Page 59 of Good and Gone

I nod against his chest, afraid if I start crying, I'll never stop. It's a strange feeling, slipping in and out of reality. I can't trust my brain.

He leads me by the hand back up toward the parking lot, whispering in my ear over and over again that it will be all right now and we're going home.

When we get to the car, I see that he’s left some details out. His father is there. He's holding a gun to the back of the tentative guy's head.

"It's okay," Tyler says, urging me into the front seat.

I swallow and try not to taste his lies on my tongue. It's hard, though, because they fill my mouth like cotton candy.

"Don't worry," he tells me with conviction. "We're going to get everything sorted out."

I want to believe him. I really do. But I can't shake the feeling that something is about to go very, very wrong.

42

Tyler

Itold my dad we shouldn't bring her, that we should have left her out of this. He never listens. Why did I think he'd start now? Hailey was silent for most of the drive out to Dad’s place, and I can’t tell what she’s thinking, even now.

My father’s voice bounces off the walls and echoes in the empty barn. I see his face, his expression cool and confident, as he points the gun at the stranger's head.

"This is John Doe," Dad says to Hailey. "Real name's Benny Ramirez."

"Doesn't matter," I say, looking over at her, knowing this is a bad idea. It's too much. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"Please," the guy says obnoxiously. "Call me JD."

"Shut up," I tell him.

Hailey doesn't seem to be listening to any of us. She's just staring at the stranger, her eyes fixed on his.

"Give me the gun," she says calmly. "I want to talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I tell her, trying not to sound as panicked as I feel.

"I want answers," she says. I can't quite read her expression, but it's not fear. All my alarm bells are ringing. "I have to know."

"There'll be time for that," Dad says.

I watch as Hailey's face turns pale and her eyes widen in fear. A mixture of emotions runs through her, a mix of anger and terror at what we're about to do to this man.

She can feel sorry for him all she wants. But I don't have time for that. It's time for action.

"Look," I say, looking John Doe straight in the eye. “The only way to fix this problem is to do exactly what we say.”

“Fat chance,” he says.

“You're going to tell us where your boss is hiding out, or else things are gonna get real tough for you.”

John Doe doesn't respond. He just stares back at me with cold, defiant eyes. “I told you. It's JD.”

I grab him by the hair, yanking his head back so hard it makes him cry out in pain. I keep dragging him across the barn floor until he's right in front of me, his body writhing and squirming under my grasp.

"Tell us where your boss is hiding," I growl, digging my fingers into his flesh like steel talons. "Or you'll wish you were dead."

John Doe still refuses to speak, but with each passing moment, he looks more and more afraid. His eyes flit around the barn desperately, as if searching for a way out of this nightmare situation.

But there is no escape from my wrath now that I have him here in my clutches. And so I drag his body across the rough wooden floor, over to the horse trough. I hoist him up and hold him under until I'm pretty sure he's about drowned. I beat him with my fists while he tries to catch his breath, and then I dunk him under again.

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