Breaking Her Bad by Michelle Mankin
Claire
“Can’t you drive any faster?” I asked Addy from the backseat of her SUV.
“No, honey.” My aunt’s hands were tight on the steering wheel, her gaze straight ahead. “Not in this neighborhood.”
“Are you sure we can’t call the cops?” Mom asked from the passenger seat.
“Pfft. Half are in Martin’s back pocket.” Addy shook her head. “The others are scared shitless. If we bring cops with us, he would just . . . well . . .” She glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
“He’d get rid of him?” I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
“It might already be too late, but for two things.” Addy’s voice was grim, her gaze holding mine in the mirror. “One, Martin probably isn’t through making an example of him.” She put on her blinker. “And two, Kyle is his nephew. With it being Martin, the former is likely more important than the latter.”
She steered to the curb and cut the engine. “I’ll park here and we’ll walk up. He’ll see me—us—on the security camera and let us in.”
“How did you know where to go?” I asked, unfastening my seat belt as Addy and my mother undid theirs.
“I live here, and I own a bar.” She popped open her door and got out, waiting for my mom and me on the curb. “People talk freely when alcohol is involved, and I listen closely whenever they talk about him.”
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes. I would think she hated him for his part in coming between her and Collin.
“I underestimated how bad he was once. This way.” She pointed and we started walking, my mom and me hurrying to keep up. “Never going to make that mistake or suffer those sorts of consequences again.”
“I understand.” I marched determinedly beside her, my hands clenched into fists.
“Not sure you do, honey.” Addy blew out a breath that lingered in the chilly night air. “Not sure anyone knows how black Martin’s soul is but him.”
“Kyle knows.”
Addy nodded. “He just might.”
She stopped, and so did my mom and me. With my mom on her right and me on her left, Addy pointed to an imposing concrete structure ahead.
“That’s the guardhouse.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Getting inside will be easy. It’s getting out that will be dicey.”
“We have to get Kyle.” Fear pooled in my gut, but I lifted my chin. “I’m not afraid.”
“It’s okay to be afraid. I sure am.” Addy’s chin tilted to a stubborn angle like mine.
When my aunt held out her hands, my mom took one and I took the other.
Addy’s greenish-blue eyes started to water. “Except that we have each other, and I have something important I need to tell you before we go in.”