Page 60 of Along for the Ride

My eyes dart around. I see only trees, smell nothing more than nature and blood. Blazing anger sears my insides until I’m a boiling kettle of rage. I’ve never felt such an insurmountable sense of loss. Of emptiness. This is the exact fucking reason I’ve always been so guarded. I shouldn’t be allowed to feel such strong emotions because it makes me fucking homicidal when I’malreadyhomicidal.

Karson’s feral smile fades when he reaches the car. “What’s the matter?” he asks.

“Leana is gone.”

“She probably ran—”

My glare hardens. “No, Karson. She’s fucking gone.”

“Wait, what?”

“There’s blood. They pulled her out of the car!”

“Who’s they, G?” he asks as he takes a cautious step toward me.

“You fucking know who. And it’s your fault.”

I whip out my pistol, and Karson takes several steps backward.

He raises his hands. “Gentry, wait!”

The terrified gleam in his eyes almost makes me laugh because Karson hasneverfeared me. My rage usually inspires him to poke and prod and make me angrier. But not this time. I can only imagine what I must look like for him to step back like a scared little animal. Like the things we catch and kill.

I level my barrel at his face. My finger wraps around the trigger, and everything in me tells me to do it. To kill him. His finger has depressed the detonator on every single fucking thing in my life that’s blown up on me. This is all his doing.

“You did this, Karson! You! If you hadn’t called George and told him Leana was with us, none of this would be happening right now!”

“G, it wasn’t me! I swear.”

“Who else knew she was with us, Karson? Who else would have called George?”

He licks his lips, the wheels spinning in his mind as they struggle to gain traction on an answer that will lower my hand. “The guy she was with,” he says, his eyes widening. “The guy before us. She was dope sick when we picked her up, so maybe that guy has connections to George’s druggie side jobs. Maybe they’re working together on this.”

His words almost make sense. I can understand her ex going to great lengths to get her back.

“Think about it. This hit wasn’t a mistake. It was a fucking setup. And I know where they might be,” Karson adds. “George has a warehouse about an hour from here. I’ve only been there once, but I think I can find it again. Let’s go there and get the truth. If I’m lying, you can kill me then.”

I lower the gun. “Get in the fucking car.”

We load into the SUV, and Karson just stares at me as we turn onto the road. “Are you going to kill me if we don’t find her?”

My fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “Yes, and there’s a good chance I’ll kill you evenifwe find her.”

He throws himself backward like a child. “Then why should I bother helping?”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll cut off both of your hands, put them in a prayer position, and shove them so far up your ass you’ll be shitting Hail Marys for a goddamn year.”

That’s enough to shut him up, and aside from offering some directions, he doesn’t speak again. That’s a good thing. If I discover he’s lying, I’ll be forced to silence him permanently.

ChapterTwenty-Five

Leana

Tape strangles my wrists, and I breathe used air beneath the heavy black sack on my head. I’m in the back seat of some luxury car that smells like expensive cigars, money, and warm leather. A hand lands on my thigh, and I jerk my leg away with a growl.

“Vicious one,” someone says beside me.

I recognize that voice. It carries the same low, authoritative tone that told Gentry to get rid of me. Well. Fuck.

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