“I don’t know, Z. This was a last-ditch effort. Wishful thinking. I can’t find her anywhere else.”
“They broke in?”
“I don’t think so. The door wasn’t broken. No one answered the door, so I used my key...” I trail off, watching both of their faces redden. “There was a struggle. But no windows were broken. And they locked the door when they left.”
“How do you know there was a struggle?” Z asks.
“I dunno, cause I played a cop for a decade.” They glance at one another sideways. “Goddamn it, you’re more than welcome to go over there and waste fucking time, or you could just fucking trust me.”
“Trust,ha!” Z says sarcastically. “As you’ve just lied to my face for a year.”
“For fuck’s sake.” I groan. “Ya know what, do whatever the fuckyou want. She’s not here, got it.” Turning around, I move the few feet back over to the bike.
“Where are you going?” Z shouts.
“To find your fucking sister.”
Kicking over and cranking the engine before walking it back.
I can hear them shouting at me, but I don’t give a shit what the reasoning is.
I’m not surprised when Z rolls past me on my left. He looks at me; nods to the right before pulling ahead and veering off the trail.
And there’s no shock when Zeke comes up behind me as the three of us park our bikes.
Yanking my helmet off, slamming it on the seat as I look over at them. “If you want to kill me, do it after I find your fucking sister.”
They both have the same look on their faces when I finish, as if they’re both trying to still their concerns.
“Let’s go inside.” Z tells me.
“What part of your sister is missing do you not understand!?”My throat burns as I glare at them, looking at him.
“Calm down.”
“No, you should be fucking panicking more.” My frustration with this whole thing boiling over the surface.
He sighs, nodding his head. “I am. I’ve just gotten better at controlling it than you.” He admits. “Everyone else is going outto look for her.” It eases me slightly. Especially as I hear the engines growing closer. We stand silently as they pass by, just staring at one another. “But I don’t fucking trust you. So it’s either we go without you, or we take 10 minutes to figure this shit out.”
“Fine, but we’re staying here.”
He says nothing at first, just walks past me and pushes the door open. “I have to get the keys, anyway.”
“Keys to what?”
“The van.”
“Why?” realizing I’m just now following behind him as he walks.
“Because it’s a little apparent what’s going on if 15 bikes roll up. Plus, taking bodies out is a lot easier in a van.” The calmness with which he mentions moving dead bodies makes me let out a sad chuckle.
As we step into the office, he reaches into the desk, pulling out a set of keys and sighs, stopping and looking up at me.
“What do ya want to know?” I roll my eyes as I feel Zeke step in beside me.
“How long?”
“10-ish months. Not really a clear timeline.”
