She Can Hide (She Can #4)(79)

A shove on his shoulder spun him around. Joe had a knife in his hand. Derek’s bladder almost gave out. Joe picked up a roll of duct tape. Yanking some loose, he slapped a piece over Derek’s mouth. Light glistened on the blade as Joe gestured toward a straight-back chair. “Sit.”

Derek shuffled over on shaky legs and dropped onto the seat. He strained as Joe taped his wrists to the armrests. Next, he secured Derek’s ankles to the chair legs.

“Fucking hold still.” Joe backhanded him across the face.

Pain rocked Derek’s cheekbone. Blood filled his mouth. Dazed, he looked beyond Joe, at his mom. From this angle he could see her chest rise and fall. The movement seemed slow and shallow. A darkening bruise and swelling colored the side of her jaw. She was alive, but for how long? They’d seen too much. Joe wouldn’t let them go.

“Eventually the bitch has to come back.” Joe went to the window and moved the blinds an inch. “Oh, there she is.” He turned. A crazy grin split his face. “She’s hiding behind the shed, and it looks like she’s all alone.”

Panic tumbled through Derek’s chest. Ethan had been with Abby before. Where was he now? Had he left? He and his mom couldn’t do a thing.

With his text, Derek had called Abby right to Joe.

She couldn’t face Joe alone. He’d kill her. Derek pulled at the tape binding him to the chair. He’d strained hard enough when Joe was securing the binds that the tape wasn’t super tight. He rocked his forearms back and forth. His skin burned as the adhesive moved. The silver tape didn’t break, but it did stretch just a little. Could he loosen it enough to slide his arm out?

“What are you doing?” Joe roared. He cocked his fist and punched Derek in the side of the head.

Derek’s head snapped back, and agony rocked his temple. He couldn’t hold back a whimper.

“Shut up. Christ, I hate kids.” Joe pressed the point of his knife into Derek’s cheek. “If I didn’t need your sniveling, sneaky little ass, I’d slit your throat right now.”

Blood and tears dripped down Derek’s face. Joe’s eyes brightened. He was getting off on Derek’s suffering and fear.

Out of the corner of his eye, Derek saw his mom stir. One arm moved a couple of inches. Her eyes opened and blinked several times. Focusing on Derek, they widened with alarm and anger. She rolled to her stomach and belly-crawled toward Joe.

“Don’t you hurt my son!” Her shout was raspy. On her hands and knees, she grabbed his ankle.

“You’re awake.” Joe turned on her. A kick to the head sent her sprawling. “Move again and I’ll cut out his tongue.”

She cringed, falling back, her muscles giving out from hopelessness or weakness, maybe both.

He ran the knifepoint along Derek’s jaw. Derek’s face burned as the blade made a shallow slice.

“Fuck. Maybe I’ll just do it for fun.” Joe ripped the tape from Derek’s mouth.

His mother screamed and launched herself at Joe. He kicked her again, his boot making solid contact with the side of her face. She flopped backward, unmoving.

Eyes glittering with excitement, Joe bent over Derek. With one hand, he grabbed Derek’s jaw and wrenched his mouth open. In his other, he clenched the knife.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Don’t point.” Ethan concentrated on acting casual. “Don’t stare at the ground either. He might be watching.”

“And you think he’ll run?” Abby kept her voice soft.

Ethan barely heard her over the sound of sleet pinging off the shed roof. “Don’t you? Those prints are fresh. Obviously, he saw us and took off.”

Abby frowned.

Ethan read her mind. “It’s not you he doesn’t trust. It’s me. I’m the one who sent him to foster care.”

“You didn’t have a choice.”

“You and I know that, but Derek is twelve.” Regret hardened Ethan’s heart. “I just wish he would have trusted me.”

Abby’s purse buzzed. She reached into the outer pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “It’s a text. Oh my God. It’s my number. It must be Derek.”

Ethan took two steps and stood beside her. “What does it say?”

She pulled off a glove with her teeth and pressed OPEN. “Mr. Sheridan’s house.”

“Who’s Mr. Sheridan?” Ethan tracked Abby’s gaze to the split-level catty-corner to her yard. The footprints in the slush pointed right at the fence between the properties.

Abby’s mouth twisted into a thoughtful frown. “Mr. Sheridan doesn’t close his blinds. He likes to see what’s going on all the time.”

Every window on the back of the house was covered.

“Are you sure?”

“He is getting old and a little forgetful, but he’s still the busiest body on the block.” Abby sent Derek a return text. WHERE R U?

“Let’s not take any chances. His house would be the perfect place to watch for you.” Ethan whipped out his phone and called for backup. “They’re on the way, but there’s a pileup on Route Six. Plus, the roads are covered in ice. It’s going to be a little while.” He pocketed his phone. “Did he respond?”

“No.”

“I’m going to check it out.”