“Shhh, it’s okay dear. Everything’s going to be okay,” Mom said in a low, monotone voice. Much different from a few seconds ago.
The room spun before me, everything appearing as a mushed-up mess of colors and shapes. I wobbled, still sitting on the edge of the couch.
What did she do to me?
That was my last thought before everything went black.
47
West
“Fuck!Whereisshe?”I barked when we got to the Hawthorne house. It was dark, no sign of anyone being home. The Camry was in the driveway, so Ashtyn was here at some point. She’d been driving the heap for a few days.
I dialed her again. It went to voicemail, again.
“Fuck! I should’ve never let her be alone. I knew something would fucking happen!”
“We’ll find her, West. Where else could she be? Did you call Bronx and Gabby? Maybe she called them,” Axel said, leaning against his truck and typing on his phone.
“They haven’t heard from her. What does the tracker say?” I asked, jumping off the porch and jogging over to Axel. I may have had him install a tracker on Ashtyn’s phone when she was asleep in the pool house. What? I was worried something like this would happen. It’s not like I’d use it unless it was an emergency.
“It tracked her to the highway. Pinged off the tower just outside of Castle Grove and then it stopped. Must’ve turned the phone off near there.”
“Fuck!” I screamed for the hundredth time. “Pete may have taken her. He has a club over there. That’s where he hides out when he’s not at Aces. Shit, maybe she went to her dad’s place? He lives on some compound with his motorcycle club.”
“Call Remington. See if he’s heard from her,” ordered Axel.
I nodded and then remembered I didn’t have his number. I had no reason to be in contact with that fucker until now.
“Would Avery have his number?”
“Why would she?”
“Jesus, I don’t know Axel. Maybe she gave him her number in case he had a fucking concussion or blew out some stitches, and maybe he contacted her so she has it!” I fumed.
Axel sighed. “I’ll ask her, but don’t bank on it. Do you know where thiscompoundis located? Might be quicker to just go there.”
I raced to the passenger side of the truck and hopped in before Axel could find Avery’s number in his contact list. “C’mon!” I shouted, honking the horn even though he was already moving toward the truck.
Once Axel got in, he gunned the gas so hard the tires squealed down Magnolia Lane. He was on the phone with Avery, but I could only hear one side of the conversation.
“Do you have Remington’s number?”
“Because I need it. It has to do with Ashtyn.”
“No, she’s fine. I think. I just need to talk to him.”
“I’m not buying drugs, Avery. I can get much better drugs than the shit Remington sells.”
“Do you have the number or not?”
We were flying down the highway by the time Axel was done with the conversation with his sister. She agreed to text him Remington’s number–because shedidhave it.
I dialed it from Axel’s phone rather than wasting the time sending it to myself, and then trying to dial with a cracked-to-shit screen that I still hadn’t fixed.
“Yeah?” Remington answered.
“Is Ashtyn with you?”