turn the GPS told me to take. This route was the most inefficient route to get back to my place. But it was probably the only way Hannah knew at this point. I kept my head on a swivel and went over to check out every little thing that seemed out of place. A crooked sign or tire tracks in a parking lot. I pulled over and checked every ditch and alleyway for my car or for Hannah’s purse or some shit. Anything that told me I was headed in the right direction.
But the longer I went without finding something, the more frustrated I became.
“Ash, take a breath,” Link said.
I scoffed. “Easy for you to say. Joanna’s safe at home. Or in her office.”
“You need to take a breath not for our sake, but for Hannah’s. Because when we do find something—and we will—we’re going to need you to have a clear head because you’re the one who knows her better.”
“Yeah, well, none of us know David. That’s what pisses me off the most. I should’ve asked her more about him, Link. I should’ve asked more about her, in general.”
He chuckled. “You can beat yourself up later.”
An idea occurred to me. “Link?”
“Yeah?”
“How long have we been back in town?”
He clicked his tongue. “Three or so weeks. Why?”
I skidded to a stop in the middle of the road as cars honked and swerved around us.
“What the fuck!?” Link exclaimed.
“If David’s been in town that long, it stands to reason that he’s been watching Hannah, right?”
“Possibly.”
“And me, right?”
He paused. “Where are you going with this?”
I looked over at Link. “If he’s been stalking both Hannah and myself, then that means he’s probably familiar with the route I take personally to and from the Iron Horse.”
Link flipped up his visor. “Lead the way. I’ve always trusted your gut, Ash.”
It was only a hunch, but if I was right? I knew exactly what happened to Hannah. I turned my bike around and sped down the road, weaving my ass in and out of traffic. I got back out to the main road that cut right through downtown and took a right, soaring into what seemed like the heart of our city.
Then, I took a sharp left and started down a series of one-way roads.
I kept my eyes straight ahead as I shaved time off turns by cutting them a bit too close. I pissed drivers off and heard them honking and cursing as I cut in front of them just to make a yellow light. I didn’t have any more time to waste. I had to get to Hannah, and now.
And I prayed my hunch was correct.
“Want to tell me what’s going on now?” Link asked.
I gripped my handlebars. “One more turn, and I might have an answer for you.”
“What’s your working theory?”
I swallowed hard. “Car accident.”
“What?”
“Hannah left here in my car. And unless she’s stupid, which she isn’t, she wouldn’t have stopped until she got back to my place. So, in order for David to get her out of her car or even get to her—”
“He would’ve had to get her out of the car first.”
I turned the last corner. “He’s going to die when I get to him, Link. You need to know that.”
There was a long pause as my eyes traveled the sides of the road.
“Link?” I asked.
“I think you found what you’re looking for, Ash.”
And when I saw Link point off to the right, my eyes panned to where he pointed.
Before my gaze landed on my mangled, rust-bucket of a car tipped onto its side at the curb.
14
Hannah
The first thing I felt was the searing pain working its way down my spine. It felt like fire washing through my spinal cord, and it made my stomach turn over onto itself. The second thing I felt, however, was the pain in my heart. Deep, deep down in the pit of my soul. My good eye slowly fluttered open and I found myself staring up at the ceiling of a car that wasn’t Ash’s, and then everything came crashing back to me.
David.
Footsteps pitter-pattered around the car and I eased myself off the floor. I didn’t feel the need to vomit any longer, but the taste in my mouth made me nauseous all the same. I looked around for something to swish. Some water or a flat soda. Anything to get rid of the taste of bile at the back of my throat. I didn’t find anything, though.
The only thing I found was