Page 77 of Hitch
Proof.The word sinks into my stomach.
Proof.Like a photo caught on a digital camera.
Proof.Like secrets kept locked in a hidden basement.
Find his weaknesses,Todd had said.Everyone’s got secrets, right?
“Listen, I’m just watching out for you,” Todd says. “We both want what’s best, right? And Duane’s not a good person.” The phone’s speaker scratches, and I swallow a dry gulp. Something isn’t right, but I don’t knowwhat.“You gotta look out for yourself, Secret. And right now, you need to think about how to make it out aliveandon top.”
My chest tightens and images of Duane flash in my mind. Holding a gun to my head. Chasing me through the cornfields. Fucking me through a hole in the wall as the bathroom stalls collapsed on top of me.
You’re nothing but a set of holes for me to use,he had said.
Then the memory of Duane on his knees, waiting to die, dominates the rest.
I’ve always believed that I couldn’t look out for anyone but myself, but now, it’s different. Like I need to look out for Duane. I’ve got this gut feeling that Todd is about to hurt Duane, and I can’t let that happen.
I won’t.
“Todd?” I ask cautiously. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t worry about me,” he says coolly. “Just stay quiet for now. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
The phone call ends, and I swallow, my fingers nervously tapping my sides as I try to figure out what to do. I should stay quiet. I should wait until this blows over. I should be running away from everything related to Grainswept Fields right now. They’re bad people, and Duane is the worst of them all. But my heart pounds in my chest because I know it’s not that simple.
Duane was convinced that I was blackmailing him, and hestillwouldn’t kill me. And now I know why.
Because Duane respects me.
Because he loves me.
And I can’t let anything happen to him.
I dial Duane, but the call goes straight to voicemail. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I can’t let this go; I have to do something now.
I grab my purse from the kitchen table, and my mom sits up in her seat.
“You just got here,” she says. “Where are you going?”
“I—” I start, but I don’t know how to explain it to my mom. If she knew who Duane really is, she’d tell me to run away. To stay away from everything. To protect myself. Just like Todd told me to stay quiet.
But Ican’t.Not when Duane needs me.
Love may be an emotion. It may not be real or tangible, but whatever it is, it matters right now, because I love Duane just as much as he loves me. And if I let him get hurt, I won’t be able to forgive myself. Not when he’s done so much to protect me.
“There’s something I need to do,” I say vaguely. Mom raises a brow, but I don’t bother to explain. I get in my car and cross my fingers that it can take me all the way to the farm.
Chapter26
Duane
The moon isfull above us, but the heat is trapped along the ground, swallowing us up like steam over a stew. Todd and I take turns shoveling the last bit of dirt over the scraps of meat and animal bone.
Sweat and grime lace our skin, and Todd’s usual pristine button-up shirt is covered in dirt. He stabs his shovel into the ground and leans on the handle. His lips move, but I don’t hear a word.
The sky is brighter over Stockton, as if a beacon of light is shining right out of the center of the city. I doubt Reggie is there, and it gives me comfort to know that she’s smart. She’s long gone by now. The woman likes looking for trouble, but she knows better than to stick around a place like this.
“Duane?” Todd asks.
