Her ears rung. Her vision was a foggy haze. Evie craned her stiff neck up toward the people standing over her. Amelia and Kylie were standing to one side with Diane in the middle, all wearing worried frowns that weren’t meant for her.
“Where’s Mason?” she asked.
“The killer took him in that direction.” Kylie pointed.
Evie sat up, wondering if she would be okay to drive. Even a slow and winding drive would be better than none at all. Mason was her brother, and she couldn’t let him get hurt. Even if he was capable of taking care of himself, she didn’t like his odds.
“All right,” she said, climbing to her feet and shrugging off the helping hands that came for her. “Diane, can you do us a favor and get far away from here? The whole point of coming out here was to make sure you were safe.”
“I can go,” she said, nodding.
“Good. Kylie will drive you. Take Mason’s car. The keys should still be in the ignition.” Evie turned back to her car, studying the damage. Despite the speed she had been going when hitting on impact, the Explorer seemed to be in fair condition. Not aesthetically, of course, but when Evie eased her way back into the driver’s seat and tried the engine, she was relieved to find it started.
The plan was set, no matter how bad. Evie was ready to go. She reached out for the door but instead found her daughter’s hip as she stood blocking the handle.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
“No, you’re not.” Evie shook her head frantically from side to side.
“Hey, he’s my family, too. He wouldn’t even be here if I didn’t haul him off the side of a cliff. Besides, you promised to let me in. This feels like the opposite. Please, just stop playing the concerned mother, and let me come with you.”
While she stood there stubbornly, proving once and for all that they shared blood, Evie ground her teeth so hard she felt they could snap at any moment. Was it really such a bad idea to bring an extra pair of hands, or was she right in feeling protective? All she knew was that every second wasted put Mason in more danger.
“Fine, get in.”
Amelia rushed around the car and struggled to force open the buckled car door.
“You got your phone on you?” Evie asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Because it’s time we gave Bill a call.”
“Mason said not to contact the police.”
“That was when Diane was in danger. Now it’s my brother’s life hanging in the balance, and he doesn’t get to make that decision. Let me reverse this hunk o’ junk, and I’ll tell you the number. But get ready, because we don’t have much time.”
Evie slammed into reverse, narrowly missing the Mustang that zoomed past her at lightning speed. Now all she could think about was Mason as she headed the opposite direction down the dirt road, praying she wasn’t too late.