Chapter Thirteen
Josie awoke bound and tied to a metal bracket on the floor of what appeared to be an old panel van. The light was dim but across from her she could see one cut zip tie lying on the floor next to a similar metal bracket.
She couldn’t hear anything but the wind that now rocked the van.
But she knew Goldie had been here. She could still feel her friend’s fear in the van.
But she couldn’t rise high enough to see out the windshield as to where they were or where Goldie might have been taken.
Unlike her grandmother, visions were never clear and the harder she tried, the less she could see.
Which was why she’d never trusted this so-called gift.
It hurt because she’d never needed it as much as she did right now.
After a few futile attempts to free herself, Josie suddenly stopped.
She’d forgotten about the gun she’d put in her pocket after leaving Esther’s.
She could feel the weight of it and was surprised that Grimes hadn’t noticed it.
Leaning forward, she managed to get the gun out of her pocket and into the waistband of her jeans.
She’d almost dropped it when she heard someone approaching.
Hurriedly, she pretended to still be unfocused from the drug he’d used on her, closing her eyes and slumping over a little, as the side door rolled open and she felt him step inside. She smelled him as he grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him.
“Wondered when you’d come around,” he said as he pulled out a knife. “I’m going to cut you free from the floor, but if you try anything, your good friend Goldie will suffer. Got it?”
She nodded numbly, letting him yank her to her feet and shove her through the open doorway of the van. She felt the gun bite into her flesh at her waist as she stumbled but managed to stay on her feet. Unfortunately, she felt her phone also still on her.
“Wait!” he bellowed in a voice that made her freeze. Grimes grabbed her and shoved her hard against the side of the van as he snatched the phone from the back pocket of her jeans. As he spun her around to face him, Josie got her first good look at him.
He was big and muscled, his tattooed throat corded like his massive arms. Surprisingly, he wasn’t as ugly as she’d pictured him, though he had his share of scars, including the one that made his right eyelid droop.
The real ugliness she saw was inside him and shone in his eyes. They were like looking into something dark and deep and revoltingly malevolent. She shuddered as she felt those dark eyes rake over her.
“Ain’t you a little thing,” he said with a deep, hoarse laugh. “At least my stepsons have good taste when it comes to women. Come on, let’s go see your friend.”
She glanced around, feeling a chill as she took in the dilapidated old two-story house sitting alone on the hillside apparently miles from anywhere.
A feeling of pain and hate and horror rushed at her.
She didn’t want to go in there. Horrible things had happened there.
“What is this place?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“Home,” Grimes said with a chuckle that made her gag.
Home? This man and this house were what Max and Cordell had run from.
She felt sick to her stomach as he dragged her toward the house.
She sensed the hell the two had gone through here and had to fight to block the sensations she knew she would feel once inside as she cursed her second sight.
She tried to think of anything but what Max and Cordell had lived through in this place.
As they reached the nearly falling-down porch, Grimes dragged her up what was left of the steps and shoved open the door. Bracing herself, Josie told herself to be strong. For Goldie. If Goldie was still alive.
Where were Cordell and Max? Did they know what was happening?
Josie knew that she couldn’t plan on them finding her and Goldie.
Grimes hadn’t checked her for a weapon. He’d already misjudged her because of her slight build and her gender.
Her grandmother had taught her how to use a gun, so she’d also learned to respect the weapon.
“Never pull your gun unless you’re going to use it.
Never use a gun unless you’ve tried every way but Sunday to talk yourself out of a situation. ”
She glanced at Grimes. There was a ruthlessness about him that told her everything she needed to know about why Cordell and Max had ended up in Dry Gulch alone.
She’d seen Grimes’s kind before, usually in a courtroom or a jail—on their way to prison.
When she pulled the gun, she would use it since she had a bad feeling there was no way to talk herself out of this.
He was right on her heels, not that she was going to run.
She flinched at the sight of the battered old house that looked as if it was fighting to stay standing.
He shoved her toward it. Goldie would be inside, but she had no idea what shape her friend might be in as she stumbled up the rotting porch steps.
She felt the gun but didn’t know if Grimes was alone. She had to bide her time until she knew exactly what she and Goldie were up against. Not that Grimes was ever far enough away from her for her to pull the weapon and fire, not with her wrists still bound.
When Josie saw Goldie tied to a chair, her heart broke for her. She could see her friend’s fear, feel her own as the cold shadowy darkness made her shudder.
Grimes seemed to be alone except for his hostages.
Josie wished she knew for sure that no one else would be coming through the door at any moment.
But the man had stayed close to her, as if expecting her to try something.
He hadn’t given her sufficient room to draw the gun and fire with any chance of doing more than wounding him.
“Have a seat,” Grimes said, pointing to the worn wooden floor next to an old radiator as he pulled a couple of zip ties from his jacket pocket.
Josie knew that arguing the point would be a waste of her breath.
She could feel the gun biting into her waist as she sat down, hoping he didn’t notice her grimace.
As he came over to her, she held out her wrists to make the job easier for him. She could see him watching her suspiciously. He used the second zip tie to attach her wrists to the radiator with no slack. She had no chance to draw the gun unless she could free herself from the radiator.
“You think you’re tough, don’t you?” Grimes said when she didn’t flinch at how tight he did the zip tie. “Just like your friend. Probably need to be because of those two worthless boyfriends of yours.”
Josie didn’t take the bait, but Goldie started to respond, then caught herself.
“I need to make a call,” Grimes announced. “You two stay right here. Don’t do anything that will make me angry. You really don’t want to see me lose my temper.” He laughed. “My stepsons can tell you what happens when I lose my temper.”
With that, he pulled out his phone and left them alone.
“Are you all right?” Josie asked her friend the moment he was gone. She didn’t know how much time they had before he returned. Goldie only nodded.
“Is Grimes acting alone or is there someone else he’s working with?”
“Alone, at least I think so. He makes a lot of calls. Max and Cordell are coming, aren’t they?”
Josie couldn’t tell if Goldie was hoping they would come and save them or stay away so they weren’t harmed. She understood that feeling since she was experiencing it herself. “I don’t know what is going to happen, but I don’t think he will harm us.” At least not yet.
“Unless he can’t get his hands on them,” Goldie said and looked away as her eyes filled with tears. “All I’ve ever wanted was to marry Max, have his babies, make a life for the two of us in Dry Gulch.”
“I’m sure that’s what he’s always wanted, too.”
Goldie didn’t look so sure about that. “I guess he really did break up with me to try to protect me, for all the good it did.”
“Roger Grimes already knew about you and Max, about me and Cordell. Esther. She became his pen pal while he was in prison. She told him everything about everybody, but especially the four of us.”
“That horrible woman.”
“That’s putting it kindly,” Josie said. “Can you see Grimes?”
“He’s outside on his phone. You think the reason Max hasn’t asked me to marry him is because of his past?”
“I suspect so.” She also thought it was why Cordell had left town, left her, and why he’d come back. Josie knew that he loved her, but sometimes love wasn’t enough.
“Grimes still has the phone to his ear,” Goldie said. “He’s pacing. He doesn’t look happy.”
* * *
Max had been lost in the past as he drove toward Rawlins, Wyoming. For years he’d held the awful memories at bay, fighting desperately to put them far behind him. He’d known that Grimes had killed their mother, but now that her grave had been found just past the homestead—
He started when his cell phone rang, pulling him out of the past. He saw that they were almost to Rawlins and shot a glance over at Cordell, who appeared to be sound asleep, curled in the corner of the pickup. His brother stirred as the phone rang again.
Not recognizing the number, Max let it ring another time before he picked up. “Sheriff Lander.”
Silence. Then he heard a low familiar laugh that made his blood run cold.
“Weren’t expecting a call from me, I take it?” Grimes asked.
“You used your one phone call from jail to talk to me?” the sheriff said, trying not to let Grimes hear his shock. “I’m honored.”