Page 243 of Things We Hide from the Light
Now or never. I had to time it perfectly or I’d never have the chance to tell Nash to his stupidly handsome face that I loved him.
The door to my hideaway yanked open and splintered against the exterior wall. I didn’t hesitate. As the flashlight beam swept over me, I gripped the wand and squeezed the trigger.
A gunshot rang out.
FIFTY-ONE
WHEN DID YOU STAB HIM WITH A PITCHFORK?
Nash
Afamiliar pickup truck squealed into the station’s parking lot, sending water everywhere as its headlights slashed across us. Knox got out and slammed the door. He strode up to me, his jaw tight.
“What are you doing here? You need to stay with Naomi and Way,” I said.
He shook his head. “I’m with you.”
“I appreciate that, but you need to keep them safe. Hugo could decide to move on them tonight.”
Knox crossed his arms. “Lou’s got two shotguns. Liza J dusted off Pop’s rifle. Stef is mixing drinks and handing out pepper spray. Jeremiah and Waylay are marching around with our old Little League bats.”
“You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Not without you and not without Lina. Call Naomi if you don’t believe me. This wedding only happens with us all.”
“Chief?” Grave appeared in the door. “Ford Fusion belongs to Mark Nikos. Guy leases commercial properties between hereand DC. He’s got a local address. Had it since this summer. Got two patrol cars swinging by his place now.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Grave.”
He wouldn’t be there and neither would Lina, so I wasn’t wasting my time dotting those i’s.
I turned back to my brother. “This is your shot at something good. You’re not fucking it up to play big brother. Not tonight.”
He gripped my good shoulder. “You had my back last time. You’re not going out there without me.”
“Looks like the three of us are goin’ to jail together,” Nolan said.
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. I pulled out my phone and dialed.
“What?” Lucian demanded.
“I need you to go to Knox’s and keep everyone there alive.”
“I have a security team en route.”
“Great. And now I need you to be there since my idiot brother is standing here in the parking lot with me.”
Lucian swore colorfully and I heard the telltale snick of his lighter. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
I heard a beep and looked at my screen.Naomi.
“I gotta go. I have another call,” I told Lucian and disconnected. “Naomi, I don’t have any updates but we’re doing everything—”
“Uncle Nash? I know where Lina is.”
“I seea redneck pickup with smokestacks and a gold Ford Fusion parked next to the barn,” Nolan reported. He was on his belly at the edge of the tree line, peering through binoculars.
Thanks to Waylay’s heads-up, we’d accessed the property through the woods, coming up behind the house and barn. The rain had brought with it a thick fog that lay like a blanket, making the property look ghostly.
