She nodded.
“Now, I need your phone.”
Barlow spun her around and yanked her purse away. He riffled through it, his mouth curving when he produced the sleek silver device. He scrolled through it.
“These are incredible inventions. You don’t even have to call someone to communicate anymore.” His fingers punched the small screen.
“What are you doing?” she asked, panting.
“You’ll see.” Barlow slid her phone into his pocket. “Now, we’re going to drive. If you do anything, Jill dies. In an accident, of course.”
Her ribs tightened, the first warning of a panic attack. She steeled herself. She couldn’t let that happen. Not now. “Where are we going?”
Barlow took her arm, his hands sweaty. “Shut up. Don’t make a wrong move as we leave.”
His car was out back. She studied him as he drove east, taking them out of town. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes looked mean. Maintaining control took effort, but she managed to do it. She needed to.
“How could you do this?” she said after awhile.
“God! Why do people always want to know? Look. We didn’t plan any of this. What happened to Jemma was shit luck.” He tapped the steering wheel in jerky movements. “If she hadn’t died, we wouldn’t be here. Fucking heart murmur!”
“And Ray?”
“Damn kid got nosy. Grew a conscience. It was his fault he went off the road. We just wanted him to leave town.”
The tap, tap, tap of his fingers continued as he drove, the sound hitting her like a hammer. How could they not see they were to blame? Anger grew into rage. “What could be worth this?”
He snarled at her. “Money! You wouldn’t get that, would you? Driving your brand-new Audi after a stint in the big city. Do you have any idea how much money we’re getting from the pot Kenny’s buddy sends us from Afghanistan? It’s laced with some strain of opium. I don’t understand the chemical crap, but it’s untraceable in most drug tests. Our sales were up thirty percent!”
No wonder Gene hadn’t found anything. Her stomach quivered. “I see.”
“You just had to get Gene curious with your questions, didn’t you?” His tapping continued to beat in time with her racing heart. “Yesterday, I heard Gene had ordered a more advanced drug test. Kenny and I knew we had to move fast.”
“We didn’t tell Gene anything!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll switch the drug tests if he finds anything new.”
Thank God he didn’t know about Peg’s tests. Her hands clenched in her lap. She looked out the window. They were heading into the mountains. Where in the hell he was taking her? Where did they have Jill?
The car swerved when Barlow took the turn too fast. He braked hard, tires screaming. She breathed slowly, suppressing a panic attack.
“What did you do with my phone?”
Barlow gripped the steering wheel and barked out a dark chuckle. “I texted your boyfriend. Told him you’d found something.”
She gripped the seatbelt, her lungs burning now. “He won’t come.” Oh, please let that be true.
“Fuck that! He wants to take us down so bad he can smell it.”
Sweat rolled down her back. “He’ll think it’s odd I texted him.”
“No, he won’t.” Barlow turned onto a mountain trail coated with packed snow. The four-wheel drive chimed when he hit the button. “You didn’t spend the night at your parent’s house because you’re talking. Of course, your asshole boyfriend had to come save the day. Kenny was going to cut your brake line too.”
Ice slid down her legs. “He’s a regular Boy Scout,” she agreed in a daze, the sunlight harsh on her eyes.
“Well, you got a reprieve. But today’s another day.”
The car bounced as it hit the ruts, snow crunching under the tires. Two gleaming snowmobiles caught her eye. Barlow pulled to the end of the road.
“Tanner will come. It’s obvious to everyone in town he’s nuts about you. Now get out. And remember what I said about Jill.”
She opened the car door, scanning the area. Where is she?
He marched forward. “It’s time for us to take a little ride.”
“Where are we going?” Ice-cold dread squeezed her throat.
He pointed. She glanced across the sparkling expanse of the snowy basin at the menacing rock wall that was locally dubbed “The Great Wall.” The towering shadow of Thorn’s Peak pierced the ocean blue sky. She shivered when the wind thundered in from the west, shaking the pines like they were fragile Christmas ornaments.
Her gut bubbled with fear. “But that’s Killer Pass. Only idiots go up there this time of year.”