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Of course she held out the hope that her twin had gotten away, that even now, Zoe was safe and directing the police to the cabin. But Chloe couldn’t count on it. No, she had to fight this monster if he ever came back.
Another fear wiggled snakelike through her brain. What if the freak never returned? What if he just left her here to die, to waste away in this dark, dank prison? What if he got killed and never gave up the location? And maybe Zoe wouldn’t recall where this crappy cabin was . . . oh, sweet Jesus. Her insides curdled at the thought.
Don’t go there!
But the dingy, moist walls seemed to shrink in on her and she knew that she’d go mad if she had to stay here much longer.
Find a way to escape. You’re a smart girl. Plan what you’re going to do and then execute. Literally.
Swallowing back her fear, she clutched the ragged fragment from the broken light and prayed she’d have the strength to take the bastard on, to actually kill the freak and find a way out.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Fear twisted her guts.
She wanted to fall back into her own weakness, into her position of being the shy and emotionally frail sister that she’d been for twenty-one years. It was a comfortable role. This new position of taking care of herself to the point of murder just wasn’t who she was.
Shut up! Don’t be your own worst enemy. You have to take him on, Chloe. Your life depends on it!
She was shaking, trembling at the thought.
Grow some damned balls!
Oh, geez, she nearly peed herself she was so scared.
You ca
“God help me.” Closing her eyes, she dug deep. Her i
CHAPTER 14
“Did you know Aria
“Not really. More like knew of her,” he said with a shrug.
Now he seemed uncomfortable.
She let the subject of Aria
For now.
Bria
When he seemed about to argue, she waved a hand. “I know, the information officer is probably just the mouthpiece for the department, but still . . .” She studied him more intently. “I always figured you’d end up, I don’t know, a cowboy, rodeo rider, maybe an Air Force pilot or something. Navy Seal? But, you know, something a little more dangerous, I guess, and physical. Certainly not a desk job.”
He tapped the tip of his bottle against her glass, then took a long pull. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“Just an observation.” She took a sip of wine, felt it slide easily down her throat, leaving a hint of cherries. Yeah, this was a good idea. Maybe. She held the stem in her fingers, watched the wine’s “legs” appear on the bowl of her glass. “I guess I just never thought of you as the buttoned-down type.”
“Buttoned down?”
“In high school, you were a little . . .”
“Edgy?” He took another swig of beer and she watched his Adam’s apple move just above his open collar. “One of those dark, sexy rebel types?”
“Oh, right.” Good God, was he flirting? Teasing? “Well, okay maybe.” Then she gri
“Mrs. Gillespie would probably die if she heard that Jase Bridges was a reporter,” he said. “Or, God forbid, hoping to join the police department.”
“Too late. I think she’s already dead,” she said, remembering the woman she’d considered ancient at the time, though Edna Gillespie had probably only been in her early sixties when Bria
His lips twisted into a sardonic smile. “She always told me that if I didn’t, oh, wait, what was it?” He paused, the beer halfway to his mouth, his brows arched for a second, then he snapped the fingers of his free hand. “I got it. If I didn’t ‘mind my p’s and q’s’, whatever the hell they are, I’d end up in prison or worse. Yeah, that was it. The dire warning.”
“Guess she was wrong.”
“Shhh.” He leaned closer. “Don’t let her hear you.”
She felt her heart warm to him and blamed it on the wine that was going down much too easily, her glass nearly empty. Nonetheless, she wasn’t going to let her thoughts be muddled by the semidark ambiance of the bar, or a glass of wine, or the fact that she’d always found this man intriguing.
“She didn’t much like me.”
“Always nice when a teacher is so supportive.”
“Well, I did give her hell,” he admitted, not appearing the least bit sorry. “It really pissed her off that I could cut class all week and still manage to pass her tests in Senior English.” Another swallow. “Come to think of it, I was a shit.”
“We all were, but,” she admitted, the wine making her bold, “my mother did warn us, me and my sister, about you Bridges boys. She claimed you were trouble.”
“She was right. Probably best to avoid.” There was something heavy in his words and he looked away.
“You knew Aria
A slight hesitation. “I’d met her. In a group. With my brother.”
“Mom would have grounded her for life if she’d found out.”
“We were that bad?”
“All boys were bad. You two?” She held up a hand and tilted it up and down. Maybe yes, maybe no. “Probably the worst of the lot.”
He laughed a bit, but it sounded hollow and the humor didn’t find his eyes.
“And it obviously didn’t work if Aria
The warm ambiance drained away.
“Again, don’t tell them about me,” he advised.
“No worries. Mom and Dad are gone,” she said. “She got cancer and he . . . even though he wasn’t all that old, just kind of wasted away and had a stroke.” She frowned at her glass. “I can’t help thinking the stress, you know, of losing a child, cost them years.”
He looked away for a moment, as if considering something, then said, “You know, since we’re talking about high school and all, I remember you.”
That surprised her. “I look a lot like Aria
He shook his head. “Not identical.”
“No, but close.”
“I could tell the difference.”
“Could you?”
“Mmm.” Nodding, he added, “I always figured you’d marry a rich man and sip mint juleps on the back porch of a huge mansion that overlooked a pool or a lake or whatever.” Another swig. “Something like that.”
“But you didn’t even know me.”
“Everyone knew you, Bria
She nodded, though his account was a slight misconception. The meager wealth in their family had come from her mother’s inheritance.
“So, I figured you’d go to college, find Mr. Right at a sorority dance or something. He’d end up being a lawyer or a doctor or maybe even a politician, and you’d settle down and have a passel of kids.”