Page 78 of Captivating Anika
“I don’t know. I’m not sure where you get your information, but it’s wrong. I have no idea.”
It’s only now I realize he has a gun aimed through the window, pointing at my mid-section. I stop moving instantly.
“My brother says you know. You have no idea who you’re playing with here. They’re gonna kill him, they’re gonna kill me, and then they’ll come after you, if you don’t tell me where to fucking find her!”
This is the brother. Chris’s brother Bill Evans mentioned before.
“Look, I don’t know,” I repeat. “Like I told your brother, all I know is there’s been no sign of her for over a week.”
As I am talking, I notice movement from the corner of my eye, and struggle not to react when I recognize Mom sneaking up, carrying something in her hand. I want to yell out at her to stay back, but I don’t want to risk him taking a shot at her. Hoping to distract him, I keep talking.
“She’s not answering her phone, and her car was found abandoned at Lake Nighthorse. I don’t understand why you guys keep looking to me for answers.”
Before the last word is out of my mouth, the guy’s head abruptly jerks to the side, and his body crumples to the driveway.
Mom’s standing over him, a golf club raised over her head.
“Call 911,” she orders in a dead-calm voice, her eyes not leaving the man’s prone body.
But before I can even dig my phone out of the bag, I hear my voice called, and when I look up, I see Hog barreling up the driveway.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hog
“What the fuck?”
I barely manage to slam the truck in park and leave the engine running, when I leap out and run, yelling her name.
The first thing I noticed, driving down my street, was the FedEx truck parked at the foot of my driveway, which struck me as odd, since I’m not expecting any deliveries. But it wasn’t until I pulled up behind it, I took in the scene playing out in my driveway.
Anika’s mother is holding one of my golf clubs over her head, hovering over the crumpled form of a delivery driver, while Anika ducks between the car door and the frame, picking something up off the ground.
“I’m fine,” Anika says when I reach them, stepping away from the car with her hands raised, a plastic bag clutched in one, and a gun in the other.
I immediately reach for the gun, pluck it from her hand, and pass it straight to Bodhi, who caught up with me. Then I pull Anika in my arms, as Sumo—who rode shotgun with me—crouches down by the FedEx guy.
“Mom, drop the golf club,” Bodhi instructs his mother.
“Not on your life,” Nira answers, equally firm. “Not until the police get here.”
“Mrs. Jones, he’s out cold,” Sumo intervenes. “Cheddar is already calling 911.”
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” I grumble.
In a shaky voice, Anika explains this is not, in fact, a FedEx guy, but Cooper’s brother, still looking for Kim.
I immediately pull out my phone and call Evans directly.
“I went to grab something from my place and when I walked back out, the truck pulled up,” Anika relays.
My new, small house is packed. Nira is in the kitchen, making sure everyone is looked after, the boys are hovering around the food, and I’m sitting next to Anika in the living room, a law enforcement contingent across from us.
The ambulance came and went, taking the Cooper brother, with a police officer tagging along. The truck has been towed off and Livingston just finished telling us Cooper actually works for FedEx, although he has a more nefarious side job.
Evans, his partner, Jay VanDyken, and SAC Cruz Livingston stayed behind to take statements. I listen to Anika going over her story for the second time. Every so often, Livingston stops her and asks for more detail before letting her continue.
I’m about done with this. I can hear in Anika’s voice she’s fading fast, and with my arm around her, I feel the tension grow in her body.