Page 51 of Her Crew

I rush down the motel steps, hoping against hope that Tegan is actually with Tye. He’d keep her safe.

My knuckles rap on the metal door, and maroon paint flakes to the ground as Tye pulls it open.

“Where’s Tegan?” I ask as I push past him.

“What do you mean?”

I turn to look at him. “She didn’t come here?”

Tye’s face pales. “No, I thought she was with you. She’s always with you.”

“Except this one fucking time.” I swipe my hand down my face.

“What’s going on, Ace?”

“Fucking Delia. She sent the picture to Stacks before she even tried to seduce me. She told me if I slept with her, she wouldn’t send it, so I sure as fuck didn’t think she sent it already.”

“Oh god. Do you think Stacks has her?”

My heart drops because that is almost certainly who has her.

“We’re about to destroy our careers over this girl, I hope you know that,” I tell Tye as I rip open the door.

Tye is right behind me. “He’ll be lucky if we don’t destroy him.”

We bum-rush Stacks’ door, but no one answers. That’s when I stare into the parking lot and realize the worst has happened.

“The van is gone,” I say.

Tye’s gaze whips to the blanket of dark asphalt. “Fuck. What now? Do we call the police?”

I shake my head. “The police don’t care about drifters like us.”

So instead, we do the only thing we can. We wait in the shadows beside Stacks’ door until he returns. It feels like hours, but I don’t think sixty minutes pass before the van pulls into the parking lot again. Stacks’ keys jangle in his pocket as he walks toward his room. They move into the lock and twist, and just as he opens the door, Tye and I charge him and push the man into his room.

“What the fuck?” Stacks yells as he smacks against the wall. He goes to grab his gun from his belt, but I twist his arm so that Tye can disarm him. “Ow, ow!” he says, but I don’t let up.

“Where is she?”

“Who?”

Tye sends his knee into Stacks’ nuts. “You know who! Where the fuck is Tegan?”

“She’s not in this crew anymore. And neither are either of you after this shit!”

“Tell us where you took her!” I growl in his ear, but he only shakes his head.

Tye aims the gun at Stacks’ crotch. “Where is she?”

“Fuck you!” Stacks says through gritted teeth.

Tye cocks the pistol.

“Wait, okay, okay! I brought her to one of the national parks!”

My jaw drops. “You dumped her in the forest? Are you fucking kidding me?”

It’s low. Even for Stacks. He’s dumped people on the side of the road, but at least there was a road. Civilization. He dumped Tegan in the middle of nowhere.