“Adjacent to them. I was never involved. I was certainly never raised to participate in shit like this myself.”
He cracks a smile and heads back out the door. “You’ll be okay.”
I don’t know how these magicians navigate the woods here, but I’m more than a little winded trying to keep up.
After I explained the situation to Ryder on the phone, he sort of took over the planning. He said he’d try to contact a guy who might be able to get here fast, and he’d bring a car for me since I obviously couldn’t be dropped off.
So many conflicting emotions war within me as we trek through these woods. It’s early so I’m freezing my ass off while Ryder hikes like a mountain man. I manage not to fall and we make it to the car much more quickly than when Liam brought me out here.
It’s not blustery once I get into the white car I assume is his. The car is quiet as he backs out onto the road and I stare out the window, thinking of what’s ahead of us.
Glancing at him uncertainly, I ask, “So, what’s the plan?”
“Ideally I’m hoping we all make it out alive,” he says, brightly, maybe a little sarcastically.
I’m sure he blames me for Liam’s predicament, so I just watch out the windshield for a few miles.
When he still doesn’t fill me in, I sigh. “Look, whether you like me or not, I need to know what the plan is so I can help.”
“Seems like you’ve helped plenty,” he says with a deceptively light and playful wink.
That kind of pisses me off. “I begged him not to go back there. I’m not to blame here, and I’m going to do whatever has to be done to save him. I didn’t have to call you. If I didn’t care about Liam, I would’ve taken the money he left me and disappeared, wouldn’t I?”
“I doubt you know how to,” he muttered, but without much spunk.
A couple of silent minutes later, Ryder says, “Tell me about this house we’re meeting him at.”
I’m not sure exactly what he wants to know, so I tell him everything I can think of. The layout, how close the neighbors are, the thicket of trees behind it. I tell him how many windows I can recall, which one Liam came in through.
The problem is there are so many things we don’t know, which makes it difficult to form a solid plan. I don’t know how many men Pietro will have when we get there. I don’t know what kind of reception I’ll get once I’m in their grasp. I should’ve probably made him agree to meet me somewhere public, like the deli, instead of at Paul’s house. There’s not much in the way of protection if Pietro decides the missing drugs aren’t worth the risk and he just has me killed right away.
There are so many unknowns.
Will he even have Liam? Once I’m there, there’s nothing I can do if they don’t. As soon as he can see me, he can send men to grab me.
We’re working on the honor system here, and Pietro has no honor.
Ryder’s voice pulls me out of my depressing thoughts.
"We want to grab him today. There's no guarantee your stepfather keeps his word. Liam may not even make it to the party, and he sure as hell isn't going to let you bring him with you. Once you're inside I'm not going to be able to communicate with you, so I won't be able to let you in on whatever plan I manage to come up with. Nothing about this is going to be easy."
I nod my understanding. I'm dreading this so much and so nervous about it all that I feel physically ill. If we had time, I'd ask Ryder to stop at a gas station so I could throw up.
We're halfway there when my cell phone rings.
My gaze jerks to Ryder and he nods silently.
Heart in my throat, I answer, "Hello?"
"Change of plans."
It's not Pietro. It's Paul.
Resentment pours out of me
as I snap, "Why?"
"Because I fucking said so, that's why."