“Eliza Abner.” He shook his head back and forth. “I never thought I’d have problems with an Abner again.”
“What?” I blinked in surprise.
“I guess I should have known that meddling just runs in your family—it’s in your blood, I suppose.” He leaned back and opened his jacket, pulling out a rather large cigar.
My blood? What?
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I took a step back.
“Oh, you don’t know. Interesting.” He put the cigar in his mouth and lit it. “I thought that’s what this was all about—your parents.”
“My parents? What do you know about my parents?” I felt my stomach souring even before the disgusting cigar smoke burned my nostrils.
“A great deal, actually. But that’s not why you’re helping the Andersons, so…” He nodded and puffed his cigar. “That means you must be in love with one of them.”
“Tell me what you know about my parents!” I grabbed the bars again.
“Nah.” He stood up and straightened his jacket. “I know all I need to know now. Enjoy the next ten days.”
“Asshole! Don’t you walk away!” I shook the bars with all of my strength, but all they did was rattle.
“Just like your father, you’re going to learn that you have no power here.” He grinned and winked—a wink that was immediately burned into my soul forever.
27
Hudson
“You need to stay in bed, don’t get up.” Preston put his hands on my shoulders as I tried to stand.
“Eliza is missing! I’m not staying in bed!” I pushed Preston back, but felt a pain that sapped my strength immediately.
“And I’m going to find her.” Preston sighed and held out his hands. “Please, she wouldn’t want you to try to play hero when you can’t even fucking walk.”
“I got something.” Dad ran into the bedroom holding his phone. “She was handing out fliers in front of the grocery store and she got arrested by Sheriff Tate.”
“That son of a bitch!” I started to stand again. “Let’s go get her.”
“Son, you really don’t need to travel.” Dad stepped forward and took my arm to make sure I didn’t fall.
“I don’t give a fuck.” I grabbed my clothes. “You can either help or get out of my fucking way.”
“I’m obviously not going to leave her at the police station, but I’d rather not have to drop you off at the hospital on the way.” Preston sighed and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about me—worry about Sheriff Tate.” I growled under my breath. “If he hurt her, he’s going to be the one that gets admitted to the hospital.”
I felt some of my strength returning as I got dressed and started walking. I was a little disoriented, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Dad and Preston helped me walk when I stumbled, and the adrenaline did the rest. We climbed into Preston’s truck, despite them trying to discourage me the whole way, and headed downtown. They pleaded with me to stay in the truck, but I was too angry to just sit there and wait. The lingering fog had begun to dissipate a little bit, and I felt better than I had felt laying in bed—although I was certain I would pay for the excursion when the adrenaline wore off. None of that mattered—the only thing that mattered was getting Eliza back. As soon as the three of us stormed into the building, Sheriff Tate came walking out to greet us.
“Ah—the Andersons.” He chuckled. “What can I do for you three today? Hudson, you don’t look so good.”
“Fuck you, Tate.” I took a step forward. “Where’s Eliza
?”
“She’s in jail where she belongs.” He scoffed and chuckled again. “She’s a criminal.”
“A criminal?” Preston’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Mayor Stevenson passed a new ordinance this morning. She violated it. She’ll be spending the next ten days hanging out with me.” A huge grin spread across his face.