Page 142 of Frisco

Harper.

Fear and panic seized me for a moment.

I hoped he was okay. I hoped he was alive? I hoped he was being fed chocolate covered strawberries and being fanned by hot shirtless guys. He joked that it was his fantasy. I doubted that was happening, but I needed to focus on that and not the other thing that I was thinking might be happening, him being hurt or starved or I didn’t know. I just needed to get away from Shelly, see if my call ever went through to Shane because I’d been terrified to check and then get my friends back. Safe. I wanted everyone safe.

When we got to the station, she pulled to fill up with gas. I guess she was being extra cautious, but I went inside and this time, she wasn’t following me. I pulled my phone out and saw the line was still connected. Holy–thank God for helping! “Shane?!”

I only heard motorcycles’ engines.

“Shane!”

There was a click, then silence. I panicked, thinking I’d lost the line, but a different, calm voice said, “Is this Kali?”

“Yes.” I frowned and looked at the screen. It showed I was connected to Shane’s phone. “Who is this?”

“My name is Seth. I work with the Red Demons. We’re their IT department. You’re at a gas station on the north end of Flagstaff?”

“Yeah! How’d you know that?” I needed to quiet down, but my heart was picking up. If they knew where we were, then things were starting to look way up for me.

“That’s not important. What is is that you need to tell me the exact whereabouts of Shelly. Where is she right now?”

I looked, and stepped out of the hallway, moving to a window where I could see the car.

The car was gone.

“Wha–” I started to go outside, seeing if she pulled to the side. “She’s gone.”

He got quiet on his end.

“Hello? You still there?”

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

“I mean,” I stepped more fully outside, looking to the right and left, “she’s gone. I can’t see her car anywhere and she wouldn’t go inside with the car not being here.” I was so happy that I was almost shouting. I was free. “She totally left without me.”

“Kali,” the voice came back, insistent. “You need to listen to me. Shelly would not have left you behind.”

“Well, she said that she overheard–”

“No. What she told you was a lie. She has to take you to Marco Estrada. If she doesn’t, they will kill her daughter.”

“What?!” I whipped around, feeling a presence at my back.

It was an elderly man. He jumped back, startled from me.

“Sorry. So sorry.” I moved out of the way, but I was processing what he’d just said.

“They took Katie?”

“Yes. Since you are currently away from her, remain among groups of people. Is she armed?”

My mouth went dry. “Yeah. She has a gun.”

“Okay. I’m coordinating with a local Red Demons charter. They’re coming to help. They’re closer than Ghost and his men. Now–”

I felt the press against my back before I felt the presence of another person.

Every cell in my body was telling me that was a gun at my back, and as I went still, I heard the safety being taken off.

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