Fourteen
Bay
The landing was smooth, unlike my inner turmoil. The silence from Hale, combined with the arrival to wherever he was taking me, had me very close to the panic attack I was trying not to have.
At least he’d stopped drinking, although I hoped he wasn’t driving us somewhere.
He didn’t act intoxicated, but how could he not be with the amount of whiskey I had seen him consume?
Not that a wreck was my first concern. Technically, if it wasn’t a bad wreck, then it could help me.
I’d be able to tell a police officer that I had been taken against my will.
“Let’s go,” Hale said, looking up from his phone, where he’d been texting.
I’d looked outside while we descended, and it hadn’t seemed as if we were near an ocean. That meant I wasn’t about to be put on a ship and sent off. I was starting to think the sex trade wasn’t in my future. This was about a man. One I didn’t know, but Hale seemed convinced that I did.
What was it that 1A had done to make him so angry?
Standing up, I slowly walked toward the door of the plane as it opened.
I didn’t get a choice. I had to get off, but every step I took, I was considering breaking into a run.
Breaking free and going as fast as I could—but I knew I’d be caught.
That wouldn’t work. Perhaps I could do a better job of proving my innocence to the next person.
Hale Carver refused to believe a word I said.
The sun should have set by now, which meant we were no longer in the Eastern time zone.
We’d gone west. How far I wasn’t sure, but from the sun’s position in the sky, I’d say we were in the Central time zone.
The flight had taken about an hour and a half, but it wasn’t commercial, which meant it could have covered more distance in that time.
A black Escalade—much like the one Hale had driven in DC, identical actually—was waiting just outside the plane.
A younger guy—he looked to be in his mid-twenties—was leaning against the passenger side with his arms crossed over his chest and a black cowboy hat tilted back slightly on his head.
He did a quick once-over of me, and then his eyes went to Hale.
“Ten minutes early,” the guy said to him.
“Did the shipment come in?” Hale asked him.
“Yeah, it’s been put up, and orders went out. Ransom is at the office, handling the other issues.”
“Once I drop her at Linc’s, I’ll head over.”
Drop me at Linc’s? Was that a person or a place?
The guy’s eyes flickered over to me again, as if assessing me and my blazer, which I was clutching closed like my life depended on it. “She annoying?”
If I wasn’t being held against my will by Hale, then I’d take offense to that. Right now, I couldn’t care less what some cowboy thought of me.
“No, Snow’s not much of a talker,” Hale told him.
The guy’s eyebrows shot up. “Snow? That’s her name?”
Hale shrugged. “She’s fucking pale. It fits. Get her suitcase from the cargo and load it in the vehicle.”
Okay, so maybe that did sting. I wasn’t a tanner. But “fucking pale” was a little harsh.
The other guy laughed as he headed back toward the plane. I hadn’t realized my carry-on had come with us. Hale opened the door and glanced back at me.
“Get in,” he said, sounding bored.
I once again considered that running option, but they had a vehicle and could catch me easily enough. It would only make this worse for me. With a glare in his direction, I climbed into the back awkwardly, so as to not let go of my jacket and flash either man.
“Scoot over unless you’re planning on sitting in my lap.”
I hadn’t realized he was getting in the back with me. Fantastic. Just what I wanted. More of Hale Carver. Sighing, I moved as far over as I could, then reached for my seat belt to buckle up.
My fender-bender scenario was a bust. Hale apparently didn’t drink and drive. How law-abiding of him. He must choose the crimes he would commit carefully.
The other guy opened the back and I heard my suitcase being put inside.
“Oz back from Alabama?” Hale asked the other guy.
“Yeah, got back today. That issue was settled.”
How far were we from Alabama? I looked around as we drove away from the landing strip and onto a main road. It looked like the southeast. I’d flown through here enough. But what part? It was going to be dark soon, and I’d not be able to tell much.
When the younger man was in the driver’s seat he glanced back at Hale through the rearview mirror.
“How was Opal?”
“Good,” Hale replied.
“I need to get to DC and see her,” he said.
“Yeah, you do.”
Opal. Was that his daughter? Did he really have one? And if he did, then this guy could be one of his sons. But he was here, helping Hale with my abduction. It didn’t seem like something a man would involve his kid in.
“So, uh, Snow,” the guy driving said.
“Bay,” I immediately corrected him.
“Excuse me?”
“My name is Bay,” I said.
“Oh, right. Bay, ever been to Mississippi before?”
Mississippi. Was that where we were going? Or were we already there?
“Uh, yes. At least, I’ve been there briefly for connections. But not many,” I replied.
“Haven’t told her where she is,” Hale stated, sounding annoyed.
The guy glanced in the rearview mirror and winced. “Oops.”
Hale shrugged. “Doesn’t fucking matter. She was gonna figure it out the minute we hit the interstate.”
The other guy went back to watching the road. “How long she staying?”
Hale turned his head and looked at me. I didn’t turn to meet his gaze. “As long as it takes for her to be of value. She’s gonna have to talk though.”
What did he mean “of value”? How was I supposed to be of value?
“I told you, I don’t know Mr. McKennon,” I snapped.
“Stop with the bullshit, Snow. Calling him by the wrong name doesn’t make you look innocent. It makes you look stupid. Real fucking stupid.”