He shook his head. Enough.
And what about those girls he’d met today—her half sisters? Did Clayton hit them the way he’d hit AnnieLee? Ethan hoped Clayton was kinder to his own flesh and blood.
He couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to grow up in the middle of nowhere like that, in a house that looked like a strong wind could blow it over. As beautiful as the land was, Clayton’s mark on it was nothing but ugliness.
Ethan set the gun aside and reclined a little, listening to the deep quiet of an Arkansas night. Somehow he must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew there was a loud banging on his window. He sat straight up, his heart racing and the rifle already back in his hands.
But the face on the other side of the glass didn’t belong to a threat. Peering in at him was a scared-looking girl. It was AnnieLee’s teenage half sister, the one whose name he didn’t even know.
He rolled down the window. “Hey,” he said, his voice hoarse with sleep. “Come around, kiddo. Get in.”
A moment later she was climbing into the passenger side. “I shouldn’t be here,” she said.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Considering I stole my daddy’s truck and drove it without a license and made it all the way here without killing myself, I’d say I’m doing pretty good.” She held out her hands and looked at them, flexing her fingers. “I was holding on to that damn steering wheel so tight I must’ve got blisters.” She looked over at him, and her eyes were huge in the darkness. “Clayton’s gonna kill me if he finds out, but I just…I needed to talk to you. And you didn’t answer your phone.”
Ethan reached into the pocket of his bag and pulled out his phone. There were four missed calls. “Shit,” he said. “I’m sorry. I sure don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Too late for that, most likely,” she said. She put her feet up on the dashboard and then took them down again. “But I don’t care, anyhow.”
“I didn’t ever catch your name,” he said gently.
“Alice,” she said. “Alice Rae.”
Ethan had to ask. “What happens when you get in trouble, Alice Rae?”
“Oh, my dad’ll lock me in my room for a couple of days,” she said nonchalantly. “Whatever.”
“He won’t hit you?” If he does, Ethan thought, I’m not letting her go back.
“No, not anymore,” she said. “He used to, and Rose always got the worst of it. But a couple of years ago, after she left, he had a scare. He passed out down by the creek, and we didn’t know where he was until the dog led us to him.”
She gave a bleak laugh. “That was ironic, seeing as how Clayton’s never said a nice word to Bandit in his whole damn life. But dogs are loyal and dumb, so whatever. After Clayton comes around, up he goes to the doctor, and he finds out he’s got a bad heart. Doc says he shouldn’t get agitated anymore. And I guess that mellowed him out a little.”
Alice was braiding and unbraiding her hair as she spoke. “Anyway,” she said, “you don’t care about him and neither do I, or anyways not near as much as I should, considering he’s half the reason I’m here on this earth.”
“I can help you,” Ethan said.
“No, you can’t,” she said bluntly. “But it doesn’t matter. Me and Shelly’ll be okay. It’s Rose you came here for.” She stared right at him again, and now she looked scared. “And I think she’s in danger.”
Alarm shot through Ethan’s body like an electric shock. “What do you mean?”
“If she made it this far and she didn’t come see us, it’s because she wanted to see somebody else first. And it didn’t go well.” Alice looked down at the rifle, still in Ethan’s hands. “She went to find Gus Hobbs—I’d bet anything,” she said. “And now she needs your help.”
“Who’s Gus Hobbs?” Ethan asked.
Alice clutched her hands together in her lap, twisting them in agitation. “He’s a really bad man,” she said. “And he’s Rose’s husband.”
Chapter
89
Three hours later, driving up yet another rutted road in the middle of thick forest, Ethan bitterly wondered if he’d ever come to the end of AnnieLee’s secrets. Husband? He couldn’t even fathom it.
Of course, maybe Alice Rae was a liar, just like her big sister.
Branches brushed along the side of the truck, and the Ram’s headlights hardly seemed to penetrate the predawn darkness. Adrenaline coursed through him. So did a swirl of conflicting emotions. Never had anyone messed with his head and heart the way AnnieLee had.