“We have to do something,” I plead. “I can’t just let them get away with hurting you.”
“They didn’t hurt me, only scared me.”
I steer the car with one hand while reaching over and grazing my fingers against her scraped cheek. “They didn’t?”
She winces, her face contorted in pain. “I already told you I did that to myself.”
I graze my fingers over her skin one final time before lowering my hand from her cheek. “What exactly happened when they took you?”
Her anxiety shows as she brings her knees to her chest and gives me a recap of everything she heard while she was kidnapped. The longer she talks, the more my anger simmers.
If I ever figure out who these people are, they will pay for what they did. I’ll make sure of that, even if it turns out to be Kyler.
“So, they liked to listen to classic rock.” I make mental notes of any important details that could lead me to these people. “They wore masks—like the person I saw, which means they’ve been…” I gulp. “Watching you. And they have a cabin in the woods, and the guy might have known you.”
“He seemed like he did. And so did the woman.” She rests her chin on her knees. “And the guy acted like he felt bad for doing it.”
“If he knows you, then I’m guessing you might have talked to him before.”
Kyler, Kyler, Kyler, if this is you, I’m going to kick your ass.
“Maybe … But, Kai, I don’t want you going to look for these people.”
Fusing my lips together, I fix my attention on the road as my hands tremble with the overwhelming need to hurt the person who did this to her.
“Kai, listen to me.” She places her hand on my arm to get me to look at her. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Then we need to go to the police. Someone has to track them down and make sure they don’t hurt anyone else.” My unsteady voice reveals the storm rumbling inside me. “I asked my friend to tail me while I went after you, but I don’t know if it worked since I told him to be there by six.”
I stop at a red light near the middle of town. Small stores line the streets that sell homemade items and souvenirs, along with a local bank and grocery store. People are wandering down the sidewalk, going about their business, enjoying their dull, boring lives.
I remember I used to look at people who were so easily pleased and feel sorry for them. Didn’t they want more out of life? Right now, I envy their simplicity. I would give anything for it.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Isa says, wrenching me out of my pity-party trance. “We’re going to wait until you hear from this Jules guy, and if he doesn’t know anything, then we’ll go talk to my grandma Stephy’s retired police friend and see what he thinks. Maybe he can find out who did this to me without involving the police.”
“Okay, I think I can live with that plan.” I drive forward as the traffic light changes green.
“Good.” Her gaze drops to her phone. “But what do we do about the flash drive? Do we just hand it over?”
“I think so,” I reply, taking the flash drive out of my boot and setting it in the console. “We’ll pull in and drop it off. And if we pay our cards right, we should be able to hide out and see who it is when they pick up the flash drive.”
She worriedly chews on her fingernails. “And you think it’ll be that simple? That after we give this to them, they’ll just let us go?”
“Yes.” No. I don’t think it’ll be that simple at all.
The only way this will ever stop is if I find out who took it and make them pay times ten.
Chapter 13
Isabella
Nausea knots in my stomach as I gaze out the car window, watching stores blur by along with the stars and moon.
When I ran out of the woods and saw Kai, I’d never been so happy in my life. He’d come for me, saved me, and that was all that mattered at the moment. All I wanted was to be close to him, and when I jumped in his arms, I never wanted him to let me go. Ever.
Eventually, I had to get into the car where reality smacked me across the face as I realized the severity of the situation. I was kidnapped today. I was taken in broad daylight, driven out to a cabin, and tied up by people wearing masks. What happened will probably haunt my nightmares forever.
I know I should call the cops, but after they threatened Kai, I can’t bring myself to do it. I can tell he’s irritated with my refusal to comply, but the idea of knowing I’d be risking him going to jail makes me want to seal what happened inside me and lock it away forever.
I just want to go home, take a shower, and forget this day ever happened.
As if sensing my worry, Kai tangles his fingers through mine. “We’re almost there.”
I nod, grasping his hand, and rest my forehead against the cool glass until we pull into the Sunnyvale Stop and Grub Gas Station. The parking lot is mostly vacant, and the store light is on, but only the cashier appears to be inside.
The instructions they sent us were pretty simple: text them when we get to the gas station, and they’ll let us know where to leave the flash drive.
Before we text them, though, Kai mentions he wants to call Jules first and see if he found out anything.
Kai parks the car toward the back of the parking lot, turns off the engine, and calls Jules.
“Come on, come on, come on. Pick up,” he mutters into the phone, his knee bouncing up and down.
When no one answers, he leaves a brief message on the voicemail then hammers his finger against the end button.
“He didn’t answer.” His gaze travels to the starry sky above. “It’s getting late. I guess we should probably text them and say that we’ll give them the flash drive—”
His phone pings with an incoming message.
“It’s from Jules.”
I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean over the console. “What’s it say?”
“He says he wasn’t able to track them.” He reads the text, tension flooding his eyes. “I guess we should probably just give them the flash drive and get this over with.”
I study him through the darkness of the cab. “Are you sure that’s all it says? You look worried.”
He shakes his head, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth. “Yeah, what else would it say?”
“I don’t know … but it seems like you’re keeping something from me.”
“You’re just being paranoid. Which is understandable considering what happened.”
That little liar.
When he starts to put the phone into his pocket, I snatch it from him.
“Isa, what the hell are you doing?” He reaches for the phone, but I shove open the door and dive out of the car, landing on my hands and knees. He hops out of the car with fury blazing in his eyes. “Isa, give me back the phone. What’s on there”—he yanks his fingers through his hair—“that’s not your problem.”
“It is, too.” I back up across the dark parking lot, opening the message. “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to keep something bad from me so I won’t have an excuse not to talk to the cops.”
He slams the door and comes at me quickly, taking long, even strides. “That’s not what this is about. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
I pick up the pace as he nears me. “How much more can they actually hurt me? I mean, I was kidnapped for God’s sake.”
“Not physically hurt. Emotionally hurt.” He quickens to a jog.
“What are you talking about!” I whirl around and dash toward the grassy knoll behind the gas station where a lamppost is shining through the darkness.
Kai rushes after me, his footsteps hammering against the asphalt. “Just let this go!”
“No.” I fumble to open the message.
I’m pretty sure you were right about who did this. Just thought I’d let you know. If you need help taking care of the problem, let me know.
Arms circle my waist, and I’m lifted in the air until my feet no longer touc
h the ground.
“Isa, give me the damn phone back.” Keeping his arm around my waist, he loops his other arm around me and tries to pry the phone away.
“Tell me what’s going on.” I twist around, trying to duck out from underneath his arm. “You know who did this?”
“Please, just let this go,” he begs with desperation.
I manage to get all the way turned around before I trip over his foot. I start to fall back and snag his shirt. Instead of stopping the fall, he loses his balance, and we topple to the ground. Fortunately, we land on the grass, a tangled mess of legs and arms as we wrestle each other for the phone.
“I’ll give you the phone back.” I roll onto my back and stretch my arm above my head. “But only if you tell me what’s going on.”
He flips over onto his stomach, his body over mine. “I can’t do that. You’ll only get hurt.”
“I’m already hurt.” I push against his chest, but he holds his weight down as he reaches up and snatches the phone from me.
He starts to push away from me, but I latch on to the hem of his shirt and force him to stay put.
“This isn’t fair,” I say calmly and quietly, attempting to sound more rational. “We’re in this together.”
He promptly shakes his head. “No, we’re not. From now on, I’ll be handling this.”
My heart misses a beat, and not in a fluttery, gooey, fantastically amazing way. “What’re you going to do?”
He steadily carries my gaze. “I’m going to make this person pay for what he did to you.”
“He,” I whisper. “Is it …? Did my … dad do this to me?”
He gives a firm shake of his head. “No.”
“Then tell me who it is,” I beg, my eyes watering with tears.
“Isa … I can’t.” He struggles to keep his voice even. “What happened today … thinking that you might be de—that maybe I’d never …” His lips are suddenly on mine.
I suck in a startled breath through my nose. Oh. My. God. Talk about the holy mother lode of fireworks and explosions.
This kiss, it’s everything I’ve dreamed of: perfect, breathless, magical, like pixie dust and wishes and rainstorms of glitter.
Yeah, I don’t care how cheesy I sound. Not right now. Not with this.
At first, I have no clue what to do. Do I kiss him back? Do I want to kiss him back?
Oh, my God, yes, I want to kiss him back.
An uncontrollable moan escapes my lips as his mouth moves against mine. I’d be embarrassed—it seems like I should—but I’m not. Maybe it’s because of everything that happened. Perhaps I’m too worn out to care. Or maybe I want to own this moment and not worry about if what I’m doing is wrong or right.
Kai groans in response and presses his body against mine as he slips his tongue inside my mouth, finally, finally, finally giving me a real kiss. My body shudders out of control, my heart beating at supersonic speed. If it died on me, I’m not sure I’d even care. I want to keep kissing him. I want to be closer to him. I want him to want to keep kissing me.
“God, I’ve wanted this for so long,” he whispers before deepening the kiss. Then he pulls back a sliver of an inch, looking down at me, his eyes so full of … well, with a look like he’s about to go skydiving. “I just wish I could’ve made this better for you, given you the perfect kiss under the perfect circumstances.”
Before I can respond, he delves in for another kiss.
Better? Yeah, right. I’m pretty certain nothing could ever be better than this.
“You taste so good,” he murmurs between kisses.
“Like sugar cookies?” I ask breathlessly with my eyes shut.
He chuckles, his breath tickling my lips. “Better than sugar cookies.”
My eyes pop open, and I poke him in the side, causing him to laugh.
“Hey, nothing is better than sugar cookies.”
“This is.” He grows serious then leans in and steals another kiss.
Our lips move slowly at first, but the longer the kiss goes on, the more heated it gets. Hands start to wander, skin touching skin. Our bodies begin to move rhythmically, perfectly. My mind is spinning out of control, empty of all my worries. My lips are swollen, my skin hums like a perfectly in-tune song, and my mind … Well, considering what happened to me, I feel strangely content.
But the moment crashes with a throat clearing.
“Well, what do we have here?” someone sneers from close by.
I don’t recognize the voice, but with the way Kai goes rigid, I can tell something bad is about to happen.
Chapter 14
Kai
Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.
My head snaps up at the sound of T’s voice, destroying my perfect moment with Isa.
“I have your money,” I tell him, pushing off Isa.
My body gripes in protest, wanting to lie back down and protect her from T’s view. But I need to face him, face this.
He’s not alone. He has five of his friends tagging along with him. Of course. Guys like T never want to have a fair fight. He’s also sporting brass knuckles and a smirk that silently announces I’m in deep shit.
“Where is it, then?” T melodramatically looks around the parking lot and at the gas station before he targets his gaze back on me again. “Or are you just trying to buy your way out of a beating?”
“Well, technically, I have until tomorrow to pay you.” I inch to the side, blocking Isa from his view as she pushes to her feet. “And that was only three hundred.”
He rubs his jawline, the brass knuckles glinting tauntingly in the moonlight. “Yeah, I changed my mind about that. I figure I’ve given you enough time. So pay the thousand now or pay the price.”
“A thousand bucks?” Isa whisper, clutching the back of my shirt. “That’s what this has been about?”
I reach around and find her hand, urging her to be quiet.
“I have the thousand,” I tell T. “But not on me.”
He laughs in my face, and his friends join in.
“Isn’t that what they all say?” His expression darkens as he stalks toward me “You’d be surprised how much bullshit I get fed from people who owe me money.” He flaps his hand in front of him, mimicking a whiney voice as he says, “But, T, you said I had until then. I promise I’ll get you it by tomorrow.” He lowers his hand to his side, his eyes narrowing to slits. “I promise I have it, but it’s not on me. Yeah, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that, then I wouldn’t have to go chasing down dumbasses who owe me money.”
“I’m telling the truth.” I tighten my grip on Isa, wishing she weren’t here to witness this.
He deliberates my words with a sickening grin and then spans his hands out to the sides. “Okay, then, prove it.” He taps the cheap watch on his wrist. “You have fifteen minutes to get me the money, or your beating will be twice as hard.”
I calculate how far Jules’ place is from here and swallow hard. “It might take longer than that.”
“And that’s my problem, how?” He flashes me a toothy grin. “Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time’s ticking.”
“Fuck you,” I mutter, digging my phone out of my pocket.
“You better make that a phone call,” T warns. “I don’t want you sending out any texts for help.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I lie, punching in Jules’ number while fixing a death glare on T.
“So, you decided to take me up on my offer?” Jules asks without saying hello. “Because I have some pretty good ideas on how we can make him pay.”
“I might take you up on that offer later.” I crack my knuckles against the side of my leg. “Right now, I need your help, and you can’t mess this up.”
“Okay … What’s up?”
“I need you to bring me the thousand dollars in less than fifteen minutes,” I say with my eyes on T, who taps his watch again and mouths, “Hurry up.”
“Where are you?” Jules asks.
“At the Sunnyvale Stop and Grub Gas Station, the one just outside of town.”
“Is T there?” he asks cautiously.
“Yep.” I press my lips together, eyeing T, the dumbass. He should’ve had me put it on speakerphone.
“On it,” Jules says, hopefully understanding the silent words I can’t say: bring backup.
“What are you talking about?” T inches toward me. “Put that on speakerphone. Now.”
“See you in fifteen,” I hastily tell Jules then hang up the phone. “He’s on his way.”
T balls his hand into a fist. “He better show up alone,” he warns then bashes the brass knuckles into my gut.
I grunt, collapsing to my knees as the wind is ripped out of me. My phone falls from my hands, and T scoops it up.
Isa shouts something from behind me, and T laughs, his friends joining in like a bunch of damn hyenas.
T crouches down in front of me, leveling his gaze with mine. “That’s just a taste of what’s going to happen to you if you try to screw me over. And you know what? Maybe to sweeten the deal, I’ll take this girl of yours and show her what a real man is.”
I growl, stumbling to my feet. My balled fists tremble at my sides as I stare him down. “If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will fucking kill you. You got it?”
His laughter simmers to fury as he storms toward me, getting right up in my face. “That’s a pretty big threat for someone who’s outnumbered.”
“I don’t really fucking care,” I snap. “Touch her and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Kai, just let it go.” Isa’s tentative voice cuts through the tension in the air. She slips her fingers through mine and tows me away from T. “Let’s just get him the money so this shitty night can finally end.”
I suck in a few sharp breaths before fixing my eyes on Isa. Looking at her calms me down a little, but a storm is building in my chest, about to explode.
T talks a lot of talk, but he also does a lot of sketchy shit. I don’t trust him at all, and if Jules doesn’t show up with backup, he might try to come through on his threat.
The Year of Second Chances (Sunnyvale Alternative #3) Page 11