Page 107 of This Blood That Binds Us
I moved forward to pat his shoulder. “Just take care of them, okay?”
He smiled and reached in to hug me briefly. “See you later?”
I patted him on the back, fighting the lump in my throat. “Hey, it will be so quick you’ll hardly know I’m gone.”
We moved away, and I nodded before turning to my car. It was too much to think about. I didn’t let myself ponder for more than a second.
Twenty minutes from the park, a small dirt road led to an opening in the trees. A complete dead end. There were no lights and no cars around.
From my years of watching crime movies, I knew I was walking into a trap. “Come alone” always means there’s someone waiting to kill or torture you. I just didn’t have any other options. To my surprise, there was no convenient stroke of genius that happened seconds before I arrived. I had no plan. No stroke of luck. No fancy way to talk my way out of this.
I arrived at the address with my heart in my throat. My heartbeat felt fifty pounds heavier. I flung the car door open and stepped out into the green grassy area. My headlights illuminated the night in a limited space. I searched for any sign of movement.
“I’m here. Just like you wanted!” I didn’t let the fear show in my voice as I took another step. “Come and get me!”
Only silence answered.
“Kim...are you out there?” I walked closer to the trees, trying to peek behind the branches.
It was strange walking alone. With each step, it occurred to me I had never had to feel true isolation. What I wouldn’t have given to have one of Zach’s classic. “Hey, asshole, get behind me” lines.
As minutes passed, my nervousness faded as I wondered if I was in the wrong place. There was no way I could have typed it in the GPS wrong.
I sighed and turned back toward the car. When it swung open, I stopped.
“Sorry, I’m late.” William watched me with a wicked smile, seated and leaning over my steering wheel. “You’re alone, smart boy.”
I didn’t have time to think before he touched my hand.
My eyelids wereheavy as I fought past my disorientation. I blinked a few times until my vision focused on an ugly piece of art on the wall. It was colorless, just like the gray wall it was hung up on. I was in a small room that reminded me of a funeral home with an old, faded carpet. The strange scent of dead flowers and wax cleared my brain fog. I had no idea where I was or whose ugly painting I was staring at. The smell of rain was faint in the air, and my clothes were just barely damp.
Finally, my senses came back, and my eyes landed on a patch of red laying on a cream couch a few feet in front of me.
“Kimberly!” I sprung up from my chair and ran to where she was draped across the couch.
Her heartbeat was identifiable, thundering. It was beautiful music to my ears. The best sound in the entire world.
I breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed at her side. A joyful relief washed over me as I stroked her hand. “I’m so sorry. I’m going to get you out of this. I’m going to fix this. I promise.”
She was breathing peacefully. A bandage wrapped around her hand and forearm with a tinge of blood coming through the cloth. My stomach dropped, and another lump settled in my throat.
What I feared most had happened. I lost control. I hurt her.
“Oh, you’re up! It took ya quite awhile.”
William’s voice was laced with arsenic as he entered the room, looking like a combination of a school professor and zombie killer. His thick-soled boots crunched the dirt on the hardwood floors and matched his plaid waist coat. “Don’t worry. She’s fine. I can assure you the only marks she has are from your dirty work.”
“What is this?” I got up and stepped in front of her.
His eyes scanned me up and down. “I’ve finally got you in a place where we can talk.”
“I’m here, just like you wanted. Now, can you please let her go?”
“Please? It’s a little early to start begging. You’re not so tough now without your big brothers.” The menacing air compounded around him, and I could tell he was sizing me up.
I was in no way prepared for a fight. I had to stay calm. Talk my way out of it.
I opened my mouth to say something witty.
