Page 94 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
“I don’t know. The kid’s spooked but I doubt he’s dangerous. He sounds like he’s fifteen years old. Let’s just see what he wants and whoever he’s got with him.”
I yanked on some jeans and pulled on a sweatshirt. I hesitated by my purse, thinking maybe I should grab my stun gun, but decided against it. Silas and the pistol he tucked into his waistband would protect me if need be. By the time we walked outside and rounded the corner of the barn, headlights were bouncing down the gravel road.
A black Prius pulled into the space next to my SUV, and out came the driver, a skinny young man with bleached-white hair.
When he stepped toward us, Silas ordered, “Stop.” The kid froze. “Kenny, time to explain.”
“Listen, I’m just here to drop her off.” He held his hands up in surrender just as the back door opened.
In the faint light, I could see a woman emerge. She stepped around Kenny and limped toward us. I gasped when I saw her bloody, swollen and barely recognizable face.
Sabrina.
“Oh my god!” I rushed from Silas’s side to Sabrina, throwing my arms around her back.
She drooped against my chest as I scanned her battered face. Both of her eyes were red and swollen. She had a gash on one cheek and another near her scalp. Her lip was puffy and split in the center.
“What happened?”
“I’m in a bit of tro—”
“Hey!” Kenny interrupted before she could finish. “Can I get paid so I can get the hell out of here and back to civilization?”
“Sorry,” Sabrina said. “Can you pay him?”
I nodded. “Sure.” Looking over her head to Kenny, I asked, “How much?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
“What!” I yelled, then looked down to Sabrina just to make sure she’d really agreed to pay this kid five thousand dollars. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have any money.”
“Kenny, I hope you have a PayPal account.”
He nodded and I turned to Silas. “Can you run inside and get my phone?”
He frowned, but when I mouthed “please,” he turned and jogged inside.
“Sab—”
“Don’t!” she blurted.
“What?”
“Don’t say my name,” she whispered. “I’ll explain when he’s gone. Okay?”
“Oh my god. You’re in deep, aren’t you?”
“Pretty much.” She started to slip so I shifted my feet and hands to help support her better. When I squeezed around her ribs, she flinched and moaned in pain.
“Here.” Silas returned and handed me my phone.
“Thanks.” I turned to Kenny and started questioning him rapid-fire so I could transfer him the money.
When he confirmed it was in his account, he gave Sabrina a sad look. “Good luck, Lois.”
“Thanks, Kenny,” Sabrina said. “Remember, this trip was just a nice little vacation all by yourself. And if anyone asks where you got the money, it was from an old friend paying you back for a loan.”
