Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Cisco struggled to open his eyes. Why was he so damned uncomfortable, and what the hell was going on with his nose? It felt like someone was…licking it? He gave an internal grin. Was Hilly being sassy?

The gentle swiping abruptly went away, and Cisco managed to pry his lids apart long enough to see a small shadow slip from the…

What the hell ?

This wasn't his room, or Hilly's.

The events leading up to his current situation came tumbling back into his beleaguered brain.

Holy shit. He'd been following Carter. He'd knelt down to examine a bottle of peanut oil, then…

The little prick. He'd clocked Cisco on the back of the head, then when he'd fallen and hadn't totally succumbed, he'd hit him once again on his temple. That's the last thing Cisco recalled.

He attempted to raise a hand to touch his tender cranium, but wasn't able to move his arms.

Fuck, and double fuck. He'd been tied, hand and foot, with—he groped with his fingers to see what was holding him—a thick jute rope. The bastard couldn't have used zip-ties, which would have made escape easier?

Cisco glanced around in the dark, his eyes growing accustomed to the shadows as his head cleared. He saw a glint of metal. The sharp-edged stove-pipe. It was his best bet for cutting his restraints, but in the process, it was going to make a mess of his wrists.

So be it . He needed to get free, locate Carter, and put a world of hurt on the young miscreant.

Cisco's nose itched, reminding him that he'd just been licked. He stifled a grunt. It had to have been either Nel or Coco who'd given him some love. That boded well for a rescue, but if the dogs alerted Hilly, and she came to find him by herself…

No. He couldn't risk that. Who knew if Carter was waiting outside, and had something awful planned for her, too.

Cisco began edging his way across the mouse-turd-covered-floor, trying not to think about the nasty shit grinding into his clothes and skin, when all of a sudden, he heard an exchange.

A welcome of sorts was raised outside.

"Hey, Carter. I got your call. You bagged yourself another one?" a familiar voice asked jovially. "I hope this kid works out better than the last. That bullying bitch you tried to kill before was a tough one and pulled through."

"The new guy's inside," Carter rebutted, angrily. "And I didn't try to kill Bailey. That wasn't the plan. You told me the oil would only make her sick."

The sulky response to the astounding statement set every nerve in Cisco's body on alert. The second person out there, whoever it was, had wanted Bailey dead? What did that say for Cisco's own well-being? That his time was limited. He needed to move, fast, to get himself out of this, but if Carter and/or his friend came inside to check on him, Cisco needed to make it look like he was still unconscious.

He inched his body back into the corner, and positioned himself in the same attitude as when he'd first awakened. Then he continued listening.

"Yeah, well, what now genius? It's all well and fine because the girl doesn't know who poisoned her, but what about your new friend? I'm assuming he knows who brought him here and tied him up."

"Umm, yeah. He does." The kid sounded much more unsure of himself now.

"And you think he's just going to let that go? Let you walk away scot-free?"

"I…don't know."

"Well, I do. He's going to shout your guilt to the rafters and make sure you go to jail. Which means…I'll have to take care of him. To protect you."

There was a brief silence, where Cisco figured Carter was battling with himself.

"He's inside," Carter's sullen voice finally responded.

Wrong choice, you stupid prick.

Cisco readied for company, maintaining his limpness as footsteps came up onto the porch and?—

"What the fuck?"

The voice which sounded more and more like one Cisco had heard before, erupted in anger. "You imbecile. That's a cop! What were you thinking? Do you want the whole goddamned police department coming down on us?"

Cisco heard a sharp slap.

Carter yelped.

The rant continued. "And you left his phone on the floor for anyone to track?"

Cisco heard a crunch, and knew the person had just ground his phone to pieces under his heel.

Fuckwad.

Carter whined. "All you said was that you'd help me get back at the people who were bullies. Bailey was one, and Cisco… I overheard him and Miss Adeline talking. He bullied Miss Hilly in middle school, and she never got over it."

Cisco almost stopped breathing. That's what Carter's motive was? To hurt those he perceived as bullies? That was fucked up. Not to mention that he'd totally misinterpreted Cisco's conversation with Adeline. The kid needed some serious mental health intervention. Cisco amended his plans for Carter to include a psych-ward instead of a prison cell. The other guy, however…

Cisco focused on that second person as someone kicked the bottom of his foot.

He managed not to twitch.

"You need to disappear, Carter," the man ordered. "Go back to camp and forget about me and everything else you've seen. I'll take care of this cop for you."

Well shit.

Cisco finally recognized the voice.

Langford Cottins, the bastard.

He'd clearly enlisted Carter's help—somehow finding out about the kid's deep-seated grudges—and had promised he'd help work revenge on Carter's enemies. All to foment his own plans to make Hilly's camp a nightmare, and get it shut down so he could purchase it for a song. If only Carter had been in possession of that intel, he'd know who the real bully was.

It didn't matter. Cottins' plan was not going to work.

"What are you going to do with him?" Carter hiccupped a sob, perhaps just figuring out that his agenda and Cottins' were not the same.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Cottins growled. "I have everything I need to take care of this situation back in my truck in the woods. Now disappear, kid."

It seemed like Carter took Cottins' advice; not waiting around to see what the man's plans would be, because Cisco heard footsteps running away.

"And you," Cottins growled at Cisco before kicking him hard in the ribs. "With what I have planned, there'll be nothing left of you for any forensic geniuses to pin your murder on me. And once you're out of the way, that Carter bastard is next. I don't trust him not to get the jitters and open his fucking mouth. After that, the cunt will get closed down, and this whole place will be mine."

Cisco lay still, having managed to absorb the blow without flinching. But his mind raced with what Cottins had just threatened. No forensic evidence… Reading between the lines, Cisco grew grim. Fire was going to be involved in his orchestrated death, he just knew it.

The good news? Cottins had also mentioned having to go back to his truck to get whatever he needed for his diabolical plan. That would give Cisco time to get free and find help. It's too bad his phone had been destroyed.

Hilly was having a hard time sitting still.

It would easily be ten more minutes before SWAT arrived. Ten more minutes where Cisco could be in serious trouble. Had he fallen down into one of the few ravines north of here? Had he been attacked by a bear?

She needed to find out, and fast. But that meant getting rid of Crash and Adeline. She thought fast. She hated to break a semi-promise to Mason, but…

"I, uh, don't suppose you two could head to the parking lot to meet Mason?" she asked them. "I need to use the restroom. This whole thing has put my guts in a turmoil." She placed a hand on her lower intestines, hopefully fooling the pair into thinking she had an emergency.

"Go," Crash said, getting to his feet and pulling Adeline up beside him. "We'll wait for the team to arrive."

"Thanks," Hilly responded, also gaining an upright position. "I'll join you as soon as I feel better."

She didn't relish lying to them, but as she walked away, she knew it was for the best. She could feel in her actually roiling gut that Cisco needed her.

She'd stop by her cabin, grab her bear-spray and a flashlight, then go cover the acreage to the north that she knew like the back of her hand.

It took less than two minutes before she had what she needed. She also threw a first-aid kit into her bag as well. Just in case. She hoped she wouldn't need it. But what she really hoped was that Cisco wouldn't need more than what she could provide.

Hilly made sure to slip out quietly, skirt her cabin, then stuck to the shadows where no one would see her as she took off.

When Nel unexpectedly came dashing out of the woods toward her, she quickly shushed her pup, scooping her up to carry her into the nearest cover of trees.

Nel didn't like being picked up at the best of times, but right now, she was beyond frantic to get down.

Hilly complied, and the dog danced agitatedly around her. "Okay. What is it, girl?" she asked as Nel whined and twirled. "Do you know where Cisco is?"

The dog didn't let out a bark, but spun on her paws one last time before heading north at a fast clip.

"Wait," Hilly hissed. "I'm coming."

Hilly broke into a sprint.

Once she was well clear of the camp, she turned her flashlight on, and it was a good thing. She'd had to run quickly to keep up with her dog, but now that the terrain was rougher, she needed it. With good light, and Hilly being in shape—along with a few soft whistles when Nel went too far ahead—she managed to keep up.

After fifteen minutes of nothing, and with Nel still on the move, Hilly's anxiety grew. Why had Cisco gone this far? Had he found something concerning? Had whatever he'd discovered put him in a different kind of danger from that which Hilly had imagined?

A sharp bark up ahead had her double-timing it again, and when she heard footsteps heading her way, her body almost collapsed in relief.

"Cisco?" she cried.

"Miss Hilly?"

Damn. Hilly wilted. It wasn't the voice she'd expected, but she recognized it. Carter. What the hell was he doing outside when she'd given explicit instructions for everyone to stay in their cabins?

"Carter?"

The boy came stumbling toward the beam of light she sent purposely his way. He looked a wreck. His face was tear-stained and one cheek was bright red as if he'd suffered some kind of injury.

"Are you alright?" she asked, as he approached, his breath hitching. "Why are you out here?"

"Oh, Miss Hilly," he wailed. "I really screwed up." His tone was regretful, but also filled with terror.

Hilly's blood chilled. "What did you do?"

"I… I…only wanted to help; to make things right. I didn't know it would?—"

Hilly shook him a little. "Focus Carter. Tell me what's wrong."

"I… I put the peanut oil in Bailey's snack bag. And…I lured Cisco out here by telling him I had what he was looking for."

"Where's Cisco now?" Hilly wasn't sure she wanted to hear more. Carter had almost killed Bailey, which didn't bode well for what he might have done to Cisco.

"In a shack. I hit him on the head and tied him up. Just to scare him." Carter's voice got stronger, and he pushed his shoulders back. "He bullied you when you were in school. I heard him admit it to Miss Adeline. He needs to feel bad, but…"

"But what, Carter?" Hilly feared she'd be sick to her stomach.

He studied his feet. "I need you to understand," he simpered. "It wasn't like I started out to do this… I was spying on Lance and Bailey one day, watching how badly she treated him, when a guy snuck up behind me and asked what I was doing."

"Go on."

"I was so mad, I told him everything; how I wanted to get back at all the jerks who made other people feel bad."

Hilly's gut flopped. "Who was the man, Carter?" she asked shakily.

"Mr. Cottins," he supplied uneasily.

Shit, no .

"And what did Mr. Cottins tell you to do?"

"He said he'd help me make the bullies pay."

Her voice sounded hollow to her own ears as she kept probing. "He gave you the peanut oil."

"Uh, huh." Carter's face grew pained. "A couple days after I told him she was allergic. But he said it would only make her sick. He never said it could kill her."

Hilly would deal with the Bailey situation later. Right now, she needed to know Cisco's condition.

"What did you do to Cisco?" Her throat felt tight as she swallowed dryly around her question.

"Mr. Cottins showed me a shack…"

Hilly immediately knew which one.

"…and told me to bring the next bully there; to hit him on the head and tie him up."

Hilly shook. "And you followed his orders."

Carter refused to look at her as he shuffled his sneakers and answered. "I did."

Hilly slowly walked backwards in the direction of the shack, not wanting to wait around another minute. If Cisco was unconscious; perhaps bleeding…

Carter put a hand on her arm, halting her progress.

"You can't go there," he wailed; actual worry apparent.

Hilly brought her irate face close to his. "Why not?" she snarled.

"Because Cottins is there, and he's… I'm afraid he's going to do something awful to Cisco."

Hilly saw red. "I'm helping my friend, regardless," she snapped. "If you want to do the right thing and redeem yourself at all, run back to camp, Carter. SWAT will be there. Tell them how to find me. I'll deal with you, later."

He nodded, turned, and ran

As she watched him disappear, Hilly drew her phone out of her pocket, and somehow managed to hit Mason's number.

"Where are you?" the man barked, picking up. "Crash told me you were indisposed, but when Buffy went to check on you, you weren't in your cabin, and?—"

"Cisco's in trouble." Hilly cut Mase off. He could read her the riot act later. "One of my campers, Carter, hit him on the head and tied him up at Langford Cottins' instruction. Cottins is going to do something terrible to Cisco. I have to get to him as fast as I can. Carter is headed your way. He'll show your team how to reach the shack where Cisco's being held. Hurry."

She hung up before Mason could talk her out of her plan.

There was no way she was going to wait.