Page 90 of Pretty Threats

“Which Callahan did you tell?” When I don’t answer, he snaps his fingers impatiently. “At first, I assumed Aiden because he’s been getting into fights since we were kids, and now he’s a mob enforcer, right? But then, Alicia told me Killian was the one who questioned her. And about Killian’s infatuation with his little stepsister. I checked Killian out. It was him, wasn’t it?”

I stare at him, unspeaking.

He squats next to the box, inches away from me. His voice is sinister in its softness. “See, it’s the not knowing that drives people crazy. Families need to know what happened to the person they love.” He nods. “So, I’m going to let you choose what happens to your body.”

I shudder, glancing down at the rag and then at the handcuffs locking each of my wrists to an ankle. There is no way for me to break free to run. And if he tosses me in the water this way, I won’t be able to swim. I’ll drop to the bottom and drown.

My heart pounds so hard I feel every beat. My chest is like a cage for a wild animal.

Stay calm, I tell myself, though it’s impossible advice to take.

My gaze rises again to the moon. It’s night. By now, Marianne and Dad realize I’m missing. Will they have told Killian? Maybe not directly, but surely, he’ll have heard from someone. He may even have gone to Boston because I went so long without texting.

“I’m waiting,” Josh snaps, making me wince.

I don’t want to answer him. In a fair fight, I’m sure Killian would kill him, but it would not be a fair fight. Josh and Alicia planned this. And they know the Callahan brothers are dangerous.

As I look around, I try to figure out where we are. It doesn’t look like Boston. Or Foxgrove. It seems like we’re in the middle of nowhere. Woods. Private property maybe?

It doesn’t matter where, I tell myself, trying again to calm down. Killian will figure out where I am, and he’ll come.

“If you tell me everything you know and which Callahan killed him, I’ll inject you with fentanyl. You’ll drift off to sleep and stop breathing. No pain. In fact, you’ll feel better than you have your whole life. And I’ll leave your body in the surf, so someone will eventually find you. Tell me what you know.”

My eyes widen with fear as I stare at his face. At moments, he looks utterly calm and almost harmless. But when he gets agitated, his face twists and he looks deranged.

“I want the truth. And I want it now.” He slaps me.

It’s shocking. And painful as the shock wears off. I can’t even rub my throbbing cheek.

If he kills me and escapes, I don’t want him to target Killian or anyone else next. So, there is no way I’m telling him what I know. There’s only one thing I can think of to say to have things end with me.

“I killed him.” My voice sounds surprisingly calm. Almost tranquil. “I killed your dad.”

“You?” he says with a laugh. “I don’t think so. I know Killian knew. Did you tell any of the other brothers? Or did he?”

My next words emerge slowly at first, then tumble out more quickly. “Your dad broke his hand punching the wall when he was trying to hit me.” The lie sounds almost convincing.

“Don’t lie! I will close the lid and bury you alive. You’ll have hours to suffer as you slowly suffocate. And your family will never have a body to bury. They’ll never know what happened to you. It’ll be misery for them for the rest of their lives.”

“It was me.” I’m nodding now in a frantic rhythm. “I used a stun gun. When he was on the ground, I hit him with a brick and then pushed him into the water. And it was his own fault. He took me out on the boat to kill me. But he underestimated me.”

Josh stands and paces back and forth. “There’s no way that’s what happened. He would never leave you able to run around the deck wielding a stun gun.”

If he asks me where I got the stunner I’ll have no idea what to say. I’ve only seen them in movies.

Fear and the biting cold brings on intense shivering.

“Dad had chloroform. Where do you think I got the bottle I used on you tonight? There was a very specific way he liked things. The girl was unconscious or comatose during the act. If he took you out to sea, it wouldn’t have been just to kill you. He wouldn’t have wasted the opportunity. You were the kind he liked.”

“The kind?”

“You looked even younger than you were. Alicia’s friends were getting too old. With their big tits squashed into bras that pushed them halfway to their chins. Not you, though. You could almost pass for preteen.”

My, God. He knew his father was drugging and raping children? Did Alicia know, too? Had she been faking her skepticism and outrage?

“How long did you know what he was doing?”

“A long time.” There’s a faraway look in his eyes. Like he’s back in the past. “I was the first one he trained to bring kids home for him.”

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