My mom had been here?
He was pacing around now, looking agitated. He kept taking his cap off and rubbing his hands through his hair, his face stressed, like he was trying to figure something out. He wasn’t coming close enough for us to put our plan into action, and I was scared we weren’t going to have another chance.
He pulled his cell out of his pocket, punched in some numbers.
“It’s me,” he said. “I caught those two bitches snooping around, think they were looking in the garage.… No, they’re covered with a tarp. We should move the girls soon.… Come down when he’s gone.”
I remembered the yelling I’d heard. Was that my mom, trying to find us? I wanted to cry, thinking how close we’d come to freedom.
Gavin glanced at us. “Just a little longer, girls, then we’re going to set you up somewhere real nice.” He smiled at Crystal, then left the room.
We sat on the floor waiting for what felt like hours. Judging by the heat in the room it was now afternoon. What if Gavin didn’t come alone again? Brian had said they were going to move us in the afternoon. Would we be able to fight both Brian and Gavin? We hadn’t had water or food since the night before. Crystal was weak, and I was losing confidence with every minute that passed.
Gavin finally came in with some bottles of water. He gave me mine, then moved on to Crystal. I watched, my muscles tense, ready to break free of my bindings, but he stopped suddenly and stood straight, looking toward the door.
He walked over to the stereo and turned the music down. I shifted my body so I could see what he was doing.
Now I heard the noise outside. Sounded like a dirt bike or an ATV or something. Gavin leaned back against the dresser, lit a cigarette. He was watching the door, just waiting. It had to be Brian.
“You’re not answering your phone,” Brian said, walking into the room.
“I’m sick of you calling me every goddamn minute.”
“We had shit to talk about,” Brian said.
“So talk,” Gavin said.
“Let’s go downstairs.”
“I’m staying right here.” Gavin took a long drag of his smoke, then nodded at us. “We’ve got no secrets.”
“Fine, whatever,” Brian said. “We’ve got to get rid of the cars.”
“I’ve been stripping them.”
“That’s not fast enough. We have to hide them on the property. We can use the backhoe and bury them in one of the lower fields.”
“What about these two?” Gavin gestured in our direction.
“Change of plans,” Brian said, his eyes cold as he stared at me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
JAMIE
We took turns pacing and looking out the window, like the street might reveal something. I couldn’t stop thinking about those thuds.
“We should just go to Gavin’s house with your gun and force ourselves inside,” I said. “By the time the cop catches us, we’ll already have the girls.”
“What if they’re both there?” Dallas said. “What if they’re both armed?”
She had a point. “I know where we can get another gun.”
“Where?”
“Owen—his dad used to keep one hidden under the cabinet, remember?”
“Okay, but he’s not just going to give it to us.”
“Maybe he would. We have to at least try.”
“He could report us.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think he would.”
She took a breath and stood up. “Fine.”
*
We found Owen working at the bar. I looked around, saw a few people nursing their drinks.
“Hey,” I said. “Have a minute?”
“Sure.”
“Could we talk to you in private?”
Wiping his hands on a towel, he gave me a curious look. Then he called to the waitress at the other end of the bar. “Cover for me.”
We went into his office and he closed the door. Pulling out the chair from behind his desk, he sat. “What’s going on? Did you find them?”
“We’re not sure,” I said. “Look.” I took a breath. “I know you don’t really know us, but we need your help.”
“Okay,” he said slowly.
I glanced at Dallas, who was watching me. I turned back to Owen. “Could we borrow a gun?”
He sat straight. “What?”
“Gavin came by our hotel last night and threatened us. We know the girls are out at the ranch, but the cops can’t get a search warrant.”
“How do you know the girls are there?” He was frowning.
“We found two cars covered by tarps in their garage and we heard thudding sounds from inside the house.”
“And you need a gun because…?”
I debated lying. We could tell him we just needed it for protection, but I didn’t think he’d believe me. “We’re going out there and getting our girls back.”
“We won’t say you gave us a gun,” Dallas said. “We’ll say we stole it.”
He was shaking his head. “Sorry. No. You’re going to get killed.”
I leaned forward. “We are going with or without your help. But if you give us that gun, we might walk out of it alive.”