Page 88 of Shattering Nash

Charley gave Penny the entire rundown of what happened with Zeke. She barely took a breath, and her nerves were in overdrive retelling the events.

“He cornered me in the parking lot at the shop. He thinks I have his package of drugs, but I don’t, Penny. I swear.” She choked on the last words and wiped her eyes as they started to well. “And then he punched me in the face, and…”

“He hit you?” There was a bite in her tone.

“And then…”

“I’m going to send someone to get you, okay? But until then, I need you stay in the house. Don’t turn on any lights and stay away from the windows. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” Charley whispered.

“Keep your phone close.” Then the line went dead.

Charley glanced around the room and slowly walked to the corner chair. It didn’t have any windows near it. It was probably the safest spot. She sat and grasped the phone between her clasped hands. It could’ve turned out so much worse. Charley dragged her hand across her forehead, swiping away the beads of sweat. She was probably seconds away from a panic attack.

Charley tried calling Nash but it went straight to voicemail twice. She contemplated leaving a message but how could she explain it all on a recording? Hopefully, he would see her number and call her back. Until then she’d wait for Penny.

She dropped her face into her hands, muttering. “I should’ve done what Keely said and told Nash.”

After about fifteen minutes, her phone rang, and she felt relief when she saw Penny’s name.

“Hello?”

“They’re about five minutes away.” Penny sighed. “Ironically, they’re looking for Zeke, so this couldn’t have worked out better.”

Who was looking for Zeke? Charley nibbled on the corner of her cuticle and cocked her head.

“Who?”

“Killcreek. The MC.”

Charley had an instant reaction. Her muscles tightened, and her heart dropped to her stomach. She could feel the blood draining from her face.

“You sent Killcreek for me?”

“Yeah, they’ll come get you and take you back to the apartment.”

Another fear flashed in her mind. Zeke’s words replaying in her head.

“You’re sending me to Inez?”

This was a setup. Was Penny helping them?

“Charley?”

She clamped her lips.

“Talk to me, Charley”

“Zeke said he told them about the missing product, and how I have it at the apartment, and I’m somehow involved. Penny, I swear I don’t know anything. But he said my brother is some informant, and they’re going to think I knew about it. I don’t know anything, Penny.” She gulped.

The line was silent.

“Your brother is an informant?”

She dragged her hand through her hair. “I don’t know for sure, but that’s what Zeke said. He said my brother’s been calling him to meet up to give him the drugs. Cody hasn’t called me at all because the officer said he didn’t have phone privileges in rehab.”

“Wait, what officer?”

---