Page 157 of Distress Signal
“I didn’t ask to be assaulted anddrugged,” I hissed.
“And I didn’t ask to be held prisoner in thisThat ‘70s Show-looking basement for months, but here we are.”
“Are you okay? Did he…” I trailed off, the thought too horrible to voice out loud.
Lainey shook her head. “We’ve got ourselves a jailer with a conscience and a relatively straight moral compass, all things considered. Says he won’t touch me until I ask.”
“Which you never will.”
“Bingo.”
“We’ll be out of here soon,” I promised.
“I hope you’re right,” Lainey said. “Because now thathe”—she pointed toward the ceiling, where I could hear our captor moving around upstairs—“has both of us, I’m afraid we don’t have much time.”
“Who the fuck is this guy?”
“His name is Lyle Tucker.”
The name tickled my brain, but I couldn’t figure out why. Did I know anyone with that name? I didn’t think so, but something about it seemed familiar at the same time.
“Tell me everything,” I breathed.
Before she could, though, the door at the top of the stairs creaked open, and heavy footfalls landed on the steps, descending toward us.
I hadn’t known what to expect—after all, I’d never been abducted before—but it hadn’t beenhim.
I’d never known his full name, but I knew exactly who he was.
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed, shooting up and rushing toward him, only to be yanked back by the shackle around my ankle. I landed hard on my stomach, the air leaving my lungs in anoof.
“Hello, Reagan,” he grinned. “Welcome to the Tucker farmhouse.”
Tucker.
Tuck.
Tuck, Crew’s co-worker at the firehouse.
Tuck, who had come to my rescue after my accident—the onehecaused, I now realized.
Tuck, who I’d danced with last night—before he attacked me in the dark the second I was alone, drugged me, and chained me up here.
Everything started clicking into place.
The notes, the message on my mirror.
“You attacked Aria,” I gasped in horror.
“In my defense, I thought she was you,” Tuck explained. “Seems strange Finn fell for a woman who could so easily pass for his sister, but I guess I have no room to judge.” He glancedpointedly between me and Lainey. “I am also not immune to your allure.”
“I will fuckingkillyou,” I seethed. “Of course, if Finn doesn’t get to you first.”
He grinned, a boyish expression that made it even more difficult to look at him as someone capable of harming me and my sister. He was afirst responder, for crying out loud. Had dedicated his life tosavingpeople.
“Your little boy toy won’t be a problem,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “We’ll be long gone before they figure out I’m the one who took you.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
