Page 93 of The Thinnest Air
If I call them and tell them Ronan took me and that I have no idea where I am, Ronan will catch wind of it. He’s a clever man. He’s connected. He’s probably listening to scanners every second of every day when he’s not here, keeping his nose to the ground. He’ll know before they have a chance to assemble a search party or put out an APB. He’ll be forced to run, which means he’ll either take me with him or he’ll take my location to his grave.
I take a seat on the edge of the bed, and my left arm throbs. I press the phone against my forehead, trying to go over my options. I’m sure my mother’s with Andrew. I don’t have Allison’s phone number memorized—or anyone else’s for that matter.
Except Harris.
We haven’t spoken in months, our last conversation not going too well. He was angry with me for staying with Andrew, accusing me of wasting his time all those months. I saw his point, but I couldn’t swallow my pride.
We ended the call and subsequently terminated the odd little pseudofriendship thing we had going on. It’s been radio silence ever since.
If there’s one person I can count on to be away from the media frenzy, away from the shit show in Glacier Park, it’s Harris.
I punch his number into the phone, the thick buttons lighting with each press.
My heart beats in my ears, whooshing between each ring. Biting my lip between my teeth until I taste blood, I’m 99 percent certain he’s not going to answer. For all I know, it’s four in the morning in New York, and he’s sound asleep.
“Hello?” His voice crackles over the line. He sounds far away—fitting, I suppose.
“Harris.” I clamp my hand over my mouth, afraid to smile, afraid to get my hopes up too high. “Oh, my God. Harris.”
“Meredith?” His voice is clearer now, louder. “Where are you? The whole fucking country’s—”
“I don’t know.” My voice shakes. “Ronan took me. Ronan McCormack. He was a detective in Glacier Park. He took me, and I have no idea where I am. I woke up in this cabin. He tied me up. The windows are boarded. I—”
I realize how simultaneously hopeless and insane my situation sounds the second I breathe life into those words.
“Stay on. I’m going to call the police,” he says.
“No. Don’t. He’ll know. He’ll move me. Or he’ll run. And he’ll never tell anyone where I am.” My words ramble on, frantic and frenzied. “I’m sure he’s watching everything going on in Glacier Park. That’s why I didn’t call Greer. He’d know. And I don’t want to put her in danger.”
“Okay, let’s calm down here,” he says. I imagine him sitting up in his bed, sliding his glasses over his perfect nose and flicking on a nearby light. “We’re going to get you out of this; we just need to figure out how the hell to get to you. Is there anything you can tell me about this cabin?”
Exhaling, I glance around the room. “It’s small. Dated. I think it’s an old hunting cabin? I can’t see the outside. All the windows are covered. My wrist is tied to the bed, so I can’t leave the room. I found this satellite phone in the bottom of a desk drawer.”
“There’s a desk?”
“Yes.”
“What else is in there?”
“Oh, my God.” I sit up straighter. “Mail. There was a bunch of mail addressed to a Jack Howard. Maybe he owns the place?”
“Get me an address.”
Sliding off the bed, I return to the dresser, rifling through stacks of old paperwork. “There are dozens of addresses. It’s like this guy never sat still. There are probably at least ten of them.”
“Read them to me.” Paper rustles in the background.
“What now?” I ask after I’ve read them off.
“I’m going to find you,” he says.
“We have to keep this quiet. Don’t tell the police. Don’t tell Greer. If Ronan so much as suspects, this isn’t going to work—”
“Mer, don’t worry.” His voice soothes, even if only for a few seconds, and it’s like our falling-out never happened. “I’ll be on the next plane. I’m going to find this Jack Howard and go from there. Just ...”
He doesn’t finish his thought. Maybe he’s realizing for the first time that he doesn’t know everything about everything.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to call you again,” I say, glancing around the room and realizing what I’ve done to it. I’m going to have to put this back together and pray to God Ronan doesn’t realize a single thing is out of place.
