37

"Where are we going?" Zoey asked her sister.

"You aren't going with me," she replied as she saw Tony driving in with his pickup truck.

"Then can you explain?" Zoey demanded.

"Just give this address to the police, please," Rue begged.

"Can I at least know where you are going?"

"Just do as I ask," Rue replied, walking towards Tony's car. Zoey watched her conflicted until she got in the car and waved at her.

"Are you sure that is where he could be hiding?" Tony asked.

When Mrs. Kings mentioned a lake house, she remembered a lake house the twins kept on talking about that their father had promised to take them.

"Let's hope my hunch is correct," Rue replied, checking her phone if Xana had replied. She had been oddly silent.

When she looked up, she found Tony staring at her. "I have some news," he smiled.

He always did.

"Share it," Rue replied.

"I got accepted to the same university as you," he said.

"Are you following me?" Rue teased.

"I can't help it," he smiled, and she smiled back.

"Why that university when you could go anywhere in the university?"

"I could, but why go when I could have both of that here?"

"Both?"

"The education and the girl."

"You do know how to work up a girl."

"It's one of my many talents."

Silence settled between them as Tony drove. Rue knew what they were about to do was dangerous. She was aware that Mr. Fox owned weapons. They had none. She gazed at Tony's arms; he wasn't buff, but he did manage to fight her mother. However, Mr. Fox was a different case; he had a larger body frame. Her eyes wandered to his knuckles and then noticed how badly bruised they were.

"What happened?" she asked, touching them.

"Nothing," Tony brushed her off.

"But you are hurt," she wondered aloud.

"Not exactly."

Rue glared at him.

"Just some lesson I was teaching a fellow man."

"So now you are a kung fu teacher?"

"I ran into Joe King and taught him that it is cowardly to fight a girl."

Rue sighed. "Now he will never give Ally to my sister. He hates losing."

"I promised you that you will get your niece."

"You can't be doing everything for me."

Tony looked outside, ignoring her words. She spotted a drive-thru. "Do you want anything in particular to eat?"

"I don't know," she shrugged and saw Tony roll his eyes. He was used to her indecisiveness when choosing what to eat.

He stopped at The Big Square. He made his orders as Rue listened. He asked for burgers, beef ribs, and shakes. An order she didn't know she needed.

Finally, she got a response from Xana, just a single word. "Sorry."

What did that mean? Of course, the case on her father had been hard to swallow, no matter how much Xan tried to pretend to be strong. Rue immediately dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail. She called Xana's boyfriend who answered on the first ring.

"Have you heard from Xana?" They both spoke at once.

"I thought she was with you," Rue said.

"I also thought she was with you," he said, confused.

"How fast can you drive?" She turned to Tony, who had a quizzical stare.

"Tighten your seatbelt," he instructed.

Forty-five minutes earlier than predicted, as they left the main road and turned onto the gravel path, the tires crunched over the loose stone. The dense forest closed in around them.

If it were another time, Rue would have loved to be surrounded by nature and just relax. But she was on the edge; she didn't know what to find ahead. What if she had been wrong?

"After this is over, I will take you to my lake house."

"Your lake house? How fancy?"

"You will love it."

Finally, the gravel road widened into a small clearing, and there it was—the lake house. It stood solemnly by the water's edge, its dark wooden exterior blending almost seamlessly with the surrounding woods.

Tony parked the truck a short distance away, hidden among the trees. He turned off the engine, and the sudden silence was almost deafening. Rue could hear her own breath, quick and shallow, as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. The ground was soft beneath her feet, a mix of gravel and pine needles.

"Stay behind me," Tony instructed, his voice low but firm. Rue nodded, her eyes fixed on the lake house as they approached cautiously.

As they neared the cabin, Rue noticed movement near the window. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she grabbed Tony's arm. He signaled for her to stay low and moved forward, his eyes never leaving the house.

From the window, Rue saw Xana pacing anxiously. She had been helping her father all along!

Without thinking, Rue started to walk towards the house, Tony behind her asking her to stay hidden. She didn't care, and when Xana gazed outside, her eyes met those of Rue and widened in surprise. Xana started to run, and so did Rue and Tony. A few minutes later, they saw Mr. Fox come out of the door running.

"Your time is up," Tony shouted and ran faster past Rue towards Mr. Fox, who seemed to be headed towards a docked boat.

Surprisingly, Tony was fast to get to him; he kicked him at the back of his leg, making him fall.

"I couldn't let my father rot in jail." Xana came out.

"What was the plan exactly, Xana?" Rue asked as the twins came out too.

"We would disappear; the twins already lost their mother, I couldn't let it happen," Xana cried, and then they heard a shot. They turned to its source only to see Tony lying on the ground and Mr. Fox disappearing into the woods.

It took a second to register that Tony had been shot before Rue ran in his direction.