Page 6 of Unchained

“Who hurt him?” My curious question comes flying out of my mouth, expressing a trait my brother has always said will one day get me into trouble. And by the sharp look the man shoots me, it just did.

“His stepfather is a bad man.” The boy’s mom looks down to her son, the worry lined on her brow as she hugs him closer. “But we’re never going to see him again.” Her eyes come back to mine, and I see it in their depths. Her fear is burning bright. And if I turn them into the police, she’ll be arrested for aiding and abetting a convict, and then her son will be given back to his father, or equally as bad, sent to live in state care. Neither of those options is sitting well with me. Having grown up in the system, I know it’s the last place I’d ever want that boy to be. He should be with his mother.

“Where is his stepfather?” I ask, trying to put all the pieces together.

“He’s in Kirkland,” she says.

That’s less than an hour away. Talk about a ritzy area to live in. Kirkland has the most expensive real estate in the state, which means the man has money. And when money speaks, bad things can happen.

“I don’t know what to do.” The thought filters past my mouth by mistake.

“Please, just give us a few days here,” the woman speaks, pleading with me. “Then we’ll be on our way, and you’ll never see us again.”

I look up toward the convict, feeling uneasy under his penetrating stare. “No one is coming for a showing,” I reveal the truth, hoping I’m not making the biggest mistake. “Please don’t hurt me. I want to help.” He’s tucked the gun away and only has my phone in his hand, but he’s still looking at me like I’m his next victim.

“Why would you help us?” He steps closer, forcing me to tilt my head back. He truly is a big man. Tall, muscular, and unnervingly terrifying. “Why should we trust you?”

That’s a good question. One my brother would be posing if he was here. But there’s only one answer driving me at the moment.

“Because I grew up in the system, and I don’t want that for him.” I meet the convict’s stare head-on, keeping my voice strong, though I’ve never felt more intimidated in my life. But my brother has always said, you never show the criminal your fear, they’ll eat you alive and use it against you. “I’ll remove the key from the lockbox, although I highly doubt anyone will come by. Mr. Brinkley lives out of town, so you won’t have to worry about him checking on the place.” And my boss is in Hawaii so that gives them ten days.

“Thank you.” The woman steps forward, wedging herself between me and the one who still may not let me out that door. My goal is to get to safety and then I can think of what I need to do. Of how I can protect the woman and her son, but not let a killer run free.

“Thank you so much…” She pauses, waiting for my name.

“Emberly,” I tell her, though maybe I should’ve made up an alias.

“Thank you, Emberly. You have no idea how grateful we are. We won’t damage anything. And we’ll leave it cleaner than how we found it.”

“You going to phone the cops as soon as you walk out that door?” The surly man closes in again, as if the woman isn’t standing between us. I take a step back, needing some breathing room. Everything about him is intense. My stomach is a nervous wreck.

“I think the appropriate response is thank you,” I state, shaking off my nerves, trying to exude confidence so he lets me go.

His brow cocks up, like he’s not buying my act for a second, but then the woman elbows him in the gut. “Thank you,” he seethes through gritted teeth, and I’m positive he thinks I’m full of shit. I need him to trust me.

“I’m doing this for them. I want to make sure they’re safe.” I look toward the boy who’s once again hugging his mother tight, and the look on his face pangs my stomach with worry. “Now, can I have my phone back? I need to let my boss know that we have a rat problem, and this place can’t be shown until I have it exterminated.” It was probably a poor choice of words given the angry look he hits me with, but that’s exactly what I’m going to tell Mike. Just in case that investor he showed the place to changes his mind and wants another look.

He holds my phone out, and I take it from him, shooting off the text to Mike before I hold it out to prove that they can trust me. As much as I’d love to call my brother up and ask for advice on how to handle this situation, he’d have this place surrounded within minutes and this woman’s worst nightmare would come true. I’m going to have to figure this out on my own. Decide if I can live with my immorality if I don’t turn in this convicted killer.

“The lights work, but I wouldn’t use them if I were you. This place has been abandoned for years and if someone sees them on, they’ll call the cops. Water isn’t on, so you won’t be able to use the toilets.” That leaves me wondering what they’re going to do for food and drink. But I guess they’ll figure it out. The less I’m involved, the better. Because if they’re caught, I certainly don’t want to go down as an accomplice. The fact that I’ve already lied to my boss is bad enough. “My boss won’t be back for ten days. That’s how long you’ll be able to stay here.”

I probably shouldn’t have told them that. The sooner they move on, the sooner I’m free of making a decision.

“You have no idea how grateful we are,” she says again. “We can’t thank you enough.”

I tip my head, looking at the boy again and trying to reassure myself that I’m making the right decision by not phoning the police. One look at his worried eyes and I know I am. I turn and walk right back out of the house. Holding my breath as I try to keep my pace even, strong, praying he doesn’t change his mind and kill me. I get in my car and lock the doors, still unable to breathe.

I start the car and start to drive away, leaving the sign down in the yard. My sole focus is to get out of shooting range. Once I get to safety, I can figure out what to do. God, I still can’t breathe. His eyes are still haunting me.

CHAPTER 6

Trevor

As soon as her car pulls away, I turn toward Shay. “We need to get out of here. That girl was feeding us bullshit just so I wouldn’t shoot her.”

My sister’s panic-stricken face punches me in the gut. I saw the relief in her eyes. I knew she wanted to believe everything that girl was saying, but I could see right through the lies. She was saying what she needed to in order to survive.

“I think you’re wrong, Trev. I think she really wants to help us.”