Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
It’s ready by the time I get there, and I make the short walk back to the office building.
“Meadow?” I hear someone call and I turn around to see Jinx parked at the curb. I’ve met him a handful of times over the years. I know he works at the law firm and is close to Mace’s father. His name was also on the wedding invite list. It’s hard to forget a name like his because it stands out.
“Hey, Jinx.” I walk over toward him to tell him I’m Briar and I’m a bit surprised he got the two of us mixed up. That’s when I notice his panicked expression, and I freeze. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Heath. You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what?” Now I start to panic.
“He collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. I was headed there now. I figured you knew.” I shake my head as he reaches for me. “Come on, I'll give you a lift. Mace went with him.” I drop my to-go bags, not caring about them. If Mace went, then Meadow must have gone too. She has to be a mess right now.
I hop into the passenger seat, and Jinx takes off from the curb so fast I slam into the center console. Quickly I grab my seatbelt and put it on.
“Careful,” I tell him, but he only speeds up. I search through my purse for my phone, and when I find it, I pull it out to try and call Mace. Jinx yanks it from my hand and tosses it out the window. It happens so fast I stare at him in shock. “What the hell was that?”
“You know what this is about!” he shouts. Now he’s more unhinged than panicked. “You’re going to fix this. You’ll cover everything back up and give me the money, and I’ll disappear. That’s all you have to do.”
Oh God. He really must think I’m Meadow.
I’m not sure if telling him I’m Briar will make this situation worse. Instead, I do the only thing I can think of. I drop my voice into a low, reassuring tone the same way I would with a cornered animal. I’m hoping to at least calm him down and if anything, buy some time.
SIXTEEN
MACE
“Briar!” I shout as I rush out of the building in time to see Jinx peeling away from the curb. There are bags from the deli scattered on the sidewalk, but I ignore them as I start to run.
“Wait!” Heath grabs my arm and pulls me back from the road just as I’m about to be hit by an oncoming car.
“Oh God, where is he taking her?” Meadow looks distraught as she begins to sob and Heath reaches for his phone.
We were all in the conference room earlier today to confront Jinx. We finally had all of the pieces of the puzzle put together and were going to confront him.
Late last night, Nelly called us and said there was a breakthrough in the case. Through one of her undercover sources, she discovered that a few years ago, Jinx’s oldest son racked up an insane amount of gambling debt. A notorious loan shark came to collect, and there was a big payoff. When she compared the timeline of the missing money and the payoff, it all lined up.
Apparently, after the payoff, Jinx had some sort of psychotic break. She said there were rumors of the loan sharks coming after Jinx and his wife, but she didn’t know all the details of what happened. But when she was looking, she found out that Jinx was in a mental health facility for treatment when he told us he was vacationing in Switzerland.
I called Jinx and said that we needed him to come to the office and go over some things. He sounded strange on the phone, and Heath and I decided we should probably go to his house instead. We were all in the lobby when I saw Briar coming down the street, but I wasn’t fast enough to get there before Jinx grabbed her.
It all happened so fast, and even now it’s like I’m moving in slow motion.
Heath says something into his phone, and just then his driver pulls up to the curb. He gets out, and I jump behind the wheel just as Heath gets in on the other side and Meadow gets in the back. The tires squeal as I go after Briar, and Heath shouts at Meadow to put her seatbelt on.
“Where the fuck are they going?” I ask, but none of us know.
“Maybe he’s taking her to his house,” Meadow offers, and I can see Heath nodding out of the corner of my eye.
“He’s headed in that direction, but why the hell would he take her there?”
“Why would he take Briar? She doesn’t know about any of this.” I grip the steering wheel tighter and just barely make the red light ahead.