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Hayley prayed that everyone was okay.
Brian picked up the phone but crossed to the far side of the room before answering. Her sewing forgotten, Hayley watched his face as he spoke to whoever was on the other end, trying to decipher what was going on by his expression and the look in his eyes. But he was like a statue, betraying nothing of whatever was going on, and so she was forced to sit there, wringing her hands in her lap, and waiting until he hung up.
“Who was it?” she demanded the second Brian set the phone down.
“It was Ryan.”
“What did he want?” Hayley had to force herself not to hold her breath as she waited for his answer.
He hesitated, and that amped up her anxiety.
“Brian, what did Ryan want? I know it wasn't good news. Is it Kinsley? Sawyer? Maria?” Maybe Jay Turner had taken another go at his wife and ended up killing her this time.
“No, it’s not Kinsley, Sawyer, or Maria.”
“Then what?” Had there been an accident maybe? Something unrelated to this case? Arianna had been going to drive back from college today to spend Christmas with their family. Had her sister crashed her car or something?
Brian reached out and took her hands, gently prying them out of the death grip she had them twisted up in. He held onto them, his thumbs brushing absently across her knuckles. “It’s Arianna.”
“What happened?” she asked tightly. She didn't know what she would do if anything had happened to her little sister. They might not be biologically related, but they had been sisters Ari’s entire life, and she loved Arianna so much.
“Jay Turner must have figured out where your parents live, he was waiting outside their house. When Arianna pulled up, he thought she was you and tried to grab her. She told him who she was, but he decided to try to take her anyway. Maybe just to hurt her or maybe to try to force your hand and get you to give yourself over to him.”
Hayley just stared at him.
It was like he was speaking gibberish.
She wasn't sure how long she sat there, staring blankly at Brian.
Maybe seconds, maybe minutes, maybe hours for all she knew.
Then she snapped and the next thing she realized she was jumping to her feet and running toward the door.
Brian jumped up after her and caught her before she got outside, wrapping an arm around her, yanking her backward, and holding her tight against his body. “Where do you think you're going?”
“To Ari,” she said, struggling in his grip. She had to see her sister, she had to know that Arianna was okay.
“Your sister is fine. She screamed, spooked Jay, and he ran off. She’s not hurt, just shaken up. She’s with your mom and dad.”
Hayley didn't care.
She needed to see that with her own eyes to believe it.
“Let me go.” She squirmed, but Brian just tightened his hold on her.
“No. Don’t you see that’s exactly what he wants? He wants you to be so scared of what he’s going to do, or who he’s going to threaten to go after that you either just go to him, or you get complacent with your safety, and he can get to you. You’re safe here, and I'm sure your mom will make sure that Ari is safe too. This is where you need to be right now, and I'm not going to let you leave.”
With that, the wind was taken out of her sails.
Hayley still wanted desperately to go and see her sister, but the last time she hadn't listened to Brian and assumed that everything would be okay their car had been run off the road. She wouldn’t do anything to endanger Brian’s safety again. Besides, she suspected that Brian would handcuff her to the table if he had to to prevent her from leaving this apartment.
Tears came next.
In an uncontrollable flood.
Without loosening his hold, Brian turned her around, and Hayley buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
Why was this happening?
