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I hang up the phone and tell Adam we’ve got an address. He’s out of his chair and through the doorway before I can even ask if he wants to go.
“I’ll update everyone on what’s going on,” Dad says from behind us. “Be careful, guys.”
I nod at him before leaving the house with Adam. We get into my car, and I have Adam give me instructions on where to go.
“She’s going to be fine.” Determination rings through Adam’s voice. “Your dad was right. She’s a fighter, and she won’t give up just because this asshole managed to sneak up on her.”
“What if she isn’t there?” My grip is tight on the steering wheel, turning my knuckles white. I’m doing my best to keep my hope in check. The disappointment may crush me if she’s not okay.
“Then we’ll keep searching until we get her home. No matter how long it takes.”
We’re silent as I drive, worry blanketing the car and keeping us both in our heads. With dusk settling in, the trees lining the two-lane road feel ominous. A heavy weight settles in my gut the closer we get to Michelle’s house. We’re one step closer to finding Sara, but it doesn’t feel like this is the end of the nightmare.
Flashing red and blue lights bounce off the trees down the long driveway. I start to slow down my car, unsure of where to park, when a figure comes striding out of the woods on the other side of the driveway.
“Fuck!” Adam yells, opening his door before I can stop the car.
Sara’s brown hair is a mess around her head, a bruise is forming around her eye, and her clothes are disheveled. She’s a mess, but she’s never looked better to me. I throw the car into park, jumping out without even turning it off. Adam and I run toward Sara before she gets to the road, but someone grabs her from behind, yanking her back from the road.
Sara’s yell makes my stomach drop to the ground. There’s a knife glinting at her throat while Michelle’s arm is wrapped around Sara’s shoulders.
“Come any closer and I kill her,” Michelle says, her tone calm and determined. Her threat is not an idle one.
Adam and I both hold our hands up in surrender, freezing on the side of the asphalt. We’re only feet away from Sara, and I’ve never felt like she was further away from me. “What do you want, Michelle?”
“You to leave.”
Adam glances at me, silently communicating he’ll go find Cooper. I nod at him, then turn my attention back to Michelle. She’s cooing in Sara’s ear, something about how they can still be together and not to worry. She doesn’t even notice that Adam’s no longer standing there.
“Can you at least put down the knife?” I plead. My whole body is tight with tension as a small bead of blood pools around the knife tip.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on your way back to Greensboro?” Michelle’s question throws me off for a minute.
“Why would I go back to Greensboro?” I glance at Sara, and her steady gaze on mine is enough to allow my body to lose some of the tension. It’s hard to remember how strong Sara is sometimes. My protective instincts want to push her behind me while I take the blows, even though she’s fully capable of handling herself.
“I caught your little tryst with Rebecca, Ben. You’re just a snake who hoodwinked my Sara into dating you. You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m not dating Rebecca behind Sara’s back,” I respond, my gaze locked on Sara despite answering Michelle’s question. I need her to know I’m with her all the way. “I’m in love with Sara. She has my whole heart in her hands.”
“You lie! You don’t love her like I do. You can’t protect her like I can,” Michelle screams.
“Michelle, you’re hurting Sara right now.”
“She deserves it. She tried to run away from our family. You don’t get to do that without punishment.” The knife digs a little deeper into Sara’s neck. She hisses in pain as blood streams down the column of her throat.
“Okay, okay.” I hold my hands up with my palms out, trying to keep her calm.
Michelle’s wild eyes fixate on something over my shoulder as feet pound across the pavement.
“Michelle, put the knife down.” Cooper’s authoritative voice rumbles across the ditch.
Desperation starts to leak out of Michelle, her gaze bouncing between the deputies surrounding Cooper. “No. We’re supposed to be a family.”
“I understand, Michelle. I do. But holding a knife to your sister’s throat isn’t the answer,” Cooper says, putting his gun back into his holster. I want to scream at him to take it back out, to keep Michelle in his sights, but I have to trust he knows what he’s doing.
“Sara, are you okay?” Cooper asks.
“I’m okay, Coop,” Sara responds, her voice even, calm. Something passes between them, a silent communication no one else is privy to.
