“Fuck,” Zag cursed. “He would be stingy with fucking water.” He set the water in between us. “You can have the rest, babe.”
“I just n-n-need a sip.” It wasn’t like I was doing much other than just sitting around in the dark.
“Meg would flip if she knew we were eating this bullshit.”
I took a bite of the stale peanut butter sandwich. “Meg?”
“Best cook I have ever known. She’s my Prez’s ol’ lady.”
I’m sure Zag thought that had helped clarify who Meg was, but it had just given me more questions. “What?”
“What, what?” he asked.
I wished we could go back to him only asking me yes or no questions. This was the most I have ever spoken in such a short time. “Prez o-o—.”
“Oh,” Zag cut me off. “That is my bad for thinking you would know anything about me.”
I knew his name and that in high school, he had done something to Malcom to piss him off. “Nothing.” Was I supposed to know about him?
“I’m part of a motorcycle club, babe. My dad is one of the original members.” He paused. “In Rockton.”
“Prez?” I asked.
Malcom snickered. “He’s just a member. King is the Prez, and his ol’ lady is Meg. My dad is Demon.”
That was quite a name.
“You’ve never heard of the Devil’s Knights?”
I shook my head.
“Tess?”
Oh, hell. I blindly reached out and tapped him once.
“Do you live in Rockton?”
I tapped him once again.
“Where do you live?”
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t tell someone where I lived, but I didn’t think things could get worse than they were right now. “Milton-v-ville.”
“That’s three hours away from Rockton. That would explain why you don’t know who or what the club is, but Malcom is your stepbrother, right?”
I tapped him twice, but I knew I was going to need to explain a little bit more. “Was. My mom divorced his d-d-dad when I was twenty.”
“Are you older than Malcom?” he asked.
I tapped twice. “Three years ol-l-lder.”
“Did you live in Rockton?”
I tapped once. “We lived in Miltonville. M-M-Malcom would come and stay w-w-with us every other weekend.”
“That makes sense. He stayed with his mom in Rockton most of the time then. If only he had lived with his dad in Miltonville, then none of this shit would be happening.”
I tapped his leg twice.
“Do you think we are in Miltonville?” he asked.
I didn’t tap his leg because I didn’t know. It wasn’t like I had sat in the front seat with Malcom and watched the scenery go by. I had been shoved into the trunk with a bag over my head.
“Were you awake when he took you here?” he asked.
I tapped his leg twice.
“How long did it take you to get here?”
“Maybe an h-h-hour?” I couldn’t say for sure, but we did drive for a while.
“Ugh,” Zag groaned. “That doesn’t help too much because, for all I know, he could have driven in the opposite direction of Rockton. That asshole had knocked me the fuck out, so I wasn’t awake at all.”
“Train,” I gasped. “We stopped for a t-t-train, and then it felt like we drove s-s-straight for a long t-t-time.” I didn’t know if that would help Zag figure out where we were, but that’s all that stood out to me.
“So, you were on the highway. I don’t know the area around Miltonville very well, but I know 55 runs up this way from Rockton.”
“There are train t-t-tracks by the highway ramp.” I closed my eyes and tried to think back. “I don’t think we headed North. We would have had to t-t-turn, and it felt like he just d-d-drove straight onto the ramp.”
“Then we’re maybe two hours away from Rockton.”
Maybe? I was trying to remember as best as I could. I just didn’t know how knowing where we were was going to help us. We needed to get out of here, wherever that was.
“I don’t know if the club will search this far for us, but it’s likely once they don’t find me close to Rockton that they’ll start searching out further.”
Zag may be right, but I didn’t think his club would be able to search every inch of every house. Hell, we might not even be in a house. We could be in the basement of a business or something.
We both finished our stale sandwiches, and I took a sip of the water.
“Do you think I can boost you up, and you can see what’s going on with that window?” Zag asked.
I looked at the sliver of light coming from the window. “I guess, but I d-d-don’t know what I can d-d-do.”
Zig shifted and stood. “Just see what is going on up there. He’s obviously got the window boarded up. I want to know how good of a job he did.” Zag held his hand out to me. “Please, Tess. We don’t have any other choice right now.”
I put my hand in his and hauled me to my feet.
“I think my eyes are finally adjusting to the darkness. Shapes and shit I can make out now.” He laughed and turned to the window. “Details, not so much.”
“How am I g-g-going to get up t-t-to the window?”
I couldn’t make out Zag’s face, but I could tell he was smiling. “On my shoulders, babe.”