by Jayne Blue
Blood poured from the side of Pete’s head as the two-by-four struck him in the temple. He kept his eyes fixed on me for a fraction of a second before he slumped to the ground.
Ice shot through my veins and I opened my mouth to scream. But, Caleb was ready for that. He moved so fast. His hand clamped over my mouth and he drove me backward. I lost my footing and tumbled to the ground with Caleb on top of me. His eyes were cold and dark; a blood vessel had burst in the left one, giving it a demonic, red glint.
“Hey, baby,” he whispered. The foul stench of his breath caressed my cheek. He was dripping with sweat. I tried to wriggle free, but he held me down with the full weight of his body over mine.
I wasn’t expecting the first blow, my mind still reeling from Pete’s fall. Caleb hit me open-handed across the jaw, stunning me and making stars explode in front of me. He pulled me to my feet, dragging me back toward the workshop.
I don’t know what he saw in my eyes, but Caleb raised his hand again. I flinched, drawing into myself. “If you scream, you’ll get it worse,” he said. “If you try to run, Pete dies. Do I have to remind you what I’m capable of, Veronica?”
“No!” The answer ripped from my throat. “No! God, Caleb. Haven’t you done enough? Why? Why?”
He just smiled. He’d shoved me into the wall. I fell then scrambled under the workbench, hugging my knees.
“Good,” he said. “You sit there. Don’t move. I’m going to go check on Pete. Remember what I said. There’s so much shit back here I could use to carve him up with. It might even be fun.”
Caleb went back into the showroom. I scrambled out from under the table, cursing myself for leaving my phone back in the truck with King. Something, I needed something I could use as a weapon. I could already hear Caleb coming back. I grabbed a hammer off the workbench and backed against the wall.
When Caleb walked in, dragging Pete with him, I threw the thing with all the strength I had. It arced end over end. Caleb’s eyes widened, but he dodged neatly to the side. The hammer slammed against the wall, knocking down rolls of painter’s tape I had hanging off the cork board. Caleb’s eyes narrowed with menace. He shoved Pete to the ground and came after me.
I threw myself behind the workbench, dodging left then right. But there was nowhere to go. Even if I made it to the back door, I’d have to throw the deadbolt and heave it open. Caleb stood between me and the front door. He charged me again and I screamed.
Laughing, Caleb came away from the workbench, stooped down and hauled Pete to his feet. Pete’s head lolled to the side and he groaned. Blood poured from the wound at his temple. My own head throbbed from where Caleb had struck me.
Caleb grabbed the hammer I’d thrown and held the sharp end toward Pete’s eye. “Sit down, Veronica. I’ll take this idiot apart piece by piece and make you watch.”
To prove his point, Caleb started to drive the sharp metal into Pete’s cheek. Pete’s eyes snapped open and he struggled. But, Caleb was stronger. He shoved Pete into a chair against the wall and grabbed the zip ties from the counter. He made quick work of tying Pete to the chair keeping one eye on me.
I looked for something else to throw. There was a crowbar against the wall. I took a few faltering steps sideways, hoping Caleb wouldn’t notice.
Now that he had Pete neutralized, he came for me. This time, I did manage a scream. Frantic, I ran toward the back door anyway, knowing I’d never make it before Caleb caught up with me. He grabbed me by the hair and jerked me backward. He shoved the sharp edge of the hammer under my chin.
My breath came hot, flaring my nostrils as Caleb shoved me back to the center of the room. He pressed me up against the workbench then forced my head down so my cheek dug into the wood. He kicked my legs apart and ran the hammer up the side of my thigh.
“What are you going to do?” I said. “People know I’m here, Caleb. King knows I’m here. If you hurt me, how long do you think it’ll take for him to figure out it was you?”
Caleb pressed the hammer into my crotch, not enough to cause pain, but just to prove that he could. “Baby, that’s what I’m counting on. I’m going to make you watch when I kill him too.”
He leaned forward and licked the side of my face. Then he kissed me. I struggled beneath him, but Caleb held me in place. He pressed his body against mine before he finally let me up and threw me to the ground. Caleb towered over me, tossing the hammer from one hand to the other.
“How?” I asked. “How the hell did you find me? You’re supposed to be in Lincolnshire.” I had to keep him talking. King would come for me. I only prayed I could shout out a warning before Caleb took him by surprise and got the upper hand.
Caleb smiled. “Your aunt Marie is really a sweet lady. I don’t know why you never told me about her. It took some digging though. Turns out she’s a whore like you. She’s been married a bunch of times and has had a million different last names. I had to pull some strings down at the courthouse to finally get a look at your father’s will though. He listed her as an heir.”
It still didn’t make sense. Marie wouldn’t have told Caleb where to find me for anything even if she knew. I’d been so careful.
“She’s got quite a collection of Depression glass,” he said. “And she loves talking about it. Cobalt blue’s very sought after. But, you already knew that.”
My heart turned to stone. I’d sent her a cobalt blue bowl for her last birthday. How could he have known?
“Did you threaten her? Did you hurt her, you asshole?”
Caleb laughed. “No, baby. What kind of monster do you take me for? She’s smart, your aunt. She never tried to keep you from me. Your father got hurt because he did. That’s the difference. I told her what a lovely home she had. The one next door went up for sale and I was just interested in talking to a neighbor to find out about the schools and such. She showed me her collection though. That blue bowl you sent her must have cost you a fortune. That’s what she said, anyway. She said my niece found it for me. Poor thing, she knew she shouldn’t have said it.”
“What did you do to her?”
Caleb looked back at Pete. He’d passed out again. Caleb walked over to him and slapped his face. Pete grunted, but didn’t wake. He looked around the shop, storming over to a Tiffany lamp Pete hadn’t finished cleaning up for display. Beside it, he had a roll of stickers with the shop’s logo on him. My stomach dropped as Caleb showed them to me.
“You got careless,” he said. He peeled off one of the stickers and held it out to me on the end of his thumb. How could I have known? We put them on everything we sold out of the shop. It never occurred to me to remove it before sending it to Marie. It had been so stupid, so, so, stupid.
“I’ve been waiting here for you for over a week, Veronica. I was starting to think you weren’t going to show. But, your stuff was still here and Pete was really forthcoming at first. I told him I was your brother. I heard all about your new boyfriend and his rare Harley over at Mickey’s garage. I had a P.I. friend of mine tap your aunt’s phones and take some pictures for me to send to you the other night. Then Petey here told me that bike was ready. Well, I’ll be goddamned, that bike’s the talk of the town, Veronica. You must have really landed a catch!”
He spat the last words and came at me again. I stumbled two steps back, but Caleb caught me.
“Don’t!” Pete’s ragged voice rose from the corner. “For God’s sake. Don’t hurt the girl. Thea, I’m so sorry. He said...he told me…”
Caleb twisted his fingers in my hair and dragged me over to Pete. He backhanded him and Pete slumped over, mercifully unconscious once again.
“Stop it!” I screamed. Spit flew from the side of my mouth and I slapped Caleb with all the force I could muster. He took a halting step sideways and rubbed his jaw, but squared his shoulders and towered over me again.
“What do you want, Caleb? You want to kill me? You want to kill Pete? Then what? It’ll be over then. You won’t be able to hurt me anymore if I’m dead, Caleb. You
’ve won, okay? You took everything I had. You took my father, my career, you took all of my dreams and ground them into the dust. You want to take this too? Because you’re going to have to kill me before I’ll go back with you. Then, you’ll have nothing.”
“I’ll have you!” His voice roared in my face. He gripped me hard by the shoulders and jerked me so hard my teeth rattled. “But before I do, you’ll see what happens when you try to go against me, Veronica. You’ll watch Pete bleed to death. Then, you’ll watch your boyfriend die. And before you die you’ll know you could have prevented all of it. That might just be enough. Because you’re mine, baby. That’s all you’ll ever be.”
“You’re sick,” I said, sobbing. “You’re just sick.”
Caleb’s laugh throbbed in my ears as he wrapped his fingers around my upper arm and led me back into the darkened showroom.
“Come on,” he said, shoving me into an antique cane chair in the corner. “It shouldn’t be too long now.” He stood behind me, leaned down and put my head in an armbar forcing me to look straight ahead.
Then, Caleb pulled a gun out of his waistband and pointed it toward the door. “One shot,” he said. “Boom, he goes down. It won’t even matter if you scream, baby.”
Chapter Seventeen
King
“Runs great, Mickey,” I said. I slid off my helmet as I pulled to a stop next to him. He had an arm wrapped around his nephew Chaz and the two of them had the same wide grins.
“I told ya. I knew you doubted me. Petey really came through though. He’s the one who found the last little bit I needed to rebuild the carb. I’ve got a little surprise for ya too.”
Mickey disappeared back into the garage and came out holding a small box. His greasy fingerprints smeared the sides as he thrust it into my chest. “He got me enough to make two of ‘em. Now, I don’t figure you’ll need it because that baby is purring like she was brand new. But, just in case.”
“Wow, you sure? I mean you could probably get some good bank for this.”
“Nah,” he said. “It belongs with your Knuck.”
Mickey’s eyes damn near misted. Part of me hated taking the bike away from him. But, I meant what I’d said to Lottie. A mechanic as good as Mickey was a rare thing. I’d need him again someday, so I told him so.
“Maybe Chaz and me will take a ride out to Emerald Point one of these days. I know some scrappers out that way who are always trying to sell me shit.”
“Well, perfect. You’ve got an open invitation to the Wolf Den. Well, maybe not Chaz. Not until you’re twenty-one, son.” I winked at Chaz and he bobbed his head up and down.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go see about my girl.”
Mickey stepped forward and I thumped him on the back. I put my hand out to shake Chaz’s then said my goodbyes.
A part of me would miss the hell out of Crystal Falls, but I was anxious to get Veronica back home. I hadn’t broached the subject of her taking over the shop again yet, but we had a long drive back and I had a good feeling.
I walked the bike up the ramp into the truck and slammed the door shut. I drove the truck the two short blocks to Pete’s shop and parked it in the back. I stepped out of the cab and headed around the front of the building.
“Hey, Jackson!” A gruff voice called to my back. On instinct, I stiffened, my fingers playing with the handle of the nine I had holstered.
Sheriff Beckett Finch stepped across the street and blocked my path. “You back for another vacation?” he asked. He didn’t even try to make his voice light. Slowly, I lowered my hand to my side. The last thing I needed was to provoke this guy. I had a permit to carry in Florida, but not here. I knew all Finch could see was the patch I wore. It wouldn’t be the first time some podunk sheriff like him tried making a name for himself trying to jack up a Great Wolf on some bullshit weapons charge.
“Just passing through again,” I said. “But, I’m sorry to disappoint you, I won’t be doing much for the local tourism economy this time. I’m heading out after one more slice of Lottie’s apple pie.”
Finch tipped his hat to me but set his jaw to the side. I knew he couldn’t stand guys like me and the feeling was mutual. “Well, I think that’s for the best.”
“Right. You don’t like my kind in these parts. I know the words to this song, sheriff. But, you don’t know shit about me.”
Finch took a step forward. “And you don’t know shit about me. What I do know is you being here has ruffled some feathers. Now, I don’t give shit one about whatever pissing contest you and the Dark Saints have with each other. I just don’t want any of it landing in Crystal Falls. You feel me?”
The fuck? Shit. My little meeting with Axle the other day did get around. I suppose a part of me could understand why a guy like Finch would get his shorts in a knot over it, but fuck him. “Yeah, I feel you. And I told you, you don’t know shit about me.”
“Does Thea?” Finch’s nostrils flared and he took a wide-legged stance with his hands on his hips.
“Motherfucker,” I said. “You got a crush on her or something, man?”
Finch let out a hard breath. “I’m just looking out for the people who live here. That’s what they pay me for.”
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the population of Crystal Falls is about to shrink by one in about an hour. Thea is moving.”
That wiped the smirk right off of Finch’s face. I hated that I was petty enough to enjoy it, but I did. “Well, I can’t say I think much of her judgment, but I guess she’s a grown woman.”
“She is. Now, do you have anything else you’d like to bust my balls about, or can I be on my way?”
Finch dropped his shoulders but kept his hard gaze on mine. “I don’t suppose we’ve got anything left to talk about. You just let me know if you need directions out of town.”
I resisted the urge to flip him off as I stepped around him and walked up to Pete’s door. I had my hand on the knob and got ready to turn it. But, something made me stop. Sheriff Finch’s words pissed me off way more than they should. I turned again. Finch walked in the opposite direction with a swagger that made me want to punch him. Lottie’s college aged daughter Bess was just coming around the corner. She did a double take when she saw Finch and puffed out her chest. Jesus, she was practically tripping over herself to cross his path as he came around the corner. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what any woman would see in him. But, with the exception of Veronica, every woman in this town seemed sucked into sheriff Finch’s orbit.
“Smarmy fuck,” I muttered.
Shaking my head, I looked back toward the door. A glint of light caught my eye and I turned. There was a small crack in the window just next to the door handle. Puzzled, I peered down. It was about the size of a baseball. It seemed an odd place for kids to be playing, but who the hell knew with Crystal Falls? I tried the door, but it was locked.
Sighing, I stepped back and rapped my knuckles against it. “Pete! Open up, man. Veronica?” I caught myself. She’d decided it was too complicated to explain why she’d lied about her name to everyone here. “Thea?”
Something banged on the other side of the door. I knocked again. Cupping my hand over my eyes, I pressed my forehead against the glass. That’s when I saw the blood.
My world became a buzzing sound. It grew from my chest and spread through my nerve endings. I don’t remember breathing. I don’t remember moving. The wood exploded above my head and I dropped low. A piece of the door flew off and drove a gash across my forehead.
Veronica screamed. My blood turned to ice as I dropped to the ground then rolled away from the windows. Turning back, I looked for Sheriff Finch. He’d already rounded the corner on the other side of Mickey’s. Finch might be the closest thing I had to backup, but he was too damn far away. I couldn’t waste a second if Veronica was on the other side of that door in danger. This was my fight. My girl. My heart.
“Veronica!” I yelled.
“King, run,�
� she called back. “He’ll kill you!” Her voice sounded so far away. I moved to the side of the building and ducked under a window. If I could just see where she was. Her scream gutted me, but as soon as it stopped, my heart started to pound. I couldn’t go to the front of the building. It was all frosted windows. I’d be a duck in a shooting gallery. But, I still had my key to the back door. I just prayed I wasn’t walking into an ambush. For Veronica, it was worth the risk.
The street was quiet on the other side of Pete’s store. There was nothing back here but the dumpster and an alley. I pressed my back against the brick wall and edged my way to the door. I wanted desperately to call out to Veronica. The quiet sent a chill through me.
Carefully, I slid my key in the lock and prayed the door didn’t squeal when I cracked it. It led to a landing. Three steps up to the workroom and a hallway leading to the steps to Pete’s apartment. I slid inside the door and drew down.
Veronica stood with her back to me at the threshold between the workshop and Pete’s showroom. Caleb had her by the arm. He held his gun low. If I could get close enough and stay quiet enough before he turned, I’d get a clear shot at his fucking head before he even knew I was there.
I took the first step leading up, then the other. I raised my gun and aimed. Veronica pulled against him. Stay still, baby. She was too damn close to him. If either of them moved, I might hit her instead.
“He’s gone,” she said.
Caleb jerked her against him and bloodlust clouded my vision. I closed my eyes against it and took a deep breath.
“You scared him off, Caleb,” she said. “Just let it go. King’s not stupid enough to walk into a trap.”
“Oh, I bet he’s just stupid enough. He made a hell of a lot of threats on the phone the other day. Something tells me he’s not one to just walk away. Unless he figures you’re not worth the trouble. Now, wouldn’t that be a bitch?”