Page 97 of Shadowed Witness

Allye tried to track what he was saying. Blackmail? Was that it? “Whatever they’re holding over your head, we can figure it out. Even if you’ve done something illegal, it can’t be as bad as being an accomplice to murder.”

His jaw worked. “Believe me, if it were only that, I’d take my chances. But they—they threatened to kill Hailey and Jenna if I refused to bring you.”

She gasped.

He broke eye contact and gave a pitiful shrug. “It’s you or them.”

She struggled to pull air into her lungs. Were Hailey and Jenna actually at risk? If so, she couldn’t blame Wesley for choosing his wife and baby. She’d take their safety over her own any day. But would they ever be safe as long as these guys—whoever they were—had Wesley under their thumb? How long until they leveraged that threat again to force him to do something? Or harmed one of them to make a point?

“Those aren’t your only options, Wes.” She had to make him see that. “If we get out of here, we can work together to bring these guys down and make sure they can’t hurt anyone.” She let the words hang between them and sent up a silent prayer that he would listen.

Precious seconds ticked by. Finally, he took a deep breath and glanced at Bernie then back to her. “Maybe—”

The sound of tires on gravel interrupted him. Wesley’s gaze shot to the front window. He stood and took a few steps toward it. His body went rigid as a car door slammed. Less than a moment later,the cabin door opened. A shadow fell into the room, but Wesley blocked her line of sight.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Bernie said from the kitchenette.

“I had business to attend to.”

Allye recognized the voice as the newcomer stepped into view.

“You?”

43

Eric’s mind raced as he drove awayfrom the festival and farther into the country. He was following Dion’s directions, and he prayed the teen knew what he was talking about.

“You’re sure this is where they’re taking her?” he asked again.

“Yes. Right before he got in her car, Bernie told one of his guys to meet him at location five.”

He hoped he was right. As Dion directed him down another road, he radioed backup with the update. He’d be first on scene, but help would be close behind.

“What kind of place is this?” He needed to know what they were heading into.

“It’s a cabin, like for hunting. It’s right on the edge of the woods.”

Most of the properties around here were on the edge of the woods, but not all of them had hunting cabins.

“Is there a house nearby?”

“Not within sight.”

“Okay. How many rooms does this cabin have?”

“I dunno. I’ve never been inside. One of the other guys brought me out here once to pick up ... stuff.” Even though they’d already established that Eric knew he’d been involved in dealing, Dionstill hedged around actually saying the worddrugs. “I stayed in the car.”

Eric glanced at him. The boy was risking everything to help save Allye. Eric didn’t like taking him with him into danger, but he had little choice. Dion’s knowledge of the drug ring’s locations was their only hope of finding Allye quickly. And while Dion was confident he could get them there, he didn’t know the address or street names.

Their only other recourse was to get a warrant to track Wesley’s phone—and that would only help if Allye was still with him and they were in range. Eric knew in his gut that they didn’t have time for that.

“Turn here.”

Eric slammed on his brakes to avoid missing the turn. He noted the street name and called it in.

“We’re close. Don’t go too fast. The turn in is hard to see.”

Please keep Allye safe. Let us reach her in time.

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