Garrett nodded and hesitantly closed the door. He stood to the side, watching as she pulled out of the spot, and drove away. A strange feeling of longing came over her and she almost turned the truck around. But she pushed the sensation away, blaming it on unfounded worries. Besides, she hadn’t seen her friends since Hallie’s wedding, and she was in desperate need of some girl time.
When she came to a fork in the road, Reese couldn’t remember which way she was supposed to go since she didn’t usually go to Madigan’s from the school. Was it right or left? She could pull out her phone and use the GPS on it, but that would take too long, and she was already running late.
On a whim, she veered to the right, figuring she’d realize if it was going the wrong way pretty quickly and just make a U-turn. She continued on for several hundred feet, when the street turned into a tight two-lane road with a forest on her right and a ravine on the left.
This was definitely not the way to Madigan’s. She started looking for a place to turn around, but noticed a van following close behind her.
Reese swallowed hard. She didn’t remember much about the van she’d been kidnapped in. It had been dark, and she’d been more worried about getting away from it than studying it. This one was white and didn’t seem to have any markings, just like the one that night. Reese drew in a deep, steadying breath. She couldn’t panic every time she saw a white van on the road. When she glanced in the rearview mirror again, the van had moved closer, practically riding her bumper, and making it impossible to see the license plate or anything other than its hood.
Reese pushed a bit harder on the gas pedal. Whoever it was probably just wanted her to go faster, but the road had become even narrower and had a lot of sharp curves and turns. She had no idea where she was, but she needed to get her phone and - abang followed by a sharp jolt rocked the truck. Reese held back a panicked scream as her fingers white knuckled the steering wheel. There had to be a turn off or something around here somewhere.
The van rammed the truck again, jolting her hard. She swerved, nearly losing control of the truck, but then it hit her again. A scream of terror tore from her lips as she fought to stay on the road. She turned the wheel to avoid hitting the railing and braked hard. The sound of tires screeching and rubber burning filled the air. But she must’ve turned it too hard in trying to avoid going into the ravine because before she even knew what was happening, the truck crashed head on into a large tree. The airbag exploded in front of her, cushioning some of the impact, but it still felt like someone had punched her in the gut and chest, knocking the wind out of her.
Reese moaned, fighting to catch her breath. She reached for her purse on the passenger seat, hoping to dig inside and find her phone, but then the driver’s side door flew open and she was met with a familiar face and satisfied smile.
“Hello, Reese.”
Her eyes widened at the sight of the well-dressed man from Principal Ryker’s office holding a knife. “Who are you?” She muttered, still dazed from the accident.
“That’s not important. A mutual friend of ours is looking forward to having a nice little chat with you.” He sliced through the seat belt, freeing her, then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out the truck.
She moaned and grunted in protest. Her whole body felt like one big bruise, but the pain of a needle being jabbed into her neck stole her attention from everything else she was feeling. “You can’t do this.” She tried to sound strong, but even as she said the words, her body was already sagging to the point that he had to hold her up.
He chuckled behind her and brought his mouth to her ear. “It’s already done.”