24. River
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
River
I’d been wanting to get Jud Hale alone. Now, I had my chance.
This was going to be fun .
The side door of the garage creaked as I came inside. Jud lifted his head, flinching when he saw me. “Kwon. What do you want?”
I grabbed the hunting knife. Walked slowly toward the work table, where he once again lay bound. There was only a single lightbulb overhead. I didn’t bother to switch on the others. I didn’t speak either.
Instead, I pulled up a metal stool. The legs of the stool squealed when dragged over the concrete. Jud cringed.
I sat right beside the table, toying with the knife.
“Is that supposed to intimidate me?” Jud’s voice had a hint of shrillness.
I said nothing. Just twisted the blade from side to side, examining it.
Jud pulled on his restraints. Shifting around as much as he could on the table. “Let me sit up like a human! That’s why you’re here right? To question me some more?”
I didn’t respond .
“You’re nowhere near as scary as Stillwater.”
I just blinked. Like I was bored. Then checked the time on my phone.
His head thumped as he lay flat again. Jud started to laugh. But it was laced with panic. “You know, Kwon, you’re the one who should be worried. Stillwater knows all about you and your friends. Aiden Shelborne. Trace Novo. You’ve all got military training, and you spend a lot of time up at Last Refuge. They’ve got a tendency to take in strays at Last Refuge, don’t they? Did you think nobody would notice how you’re running around playing heroes?”
My pulse ticked up, but I didn’t react.
“Stillwater knows that you and your friends bombed their facility earlier this year,” Jud said. “Sheriff Douglas was there. Genevieve Blake. So were you and Aiden. I heard all about it. Do you think Stillwater forgot about that? You honestly think they’ll let that go unpunished? Now you’re playing Charlotte’s savior, but that’ll just make Stillwater hate you more.”
I had figured Stillwater knew my name and the names of my friends. It was interesting that Jud hadn’t mentioned Cole Bailey, a former Army Ranger with the callsign Lynx who’d helped us when we infiltrated Stillwater’s facility. I filed away that fact for later.
But I was far more concerned that he’d mentioned Last Refuge. How much did Stillwater truly know about our activities there? What else was Stillwater plotting that we didn’t know about?
Jud strained against the ropes. “My point is that we have a common enemy. We’re wasting time here. You must have a better place to hide, right? You’ve been keeping Charlotte away from Stillwater. Do the same for me. If you work with me, I’ll work with you. I’ll make a better friend than an enemy.”
“No, I don’t think so. ”
Jud flinched, even though I’d spoken softly.
“Then why are you here? What the hell do you want?” He was getting more desperate. I could smell the sour sweat. The fear.
Now, we were ready to begin.
“Charlotte thinks there’s more you haven’t told us about the events leading up to Stillwater’s attack on the fundraiser,” I said.
“I’m happy to go through it with you again, but I wasn’t lying. I told Charlotte everything.”
I looked down at the knife. “Oh, I know. I think she’s wrong. You’ve got nothing else that interests me.”
“ What ?”
I paused a long moment. Then drew the metal stool a little closer. Leaned over like I was going to share a secret. “See, I told Charlotte I would come in here and interrogate you again. Find out the rest of what you’re keeping back. But the truth is, I think you’ve spilled your guts already. Figuratively , at least.”
“Then…then what…”
I smiled slowly.
“You mentioned my friends. But there’s also Jessi and Scarlett. Stillwater helped their abusers get away with their crimes for way too long. A Stillwater employee also tortured Genevieve for information. Now Stillwater is trying to hurt Charlotte. That’s how Stillwater likes it though, huh? They help sickos abuse women and children.”
“That isn’t my fault.”
“But someone should answer for all that harm. I haven’t got Stillwater’s leaders here, but I do have you.”
“I didn’t lay a finger on any of them. I just took the money that was offered. If it hadn’t been me, it would’ve been someone else. You have to know that.”
I shrugged. “You’re probably right.” I leaned in further, dropping my voice to a whisper. “But you know what really bugs me, more than anything else?”
“What?” His voice was getting hoarse.
“You had a woman like Charlotte in your arms. In your bed. And you didn’t treat her right.”
“You want me to apologize to her? I’ll apologize. I was a shitty boyfriend. I lied to her. I’ll crawl on the damn ground if that’s what it takes.”
“Nope, that won’t fix my problem. Charlotte and I have a long history. The truth is, I’ve been in love with her since we were in high school, and I never had the chance to call her mine. Do you know how that feels? How jealousy has eaten at me?” I brought the knife to his chin. Traced it along his jawline. “Do you know how fucking crazy it makes me, thinking of her with a man like you?”
“Oh God,” he whimpered. “Please.”
“Charlotte thinks I’m in here interrogating you, but I’m just waiting long enough for it to seem like I gave it a shot. She’s over near the house keeping an eye on the road, making sure that nobody sneaks up on us unaware. I wouldn’t leave her by herself for long. But luckily we’re almost done here. I’ll just tell her that you managed to get free, rushed me, and I had no choice but to stab you. Right between your ribs and into your heart.” I pointed at his chest with my finger, grinning.
“You wouldn’t. You stopped Charlotte before she cut me with that same knife. You need me!”
“I didn’t want her pretty hands to get dirty. I don’t want that on her conscience. She’s seen too much violence and death already.” I shrugged. “I’d also prefer she doesn’t witness how much I’m going to enjoy this.”
“You’re insane.”
“Am I? It all makes sense to me. I just want to see you crying and bleeding out onto the ground until the life drains out of you. Is that so much to ask?”
“Help!” Jud thrashed against the ropes. “Charlotte, help! He’s going to kill me!”
“She’s not coming.” I checked the time again on my phone. “It’s been almost ten minutes. I figure that’s long enough.” I stood.
“Okay! Okay, okay! Charlotte was right! I was lying!”
“Nice try.” I pointed the knife at his sternum.
“I have more on Stillwater,” he shouted, squeezing his eyes closed. “An insurance policy! I swear to you, it’s major, you’ll want it, just don’t, don’t?—”
I paused with the knife an inch from his chest. “What kind of insurance policy?”
“It’s a list of everyone in the government, at all levels, who is working for Stillwater. Everyone .”
Now that was interesting. But I had to ensure he was desperate enough to tell the whole truth.
“Seems like you’re just stalling for time. How about this? I really will cut your restraints. I’ll give you a chance to fight. That way, when I put this knife between your ribs, it’ll be a little more believable. And more fun for me, to be honest, because I’m getting bored.”
“Lori Landry,” he screamed.
I took a small step back. “Is that a name?”
“Yes. I told you about the lobbyist who initially brought me into Stillwater. Lori is his assistant. I got close to her. She became…enamored with me.”
I held back an eye roll. So he wasn’t just in bed with Stillwater, he was literally in bed with them. “Go on.”
“I was seeing her.”
“While you were still with Charlotte?”
“No. I mean, okay, yes. ”
“This is your way of convincing me you deserve to live?” I held up the knife again, and more words poured out of him.
“Wait! After I moved to Hartley, Lori was stuck back in Denver, and she wasn’t happy. We both wanted a way out. She told me about a list with the name of every mole that Stillwater has inside the government. She didn’t have a copy yet, but she was sure she could get it. We’d buy our freedom, both of us, in exchange for not making the list public.”
“Plus a few million dollars, I’m assuming? I’m sure you told Lori you would whisk her away to a fabulous new life on some exotic island. The two of you could be together forever. Am I getting warm?”
Jud glared at me. “Money is the only thing that buys security. I was short on options.”
“But when you issued your ultimatum to Stillwater, they weren’t as cooperative as you’d hoped.”
He looked chagrined. “It took a long time for Lori to get her hands on the list. She had to make sure it wouldn’t be traced back to her. But she finally managed it and sent the hard drive with the info to me in Hartley. I contacted Stillwater and made the demand about two weeks ago.”
“Did you look at the list?”
“Why did I care what it said? I had them over a barrel. If that list got out, it would be catastrophic to their business. But right after I sent my demand, I lost contact with Lori.”
I set the knife on the shelf as I listened. I didn’t need it anymore. Jud was on a roll.
“I had no idea what was going on. Still, I tried to stay calm and be patient. Stillwater wouldn’t dare strike out at us or risk that the list would get out. But then just a few days ago, I got an email. It had a picture of Lori. Dead . They’d killed her. You don’t want to know how.”
A shudder ran through him. Jud had gone sickly pale .
“A minute after I got the email, the lobbyist called me. They knew everything . He told me I had to return every copy I had of that list immediately, or they would go after Charlotte next.”
“Why Charlotte? She broke up with you a while ago.”
“But I still cared about her. Like I told her. That’s how Stillwater works. They dig up your secrets, your weaknesses, and use them against you. Lori never had a chance. But they said they’d do even worse things to Charlotte. Because Charlotte had dared to make moves against them with her initiative against human trafficking. They’d make an example of her. Second highest official in the state, but they could reach her in the most public setting possible.”
“The fundraiser.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s how you knew they would strike that night at the botanic gardens?”
“I connected the dots. On the phone, the lobbyist said someone was coming for me, and if I didn’t turn over the list as soon as their man arrived, Charlotte was dead meat and so was I. I had minutes. So I ran. Packed what I could, jumped on my ATV and disappeared into the forest.”
He ran, despite knowing what Stillwater would do to Charlotte. Unbelievable.
“How did you manage to call her?”
“Once I was sure they hadn’t followed me, I found cell reception. Tried to warn her. Texted. But she didn’t answer. I had to turn off my phone after that so they wouldn’t track me. I’ve stayed off my phone and offline ever since.”
So he’d made sure he was safe before he called Charlotte. But she’d already been on her way to the fundraiser, already on her way into danger. Jud could make all the excuses he wanted, but he’d chosen himself over Charlotte yet again.
This was why Stillwater wanted to kidnap Charlotte. To use her as leverage against Jud. They would hold her hostage until Jud emerged from hiding or they captured him, and then they’d make him watch her suffer until he broke.
Of course, there was no way Stillwater would let Jud live. And they’d probably torture and kill Charlotte anyway too, just as they’d threatened when they first made Jud a member. His betrayal meant death for those he cared for.
The fact that she was lieutenant governor and was starting to annoy them? Merely a bonus.
“Yet when she asked you for the truth,” I said, “you left out the part about having a list of every Stillwater operative in the government. Because you wanted to hold on to it. Your only bargaining chip, right? Who cares that the info could take Stillwater down and save innocent lives. You only care about your own.”
He didn’t answer.
“Where is it?” I asked. “The hard drive with this list?”
Jud hesitated. “If Stillwater gets their hands on it, I’m as good as dead.”
“You’re forgetting that you’re as good as dead right fucking now . I should end you and bury you in the woods for all you’ve done.”
I grabbed the knife and lunged. Held the blade to his jugular. Cold steel, and I made sure he felt it. He screamed.
“But it turns out that list might save your life after all. I want it, Juddy. I’ll ask one more time. Where. Is. It? ”