Chapter 35
Trey and his men put bags over their heads and shoved them into a van.
Paisley didn’t know where they were going, but she tried to pay attention to how long it took.
Not that she could really know but she had a pretty decent sense of time when she paid attention.
It was a skill she’d learned during her years as a waitress.
Show up too early, the customers were annoyed.
Show up too late and they were mad and unlikely to leave a good tip.
Inane chatter.
Yeah, maybe so, but at least it kept her thinking.
The other women were quiet because the men hunkered over them in the van had told them the consequences of talking would be a fist to the face.
After about a half hour, the van slowed and turned.
They were on a gravel driveway because Paisley heard the pinging of the gravel against the wheel wells.
The driveway hadn’t been maintained very well because they bounced in and out of ruts as they drove.
When the van came to a stop, the door screeched open and Paisley was yanked onto the ground.
She heard the gasps and groans as everyone else was yanked out too.
The bag over her head disappeared and she could suddenly breathe again.
She dragged in air, her head turning as she searched out their surroundings.
It was dusk, but the light was failing quickly. It was a new moon, so as soon as the light was gone, everything would be black.
A dilapidated house sat against a backdrop of trees. Fields went in every direction and there were no lights from other houses anywhere along the way. The sky in the far distance glowed brighter than the rest and she knew that was Huntsville and its suburbs. So far away, though.
“Where’s Violet?” she asked when Trey appeared.
“Shut the fuck up and get inside.”
He jabbed his gun in her side and pushed her toward the house. The other women also trudged inside.
“Sit.”
Paisley plopped onto the chair he stabbed his finger at. The other women sat too. The men tied them to the chairs and stepped back.
They were all wearing black greasepaint and she didn’t know who they were, but she thought she might be able to identify them if she had to. Maybe. The fact Trey was letting her and the others see their faces didn’t bode well for them. She knew that, but she wasn’t going to voice it aloud.
She glanced at the others. What she saw shocked her. They should be scared, probably were, but they also looked spitting mad. Rory in particular looked like she’d shank somebody if she had a knife.
Trey hunkered down in front of her and squeezed her face to force her to look at him. His eyes were evil. How had she never realized it before? But something was missing in them. Some piece of humanity that other people seemed to have and he did not.
He was gleeful. Like a child with a new toy.
“You were a good fuck, Paisley. I enjoyed that part of being married to you, at least at first. But you were also so fucking whiny about that kid, and about Ethan Snow. He left you and you still wanted him.”
“He didn’t leave,” she blurted, then cringed inside. What was she doing baiting him?
But he only snorted. “He told you that, huh? Yeah, what the fuck does it matter now? He had to go on a mission, fucking HOT business and shit. He was rubbing it in my face because I’d gotten kicked out of the unit.
Because the HOT command were pussies and wouldn’t do what it took to keep the soldiers safe.
But I did. Got prosecuted and sent away for my trouble.
Fucker comes to me and asks me to tell you he had to bug out but he’d be back. ”
Paisley didn’t know what he was talking about or what this hot thing was, but she wasn’t going to say anything now. She wanted to hear it all. Wanted to hear it from Trey’s mouth that he’d lied.
“But you didn’t.”
“Nope. He didn’t deserve you, Paisley. I would have taken care of you, like I said, but all you did was whine and cry. And then that fucking kid. Jesus, you’d think you were the only woman on planet earth to ever give birth.”
Her heart ached. “She could be yours and that’s how you feel about her? That she’s a fucking kid?”
He pinched her face harder. “She’s not mine, you dumb bitch.
I had a vasectomy years ago, before I met you.
” He barked a laugh at the shock in her eyes.
“Yeah, that was the best part. Knowing she was Ethan’s, taking his kid away from him.
Arrogant bastard. But you know what? I got an entire HOT team coming and I’m here to teach them a lesson.
Including the deputy commander. That fucker wanted me thrown out of the Army and now he’s here in this miserable little town, pretending to be a harmless safety instructor.
How the mighty have fallen.” He grinned.
“Got you to thank for this present, honey.”
Paisley was lost, but she wasn’t going to convey it to him.
And she didn’t dare look at the women for support or confirmation.
The most important thing he’d said was that Violet wasn’t his.
Had never been his. Ethan really was Violet’s father.
It wasn’t just a dream or a hope, it was real.
She wanted to tell him, and she might never get a chance.
Don’t think that way.
“Where is she, Trey? What have you done to her?”
“You don’t need to worry about that, babydoll. Your brat and the old lady are already dead.”
Her heart cracked in two. A sob bubbled into her chest, her throat.
Violet! Aunt Hettie! No!
Trey looked positively gleeful. “Yeah, that’s right. Cry for me, honey. I love the sound of your crying. Makes me hard.”
Rage boiled to the surface. She might be tied up, but she wasn’t helpless. Paisley reared back and head butted Trey with all her might. Blood burst from his nose as he roared.
She didn’t care. She fucking didn’t care. She rocked like a mad woman, her chair scooting across the floor, murder seeping from every pore of her body. She would fucking kill him. Even if she had to die herself, she’d do it.
“Fucking bitch,” Trey yelled, getting to his feet and holding a hand over his nose. He started for her but one of his guys grabbed his arm.
“We have to go. The plan. Stick to the plan.”
“I can fucking kill this bitch and they’ll still show up. The rest of the women are waiting for rescue. Snow will find her body, and then they’ll all burn. Is it wired?”
“It’s wired. Ready to blow. Let’s get out of here, stick to the plan.”
Trey looked wild. Conflicted. Paisley would have hidden her eyes in the past but now she glared. Daring him. Hating him.
“Mick,” the man said. “Let’s go. She’s gonna die anyway.”
Trey still didn’t move. Then he wiped his face with his sleeve, smearing blood everywhere, and she knew he’d gotten a handle on himself.
“Yeah, all right. You hear that, Paisley. When your lover comes for you, and he will, this whole building’s gonna go up in smoke. Gonna get an entire team and all their bitches this time. You think about that, darlin’.”
Trey lifted his weapon—and then smacked her across the face with it, slashing her cheek and knocking teeth loose. At least that’s what it felt like.
She fell over, slamming her head to the floor. The room swam for just a moment. Then everything went dark.