Another door slamming shut and I strain to hear anything that could help me. Sounds of cars passing on a highway, conversation, anything, but once again nothing.

They’ll expect me to fight when they open the door. They’ll be prepared. I’ll go limp. Be heavy. Hit them when they least expect it.

A steady tingle of fear in my blood and my mouth dries out—they’ve been out of the car too long and I can’t decide if these extra few minutes are a gift or a curse.

Warm air swirls in as the door near my head opens. I work at keeping my breathing steady and try to ignore my pulse that’s beating hard in my ears. They would assume I fell asleep, could possibly believe I still am. Let them lower their defenses. They’ll find out soon enough I bite.

The urge is to breathe out slowly for calmness, but I don’t. I don’t want to die. Not like this. Not today. I don’t want to die in a worse way. I don’t want to be hurt. I don’t want to be defiled. I don’t want...

A gentle touch against my forehead, my hair being swept away. My throat thickens and the blindfold is removed, but my eyes remain shut.

“Abby.”

My eyes shoot open and my breath is caught in my chest. It’s Logan. Two swift heartbeats. Logan found me. I struggle up, but the seat belt keeps me in place. “Be careful. There’s two of them and they’re with Eric.”

Logan reaches over and undoes the seat belt and my head whips in the other direction as Isaiah opens the other door and swears.

“They tied her up,” Logan says in a low tone.

“We got to keep this steady.” But there’s a wildness in Isaiah’s eyes that can mean pain for the people he’s pissed at.

I breathe out, but then I’m filled with dread. My best friend and the boy I care for are here and I’m putting them in danger. “You shouldn’t have followed.”

Isaiah undoes my feet as Logan undoes my hands. They’re calm, solid, moving methodically—unhurried and I feel like I’m about to explode out of my skin. “We’ve got to hurry.”

Logan holds his hand out to me. I take it and he’s careful as he helps me out of the car. It’s dark. So incredibly dark. Black like I’ve never seen. Our only light coming from the interior cab light and then the lights blaring on us from another car—from Isaiah’s car.

I edge closer to Logan as I search for Eric’s boys, for our way out of this scenario. Logan cups my face with his strong hands and studies the wound on my head and then moves my shirt to the side to check out my bullet wound. “Are you okay? In pain? Did he hurt you?”

I shiver despite the warm summer night and wish Logan would start to run. “They could come back.”

“We’re right here,” Eric’s voice says in the night.

I circle toward Eric’s voice and Logan slips an arm around my waist, bringing me closer to him and Isaiah’s Mustang. Shifting of movement everywhere and the game pieces are all in play. Eric and one of his guys are near their car. Me, Logan, and Isaiah across what I wish was a canyon.

Eric assesses me and not in his typical dirty way. “I tried to make you comfortable.”

The jacket over me as I drifted. I quickly glance at Logan and Isaiah, hoping they can catch me up on all that I’m missing, but they keep their attention glued to Eric. They aren’t poised to strike, but they aren’t lowering their defenses, either.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Eric shoves his hands in his pockets and looks right—he’s right-handed and that makes his following words feel like a punch to the stomach. “I owed you—for keeping me safe. Now, I don’t owe you anymore.”

“You kidnapped me.” I lunge, but Logan’s arm tightens, keeping me from going forward.

Eric shrugs. “I gave you the option of easy, you didn’t take it.”

“Did you forget that you had me shot?”

Eric shakes his head like he’s disgusted. “And they say you’re smart. Think it through. There are hundreds of times I could have taken you out over the years and I didn’t. Explain to me the benefit of killing you.”

Exhaustion creeps up on me and I hate having to lean into Logan. His body is warm and strong and he runs his hand along my side as a silent I’m here. I keep having to rely on this boy, and each time it just makes it harder to let him go again.

“Explain things to me,” I whisper to Logan.

“Eric came to me and Isaiah,” he mutters back. “Said he had you, that you were in danger, and that if we wanted to keep you safe to meet him here.”

“Where’s here?” I ask.

“We’re at the hiking trails parking lot for Jefferson County Forest,” Eric says. This means we’re still near Louisville. “You need to get out of town, Abby.”

“Why?” I demand, but a sinking sensation similar to falling from a cliff informs me I already know the answer, and it’s not one that I want to face.

“We were ambushed that night—in the alley. That was Ricky trying to make a move. Won’t lie, he made some serious cuts, but he didn’t take me down. What happened to you in the alley—I didn’t order that, and my boys were too busy trying to save themselves to worry about hunting down someone belonging to Ricky’s crew.”

I slow blink, thinking of the guy who had begged for his life. The guy who had cried. My throat tightens with the memory. “You could be lying.”

“How the hell would any of my guys know where you were at in order to shoot you? And even better—why would I go after Mozart’s daughter? He may be in prison, but when it comes down to it, he still has reach.”

I don’t know if Dad still does or doesn’t, but I remain silent on that. “You were following me. It’s why I went into the alley.”

“With Linus in tow and then you two disappeared and we started getting fired upon.”

“My side wouldn’t take a shot at me.”

“Well then, you’ve got a problem because I didn’t shoot you.” Eric looks me straight in the eye and his body language backs up everything he says. “I didn’t order anyone to shoot you, none of my guys shot you, and you don’t have a traitor in your mix—at least not the kind you need to be worried about. What you do need to be fretting over? Figuring out who in Ricky’s crew has it out for you, why, and how deep the betrayal goes.”

“Why go after me now? Why help me at all?”

Eric stays silent, never breaking his connection with me. He works his jaw for a moment then says, “How well do you know your boy Tommy?”

Tommy was there...Tommy was hurt...Tommy is the one person Linus would have trusted to tell where I was at... “What happened to Tommy tonight?”

“He ran,” Eric states. “In the opposite direction of you. Makes you wonder where he was leading you since you two were pleasantly alone. Just my opinion, but you’re Linus and Ricky’s pet and they love having you around. Must suck for Tommy to be second-best all the time.”

Must suck, indeed.

“Way I see it, you’ve got two options to survive. You disappear and never come back or you figure out who’s true to you in your family and then ask Ricky to clean house. But you need to know, Tommy’s been spreading rumors about you—saying the shot cracked you mentally. You go to Ricky on Tommy, is Ricky going to believe you haven’t melted down?”

“You’re playing me,” I say. “Trying to make me question my own side.”

“You saved me once, and now I’ve saved you. We’re even and what happens to you after this isn’t my concern. Anyhow, good luck. You’re going to need it.”

Eric closes the door to the back of the car and when he opens the front passenger side, I ask, “Let’s say any of this bullshit is true, what do you want out of this?”

Because even though Eric claims that this is to repay a debt, I know Eric better than that. He’s not that good of a human being.

That sly smile that’s all Eric slides across his face. “Since you asked, I’d appreciate it if you mentioned to your daddy that I saved your ass and then tell him thank you.”

“For what?”

“He’ll know. Take care, Abby. It’d be a waste if you really did die.” And with those parting words, Eric eases into the car. His bodyguard does the same and the taillights glow red as they drive away.

Logan

The sound of a cell buzzing causes me to stir out of a dream. I roll over in the sleeping bag, grab my cell and read Ryan’s message: Just stopped for groceries. We’ll be there in twenty.

Several more messages are below Ryan’s and I must have been dead to the world not to hear my cell. I scroll through and pause long enough to check out the ones from Mom and Dad. Both are sorry how we left things at the hospital. Both want me to text when I make it to Chris’s grandfather’s farm.

Dad thought I woke up early before he got home and left. I did go home last night, not to sleep but to pack. Abby fell asleep in the backseat and that gave me a good opportunity to leave Isaiah in the car with her and pack without prying eyes.

Group text to both Mom and Dad: I’m here

Dad responds back individually: You’ll need to test more often