Page 82 of Edge of Control

Fuck.

“Well,” my driver said, slowing down in the traffic. I realized there wasn’t a phone on his dashboard showing the ride we were on. He also appeared to be going in the opposite direction than Stonewall. “I think you’ve got a lot more to worry about than what’s going on at work.”

“Huh?”

“I think you have to worry about what’s in front of you,right now.” The driver locked eyes with me through the rearview mirror and smiled. He raised his hand. In it was a slick black pistol. My entire body flushed with panic. My jaw dropped, my hand flying to the door handle. But it was locked. The door wouldn’t open. I couldn’t roll out to safety.

“Don’t move. Don’t try anything stupid.”

I wasn’t carrying my gun, either. I hadn’t grabbed it in this morning’s rush. I was defenseless. I’d gotten into this man’s car without even checking it, and now he was going to rob me blind. “Take whatever you want,” I said. “Have my wallet, my phone. Whatever.”

The man gave a dark chuckle. “You really are an idiot. I’m surprised Theo sees anything in you.”

“Theo…”

“Yes, Theo. Nevermore. The man you’ve been fucking. The man who’s now responsible for your abduction.” He came to a red light and leaned around his seat, aiming the gun directly at my chest. “My son never seemed to be able to find someone good for him. But I’m glad he found you when he did. You’ll be a perfect way to get him to suffer.”

My son…

“Let me out. Now.”

“No, I don’t think so. Now, let’s see how long it takes for Theo to realize you’re missing.”

My situation had gone from fucked to catastrophically fucked.

Chapter 31

Theo Glass

A woman stoodin my living room, her back turned to me. Luke sat at her feet, turned upside down and exposing his belly for some scratches.

“Hello?”

“Oh! Theo! So sorry, I thought you were gone.” She spun around, hands on her chest.

It was Raquel, Billie’s daughter. I’d met her on a couple of different occasions, mostly around the holidays when Billie would host his family for a big get-together. He had three kids, but his daughter was the one who I saw most.

Her eyes were sad underneath her thin glasses, magnified under the lenses. She twirled a silver bracelet around her wrist. “I came in to feed Luke. I saw the letter you left for my dad.” Her voice cracked.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“No, no it’s not.”

“Whathappened?”

Raquel immediately began to break down. She gave one heaving cry, and then the dam broke. Tears streamed down her cheeks. I went to her side, took her into a hug. My world may have been falling apart at the seams, but apparently, so was hers. Something had happened. Was Billie in an accident? Did he fall? I’d have to visit him in the hospital. Maybe I had time to see him before the police came for me.

“It was cancer.”

Was.

Cancer.

“The doctors said he had at least a year left, but it was so much less than that. He was having trouble speaking. I took him to the hospital, and he died a few hours later. It was all so sudden. My mother couldn’t even fly in on time to say goodbye.”

It was as if an invisible fist slammed into my chest. Could this really be happening? Was this some twisted nightmare I was set to wake up from?

“No…”

---