“Keller,” Johnny snapped, but Keller held up a hand to silence him.
“Holly,” Keller said, bringing her attention back to him. His gaze was steady and calm. “Do we have a deal?”
She didn’t feel like she had much of a choice. If they drove out here just to stop her from leaving town, they could probably make her stay if she didn’t like the deal. On the other hand, she was incredibly curious. There was a good chance they’d probably just feed her another bullshit, half-assed explanation, but it would probably be a doozy. If they believed she wasn’t going to bolt, she could take her time and come up with a less clumsy escape plan.
“Deal.” She stuck out her hand, which Keller gently took.
He didn’t shake her hand, he just held it. Warmth radiated from his palm right up her arm. She shivered. In all of the excitement, she hadn’t realized how cold it was. Little droplets of icy mist settled on her skin. It was so thick, she couldn’t see more than a hundred yards up the road in either direction. Even the town sign started to disappear, and she was quite close to it.
“We’ll take her to the stones,” Keller announced.
“The stones?” she repeated. “What stones?”
“Are you sure about that?” Garret asked.
“I’m sure. If we don’t, we’re going to lose her completely.”
“I’m right here, you know.”
“Let’s get you into the truck,” Keller urged as if he’d never mentioned the stones—whatever those were—at all. She allowed him to lead her to Johnny’s truck.
“Follow us and I will kill you,” Johnny hissed to Loch. “You’re up to something. I don’t care what it is, but you aren’t going to hurt Holly to do it.”
“I’m not stupid enough to hurt her,” Loch spat back before turning on his heel and storming over to his bike.
“You almost did!” Johnny shouted after him.
“No, you almost did.”
“Can you guys not?” Holly asked. “I’m cold, I’m exhausted, I’m confused, and I don’t want to watch you two fight over something that doesn’t make any sense.”
“It will make sense soon,” Johnny said. He turned his back on Loch and strode back to his truck, climbing into the driver’s side.
“Is there enough room for all three of us in the front seats?” Holly asked Keller.
“I can sit in the bed with Garret,” he replied.
“No!” Holly blurted. “If I’m alone with Johnny, I will start yelling at him, and I will not stop until he drives us both off a cliff.”
Keller pressed his lips together to contain his laughter. “In that case, you can sit on my lap if you want. I don’t think there will be enough room otherwise.”
“Fine,” Holly huffed.
Keller opened the door and slid in. Already, Holly could tell it was going to be a tight squeeze. She pulled herself onto Keller’s lap, her knees curled against her chest. She wiggled around, trying to find a way to sit so she wasn’t completely squished. She ended up putting her feet between Johnny and Keller and her back against the passenger door.
“I hope your locks are up to standard,” she snapped at Johnny.
“This car is held together by duct tape and positive thinking,” Johnny replied. “But don’t let that ruin your ride.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN - Loch
Loch watched the ratty old truck rumble back toward town. Holly didn’t look his way as they drove off. Anger prickled inside him as he watched Keller wrap his arms around Holly’s waist. She didn’t lean into him. In fact, she looked furious at being touched.
Finding her on the road was a stroke of luck. For a few moments, it seemed like he was going to save weeks of time. She was literally begging to be taken out of Silver Spruce. They were almost in the clear, too. Loch was so close to being able to rest easy again. How had Johnny figured out where Loch was taking Holly? How had he gotten the other two so quickly? Johnny must not have been in the house. He had to have been in the woods somewhere, but Loch didn’t sense or smell anything when he’d gotten off his bike. He could’ve sworn he and Holly were totally alone when he offered her a ride.
“Whatever,” he scoffed. This was no big deal. He still had his original plan to fall back on. Nothing changed. Not really.
He wasn’t going to follow the truck to the stones. When Johnny said he’d kill him, Loch believed it. Johnny had always had a temper. It used to be so easy to provoke him into an uncontrollable rage. Somewhere along the line, Johnny learned some self-control and ruined all of Loch’s fun.
He got back onto his bike and zoomed off down the road. He reached The Bear’s Bane in less than five minutes. The black car parked outside caught his attention.
“Shit,” he muttered. His guest was already inside. Loch hoped he’d have a little more time to prepare his explanation. He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t delay anything. He had to remember that.
With each step closer to The Bear’s Bane, his nerves wound themselves into tighter knots in his gut. With a steadying breath, he reminded himself that he had nothing to be nervous about.
His associates were already sitting at one of the tables scattered throughout the space. Everything in The Bear’s Bane was mismatched and second-hand despite being the most profitable business in town. People liked to drink, especially when there wasn’t anything else to do. The shabbiness was part of the charm.
“Gentlemen.” Loch took the last seat
