Chapter Four #2
The man—no, boy—whirled around to face me, a scream coming from his throat.
The air on the back of my neck stood up as my eyes dropped, finding Rossy’s barista curled up on the floor beside Carrie, her green eyes locked on the wall in front of her.
A muscle jumped in my cheek as I spotted the dried blood on the side of her head.
“Your boss is a sneaky son of bitch,” I said, taking a step closer to the fucker who hurt my girls.
The end of his AR-15 was pressed into my chest now.
I didn’t care. There were plenty of things to fear in this world, but the person in front of me wasn’t one of them.
I lifted a finger, gesturing to the bruise on my cheek.
“He’s got one hell of a right hook.” I paused.
“Well, had one hell of a right hook,” I clarified as the boy’s eyes dropped to the dried blood on the ends of my sleeves.
“I crushed his fucking hands with a cement block,” I finished on a growl.
“Stay away from me!”
I did my best to ignore Margo in my periphery as I leaned in. “You have two options: drown or leave peacefully.” This guy was still young enough to get out from under the thumb of the Black Mist, to start anew. “Start a new life, kid. It’s not too late.”
There was a flash of regret in his eyes, underneath the mountain of fear.
“I -I never wanted to do this,” the poor son of a bitch said, tripping over his words.
“That Brandon guy tried to strike a deal with Jack. H-he told us about your money, and Brandon still owed Jack,” he explained to Carrie, not to me.
“Where is Brandon?” Carrie asked, her voice was steadier than I expected it to be.
“Dead,” I clipped. I bit down, grinding my teeth in an effort to not look at Margo. Every cell in my body wanted to put a bullet in this fucker’s head for hurting her…but I couldn’t. He was too young. Stupid, yes, but there was still time for him to change, to be what the world needed him to be.
“You sure?”
My eyes met hers as the guy in front of me began to tremble, his hold on his weapon faltering.
I could easily disarm him, but I needed him to make that choice.
“Carrie, I saw it with my own fucking eyes,” I assured, impatient.
We could debrief later. Right now, I needed to get them out of the cold.
I lifted my chin to the kidnapper. “Give me the gun and leave.”
He didn’t even take a moment to think it over before he nodded, practically shoving the weapon into my hands.
I stepped to the side and he bolted. There was a large possibility that I was going to regret not killing him, but I could worry about that later.
I’d get Jake to track him down so we could keep an eye on him for a bit.
“You girls all right?” I asked, glancing at Margo. She was still staring straight ahead, knees underneath her chin, rocking back and forth.
Fuck.
I moved to Sarah as Carrie answered, “We’re okay, Hayes.”
Doubtful.
As soon as Sarah was untied, she shot up and headed outside. I did the same with Carrie, doing my best to ignore the pit in my stomach as she thanked me, tears shining in her eyes. I gave her a simple nod before lowering myself in front of Margo.
“Temper,” I called softly, hating the way she was staring right through me. I heard Carrie go outside, leaving me alone with the woman who’d been running through my mind for the last few weeks. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
She spoke then, her voice soft, almost broken. “I’m nothing.”
“Not true,” I murmured, blindly working on the binds around her ankles. I couldn’t look away from her face. There was dried blood on her temple, her fair skin dusted with dirt, and her black hair tangled.
She’d put up a fight, my girl.
“Look at me, Margo,” I commanded, pulling the rope away from her, tossing it away.
She confessed something to me then, something I knew I was never meant to hear. “I’m nearly thirty years old and I have nothing to show for it.”
Even though I couldn’t touch her, not being able to nearly killed me. “Dammit, Temper, look at me,” I growled, getting just inches away from her face, my hands on either side of her legs.
Finally, fucking finally, her jade green eyes saw me, recognition simmering within her newly formed tears. “H-Hayes?” she rasped.
Fucking Christ.
“There she is,” I whispered.
The water was nearly boiling as I dipped my head under the stream, the memory of that day eating at me from the inside out. I washed the shampoo out of my hair before bracing my hands on the tile, my heart racing. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Fuck.”
Somehow, I’d managed to find myself in a different version of hell. This one was just like the hell I’d barely managed to crawl my way out of years ago.
Two hours later, I put my Jeep in park, my eyes on Blue Beauty, Carrie and Grayson’s house, where it was perched on a hill at the corner of the street. The driveway was full, the sidewalk lined with familiar vehicles. More than I expected.
Wasn’t this just a family dinner?
“Is the entire fucking town here?” I asked, shutting off the engine, letting my head fall back against the seat.
The comfortable silence was shattered a few moments later when my cell began blaring.
I stared at the ceiling of the Jeep, knowing that driving to the airstrip and stealing the jet was still an option.
Jaw tight, I pulled out my phone. The cab lit up with my younger sister’s name.
“What’s wrong?” I answered, straightening in my seat.
She laughed. “Can I not call my brother to check in?”
My shoulders relaxed. “Sorry,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s been a long week.”
“Is now a good time to talk?” she asked, her voice soft. It was the same voice she used with my niece.
I glanced up at the house. “Depends on the subject, Dela.”
“Thanksgiving. Christmas. You know, the holidays?”
A deep sigh left me then. “I’ll be working.”
“Really? Just like last year and the year before that?” she quipped.
“Dela—”
“It’s been five years since you have spent a Thanksgiving or a Christmas with us, Hayes.”
“And you know why that is,” I replied calmly, regretting answering the phone. “Look, I have to go.”
“Hayes, I think we should talk about this. Five years is a long time.”
“We will. When I am ready,” I said, reaching for the door handle. “I’m not ready and you need to be okay with that. My healing doesn’t abide by your timeline or anyone else’s.”
In my life, there were only a handful of times when my sister had been stunned into silence, but unfortunately, this wasn’t one of those times. Though the slight pause gave me hope as I unfolded from the Jeep and hit the locks.
“Hayes, I didn’t mean to…” She trailed off and something in my gut tightened.
As I made my way across the street, I did what I needed to: I kept the peace. “Look, we can talk about it after the new year. I have a lot going on with work. There’s a huge case developing. I just know I won’t have the time to fly down there,” I lied. I lied to spare her any more pain.
“I understand.” She didn’t want to, but she did for me, and for right now, that had to be enough.
My boots hit the front porch. “Can I call you next week? Chat with Lucy, maybe?” I asked, twisting my neck to look through the front window.
A sharp pain shot through my chest as my eyes landed on the back of Margo’s head.
Her hair, usually pin straight, was curled and swept up off her neck, displaying the delicate arch of it.
It was intimate, something the outside world rarely ever got to see.
Jealousy seeped into my bloodstream, cold and vile as I noted how perfect her fair skin was tonight, the mark of my teeth completely healed—erased.
My sister’s words faded away entirely when that stunning arch deepened as she threw her head back and laughed.
What the fuck was she laughing at?
Nothing was fucking funny.
A low growl came from me then, my fingers tightening around my cell phone at the thought of that man—Gordon—being here. I didn’t know if I would be able to—if he put his hands on her around me…fuck.
Cool it, Mitchell.
“Hayes?” my sister called. “You there?”
My jaw tightened, pain radiating up to my temple as I ripped my gaze from that infuriating woman. “I have to let you go.”
The call ended and the front door opened, revealing Carrie and all her light. “Hi, Hayes!” she practically cried, lunging for me. Her arms were wrapped around my waist, her cheek against my chest. “You made it! I was so worried you couldn’t come.”
Inside, Grayson appeared with his hands in his pockets, dressed in black slacks and a light blue button-up. He jerked his chin to me as my arms wrapped around Carrie, returning the warm embrace. “Wouldn’t miss it,” I murmured as she stepped back, still beaming.
“I’m so glad,” she whispered, looking back at Grayson. “Tonight is a big night.”
A small smile found my friend then. “Yes, it is, Sunshine.”
Carrie grabbed my arm. “Come on in! Dinner is nearly ready. You want a beer?”
I cleared my throat, stepping over the threshold. “No, I’m all right. Thank you.”
Carrie nodded, her curls bouncing as Grayson shut the door. Her voice filled their cozy but cramped living room then. “The food should be ready in just a few minutes, everyone!”
The boys from Red Snake flashed her grins and a few of the locals nodded and smiled. I could feel my angry girl’s gaze burning into my profile as Grayson rounded to my front, holding his hand out for me to shake. “Thank you,” he said, sincere.
My hand clapped with his as I pushed words out. “No need to thank me, Gray. I’ll always be here when you need me.”
He slapped me on the shoulder, shot me a grin, and moved away, following his woman around the corner and into the kitchen.
The smell of herbs and garlic was all around, and I knew if I got even a whiff of jasmine, I would snap.
I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t go near her.
If I did, everyone in this house would know the truth, and the last thing I needed was more of my pain exposed.