Sweet Retribution (Rydeville High Elite #3)(88)

He frowns a little until I’m up close, and all the blood drains from his face. “You shouldn’t be here,” he whispers, looking frantically around as he fumbles with his car keys.

“I know you know who I am,” I calmly state. “And I’m not leaving without answers.”

“Go home, Abigail,” he whispers. “This isn’t safe for either one of us.”

“I want the truth.”

“They will kill me if I talk to you,” he blurts. “You’re Hearst’s daughter. You know how this world works.”

“It’s better if you come quickly then,” I say, producing my gun and discreetly aiming it at his body. “Before anyone notices.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the guys moving in our direction.

The keys slide from his fingers, hitting the cold ground. “They have spies all over town,” he pleads, a wild look appearing in his eyes. “They’ll hurt my family if—”

“Just get in the car, and drive through town as you normally would,” I say, nudging his hip with the gun because he needs a little persuasion.

“We’ll hide in the back seat,” Kai says, crowding him on the other side, “and our friends will be accompanying us in a separate car,” he adds, as the others hurry around the corner to where they parked the rental Xavier reserved for us in a fake name. “Pull any shit and you’ll be sorry.”

“Shit.” Strain is evident in the doctor’s stormy hazel eyes. “This won’t end well.”

“Get in the fucking car,” Kai snaps, losing his patience. “Before you get us all killed.”

He slides his long legs behind the wheel as Kai and I duck into the back seat, cowering on the floor, keeping hidden. I train the gun on him in case he tries anything. Even though the man seems as harmless as a fly, I’ve learned not to underestimate anyone. “I have my gun on you,” I say, because he can’t see from his position. “Try anything and I’ll shoot.”

“Where am I going?” he asks, a few minutes later as we reach the town border. “Keep driving straight,” Kai says, checking the map on his cell. “You’ll be taking a left turn about six miles ahead. I’ll warn you before we come to it.”

Deathly silence is heavy in the air as we drive toward our destination. I stare at Kai, and he holds my gaze, reassuring me with unspoken words.

“Call your wife,” I blurt. This guy is a creature of routine. The last thing we need is her calling the local sheriff when he fails to return home. “Tell her you went for a few beers with a couple old college buddies who are only in town for the night. Tell her not to wait up for you.”

His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “She’ll never believe it,” he says. “I’m a one beer kind of guy.”

“Well, then, tell her whatever you tell her when you’re up at Parkhurst late performing illegal operations on kidnapped patients who’ve been locked up against their will,” I snap.

He wets his lips as his finger hovers over the keypad on his cellphone.

“Put it on speaker,” I command.

“And don’t try to send her a hidden warning,” Kai adds. “Because we know where you live. Nice neighborhood up there in Linwood. I bet Missie and Callie love swinging off the climbing frame in the playground across the road from your six-bed six-bath two-story house.”

“Please don’t hurt my family,” he begs.

We would never hurt his family. Not in a million years. But he doesn’t know that, and he needs to believe they’re in danger, or he won’t tell us what we need to know.

“Cooperate and your family will be safe. Pull any stunts, and you put them at risk,” I say in a monotone voice devoid of outward emotion.

He makes the call, and we listen as he feeds his wife a pile of bullshit about why he won’t be home until late tonight.

“She doesn’t know,” I say when he ends the call.

“I’ve tried to shelter her from Parkhurst. My father did the same with his wife—my mother—and my sisters don’t know anything about it either.”

“What do the locals think Parkhurst is?” I ask.

“A large private pharmaceutical and medical corporation servicing high-end, wealthy clients.”

I snort. “Figures.” I’m sure they have covered their tracks well.

“Most people around here don’t pry because Parkhurst donates huge sums to the local community, and they’d hate to see them move out of state.”

We don’t talk after that until we get to the turnoff, and Kai directs him to the abandoned warehouse Xavier and Sawyer located in a neglected part of the outer suburbs. The guys are already there when we pull up.

“Stay put,” Kai warns him, snatching his cell and keys before helping me out of the car.

“What’s Drew’s ETA?” I ask as we approach Rick, Sawyer, and Jackson.

“He says he won’t be able to get away for a few hours yet,” Sawyer confirms.

I nod, expecting this reply. “Let’s get the doctor inside and make him sweat so he’s good and ready to spill his guts by the time Drew arrives,” I say, tossing a glance over my shoulder. Drew is taking a risk sneaking out of Parkhurst to meet us, but there’s no way he wants to miss out on this, in the same way I wasn’t taking no for an answer.