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She had so much to be concerned about it was hard to take her pick.
Not like it mattered, Bill had a one-track mind. He’d obviously do whatever he wanted without a thought to her concerns. “I’m worried about a lot of things. What about you? The police know what you did. They won’t stop until they find you.” She kept her voice calm and hoped the rain beating against the car drowned out the sound of her pounding heart. Bill fed off of fear. She couldn’t let him see the shaking of her hands or hear the terror in her words.
“The police are idiots. No way they’ll figure out where we’re going. And once things die down a bit, we’ll come back for Nora.”
She chewed her bottom lip—there was no safe way to get out of this situation. No way she’d blindly follow along with whatever plan he had up his sleeve, and definitely no way she’d ever let him get his hands on Nora. “Will Patricia Teller meet us?”
Bill glanced her way with wide eyes and a clenched jaw. The car lurched to the side, and he flew his gaze back to the road, tore his hand from her knee, and righted the wheel. “What do you know about Pat?”
Marie’s heart slammed up her throat, and she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths before she opened them again with steeled nerves. “I know she’s in on whatever you and Eddy were doing. I know she’s the reason you’re here.”
Bill curled his hands harder around the wheel and made the car go even faster. “She’s an idiot. I never should have listened to her—should’ve stayed in Jackson Hill. Now I’m knee-deep in the mess she started.”
Curiosity egged on Marie. Owen’s comment came back to her. Patricia lived in their area a long time ago. “Why now? Why wait all these years before reaching out to you with her hair-brained idea?”
“My old man walked away from her like he walks away from everyone. Wanted something bigger than what they were doing in Gatlinburg. Pat could get most of the supplies from the school but didn’t know how to mix them and couldn’t risk selling. She thought she’d get the last laugh on my dear old dad, bring in his son, and increase sales at the same time.”
Understanding dawned on her. No wonder Owen couldn’t find information about Patricia’s ex. If she was involved with a criminal, she’d make sure there was no trace of their relationship. “And you couldn’t resist the opportunity to do something better than your dad. But why make me come with you? Why hold my mom’s crimes over my head and force Nora and me to stay?”
“We’re meant to be together. The way you’ve always taken care of my mom, of your family. I’ve loved you my whole life, and now we have a little girl to take care of.” The tenderness in his voice took her by surprise.
Anger ripped through her. “You love me, but you made me leave my family then abused me and ignored your child. How do you even dare call that love? That’s called kidnapping.”
Bill swung his gaze to her and snarled. “I needed to show you I was the one in control, not you. I was the one with the power. If you’d just let me love you, shown me you wanted to be with me, I wouldn’t have had to be so forceful. I took you away from a crappy life and wanted to give you a better one. You’re too stupid to realize that.”
Pure rage shook her limbs. She would not be his victim any longer, would not let him make her doubt who she was and what she was capable of. “You are an abuser,” she said through clenched teeth. “None of what you did to me was my fault.”
The pounding rain intensified, smothering the windshield. Terror clutched Marie’s heart. She glanced out the window. A flash of water swept over the road. She squinted, trying to make out their location. A flash of yellow whizzed by. Was that the library? “Oh my God, the bridge is ahead. You need to slow down.” Screw being calm, she yelled the words over the din echoing through the car.
“You need to shut your mouth.”
The rain slowed enough for Marie to see clearly through the windshield.
“See,” Bill said. “It’s slowing down. Everything’s fine.”
The bridge came into view, rushing water churning below and crashing over the narrow lanes. Small rapids gurgled on the river, pushing faster and faster. The river was high—too high. Water flooded the road.
“You can’t go over the bridge. It’s not safe.” Panic rose her voice an octave. She searched the car for something, anything, to help. She glanced at Bill and grabbed his forearm. “Please. Stop the car.”
Bill pushed his foot to the floor and the car lunged forward. He shook off her hand from his arm. “Don’t be dramatic.”
She clutched the side of the door. She pressed her foot against the floor, as if she could make the car stop with an imaginary brake. The car barreled toward the bridge, Bill refusing to slow down. The tires slid along a patch of water and the back of the car fishtailed.
Marie gasped. “Take your foot off the gas. You have to slow down!”
“Sonofabitch.” Bill yanked the wheel to the side, causing the car to spin toward the side of the road facing the edge of the river.
Marie tensed all the muscles of her body. “We’re off the road. Stop the car. Now!”
“Shut up.” Bill yelled over the beating rain and the spinning wheels. The tires gained traction on the muddy grass on the edge of the road and shot forward.
A scream ripped from her throat as they bounced on the uneven terrain and the car smashed into the frigid water.
21
Maire shot her arms in front of her, bracing herself against the impact. Her seatbelt pushed against her stomach. Water seeped into the car, soaking Marie’s feet and raising to her ankles.
She squeezed the door handle and pushed her body against the hard metal door.
