Page 83 of Octane

“The Sunday before the first race of the season, I witnessed him getting physical with her at the track after practice.”

“That’s crazy! Daniel’s a puny little thing, he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Zach argues.

Both mine and Carissa’s heads snap to him in disbelief.

“Daddy, are you really that blind? I’ve been telling you he’s bad news for years!”

I knew Carissa didn’t like Daniel, but I’d wondered why the rest of her family hadn’t ever tried to step in and convince her to leave him. Her father is either in denial or he’s demented. No matter what the issue is, he’s lost my respect.

“Zach, you just admitted that you don’t know your own daughter very well. I think it’s about time you get your head out of your ass, and listen to what Carissa and I are trying to tell you.”

Not expecting my brash comment, he’s momentarily stunned, and I use that moment to continue.

“Anyway, I was concerned for her safety, so I lied and told her I was having a team meeting the following evening. I couldn’t think of another way to get her by herself. When she got there, I told her I was concerned about her well-being.”

“I bet she didn’t like that,” Carissa suggests. “Sawyer hates being ambushed.”

“That’s the thing, though. I was expecting her to rip me a new one, but she didn’t. She opened up to me that night. She told me a little about their history, and I told her about mine.”

I wasn’t planning on divulging this, but I think it’s something Zach needs to hear.

“You see, Zach, I grew up with an abusive father. I know all the telltale signs of both an abuser as well as a victim. For years, I watched my father torment my mother. The more time that went by, the worse it got. I begged my mother to leave him. But, whether from a lack of courage, support, funds—maybe all three—she was never able to get away from him. Do you know what happened next, Zach?”

I say his name with a hint of venom on my tongue. He doesn’t answer me, but I bet he knows what was coming.

“I had to bury my mother. So unless you want toburyyour daughter, I would wise up real quick.”

He swallows and looks down at the floor. He’s not used to being spoken to like this, but I’m far from caring about disrespecting him at the moment. My eyes meet Carissa’s, but not for long because I can’t stand the look of pity she has in them.

“Anyway, that night I begged Sawyer to let me help her get away from him. I couldn’t bear to see her suffer the same fate as my mother. She refused my help, but she admitted that she did want to leave him. I would bet my entire life savings that she was planning to use that money in order to do it.”

Zach finally looks at me, and I swear I see a tear in his eye.

About fucking time.

“Okay, so what are we going to do?” Carissa asks. “We still don’t know if money is the reason she went back to him.”

“It’s not the money,” I assure her. “She was already gone, away from him without the money. There’s something else he’s trapping her with.”

“The only thing I can think of that would make her return to him would be if he threatened her life or the lives of the people she loves,” Carissa explains.

My head snaps up, and my eyes meet hers again.

“That’s got to be it,” I declare. “I think you nailed it.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Carissa agrees.

“Now how do we fix it? How do we get her back?” I inquire.

Silence falls over the room as the answer to our question hangs, just out of reach. After several excruciating minutes of pacing Zach’s office with no resolution in sight, I tell them that I need to go home. I can’t stand to be in this room any longer. I need to walk, to think. I give them a final nod before I leave Zach’s office.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

SAWYER

I’m alive, but I’m not living.

I’m breathing, but I can’t catch my breath.

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