“I made it real, Sharleen. That photo we got when Jagger was out is so believable even I had to double check. Trust me when I say she isn’t going to get over that anytime soon, now with their rocky history. If she didn’t have my grandson, I’d finish her, too. Without that gang around, she’ll fade off and if for some reason she doesn’t, I’ll deal with her.”
“She’s onto me,” Mary points out. “She suspects me, I know she does.”
Mick grunts. “I don’t think she’s thinking about you right now.”
So many things are swirling around in my mind, but mostly, it’s rage. Rage at all of these people who were meant to love Jagger, and yet each of them chose to betray him. For money, for power, for love, I don’t know but they still did it and they’re going to pay. I’m going to make sure of it.
They won’t get away with this.
Not this time.
“Ok, so for now Willow is out of the way, but we still have Huck. He’s got the co-ordinates and he’s helping that gang,” Sharleen says.
Mick snorts. “Don’t you worry about Huck. He’ll get in his car this afternoon for work and believe me when I say, he won’t get out of it. No one will know what happened. That car will blow the second he turns the key, I’ve made sure of it.”
Oh. My. God.
Everything. He’s thought of everything.
If I didn’t come here today...everyone I love would quite possibly be dead by the end of the week.
“When will the island blow?”
Mick goes quiet for a moment before answering. “In exactly twenty-two hours. I’ve got a timer set.”
I have to go, and I have to go now.
I turn and hurry off, careful not to make a sound. When I hit the sidewalk, I run to my car and get in. I pull out my phone with trembling hands and dial Jenny. Praying she answers, because she needs to stop Huck from getting into his car.
“Willow, hey.”
“Where’s your dad?”
“What?”
“Where is he Jenny?” I shout. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. What’s wrong?”
“I need to find him. It’s urgent. Jenny, I need to speak to him right now!”
“I’ll call him. Just hang on a second. I’ll call you back.”
She hangs up and I wait with bated breath, palms sweating, knees shaking, and when the phone rings I answer it right away. “He’s not answering.”
No.
No, this can’t be happening.
“Where does he live?”
She gives me his address, and then in a panicked tone asks, “Willow, what’s wrong?”
“I have to go. I’ll explain later.”
I hit the accelerator and pray to God Huck hasn’t gotten into that car. I speed through the streets, and it takes me half an hour to get to Huck’s house. As I pull up, he’s just reaching down to get into his car with a coffee in hand. I leap out of the car and scream bloody murder, not even certain what it is I’m saying. He drops the coffee and spins around, eyes wide. He looks terrified, and he should be.
One second later, and he’d be dead.
“Don’t open that door!” I yell, heart racing as I rush over and stop before him.
Huck looks confused, his eyes dart from me to the car and then back again.
“Willow? What are you doing here? What’s going on?” he asks, stepping away from the car.
“They planted an explosive. It’ll blow up if you open that door.”
His face pales. “Who planted an explosive?”
“Mick.”
He swallows and pulls out his phone, dialing. I hear him speaking quickly and the word ‘bomb’ is used numerous times. When he hangs up, he turns to me and takes my hand. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m ok. We have to help the guys. Mick is going to blow the island as soon as they’re on it.”
“Shit,” he curses, “I had a bad feeling Mick was way ahead of them.”
“We have to stop them. How long does it take to get there?”
“With a private, fast boat, around about fifteen to sixteen hours.”
“Then we need to go right now, because the island blows in twenty-two hours.”
He sighs, closing his eyes, rubbing his temples. “It’s going to take more than a few hours to get everything organized, Willow.”
“We can’t let them die, Huck. Please, make it happen.”
A team of police cars come speeding down the street, cutting me off, and I watch as they stop and quickly leap out, all dressed in protective clothing. Three officers walk over and chat quickly to Huck, then they carefully scan the car, sliding underneath it and peering around the tires but not touching it. One calls out and waves the others over, they all lean down and their voices become hushed and a little frantic.
We’re quickly moved away from the scene.
“It’s a bomb, isn’t it?” Huck asks, when an officer approaches.
“It is. You want to tell me how you knew that was there?”