Page 104 of Something Tangled Something True
Russhas managed a relationship where he’s the more reasonable one, and that’s enough to tell me just how unstable his mother has become.
“I didNOTcome all this way and work with the likes of a girl named after a goddamn fruit to come up empty-handed.”
“Mom, seriously? I just want to go home,please. I havenothingleft. Nothing!” he shouts at her. “I’ve got no money, no friends, no business, and now, no fucking dog. I’m so damnlonely. When you brought me to the shelter, I thought the dog was going to be *mine.* But now all this?”
“Russ,” Amy coos, a more motherly tone overtaking her voice, and I’m waiting on bated breath to find out what she could possibly say to justify this situation when the person who was, arguably most impacted is literally begging her to just let it go. “That dog was a pawn. He’s played his part. Now it’s time for you to play yours. Keep your eyes on the prize, honey. If we have proof of what your ex has done, your investors might consider returning, and we can get our lives back. I’ve worked too damn hard to make you into the man you were before Lola Lima came along and ruined everything.”
My heart cracks, a small fissure of hurt forming on Russ’sbehalf. He wasn’t a good man by any stretch of the imagination, but no one deserves to have a mother like his.
“Ma, please,” he murmurs, and I have to strain my ears to hear. “I just want the dog back. I could’ve met her husband at the gas station and?—”
Ryder. He’s either losing his mind with worry or about to walk into a complete shit show.
“We’ll get that stupid dog back just as soon as we have our proof. You lost your damn company because of what your ex did to you. She deserves more than the loss of adog.” A moment passes in tense silence. “Now, come on—I know exactly the person whocan tell us where those recordings are, and if she can’t, we’ll use her as collateral. Either way, Lola Lima will be locked up for insurance fraud by the end of the night.Mark my words.”
My heart hammers in my chest, my stomach bottoming out as fear grips me.
I hold my breath, typing out one last message to warn Mayte, waiting for Amy’s crusade to be over and the door to slam shut before I jump into action. “Jump” is generous, really. My joints are stiff, I’m shaking violently, and the pain in my hip is back with a vengeance. I push it all to the side, finding my way to the living room on trembling limbs.
“Teddy! Teddy!” I call out, my eyes growing wide when I find him tied to a chair, his mouth duct taped shut. “I’m so sorry, Teddy,” I whisper, grabbing the corner of the silver-gray tape and yanking. It tears off his mouth with a shredding sound that makes me nauseous.
“L-lola, I n-need you to listen to me and pay attention. C-can you do that for me?” he asks, stuttering, but he works to keep his tone firm.
I feel lightheaded as the scent of iron fills my nostrils. Teddy’s blood sliding down his temple distracts me, but I find my way back to him, focusing on his eyes. “I can,” I tell him, my shaky voice not lendingmuch confidence.
“I need you to leave me here.” My eyes widen, a refusal on the tip of my tongue, but he finishes before I get there. “I probably have a concussion, I’ll be no good to you, and it’ll take too long to untie me. Grab my gun before you go. It’s tucked into a holster under my jeans. Left ankle.”
The seriousness of the situation crashes into me, but I remain strong, focusing on his instructions. With trembling hands, I crouch, unholster the gun, and check the safety isn’t on before leaving him shouting behind me to be safe.
Someone coming aftermeis one thing, but my family? That’s an entirely different situation, and Amy better hope someone in the chat called the cops before I get to her. I’ll prove to be the more dangerous of her opponents if I catch her first.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
WEATHER WONDER
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
“Well,Nuggs, it’s been a half hour, and he hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts, so I guess we got stood up. I hope you don’t think it’s too much of a loss,” I tell him, scratching between his ears.
I try calling Lola to tell her the good news. I know she’s torn up about it, but the call won’t go through. “Must be the weather. Hopefully, I’ll get better cell service the closer we get to town.”
I turn the engine over, pull out of the gas station, and head home for game night with my family.
The closer we get to home, the more my thoughts start to spiral. I’m doing the best I can to focus on keeping my truck from sliding all over the road in this weather, but it’s nothing short of treacherous out here, and my mind is at home with Lola.
I pull off to the side of the road and unclip my phone from where it sits on my dash, map up. The offline map is working, but still, I have no bars.
Nugget whines beside me, shimmying to get closer to me. “I know, Nuggs, but you’ve gotta sit still. We’ll be home soon,”I tell him, guilty that he hasn’t been able to pee yet. Granted, he refuses to go out in the rain.
I try calling Lola anyway, but it doesn’t even ring, dropping the call over and over, along with my stomach, now nestled somewhere below my feet.
We get back on the highway with not another car in sight, likely because no one else would be stupid enough to drive in this. I keep having this feeling that my nervousness isn’t merely a result of missing my wife and some inclement weather. There’s something wrong.
I know it in my gut.
Chapter Seventy
TOO LATE
