Chapter Twenty-Eight
June’s eyes opened groggily, her head still spinning and sluggish. The pain was immediate, sharp and insistent as soon as she pulled her head up from the floor. Her hand drew to her forehead as she pulled herself up to sit.
What did he hit me with?
She knew it had been the butt of his pistol, but she had no idea he had the strength to knock her out with a single blow.
Her surroundings were unfamiliar. The silence was deafening.
Where is he?
She tried to shift her body, but her limbs felt heavy. It felt as though she was being weighed down by something—something more than just exhaustion. It was as though her body was more than just stiff.
Memories from earlier came rushing back—Trey on his horse, backing her against a tree, the struggle, the pain…
There was a dull ache at her throat, and she remembered his hands on her neck. His grip. The pressure of his fingers pressing into her skin as she lost consciousness.
So where am I now?
It took her a while to fully process her surroundings. The room she was in was small, and there were no windows. Just the scent of dust. And something metallic…
Panic slowly started to creep up into her body. She couldn’t see anything except a faint line of light coming from what she could only presume was the door.
She swallowed hard and tried to focus. Where am I?
Trey had taken her. And then…?
The realization that she had been dragged somewhere unknown hit her hard.
Then a faint sound from outside the room reached her ears. The echo of heavy boots against the floorboards. Slow. Deliberate. Like he was pacing in front of the door. There was a sharp sound of metal sliding across the floor, like he was dragging something alongside him.
What is he planning?
June’s breath caught in her throat when the door finally creaked open.
The light cascaded behind him, outlining Trey’s silhouette sharply, along with an unlit lantern in one hand and a pail on the ground beside him—but she couldn’t see any of his features.
His face was entirely in darkness as he picked up the pail and stepped into the room.
He set the lantern and the pail on the floor in front of him.
Then he turned and slammed the door shut.
The cold click of the latch was loud in the stillness of the room.
A soft hiss followed, and she heard the strike of a match as a small flame blazed to life, revealing Trey’s hooked nose and the lantern glass.
He opened the door of the lantern and stuck the match inside. There was a flicker—and then the lantern flame sprang up. It cast an orange, shaky glow that seemed to waver in his hands. The shadows that danced across the walls were just hers and his. But she could see his eyes now.
Dark.
Menacing.
June’s eyes widened, and her body went stiff. She could feel something dripping on her forehead—whether sweat or blood, she didn’t know—and her body shook in fear. She felt utterly alone. He dragged the pail to his side, and she realized that that was what he had been scooting across the floor.
It seemed to take him great effort to drag it to his side, as if something heavy was inside it. She could smell the rusted metal… and there was something else, another smell—one she didn’t recognize. Something that had to be inside of the pail.
His eyes met hers. They were dark and narrowed. He grinned at her wickedly. “Glad to see you’re awake,” he said with that fake gentlemanly voice that had caught her in his trap in the first place. She hated how smooth his voice was, especially now, as she sat injured in front of him.
He enjoyed this. It was sick. Twisted.
“I was starting to worry you might take a bit longer to come around,” he added, staring her down.
June’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want to look at him, but she forced herself to. Don’t show weakness. She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.
“Where am I?” she asked, her voice hoarse, barely there.
“Does it matter?” his tone was condescending. “It’s not like you’re going anywhere. You’re in my custody now. You’ll be staying here for as long as I decide.”
What exactly does he want?
She had to stay focused, keep her head clear. If she was going to survive this, she needed to remember who she was—who she used to be before all this.
What was his motive?
It had always been money. Power. Control. Surely there was something she could offer—a deal she could make.
Think, June. Think!
The coldness in his eyes as he moved toward her sent a coldness down her spine, but she couldn’t show weakness.
“You’re awake now, so we can finally talk.” He stood right in front of her. “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble,” he said, his voice just over a whisper. “A lot of trouble.”
He paused. “You disappear, you take off with my money, you cause a whole mess of trouble with the law since my maids were stealing—and then I couldn’t even find you—and then I find out that you’ve gone off and gotten married and given another man authority over you?”
He clicked his tongue. “I don’t think that’ll do, June. People are going to be hurt because of this. There’s no other way to show you how serious this is.”
June’s mind reeled. What does he mean by that? She shook her head, pushing the thought aside for now. Stay focused. She needed to keep her mind sharp.
I need to protect them. All of them. I can’t let him hurt them.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Trey cut her off. “I don’t want to hear your excuses or your deals. We’re long past that now. You’re here because you’ve got a debt to repay.”
June swallowed hard. “I won’t help you. I won’t be a part of your gang anymore, and I won’t help you get rich just to hurt people,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady and strong, but the trembling in her hands betrayed her fear.
Trey stepped closer, his eyes never leaving hers. “You’ll help me,” he said in a sinister whisper, “because you don’t have a choice. You think you’re free? You think just because you married someone that I’m going to let you go?”
June wanted to scream, wanted to lash out at him for everything he had taken from her. But there was a truth to his words that she couldn’t deny. He’d always controlled her in some way, always had a hold over her, even now.
“What do you want from me?” she whispered.
Trey’s lips curled into a dark smile. “I want you to prove that you’re on my side again. That you’re loyal to me. I want you to show everyone that you belong to me.”
June’s heart dropped. “What?”
He smiled. “First, I want you to come back with me, but I need you to tell them all the truth,” he said almost mockingly as he pulled the pail up to her lap.
She still couldn’t see what was inside.
“Tell your husband everything,” he commanded.
“Tell him you never really cared for him; that this was all just a game. Convince him that you were just biding your time, pretending to be married to him so you could steal from him and that your real devotion was to me. Convince him that you’re going back to your real life, working for me.
You’re done with all of this… nonsense.”
June felt like she had just been punched in the gut. She could barely breathe. Tell Seth I never cared for him? That was betrayal.
How could I do that?
“Oh, and one more thing,” Trey added with a sneer.
“I’ll need you to convince the sheriff to get Turner gets out of jail.
He was helpful to me, after all. Gave Asher all he needed to know about you and the girls with your little husbands.
Not to mention a pretty good scapegoat for the fire I set after I stole from Landry’s general store. ”
He lifted the pail with difficulty and shook it, and June could hear liquid swirling inside. “And once you do that, I need you to find Asher. We’re all leaving this place. Together.”
“What about Etta and Ada?” June asked. Please, let him leave them out of this.
“I said we’re all leaving.”
She felt defeated all over again. How could she help him rip Ada and Etta away from the only place they’d ever felt safe? Beyond that, could she really betray Seth? Really betray him? Now? After everything he had done for her? Everything he had forgiven her for?
Could she pretend none of it had ever mattered?
Her hands trembled as she balled them into fists at her sides. I can’t. I can’t do this.
She shook her head. “I won’t do it.”
Trey’s face darkened, his expression turning cold and unforgiving. “You will,” he said, his voice deadly calm. “Or they will pay for your stubbornness. I’ll kill them all, June.”
He bent down, looming over her. She pulled away, and then something inside her snapped. She was tired of being afraid. Tired of being his pawn. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and her mind raced. She couldn’t back down. Not now.
“I won’t,” she said again, louder this time. “I won’t betray them. Not for you. Not ever.”
Trey’s eyes narrowed, the corners of his lips twitching. His face was becoming flushed. Anger and hatred glowed in his eyes as he gritted his teeth. Without warning, he grabbed the back of her head, thrusting her face into the liquid inside.
June thrashed and struggled against him, fighting to lift her head. It was water—disgusting, filthy, filling her mouth and nose. She coughed. Choked—
Then suddenly, he yanked her head free, and she was gasping for air, panic slowly crushing her chest. Was it over? Would he do it again?
She opened her eyes long enough to see his arm lift, and then crack! He slapped her sharply across the face.
“You will!” he said, before slapping her again. “You will!” Suddenly he snatched roughly at her hair, shoving her toward the bucket again.
“Fine!” she screamed, fighting against his grasp, jerking her head away from the bucket as tears flew from her eyes like bullets. “I will! But you have to leave the rest of them alone!”
Her throat was hoarse. Sore. “I’ll do whatever you want if you just leave Etta and Ada here!”
Trey smiled. “Fine…” he crooned, clearing his throat and standing up straight.
June’s head was soaking wet, and her lungs pounded. She’d felt like she’d just drowned. Her face was hot from the slaps, her jaw ached, and she tasted a hint of metal in her mouth. She winced, touching her lip. Blood.
Trey grinned and buttoned the jacket of his suit before clearing his throat. “That’ll do well enough,” he said as if he’d just struck some sort of business deal and hadn’t just beaten a woman.
With that, he turned, blew out the lantern, and walked out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving June alone in the darkness.
Her heart raced, her thoughts in a spiral.
I’ve made my choice. But at what cost?
His footsteps faded beyond the door, and she felt more isolated than ever.
But a small part of her—a small, stubborn part—held on to a flicker of hope. At least everyone else would be safe.
I can still fight this. I can still make things right.