Page 104 of Hold the Line

“You better not leave me here, Richie.” I bounced in the chair, scooting it across the filthy floor. “If you go after her, I’m not going to be here when you get back.”

He whirled around to look at me, then twisted back to the door, torn on what he should be doing.

I scooted and bounced the chair to draw his attention to me. Hailey needed more time to get off the compound, and I was determined to do anything to give it to her.

“You said yourself you only need one of us,” I reminded him. “Call Deacon. Tell him you have me. Your brother loves me. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep me safe.”

A flicker of uncertainty passed through his eyes.

Good.

I just had to keep him here long enough.

“Fuck,” he muttered, pacing a tight circuit near the door. “Fine. We’ll play it your way. Besides, it’ll take Hailey all day to walk back to town. By then, it’ll all be over anyway.”

He narrowed his eyes, pinning me with a hard glare as he placed his gun on the table. “Are you going to be a good girl, Phoebe Kelly?” He picked up the end of my braid and methodically wrapped it around his fingers.

“I’ll cooperate.”

He let my braid unravel. “Let’s call my brother then.”

Chapter Forty-three

Deacon

WhenIfirstnoticedPhoebe was running late, I chalked it up to her getting caught up in conversation with Hailey or Linda. That wasn’t uncommon, but she should have been at Joy’s thirty minutes ago.

Nursing a Coke, I checked my phone again. No response from her yet. A sense of wrongness sat heavy in my gut.

Across the bar, Caleb Kelly leaned against the scuffed wood, his broad frame relaxed as he sipped a beer. He caught my eye, lifting his bottle in acknowledgment.

I slid off my stool and walked down to him, leaning an elbow on the bar, my phone clutched in my hand. “Have you heard from Phoebe today?”

“I haven’t.” He twisted his stool to face me. “Is she supposed to be meeting you here?”

My phone vibrated against the counter. A number I knew too well.

Richie.

I exhaled through my nose, rolling my shoulders back like I could shake off the weight of my brother’s name. I let it ring. Hearing from Richie was the last thing I needed.

“Not gonna get that?” Caleb asked, watching me over the rim of his bottle.

“It’s my brother.”

He nodded in understanding. That was all the explanation I needed to offer.No onewanted to talk to Richie.

Caleb put his drink down. “What’s going on with Phoebe?”

My phone began vibrating again. Richie’s name on the screen sent ice down my spine. It wasn’t unusual for him to call more than once if I didn’t answer, but stacked on top of Phoebe’s absence? Yeah, I was troubled.

“She’s late and not answering her phone,” I muttered, staring at the screen. A split-second decision had me swiping to answer. I lifted it to my ear. “Richie.”

“There you are, Deke. I was beginning to get worried you were ignoring me.”

“I’m trying to. You’re not making it easy. Is there a point to this phone call?”

“Oh yeah. Listen to who I’ve got here with me.”

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