by Hunt, Jack
“Go ahead, I know you’re going to say it.”
“I told you so.”
“Yeah, you did,” Damon said. “But everything is hindsight, right?”
“We’ve all got to find our own way through it.” He took a sip of coffee and looked at Jesse. “So you want to go back to Lake Placid and get these two guys to help?”
“It would level the playing field.”
“It would. But what if you didn’t have to go?”
Damon screwed up his face. “What do you mean?”
“Amos and I can help.”
“No, I don’t want to get you involved in this. This is on me.”
“I want to.”
“I can’t.” He dropped his head. “I appreciate this but I’ve got to deal with this myself.”
“No you don’t.”
“I do.”
His father reached over and placed a hand on his forearm. “You’re not my flesh and blood, Damon, but you’ve always been my kid.” He paused. “I know we haven’t seen eye to eye but I don’t hold a grudge.”
“I pushed you out of my life.”
“And you had your reasons. Like I said, you don’t have to deal with this by yourself.” He cast a glance over to a photo on the counter. It was of his parents, maybe twenty years ago when his mother was alive. “Besides, she would have wanted me to.”
He studied his father’s face. It was weathered by time and although he was eager to help, he wasn’t as fast as he used to be even if he could swear like a sailor and drink anyone under the table.
“You got a vehicle?” Damon asked.
“No but Amos does.”
Damon nodded. He didn’t know what to say. In all truth he was a little taken aback by the way his father had opened his door to him and welcomed him back in as though the past hadn’t happened.
“But I…”
“It’s water under the bridge, Damon. Look, there is a good chance none of us are going to survive this winter. Food supplies are dwindling, gasoline for generators is becoming harder to find and violence is on the rise. So the way I see it, today’s all we’ve got and if that means dying.” He sniffed hard. “Hell, it’s a good day to die.”
Damon arched an eyebrow. “Yeah. No offense, but I wanna live.”
He burst out laughing. “Oh you thought I meant myself? No. Screw that. I meant them.”
Chapter 16
“She’s out cold, she won’t even know.”
Maggie couldn’t discern the voice. It faded in and out. As the world slipped into view, her shoulder was in agony. It felt like someone had branded her with a hot iron. And as for the smell, it was rancid like meat that had cooked too long on the BBQ. When her eyes opened, she could make out a black guy looming over her in the process of undoing his pants.
“Dude, she’s awake,” another voice said.
Blurry images soon snapped into focus and a flood of memories rolled in. Instantly she knew where she was and who was standing before her. “What are you doing?”
Maggie cowered back, and he got on top of her and tried to hold her down.
“Tyron, Cole’s coming.”
He glanced up then got off her, quickly pulling up his pants. Maggie looked down to see that her jeans had been yanked down to her ankles. They hadn’t removed her underwear, but it was clear what they were about to do.
“What the fuck are you doing?” a voice bellowed.
“Cole, we’re just having a little fun.”
“Yeah? Go jerk off in the bathroom. We’re not rapists!” Cole said coming around to the sofa as Maggie quickly pulled up her jeans.
“You know we’ve got needs.”
“And so do I but does that mean I should put a bullet in your head?” Cole said, shoving Tyron away from her. “Now get the hell out of here. Go make yourself useful and rally some people from the town to join us.”
“But you said…”
“I changed my mind.”
“And if they won’t come?”
“Convince them.”
Magnus had been sitting nearby watching Tyron and Sawyer.
“Glad to see you’ve come around to my way of thinking.”
“It’s not your way. It’s mine,” Cole said wanting to make it damn clear he was guiding this ship. Magnus got up and headed out with Tyron and Sawyer. They were mumbling something about wanting them out of the picture so he could have her for himself. He looked at Maggie. “You okay?”
She gritted her teeth together and said nothing. What kind of dumb question was that? No, she wasn’t okay. She glanced at her wound and grimaced. It was now black and looked like a burnt scab. At least now she knew where the smell was coming from.
“How’s the wound?” he asked crouching down like a concerned brother.
Oh this guy was real bright. What was he expecting her to say — thank you?
She furrowed her brow. “I could use something to drink.”
“Right.”
With the other three gone she figured if there was one chance to escape it was now. He turned but kept his eyes on her as he crossed over to the bar and picked up a bottle of bourbon. “You want alcohol or water?”
“Water, please,” she said.
He hopped over the bar and her eyes shifted to the exit then bounced back to him. He glanced beneath the bar and snagged a bottle then vaulted over. She thought he’d have to go into the kitchen, but obviously not.
“Here you go,” he said blocking the path of escape. She took it but didn’t thank him. There was no way in hell she was going to thank him for anything even if he had prevented his two goons from raping her. She unscrewed the top and chugged it down like she was trying to put out a fire while he took a seat across from her and leaned forward studying her. Once it was empty, she placed it on the table.
“Do you have something to eat?”
He nodded but gave her a skeptical glance.
“I’ll see what I can find.”
He got up and headed into the rear of the bar and cast a glance at her before disappearing into the kitchen. She waited a few seconds to make sure she could hear him rooting around. “You know, we usually have a chef that makes us everything we want. Can you believe that? The world goes to shit and we still eat like kings.”
Maggie eyed the doorway between the bar and the kitchen, then as fast as a flash she bolted for the door. She burst through, her heart catching in her throat as she scanned her surroundings. The tavern was in the middle of nowhere. There were a few houses across the road but that was it. She thrust forward hoping someone, anyone would be in. She cried out as a gust of wind slapped her in the face.
“Help!”
She darted across the parking lot and was climbing up the embankment that led to the main road when a gun went off.
“The next one goes in you!” Cole shouted.
Now maybe she was out of her mind to do what she did next but the way she saw it, she was going to die anyway if she stayed with them and probably get raped. There was no telling what they had in mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her jaw and kept running straight across the road. She anticipated the bullet striking her in the back and the same searing pain she’d felt earlier. But it never came. She cast a glance over her shoulder as she sprinted for the nearest home. He was chasing her.
Like a bat out of hell she darted up a gravel driveway. The freezing cold wind cut into her face as she screamed for help. When she made it to the door, she banged hard.
“Open up. Please!”
No answer. She hopped over the porch fencing and circled around back knowing that he was minutes away from catching her. She beat on the rear entrance and even saw someone at the window. Screaming did nothing. She scooped up a yard chair and tossed it at the window in a final desperate attempt to get away from him. It shattered, and she was about to climb in when a man stuck a gun barrel out the window.
“Get back!” the old man bellowed.
Before she could explain, Cole came barreli
ng around the corner with his handgun raised. She cowered back yelling at him to stay away.
“You really are a pain in the ass.”
Cole glanced at the man in the window. “Sorry about this. It’s the girlfriend’s time of the month. What can you do?”
He stuck his gun into his waistband and rushed her. She swung at him and he ducked and scooped her up in a fireman’s lift. “Now, now, I know I should have remembered your birthday but there’s no need to ruin someone’s property. You’re so damn selfish.”
The old guy inside looked on in utter amazement, completely dumbfounded. He looked more scared than confused or perhaps it was the other way around? Maggie beat on Cole’s back while screaming for the man to help but he did nothing.
* * *
Cole lugged her back to the tavern and used his foot to swing open the door. As soon as he had her inside, he tossed her on the floor like a rag doll then turned and stuck a key in the lock and secured it.
“You know, I bring you back here, tend to your wounds, prevent my pals from raping you and even go as far as to get you a drink and prepare you a meal and this is the way you treat me?”
He turned, and she cowered back.
“I have a good mind to teach you some manners myself. Is this how you treat all men?”
“Only the assholes that kidnap.”
He chuckled and crossed his arms. “Oh so you think I’ve kidnapped you?”
“What else do you call it?”
“Leverage. Trading. It doesn’t matter what I call it. Believe me, things could be a hell of a lot worse.”
She scoffed. “Hardly. Is this how you treat all your friends?”
He walked past her and hopped up onto the bar and pulled out a cigarette. He held out the pack, she shook her head and got up off the floor.
He sniffed as he lit the end of the cigarette. “This world is a different place now.”
“Is that how you justify it in your mind?” she shot back.
He scrutinized her as he took a deep drag and exhaled smoke from his nose.
“What’s your name?”
She said nothing.
“Come on? What is it?”
“Maggie.”
“Huh. Well Maggie. You’re not from around here, are you?”
Maggie walked over to the sofa and sat down. Her back was killing her. When he tossed her down, she hit the floor hard. She ran a hand around her back and rubbed it. Since arriving in Keene, she’d felt nothing but pain. “What’s that got to do with anything?” she said through gritted teeth.
“City living is a whole different world compared to a small town like this. Where you come from, people don’t even look at each other, but here you can’t escape people sticking their nose in your business or wanting to give you a hand.” He took another drag. “There is a thing called loyalty. Of course you city folk wouldn’t know the first thing about it. No, if you don’t get your way you resort to lawsuits. You don’t think twice about cutting people out of your life. But here, we have a different way of going about things. Sometimes people lose sight of that and they need a little reminder. Damon for instance. You know how long I’ve known that guy?” he asked.
She pursed her lips and continued rubbing her back.
“Twenty years. Yep. I knew him when were in grade three.” He snorted. “We were like this,” he said bringing up his hand and crossing his fingers. “I was there when he went through all that crap with his foster family, I was there through the multiple times when Sara dumped his ass.”
“And you were there when he took the fall,” she said, before quickly adding, “Oh right, I got that wrong. You weren’t anywhere to be found.” She chuckled.
He narrowed his eyes and pointed at her. “You don’t know shit, girl.”
“I know you don’t throw friends under a bus. What did you expect him to do when he returned? Greet you with open arms? You let your best friend go to jail for eight months.”
Cole hopped down, he didn’t like anyone accusing him of throwing friends under a bus, or her tone. He ambled over and she backed up expecting him to strike her.
“I don’t know what Damon has told you and I know you want to paint me as the bad guy here but you’re wrong. What I’m trying to do here is for his good as well as mine.”
“Is that why you shot his girlfriend in the back?”
“I didn’t do that!” he yelled wanting to make it clear. If he could turn back time, he would have prevented that from happening and by the time this was over, he was going to make damn sure Magnus paid for that.
“Um, doesn’t matter, does it? Whatever hope you have of winning Damon over, is gone. Believe me.”
He scoffed. “What, just because you shared a couple of weeks with him, you know him better than I do?”
“Perhaps.”
He sneered. “Yeah, right!”
He got up and went over to the bar to get himself a drink. Listening to her crap sober was unbearable. “You have no clue what I’m trying to build here.”
“Build? Don’t you mean destroy?”
He turned his back to her for a second while he scooped up a bottle of bourbon and returned to his seat. He popped the top off and took a swig before wiping his lips with the back of his sleeve. “If I wanted to destroy, I would have let them rape you. If I wanted to destroy, I would have burnt your eyes out instead of cauterizing your wound. If I wanted to destroy, I would have left your body in a shallow grave in the wilderness. So don’t you tell me what I’m trying to do. You have no clue.”
“And you do?”
Her comebacks were starting to irritate him.
He took another swig and studied her. She’d been outside in the truck when they’d been questioning Damon about Magnus’ cousins. It gave him an idea. He was curious to see if she’d take the bait.
“Alright, there was a reason why we shot his girlfriend.”
“Yeah, what?”
“Because he killed two of my friend’s cousins in Lake Placid.”
Her brow knit together, then she shook her head.
“You’re referring to the two lunatics who tried to kill a mother and her two children?”
He played along with it and nodded. “That’s right.”
She scoffed. “They got what they deserved.”
“Magnus would beg to differ.”
“Well anyway, it wasn’t Damon.”
And there it was. He knew he’d eventually figure it out. It was just a matter of time and speaking to the right person. Then it made sense as to why Damon lied to him. He’d told him what he needed to hear so he could get out of the room. That was smart.
“Well it seems Damon is taking the blame. Pity really because he’s the one that’s had to suffer for it.”
She stared back at him and he was waiting for her to fill in the missing piece. The bit about who was behind it. His guess was someone close to the mother and the kids, but who?
“You got it all wrong,” Maggie said.
“Really? Then what happened?”
“I just told you. They tried to kill a mother and her two kids.”
“So the mother killed them?”
She didn’t reply so Cole continued.
“Ah, the protecting the mother.” He pointed at her. “I like that. Women sticking together and all that shit.”
“She didn’t do anything.”
“So her kids killed them.”
“At their age? No.”
“Well that leaves only one person. I’m curious, why did he do it?” Cole had no idea who it was, but he just figured if he pretended to know she might toss a name out and that was all he wanted. A name to give Magnus. He could use that to his benefit. It would regain his confidence and right now he needed that.
“Why do you think? Those animals were attacking his family.”
“Ah, I see now. The father. Um. I can appreciate that. If anyone tried to kill my lady or kids, I wouldn’t think twice.” He frowned purposely. “So if this gu
y is with your group. Why didn’t he tag along?”
“He had better things to do.”
“Right. And his name was?” he asked.
C’mon, give it up, he thought. She looked reluctant. It was to be expected. He would just have to try a different approach to getting it out of her.
“So?”
“I’m not telling you.”
He laughed. “Oh we’re not gonna hurt him. I just wanted to know so when I have a conversation with Damon, I can ask him why he lied?”
“Maybe because he didn’t toss him under a bus,” Maggie replied.
“Yeah, that’s getting real old. So how about you stop dicking me around and give me a name?”
“Fuck you.”
Cole brought a hand up to his ear. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”
“You heard me.”
Cole nodded. He was about done with this bitch. In an instant he stood up and pulled the Glock and grabbed a hold of her by the hair and dragged her to the floor as she screamed in agony. He pressed her face down and pushed the barrel of the gun against her temple. “Now I’m only going to ask you one more time. What was his fucking name?”
“Fuck you?”
He chuckled. “Man, I have got to meet this man. To think that Damon and you would cover for him, even risk your lives. He’s got to be an important person. I mean he led you out of New York like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Now that’s the kind of man I’m looking for.” He tapped the barrel against her skin. “Last chance!”
He pressed hard on her face making her cry.
Even then she wouldn’t say a word.
“Give me a fucking name!”
“Elliot. It’s Elliot Wilson.”
He waited for a second then released her.
“Good girl. Good.” He hauled her up and brought her back to the couch. “See. Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” He grinned before using his thumb to wipe away her tears then bringing it up to his mouth to taste them.
Chapter 17
The Jeep bounced up the curb and Elliot hopped out before killing the engine. His heart was hammering in his chest as he rushed into the house calling out their names. “Rayna. Evan. Lily?”