Heart Lies & Alibis

by Chase, Pepper

  Rose cackled behind him. "Look at that face Linc. Last time I saw her that scared was the night we got busted for robbing Yancy." That was the old man who Rose had shot on that fateful night so long ago. I swiveled my head at him and though his face was grinning his eyes were dark and menacing. I knew he wouldn't care how I was delivered to the Lazcanos.

  Linc smiled again, another dead grin that twisted his face into a grimace. "Yeah, you're right, Rose. She looks ready to faint or something. It's kinda sexy though. I always did like that look on her." He licked his lips again and my heart thudded harder.

  Finally gathering enough of myself back together to speak I simply asked them "Why?"

  Linc shrugged. "It's pretty simple, Bobbi Jo." I hated that he kept using that name. Every moment with him reminded me I was not that girl anymore. "We learned through some contacts that the Cartel has offered a little bounty for your head. Something about a deal you had with them that went bad and cost them some money."

  There it was again, the hand of someone trying to set me up, trap me, blame me for killing Thad, and feed me to some cartel thugs. The trail of breadcrumbs they had put out into the world had been picked up first by the police, then by the criminal underground, and now by these idiots. I had to get out ahead of this madness if I hoped to save myself but for now all my focus was on how to survive and escape the Dixon brothers, who, like always, refused to shut up.

  "Not really sure about all the specifics of the deal yet. Don't really matter none. The rumor is they are offering a cool half million for you alive, slightly less if you aren't so fresh." Oh my god. The room was spinning again. This was not really happening. They were going to sell me, dead or alive to a Mexican Drug Cartel. What the hell was I going to do? Shit, this day just kept getting worse.

  Rose walked to my fridge retrieving one of the beers inside. He twisted the cap, tossing it on the counter before taking a long draw on the bottle. He pulled it away, dragging his hand across his mouth. He sneered at me. "Yeah, we also figure you kind of owe us Bobbi Jo. You know for driving like a crazy bitch that night and getting us busted. You disappeared back then before we could get you to pay your debt." His eyes, pools of black evil, glared back at me as he finished his beer in another long pull. He slammed it on the counter before getting another one. A sober Rose was scary but a drunk Rose was downright terrifying. I had to get myself out of this situation and fast.

  My mind scrambled for a plan or solution for my current predicament but as fast as my brain was working it drew a blank. How does one really think of a plan to escape two hillbilly psychos at a moment's notice? Maybe if I tried to reason with them, I could talk my way out of this. An idea popped into my mind. It was worth a try, I reasoned, because I didn't really have much to lose.

  I forced a coy smile onto my face, an attempt to appeal to their maleness. "Hey, you know, I have some money. About as much as the Lazcanos are offering I bet." I saw I had their attention now. I leaned forward, touching Linc's hand across the table. I felt him stiffen and for the first time something real appeared in his eyes. Maybe this would work. "I could give you guys my money and we could forget all of this other stuff. You could go back to Winchester and have a pretty good life, and we could let the past go." I licked my lips, forcing my sexy come on to seem more real than it was.

  Although I felt like I was going to vomit at any moment from the act I was performing, I kept rubbing Linc's arm suggestively and batting my eyes as much as I could. I had Linc's interest, I knew from past experience, but I needed to get them to go along with my proposal if I had any chance of surviving. Suddenly he grabbed my hand, holding my wrist so hard I almost cried out. And I knew I had failed.

  He took my other wrist, forcing me to look in his eyes, which had turned lifeless again but I also detected a smoldering rage burning just below the surface. He really hated me for something and he was going to make me pay, one way or another. "You know its funny, Bobbi Jo, after all these years I still remember one thing about you. When you are scared and trying desperately to get out of something you don't want to do, especially something that involves a man, you turn up the heat the only way you know how." His eyes stared back at me and I knew he was onto my plan. "In fact I remember on many occasions where you used that hot ass and willing pussy of yours to convince me to do just about anything you asked. And I did, without a second thought. Damn if it didn't almost work this time, too."

  I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat. This moment felt as bad as the day Thad attacked me in his office. Only it was also so much worse because I was so aware of just how dangerous the Dixon brothers could be from firsthand experience. I was in trouble and for the first time in my life, I wasn't sure I would come out on the other side of this problem okay.

  Another cackle from Rose drew my attention. I ripped my eyes from Linc to look at Rose. His face was a canvas of pure evil. I was more scared than I had been in so long and I hated them for being the cause of it.

  Linc dug his fingers more deeply into my wrists. I clamped my mouth closed, swallowing down the scream threatening to escape. I couldn't let them see me fall apart because I knew it would only push them to hurt me more. "So thanks for the offer, sweetheart, but I think we will take our chances with the Cartel instead. Like Rose told you, you owe us, so seeing you pay with whatever way the Cartel wants to do to you wouldn't be such a bad thing." He blew me a kiss and my heart dropped.

  All I could hold onto was the idea that Declan was coming and that together we would get out of this shitstorm okay. I burned that hope into fact in my mind and then started making plans around it, all the while my brain kept repeating the words, "Declan come home. I need you. I need you now."

  Chapter 15

  The Dixon brothers made it clear after my failed attempt to seduce Lincoln they would be in my house until all the details with the Cartel had been ironed out and they could make the exchange. I was somewhat relieved because staying in my house meant I had a better chance of escape. At least that was how I consoled myself when I was starting to freak out.

  Rose and Linc conferred and decided it would be best to tie me to one of my kitchen chairs while they figured out their next move. Most of my hope for escape dimmed at this turn of events.

  As Rose rubbed disgustingly against my breasts as he secured the rope they found in my garage around my chest, my arms and the chair. He was enjoying this more than I wanted to know. Then he secured each of my legs to one of the chair legs. In doing so, he discovered my ankle monitor and the brothers had a good laugh over it.

  Then Rose finished tying me up and ensured the ropes were painfully tight, he leaned in close to my ear. When he spoke his words were slightly slurred from the beers he had been downing over the course of our short time together.

  "I always knew you were bad news but my little brother was so taken with that magical pussy of yours he wouldn't hear reason. I tried to warn him back in Winchester you would be nothing but trouble." He licked my ear and I jerked away. "The fact is he still has a thing for you, truth be told, but I think I've convinced him there isn't any magic between those legs after all." He leered at me again, his eyes falling to my breasts before he continued. "Although I wouldn't mind finding out for myself. I always wondered what you'd be like in bed. Maybe now I'll get the chance to find out."

  I wanted to spit in his face but I knew the consequences of such an action would be grave so I swallowed back the rising bile and turned away without responding

  . Linc walked back in the room then, stopping Rose from doing or saying anything else. I sighed in relief for the momentary reprieve. The brothers exchanged heated looks. It appeared Rose was challenging Linc to question him about his treatment of me. Linc's face was solid stone, his stance making it clear he wasn't backing down and he did not approve of the moment. Rose stomped away from me in the end, throwing his hands up slightly in retreat. It was clear in that moment the power structure in the Dixon family had shifted over the years and Linc was now th
e one calling the shots. I wondered if this change would play in my favor or not?

  Linc looked at me and for a moment I saw a fleeting resemblance of the young man he had once been but his attention toward me was short and he looked away a moment later. He looked upset about something else besides his brother's piggish behavior to me. He gestured to Rose and they walked out of the room. I struggled against the ropes but Rose had made sure they were secure. Just as I stopped fighting I heard Declan's motorcycle pull in the driveway. My moment of elation deflated quickly when I realized the Dixon Brothers had heard it too.

  Rose rushed in from the kitchen to stand by my chair while Linc glanced surreptitiously out the window.

  Linc came back into the living room when I heard Declan reach the porch and knock on the door.

  "Who the fuck is that?" Rose whispered, his face was enraged.

  Linc looked at me waiting for the answer. "My boyfriend." I answered. Perhaps I should have lied about who Declan was but I was so scared the truth just popped out.

  Linc's eyes darkened with a jealousy I had seen many years before and then he laughed. "Robbing the cradle a bit, ain't ya Bobbi Jo? Baby-face out there looks a bit young for you."

  I felt my cheeks flame slightly. "Fuck you." No way I was going to let this hillbilly asshole judge me for my choices, even in this terrible situation.

  He backhanded me so fast I didn't have time to duck.. I had been hit many times in my early life and this was exactly how I remembered it. My head snapped back hard against the chair, my lip left split and bleeding. My face throbbed but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing it hurt. I straightened in the chair and looking directly at him, I licked the blood off my lip without a flinch. He wasn't going to have the pleasure of seeing me cry.

  Declan banged against the door. He had to be concerned when I hadn't come to let him in right away. He was calling my name when Linc pulled a pistol from his waistband and walked to the door. Rose pulled his own gun out, holding it to my head, and leaning down to my ear. "One sound and I blast your fucking brains all over the wall Princess." I stared straight ahead watching as Linc whipped the door open.

  Linc's gun was in Declan's face before Declan could even react. Declan's face paled for a moment as he looked quickly from the gun to Linc's face but never said a word. I had never felt so scared and so relieved all at the same time.

  "Well hello there lover boy. C'mon in. You are just in time for the party." Linc stepped back, motioning for Declan to step all the way into the room before Linc slammed the door, flipping all the locks, his gun still centered on Declan's chest.

  Declan didn't question anything as he was ushered further into the room where he could finally see me. Our eyes met and I knew he could see my fear across the room because his face tensed and his body became more rigid. His eyes briefly flicked to the gun at my head and back to me.

  Rose never moved his gun from my head while Linc pushed Declan further into the room with the barrel of his gun. He gave him one final shove causing him to fall onto the sofa. Our eyes were still locked together and having him near made the nightmare we were in more bearable.

  Declan finally broke his eyes from mine and turned them on Linc. Declan's body radiated anger and rage but he held himself in check.

  Linc sat down in a chair next to the couch, his gun still directed at Declan. "So, my my my, I never thought Bobbi Jo was into jail bait but then again, I did know her when she was still jail bait herself so what can I say? And I don't blame you for wanting to be with a firecracker like her, even if she is a few years past her prime. Yes sir, that girl was always good in the sack and I'm sure she has only gotten better with age." A lascivious smile spread across his face and I turned away in disgust. I looked back to Declan but his face was void of emotion.

  Linc's use of the name Bobbi Jo must have triggered something in Declan because he remained calm in spite of the situation. He understood exactly who these assholes with the guns were and why they were in my house. "You must be Lincoln Dixon," he said with an even voice before he turned and gave a blazing glare at Rose, "and that must be your brother Roosevelt. What are you doing in my lady's house gentlemen?" His voice dripped with barely contained anger.

  Linc looked at him for a moment, before he nodded. "Very good, young stuff. We are indeed the Dixon Brothers of Winchester Kentucky. As to what we are doing here, well, we've already explained that to Bobbi Jo. Suffice to say, you are a complication in our plans that we did not anticipate that is for sure."

  Declan glared at Linc, while flexing his arms against his thighs, his hands squeezed into fists and his jaw grinding as his anger grew. "I see. But here I am all the same. So what is the plan now Lincoln?" Declan's stare never wavered. He was establishing his dominance in the room toe for toe with the Dixons, an Alpha male standoff as it were, and I hoped he would be the victor.

  Linc nodded, a look crossing his face that made me suddenly so worried for Declan I knew I had to do something. So I spoke up. "Linc, please, Declan has nothing to do with this. You don't need to do anything crazy just because he is here. We can talk about all of this before someone gets hurt."

  My outburst earned me a hard backhand from Rose. Again my head slammed back into the chair. My nose burst open on one side. Blood trickled down my face as I straightened and looked back at Declan.

  Declan bounded from the couch, stalking across the room towards Rose before being halted by the barrel of Linc's gun. He paused, his nostrils flaring, and his fists curled and shaking. Had he reached Rose in that moment, I was sure he would have killed him.

  "Calm down lover boy. My brother is just teaching your lady, as you called her, some manners. She seems to have forgotten how to behave around men once she left Kentucky. No worries though, we will gladly help her remember." Declan's chest was heaving and his hands were still curled into fists, locked at his sides. He looked at me again and I pleaded with my eyes for him not to do anything to make this situation any worse. I couldn't do this without him. He gave me one nod, an acknowledgment that he understood and would back off, for now.

  "Now let's get you a seat right here next to the lovely Bobbi Jo. We need to have a little chat about how the rest of our time together is going to go and I think having you restrained might be in our best interest." He nodded at Rose, who went and retrieved another kitchen chair, bringing it to the living room and placing it facing mine. Linc nudged the gun against Declan's head until Declan was sitting in the seat. Rose then secured him to the chair as tightly as he had secured me.

  Linc started to walk away when he stopped suddenly and stepped back. He cracked the gun against the side of Declan's head, sending it slamming into the back of the chair. "That's for being too damn pretty with your goddamn Irish accent and all. For showing up when you weren't wanted. Oh and for fucking my woman." Linc's insanity was a loose cannon banging around my life, smashing Declan, me, and any chance we might have of getting out of here. Rose howled with laughter next to me. The sick asshole really had become more sadistic over the years.

  I screamed in horror watching Declan's head drop to his chest. Rose stopped laughing long enough to tell me to shut up. I watched as Declan's head lolled to the side for a moment. The blow had stunned him and it took some time for him to recover. Eventually he sat back up and his eyes met mine. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek from where the gun had hit his head. He managed a small smile but I could tell he was really hurt.

  Tears streamed down my face as I looked at him. How had I let this horribleness into my life and into Declan's world as well? Would we get out of this hell alive? I wasn't so sure.

  He spoke in a whisper. "Don't cry a chroi. I'm okay."

  I whispered back. "I'm so sorry Declan. For all of this. So very sorry. I wish I could go back and fix things. I never meant for you to get mixed up in my old life." The guilt hurt almost as much as seeing Declan injured.

  Rose barked. "Hey, Romeo and Juliet, Shut up," He upended the fresh beer he had just
opened and guzzled half of it without pause before belching loudly and ambling out of the room.

  They kept us tied to the chairs for quite a bit of time while they divided their time the next few hours between slipping into the kitchen to discuss their plans for us or get a new beer. Their departures were the only break in the painful monotony of our situation. Each time they left the room, we would try to make our own plans for escape. By midafternoon, things didn't look good.

  I whispered to Declan. "What do you think is going on? They seem upset after that last phone call." I looked toward the kitchen where they had retreated again.

  "I'm not sure. I caught a couple words before Linc left the room and I don't think things are going well with them making the deal with the Lazcanos." Declan continued working his arms and legs against the ropes but to no success. He said his head still pounded from the blow Linc gave him earlier, as did mine, but his eyes were more clear now. He assured me he would be okay.

  Linc and Rose stormed back into the room. The last call they received must have really gone bad. "Here's the plan folks. We are all going to get some sleep because when morning comes, it'll be time to meet your destiny Bobbi Jo and we want you to be as fresh as can be. Rose and I are still not sure exactly what we'll do with lover boy yet but we'll worry about that tomorrow."

  Linc walked over and cut my ropes, dragging me out of the chair and toward the stairs leading to the second floor. He stopped at the bottom, my arm twisted painfully behind me to keep me from escaping. "Rose is going to keep an eye on your boy toy and you and I are going to spend some quality time together upstairs." We started climbing the stairs and I fought against his iron grip on my arm to no avail. He was not letting me go. What the hell was I going to do to get out of this situation?

  I could see Declan rage against his restraints once again with his entire body lunging hard against the ropes. He only stopped when Rose turned the gun on him. I heard Declan growl through clenched teeth. "If you fucking touch her, I will kill you. That is a promise." Declan's threat was met with another slam to his head from the butt of a gun. It was hard enough to make Declan pass out. I screamed his name once as Lincoln drug me the rest of the way up the stairs to my bedroom. I continued to struggle against his grip but did not slow him down in the least.