Page 144 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
Chapter Forty-Nine
Anthony
The SUV’s tires eat up the empty road. My palms leave a slick layer of sweat on the steering wheel.
I try Bobbi again. Get her voice mail again.
Panic drums in my chest. Harder. Faster. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What the hell happened to Bobbi? If she’s down…
God. Ivy.
A bitter, acidic taste coats my tongue. I swipe my hand across my mouth.
I slam on the brakes when I reach Edgar’s home. I jump out, electrified with adrenaline and fear.
“Ivy! Bobbi!” I yell even before I hit the foyer. I scream their names again once I’m inside.
No response.
I dash past the empty parlor, empty kitchen. No signs of struggle. Nothing out of place. Only the sound of the dishwasher running disturbs the dead silence of the house.
Did Ivy trust Sue Ellen? Did they go somewhere? Shit. I should’ve warned Ivy about that bitch, that she’s Mrs. Caleb Wentworth now.
The gun room’s empty—every weapon still on the wall. I go to our room, while calling out Ivy’s name.
No. Not in the bedroom or the adjoining bath. Not in the closet.
Bobbi’s room is also empty. But the sound of running water comes from the bathroom. What the hell?
I hurry in there. Bobbi is lying in the tub on her side, wrists handcuffed behind her. Her ankles are also cuffed, and linked to the ones around her wrists with a third pair of cuffs. Duct tape covers her mouth. The stopper’s in the drain, while the water’s running. She won’t be able to breathe in the next few minutes at the most.
Jesus. Just what the hell happened? Who overpowered Bobbi like this?
And Ivy.Terror ices my gut. Gotta stay calm. If I panic and lose it, nobody will help Ivy.
I pull out the stopper, cut the water and yank the tape off. “What the hell happened?”
The skin around her mouth is bright red. Her eyes are unfocused. “That bishh…! Er frien drugged ush.”
“Where’s Ivy?” I bend down to see if I can get her out of the cuffs. They’re sturdier than they look. Probably real police equipment, not some junk you can buy on the Internet.
“Not in the oush?”
“No.”
Bobbi is rallying quickly. Her eyes flash with fury. “That bish took her then. It wash the tea.”
“What tea?”
“She brought thish tea. We all had some. Her too, wish is why I didn’t think it wash tainted.” Bobbi scowls and works her mouth. “Should’ve known better.”
Dread claws at me, and I beat it back. Gotta think. Figure out what happened to Ivy.
No Sue Ellen or Ivy anywhere. Didn’t see any signs of tea as I went through the house. Somebody cleaned up. If Sue Ellen drank it too, there had to be a partner to help when she went down.
Caleb. Has to be.
“I need to get you out of these cuffs.” I can use Bobbi. Drugged or not, a pissed Bobbi is a scary Bobbi.
