Chapter 36
She knew Colton wasn’t happy about her joining him and his two deputies in the interrogation of the man that Nick and her father had brought back.
With Nick there as well, though, Colton couldn’t deny how the people felt.
It was obvious the siblings were running the show now, and Colton was nothing more than a figurehead.
The shift was subtle but noticeable to everyone around them as the man was put into real handcuffs and latched onto the conference room table.
Veronica sat down across from him, glaring as she thought back to how she had been treated by his group earlier in the day.
They had been ready and willing to do despicable things to her.
The guy was lucky there were others in the room with them, or she might get in a few good swings.
The look in his eyes told her he was no different from Carl.
He was hungry for power, and nothing would stop him from accumulating that.
“How many more are there in the forest?” Veronica asked.
The man glared at her but said nothing. She didn’t care, though; Veronica had all the time in the world.
Turning to her brother, she addressed him instead of the deputies or the mayor. “This guy isn’t going to be much use. We need to get people out there right away to scan the area. Who knows how many more like him we will find.”
Nick nodded. “At this point, I’m inclined to tell them to shoot to kill. We’ve already got one alive. That’s good enough for me.”
Veronica nodded at him but said nothing as she turned her attention back to the man sitting across from her.
She knew Nick would never tell the villagers to shoot to kill, but it was obvious that their captive he didn’t know as much.
A flicker of anger and fear crossed his face as Nick left the room.
The two deputies and mayor followed him, equally confused by the order Veronica had given.
Hopefully, Nick would tell them it was all a ruse, but she couldn’t dwell on it either way.
She had to trust him to do what he thought was best.
“Now, why don’t we try this again? How many of your men are we going to be burying by the end of the day?” Veronica asked the man.
“There isn’t anyone else in the woods. I was sent out as a scout. Your people are wasting their time. When I don’t come back by the time the sun goes down, Carl will send out his entire force to look for me. You hicks don’t stand a chance.”
His words didn’t faze her. She knew just like the homesteaders, the villagers often traded and collected guns like most of the redneck nation.
They had more weapons and ammunition than a small country.
Not only that, but they would fight for their freedom against Markwood and his men.
If there were any way to avoid the bloodshed, though, she knew she had to try to work toward peace.
“I don’t want to hurt you or anyone else, for that matter?—”
“Tell that to the three men who died. I’m pretty sure you single-handedly killed two of them. You want to pretend like you’re a good person, but I know the truth. I saw how you murdered them in cold blood. One of them was my uncle, so you are barking up the wrong peace tree, lady.”
“Really? Tell me, which one was your uncle? Was he the one offering to hold me down or the one offering to rape me?” she snapped back.
The man’s face paled as his lips pursed into an angry frown. As far as she was concerned, there was no justification for the men’s actions, nor did she need to defend herself for what she had done.
“You were trespassing?—”
“And in your government, trespassing is grounds for sexual assault? Funny, I don’t really think the rest of the country is going to agree with you when the lights come back on and your crimes are exposed.”
“You’re a killer, too,” he snapped. “Does it even matter anymore? There is no law, no government, and no future for any of us. We are all alone. Only the strong are going to survive.”
“Then I guess we will all have sins to answer for. Now, I’ve got fifty men and women ready to unload a few thousand rounds into you and your men.
Do I want to see that happen? No. I’d much rather we work something out.
Tell me, how many of the city folks you guys are taking hostage would be willing to take up a gun for Markwood? What about for me and their freedom?”
“Listen, lady. I was just told to come out here and get a look at the village and what all y’all had. When I saw that asshole who set fire to the gas station, I had to take my shot. Hell, you’re a murderer, you get it.”
Veronica ground her teeth together, fighting to keep her cool.
“That ‘asshole’ you took a shot at is my brother. Not that it matters. You missed him anyway. Now you’ve got a bunch of pissed-off rednecks with guns ready to go after you and Markwood’s entire group.
I’d rather not see that happen. So, here is what we are going to do.
You are going to go back down to the city and give Carl a message.
Tell him to meet me at the bottom of the road at dusk and only bring two of his men.
I will do the same. Let’s negotiate peace instead of burying more of our friends and family. ”
“You don’t know him; he will never go for it. He might pretend to play nice, but he will stab you in the back the first opportunity he gets. The man isn’t from our city. He just rolled in, and within a couple hours, he had grown his gang of three to nearly twenty. There is no stopping him.”
Veronica said nothing, simply smiling at the man across from her.
She was counting on Carl not being true to his word.
She had to at least know she had tried to offer peace with him.
It would at least buy the villagers and farmers more time to prepare for whatever attack loomed.
Standing up, Veronica made her way to the conference room door and headed into the waiting area where the others were gathered.
She was almost certain that Colton was going to fight her on the plan, but she had to believe it was the right path.
If there were any way they could minimize the loss of life and bloodshed, she would take it.
No matter what happened, she had to make them understand there was danger all around them.
One of their own had already been shot, and more would follow if they didn’t start preparing now.
As she approached the group, they all waited for her to speak.
“We are going to send him back down to the city.”
Immediately, all four of the men started talking over each other at once.
Veronica wasn’t going to deal with it. Nick was the only one defending her idea, though he had no idea of the full extent of it.
She couldn’t get a word in edgewise with all of them screaming and carrying on.
Instead, she bellowed for them all to shut up.
She walked through the plan out loud. When they finally died down, she could see they still weren’t in agreement with her, but no one was going to stop her, either.
They had to know peace was the only way they could prevent losing their friends and neighbors.
Even Colton had fallen silent. She took the opportunity to tell the group about the man on the road who had tried to assault her and Bella.
In addition, she shared with them the chaos they saw on their trip in.
Safety was paramount in her mind. She had promised Bella a home where she could truly let down her guard.
That wasn’t a promise Veronica planned on breaking to the young girl.
All over, what was happening in the city was transpiring in other large metropolises.
People were already becoming desperate for resources and control.
Though she didn’t intend to, Veronica could see she had struck fear in their hearts.
Still, it was better than not doing anything at all.
With Colton and the officers reluctantly on her side, Veronica was certain they could convince the rest of the villagers that peace was needed.
Until a deal could be struck, though, everyone needed to be on high alert.