Page 78 of Big Witch Energy

“What the fuck?” Riley panted.

“Breathe,” Alice told her, taking her hands. Meanwhile, Ben’s knees seemed to crumple from under him. Edison caught his elbow and held him up.

Someone had taken Caroline. Someone had hit her over the head and tied her up and was threatening to kill her. How had this happened? After everything, he’d lost her. And the last words they’d said to each other were angry.

“We’ve got you,” Edison murmured, even as his voice shook. “You’re not alone. The girls are gonna fix this. OK? You’re not going to lose Caroline.”

Edison didn’t sound sure of himself, but Ben appreciated that he was trying.

“Why didn’t we feel her?” Riley demanded, glancing around at the tourists milling around them. “You’ve felt me panic before, when Edison tried to break up with me.”

“Maybe she didn’t have time,” Alice whispered. “Maybe whoever has her knocked her out before she had a chance to be afraid and she’s still unconscious.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” Riley replied.

“It’s gotta be Clark,” Edison said. “I walked past his office earlier and there was a sign on the door that said the firm was closed. Clark never closes the office.”

“I don’t know if that’s proof,” Alice said, frowning. “Who do you think he has watching us? Do you think we’re dealing with a bunch of Welling heirs? People working for them? What if they’ve been watching us this whole time?”

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who has her. All that matters is that we get to Caroline as quickly as possible,” Riley insisted. “And we have the advantage of knowing where she is.”

“So do we call the cops?” Ben asked. “I think we should call the cops.”

“No, somebody might be watching us,” Alice said. “We don’t want to give him a reason to hurt Caroline.”

“The person who took her thinks we have to wait until he gives us the location,” Riley said. “He’s not counting on us showing up off-schedule. So we just have to find a way to get across the lake unnoticed.”

“Across the lake?” Ben asked.

“Some place called Starfall Views Camp-Inn Resort,” Riley said. “Dutch showed me on his phone.”

“It sounds like something Clark would do,” Edison said. “He knows we would never look for him at a campground. It’s sort of brilliant, in terms of camouflage.”

“Well, it’s not like we can take the ferry,” Riley said. “If we are being watched, everybody’s going to notice us leaving together. And if Edison goes anywhere near it, it will be island-wide news.”

“I’m willing to swim it,” Ben growled. “This guy is dangerous, and we need to get to Caroline as quickly as we can. I won’t have her hurt.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to swim.” Edison scraped a hand over the back of his neck. “I have an idea.”

Chapter 16

Caroline

Caroline’s head hurt. And not just in the “experimenting with cheap tequila” way. It felt like someone had whacked her over the head with a hammer.

Oh, shit, she was pretty sure someone had whacked her over the head with a hammer. Or a bottle. Or a boat oar. Why did she live around so many things that could be used to give her a concussion?

Ow.

She smelled…Funyuns? And exhaust fumes.

Was she being held hostage in a gas station?

She’d only visited a handful of gas stations in her lifetime, but they definitely had a memorable olfactory signature—like one of Nell’s unsellable air fresheners. She forced her eyes to open and winced at the intrusion of light.

She was in some sort of vehicle. Her head was swimming so much that she couldn’t tell if it was moving. Her nose was nearly bumping against beige-and-mauve rippled upholstery. She turned—or at least tried to—before she realized her feet were bound. Her sneakers scrabbled uselessly against the long bench seat she was lying on. Her hands were duct-taped in front of her. At least her mouth wasn’t taped, because she was pretty sure she was going to throw up.

Breathe, she told herself, even as tears burned at her eyes. Deep breaths; don’t panic.

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