house. The last thing Ryan needed was to know that Cole’s truck wreck and disappearance were because of me. I feared that, not only would he be upset that I hadn’t confided in him, but he may voice in anger that this was all my fault. It was the truth, but I just wasn’t ready to hear those words from a friend.
I stood in front of the house and stared. It looked harmless with its darkened windows and calm exterior, but I knew better. Inside, a world of anger, fear, and perhaps even death awaited me. The harshest reality was that whether I had left Ethan or not, the same things would have overtaken this moment in my life. The only difference now was that Cole was involved, and I had to make sure I did everything I could to allow him to walk away from this.
From the driveway, I could see that the front door was not latched shut. Thankfully, there was not still a police car in the driveway so I knew Jeremy had truly left before Ethan showed up. Thank God for small miracles. No other innocent people needed to be caught up in this mess that I had created. My heart was pounding as I stepped hesitantly onto the front porch and pushed the door slowly open a bit more. I saw no one and heard nothing.
I took a few more steps into the kitchen. Nothing seemed out of place, but I heard a muffled sound from the living room which made me turn my head and look.
Ethan was standing there, smiling smugly at me as he leaned casually against the door frame. He looked thinner than the last time I had seen him, and small lines were etched into his face making him seem older and more tired than usual. He had also been drinking; I could smell it from where I stood.
“Good to see you, Amy.” He didn’t try to hide the anger in his voice, and the wicked sneer he wore chilled me to the bone.
“Where is Cole, Ethan?” I asked in a small voice. I despised myself for the instant fear of this man that overwhelmed me upon seeing him. He was human just like the rest of us and should evoke no fear to me when I had the butt of a gun tucked into the waistband of my jeans, but it was most definitely fear that was causing the trembling I tried desperately to hide. Not only fear for myself, but for Cole.
Ethan pushed himself away from the doorjamb and took a step to the side, allowing me a better view of the living room. Cole was there. He was facing away from me, lying on his stomach on the floor. A sharp gasp escaped my lips and I pushed past Ethan to him. I hit the floor on my knees beside him and, once again, tears threatened to fall from my eyes.
Cole was breathing, but not fully conscious. The cuts and vicious bruising that covered his face appalled me. Ethan had beaten him, beaten an already wounded man, and for no other reason than for revenge. The realization sickened me. I carefully pushed back a few strands of matted hair that were covering Cole’s swollen eyes.
“What have you done, Ethan?” I whispered incredulously, not raising my eyes from Cole’s battered face.
“Serves him right, Amy. Now, you and I have a few things to discuss.”
I shook my head, still not able to take my gaze from Cole’s closed eyes. “He needs a hospital, Ethan. Now. This is between you and me. Not him.”
I raised my head to look at Ethan, but I was too slow. By then, Ethan had taken the few steps around Cole and me to come up behind me, grabbing me by the ponytail harshly. I cried out and scratched wildly at Ethan’s hands trying to free myself from his hold, but it was no use. I was pulled back and lost my footing, causing Ethan to pull me even harder across the floor and the pain to sear with a heated fury through my scalp.
I kicked my feet out trying to create a resistance as Ethan pulled me toward the staircase, but traction was difficult to achieve and resisting only seemed to make Ethan pull harder. I gripped Ethan’s arms in an attempt to pry them from me, but also to decrease the pain of my hair as it threatened to rip away from my scalp.
He was screaming at me but I could not concentrate on what he was saying. His voice filled my ears in furious waves, but the words he exclaimed were not registering. I continued to scream back at him to stop, to let me go, but he ignored me.
His anger fueled his momentum as he dragged me roughly up the stairs and into the bedroom. With one fierce movement, he tossed me onto the bedroom floor, my back slamming hard into the bedside table. I held my hands to my head, expecting to feel the warm wetness of blood from where my hair had been ripped out, but I was surprised to find I wasn’t bleeding.
“You brought this on yourself, Amy.” Ethan flicked the light switch on and the sudden burst of incandescent light from the ceiling fixture made me squeeze my eyes shut again for a moment.
I struggled to open my eyes again, squinting this time. He was pacing back and forth, each time coming closer to where I was huddled on the floor. Suddenly, he bent down and pushed my shoulder roughly away from him so that I rolled onto my back.
“Do you hear me?” he said, his voice louder than necessary. I could hear him very clearly now, and the crazed expression on his face filled my line of vision. “Do you know what you’ve done?” he screamed.
I looked into his eyes, instinctively trying to curl up into a tight ball to protect myself from him. “Ethan, I had to…”
He silenced me with a quick slap across my face with the back of his hand. The sudden pain made me burst into tears, sobbing as I closed my eyes tightly.
“You had to do what, Amy?” he screamed into my face. “You had to leave me? You had to disobey me? You made me look like a goddamn fool, that’s what you did!” He slapped me hard across the face again, and I cried out once more.
“Ethan, please! Stop! I didn’t mean…”
He grasped my sweater roughly at the back of my neck and got to his feet, lifting me with him. He threw me backward onto the bed and smiled as he leaned down and placed his hands on my chest to hold me there. I started to protest and claw at his hands in a desperate fight to get him off me, but he promptly pushed harder on my chest with one hand and clapped his other hand over my mouth. He straddled either side of me on the edge of the bed. He was much stronger than I was on any given day, but today his anger inflamed him and he seemed even more powerful.
“Keep struggling, Amy, and I promise I will drag you back downstairs and make you watch while I kill that bastard you cheated on me with.”
I looked up into Ethan’s eyes and there was no question in my mind that he meant every word. Tears stung my eyes, but I reluctantly stopped moving underneath his weight and struggled to calm my breathing. He slowly removed his hand and leaned down to kiss me. Before I realized what I was doing, I recoiled from him, turning my head to avoid his lips on mine.
He pulled his head back and looked at me with what could only be described as disgust. He took his hand off me, but didn’t move. I made the mistake of thinking he was going to get off of me, but I was instead met with another hard slap with the back of his hand and I began to cry again. I immediately attempted to bring my hands to my face for protection from any more impending strikes, but Ethan grabbed my wrists and pinned them to the sides of my head, staring down into my eyes. The hostility and fury that stared down at me rendered me petrified.
“I want to know why, Amy.”
His statement caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected him to request this, and the calmness in his voice when he demanded it left me unsure as to how to respond.
“Now, Amy,” he said again, this time in a more annoyed tone.
I didn’t look away from him, but it occurred to me that if I could talk to him, I may have more time to come up with some way of escaping this situation.
I could feel the bulk of the gun pressed against my lower back, still tucked in place in my jeans.
“I tried to tell you lots of times, Ethan,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “I wanted out.”
He peered down at me, still upset over my rejection of his affections. “I told you what would happen, Amy, if you pulled a stunt like this. I told you.” He shook his head as if he was apologetic for the way things had turned out, but I knew the only sympathy he felt was for himself. He thought I was the only one who had done something wrong. In his mind, he was the victim here, not me. Not Cole.
Oh my God, Cole. My mind threatened to go into overdrive as I thought of each passing minute that may be doing Cole more harm than good.
“What do you want from me, Ethan?” It was more of a plea than a question and I tried to pull my hands free of his grip, but to no avail.
“He was here with you, wasn’t he, Amy? In this bed? You left me for him.” Ethan rambled on but he was no longer looking at me. He was looking down at the bed sheets as though they held the answer, the key to bringing this whole mess to a close.
“I didn’t even know Cole when I left California, Ethan.”
“I won’t share you, Amy.”
I looked up at him and his stare locked on mine. I may have left him, but to him, I had never stopped being his.
“How did you find me here?” I said, trying to avert the conversation to possibly safer grounds. I wriggled my hands again, but his grasp on me was still tight. His anger was escalating. I could hear his heavy breathing slowly growing louder. If I had any hope at all of getting my hands down to the gun underneath me and getting Cole to a hospital, I had to calm Ethan down.
He leaned back a bit and scoffed in response to my question. “You can find anything on the Internet, Amy. There are companies everywhere that can track down people for you. Your cell phone led me straight to you.” He smiled at this thought. I closed my eyes for a moment and silently felt defeated. Cole had registered the cell phone he bought me in my name and it had led Ethan to me like a beacon in the night. If he and I made it out of this situation alive, I promised myself I would never let Cole find out that his gift to me had been the reason Ethan had found out where I was.
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