I held the knife out, and she took it, eyeing it curiously as she pulled the blade out of its casing. She pressed the tip of her finger against the point as she eyed her reflection in the blade.
“I don’t think I can.” She shook her head.
“You won’t have to either. Bryce is going to kill himself.” I drove off the exit ramp and traveled a few more miles down the road before pulling into a Best Western parking lot. “We should have a plan tonight.”
Nodding, she unbuckled her seat belt and pushed open her door.
I paid for a room, dying to get her alone, but there was work to be done, and I needed to know exactly where Bryce and his family were now.
The room was larger than the others we’d stayed at in the past, with a love seat and small table for two. The walls were beige and all the furniture white, including the comforter on the king-size bed. Ella kicked off her shoes, dropping her bag on the couch. She pulled her purse strap over her head, dropping that as well.
“We should figure out how the day will go tomorrow so there are no surprises.” She nodded, pulling the clip from her hair, my eyes lost in the dark waves. I dropped my bag on the floor and grabbed the hotel note pad and pen from the nightstand beside the bed. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about being inside Ella. It was time to feed the other monster first.
I dropped the note pad on the table beside her. I needed an address and directions. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she sat down on the chair, her leg bent underneath her. I gripped the back of the other chair as I watched her write.
“How did you get this?” I grabbed the pad and read over the address.
“Bryce liked to talk to me…after.” She cringed, and I struggled to not go after him right now.
Grinding my teeth, I forced myself to keep my composure for Ella’s sake. “What did he say?”
“Ryder, you don’t want to hear all that.”
Sinking to eye level, I placed my fingers under her chin and forced her to look me in the eye. “I want to know everything he did to you so I can make sure he gets it worse than he ever gave it.”
“He would talk about the things he wanted to do to me, these sick fantasies he saw online. He was going to take me to a place he rented down in Redmond.”
“He doesn’t have any properties in his name.”
“It’s a place a bunch of guys pay for, and they each get a few weeks there a year.”
“A time-share?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped, and I dropped my hand to her leg, rubbing over the bare flesh.
“It’s okay. You’re doing good. What about these other guys? Have you ever met them?”
“No. He never got the chance to take me there. I ran away after I ended up in the hospital.”
“Good girl.” I was dying inside but thankful that Bryce’s friends never got their hands on Ella. “You’re a fighter. I love that about you.”
Her eyes widened, and I immediately regretted my choice of words, but as her cheeks tinged pink, I couldn’t help but smile.
“I wasn’t very good at fighting, hence the hospital.” Rolling her eyes, she adjusted in her seat.
“I promise you Bryce won’t win his next fight. He will pay for what he did.”
“I’ll just be glad when this is finally over.”
I swallowed against the sudden dryness in my throat. Ella didn’t know what this being over would entail, but hopefully it would give her some peace, and she’d be able to move on. She deserved to be a wife and mother, never having to look over her shoulder.
“Soon.” I feigned a smile, desperate to keep my mask in place, but it was slipping. I’d never shared so much with anyone, not even Katie. I was too ashamed to tell her about my father, afraid she’d leave me. “But I need to make sure I have all the information you have, okay? We’re almost done.”
Standing up, I stretched and reached for her hand. She slid her fingers over my palm, and I pulled her to her feet. I grabbed her bags from the small love seat and sat them on the floor before sitting down and pulling her down next to me. She turned her back to my side, leaning against me and keeping my arm around her waist.
“These other guys,” I said, clearing my throat as I searched for the right way to phrase my question. “They do the things Bryce did to others?”
She shrugged, and I hated that I couldn’t see her expression, but maybe it would be easier for her to open up without having to look me in the eye.
“I think so.”
“You said he talked to them on the Internet. Did he ever mention a website or a group?”
She began to squirm, and I tightened my arm, not to keep her from moving, but to make her feel safe. Lowering my mouth next to her ear, I whispered, “Anything that happened to you is on him. None of this is your fault. I’m here, sweetheart. It will be over soon.”