Chapter 13 #2
When I get home to the ranch, the yard looks empty, and I head straight for the stable to saddle up Thunder, so I can go relieve Tate.
The guy works hard, he deserves a break, and a distraction from the thoughts in my head is needed right now.
I can’t think about what she might be doing, or who might be watching her.
I just gotta hope that Wade sticks to his word and takes care of her tonight.
“Garrett,” I turn around when I hear Tate’s voice. He’s dressed up, looking like he’s heading out for a good time
“I think you're gonna wanna see this,” he hands me his phone, and I can tell by the look on his face that I’m not gonna like what I see.
I stare at the photo that’s been sent, and the blood boils under my skin.
“Noah sent it. Apparently he’s back in town, staying at the B and it still survives, despite the bigger hotels that have been constructed in our neighboring towns.
Some people want the small-town experience, and when it comes to development, this town sticks together.
Grahame Taylor owes me a favor, so he was happy to see me inside, and in return, I told him he could reassure his wife that I wouldn’t leave a mess behind.
It’s late when Laurie stumbles inside the door, and the woman that comes in behind him gasps in fear when she notices me sitting in the chair by the window. I’m pretty sure it’s the same girl Wade fucked at the street party, the town threw, on the Fourth of July.
“You better get going, sweetheart,” I warn her, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees and enjoying the way Laurie starts to panic.
The woman doesn't even bother to say goodbye, just clutches her purse against her chest and rushes out the door.
“Garrett, I…”
“I figure you came back into town to pay me back for what you stole,” I interrupt, before he starts with the bullshit.
“I… I came because my mom’s sick and she can’t afford the medical bills. I’m looking for work, and I’m told the Mason’s are hiring. If I can get work, I can look at paying you back.”
I nod my head, like I might believe him for a while.
“See, that’s confusing because, I’m sure you told me that your momma died when you were a teenager,” I remind him.
His face turns white, and the way he fidgets with his hands tells me I’m right. “So were you lying to me then, or are you lying to me now?” I ask calmly.
“I’m… I just need the money, Garrett.” Laurie lets out a long, desperate sigh.
“And you really thought you could show your face in this town, after stealing from us, and not have to pay any consequences?” I scratch at my stubble and snigger.
“I’m desperate. I got three kids living in this town. I got maintenance to pay, and I wanna their father. Kelly’s already moved in with her new guy, and it’s only a matter of time before she tries to phase me out.
Those kids are all I got, Garrett. Please.” I rest back in the chair and light up a smoke. I can see the man is desperate, but that don’t mean he can get away with what he’s done.
“I’ll do anything, anything. Everyone knows what you're about Garrett. I don’t mind doing some dirty work to pay off my debts,”
“Dirty work?” I laugh. “I couldn’t trust you with a trailer of cattle; you think I’d trust you with the dirty work ?” I crush out my smoke, stand up and walk towards him, watching the fear in his eyes grow wider.
“I’ll take the brand,” he blurts out, and it makes me pause.
“There ain’t no brand anymore.” I have to take my eyes off his when I say that because I know how disappointed my grandfather would be to hear it. “Besides, to be branded, you gotta be trusted, and I’d rather put my bare dick in that whore, who just walked outta here, than put any trust in you.”
“So what ya gonna do? Kill me?” Even in the darkness I can see his fear, and when I reach up to take his throat in my hand, I squeeze so hard that I make him choke.
“I gotta be honest, Laurie. I’m seriously fucking considering it,” I tell him, and mean every word.
I’ve always had a hunger for pain. I can’t remember when it started, and I can’t see it ever stopping.
With me, there are no limits. I’ve killed men for doing less to my family than Laurie Cross did, but I’ve never made orphans outta innocent kids before, and I certainly ain’t about to start.
Laurie starts to struggle, it’s a feeble attempt to save his life, and I use the hand I’m not crushing his windpipe with to punch him in his face and knock his pussy-ass fight, right outta him.
He cries like a baby, blood and dribble spills from his mouth, and when my eyes catch the picture of his kids that’s on his bedside table, I let him go.
He falls to the ground with a loud thump, clutching at his throat and spluttering like a dying dog.
“You wanna keep your life, you're gonna have to do something for me,” I light myself a fresh cigarette and look down at the pathetic mess at my feet.
“Anything, I told you. I’ll do anything.”
“I want you to make sure you get that job on Mason’s ranch, and I want you to feedback anything you think would be useful for me to hear.”
Laurie manages to climb onto all fours, and I lay my boot into his stomach to knock him back down.
“I wanna know what my brother’s doing there, and I wanna know how he’s getting treated.” I crouch down and blow the smoke, from my lungs, into his face and watch as he nods his head at me.
“This is your chance to show me that you regret what you did. Fuck it up, and I’ll kill you.” I promise, then stretching back onto my feet, I slam my boot into his face before I walk out the door.
I get back to the truck and notice three missed calls on my phone. They’re all from Wade, and I immediately start to panic as I call him back. Starting the truck, I wait for him to pick up.
“I lost her,” he answers, sounding worried. There's a lotta noise coming from the background, and I’m struggling to hear him.
“What do you mean, you fucking lost her?” I yell down the phone, slamming my palm into the wheel of my truck before I scrub it over my face.
“I mean, I went to the john, and when I came back out, she was gone. Garrett, I don’t know where she is. She was hanging with Jason, they looked like they were getting on, and he’s not here either,”
“Have you tried calling her?” I pull out of my parking space and start heading back toward Columbus.
“Course I have, she ain’t picking up, and neither is he.”
I don’t know who the fuck Jason is, but the thought of him touching her is making me murderous.
“I’m on my way,” I tell him, hanging up the phone and pushing my foot harder on the gas pedal. I don’t give a shit about the red light I run through. All that matters right now, is finding her.
* * *
It only takes an hour to get there, and when I storm into the dive bar where Wade told me they’d be, I breathe a sigh of relief when I see her sitting beside him. What I don’t like is the fact there’s another guy resting his hand on her shoulder. A guy I’m guessing is fucking Jason.
“You called him?” Maisie looks at Wade and rolls her eyes, like she’s mad at him for it.
“I panicked,” he holds up his hands in defense, before swiping his bottle off the table and drinking from it.
“You ok?” I ignore the guy standing beside her and focus my eyes on her. She doesn’t appear to be injured or harmed in any way.
“She was feeling a little light-headed, so I took her out for some air,” he informs me, and when I look from her to him and see him grinning back at me, it makes me want to fish-hook each side of his mouth and tear it apart.
“Ain’t you a fucking hero?” I grin back sarcastically, before looking back to Maisie.
“Come on. I’m taking you home.” The harshness in my tone is still there when I hold my hand out for her, but instead of taking it she scowls at me.
“I’m not ready to leave,” I don’t know if she’s a little drunk or just back to being the sassy girl she was when she first arrived, but I’m not in the mood for games.
“Maisie, I drove an hour out here to pick ya up. We’re leaving.” I try and keep the rage out of my voice, but when the girl shakes her head at me, I feel my patience reach its limit.
“I don’t think she wants to go, buddy,” Jason pipes up, and my brother instantly goes from being chilled to on edge.
“What did you just call me?” I stare at his friend, as all that rage travels straight to my fists.
“Hey, Jase, why don’t you head over to the bar and get more beers?” Wade pulls a wad of notes from his jeans pocket and presses them into the guy’s chest. He’s trying to avoid a situation, so I’m figuring he doesn’t want Jason, here, to get hurt.