Noah has checked in run down bars and clubs and gone past all the places he used to frequent when chasing drug debts for Anton, and so far, he’s got nothing.
There’s a very real possibility that Kelly took off and is already out of state and if that’s the case, she could be anywhere. We could be wasting our time searching the streets.
“I’m going to try search out all of Kelly’s old friends and all the places she used to hang out while she was living here. You never know, someone might just know something.”
Dad disappears out the door before I even get a chance to tell him to be careful. It could be ages before I see him again and something tells me that he won’t be coming home until he has his daughter in his arms.
I feel as though we’re so out of our depth here. I could handle high school, I can handle bitchy cheerleaders wanting to take me down and trying to steal the man of my dreams with fake pregnancies, but kidnapping? This is so out of my league.
The only way to win this war is to fight fire with fire. We’re just kids from Haven Falls who only just graduated high school. Dad’s just a regular guy who sits in his truck all day, lying to himself as he takes another bite of his burger. And the cops? They are the people who have been trying to put away Anton Mathers for years and despite how blatantly obvious he is about what he does, they’ve never been able to catch him. What am I going to do?
We have no connections out in the real world. We don’t know where Kelly could have taken Ari or what she intends to do with her. There are too many questions that I can’t answer.
I need someone like my mother, like Gina Rivers who knows the ins and the outs of that world, but she’ll never help me, especially not after the last time I was there. She would have the contacts to be able to help find Kelly. Hell, she’s a smart woman, she probably already knows who Kelly is, but it’s useless. I couldn’t even try. Besides, she’s kind of busy being locked up and all.
Though, there is one person who could probably help me. One person who is dirty enough to know when shit goes down in this town. The one person who has eyes and ears everywhere.
Noah’s never going to forgive me for this, but if I’m going to fight fire with fire, then I need Anton Fucking Mathers and I need him now.
The only questions is; how the fuck am I going to find him?
I think back to everything I know about the guy as Violet sits beside me on the couch, staring off into the distance, lost inside her head, probably terrified of losing another little girl in her life.
It was less than twelve hours ago that I sat in Rivers’ beat up car, staring at a piece of paper that held so many answers. Tully had asked Noah if he knew the address and if it was Anton’s, he said no and explained that Anton lives on the other side of the tracks.
Remembering that, I put a plan into place. First, I need to get out of here and second, I have to figure out where the hell on the other side of the tracks Noah was talking about.
Technically, the second you cross the tracks, you head into Broken Hill territory and that means security gates, alarms, and bad karma.
Violet’s phone rings on the coffee table, drawing me out of my inner thoughts. I see Tully’s name flash across the screen moments before Violet scoops it up and answers the calls. “How are you doing, honey?”
Violet pauses a short while before glancing at me with a sad smile. “She’s holding up as best she can.” I instantly look away, hating the pity and heartbreak in her eyes.
Violet talks to Tully for a little while longer before ending the call and dropping the phone into her lap. “Tully’s eyes are getting a bit too heavy for the road,” she explains. “She’s going to head back here and then we’ll switch. You should think about getting a little bit of sleep so you’ll have fresh eyes if you need to go out looking tomorrow.”
“Tully’s coming here?”
“Yes, she doesn’t want you to be alone and I figured after that hit you took to your head, someone should keep an eye on you. Things are bad enough. We don’t want to risk having to take any trips to the hospital. God knows I’ve spent enough time in that place as it is.”
I couldn’t agree more but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s no way in hell I’ll be getting any sleep tonight. How could I when Aria is out there somewhere, scared out of her mind?