by B. J Daniels
“Where have you been?” Lamar demanded, but Mick pushed him away to stagger toward the fire and drop to the hearth.
Will saw him glance toward Ruby.
“What happened to her?” Mick asked.
“She was attacked. Do you know anything about that?” Will asked.
Mick shook his head.
Will studied the man, afraid to ask. “Where is Kirk?”
Mick shook his head. “He’s dead.”
The room went deathly quiet for a moment. “Why in God’s name did you break him out? Mick, what were you thinking?” Lamar cried.
Mick raised his head only a fraction of an inch to look at his brother. “I didn’t want him to go to prison for something he didn’t do.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” Will said. “Why is Kirk dead?”
Mick let out a soft chuckle. “Turns out I was wrong. He wasn’t innocent. I knew he was a liar and a lot of other things, but... He confessed everything. Before he tried to kill me.” He let out a snort. “He planned to let me take the blame for all of it.” He put his head in his hands for a moment. “The bucking horses? Kirk. A rubber snake. Said he was trying to scare Lexi because he feared she was onto him.”
“Why?” Will asked.
“Kirk was using On the Fly to distribute cocaine.”
“What else did he confess to?” Lamar asked, sounding suspicious.
Mick took a breath, avoiding his brother’s gaze, and said, “He killed Dad and Lexi,” his voice breaking. “Dad had figured it out. Either Lexi told him or he just found out somehow. Lexi had been keeping track of the shipments apparently. She was gathering evidence against him.”
Lamar sat down on the edge of one of the leather chairs facing the fireplace. “Someone ransacked Dad’s cabin.”
His brother nodded. “Kirk thought Lexi had turned her evidence over to Dad, but he couldn’t find it. That’s why he burned the barn and the cabin. Said he couldn’t take any chances.”
“Why did he tell you all of this?” Will asked.
“He wanted my help to get him out of the country. He really thought I would help him after everything he did.”
“Why did he try to kill you?” Will asked.
“When he told me all that, I went for his throat.” His next words came out on a sob. “He killed my father!” He dropped his head in his hands again and began to cry.
Lamar got up and went to him and put an arm around him, but Mick shrugged it off and quit crying. “I just want to be left alone.” He looked around the room and said, “Could I please have a drink of water?”
“I’ll get it,” Poppy said from the edge of the dining room.
Will saw Mick look again to the couch in front of the fireplace where Ruby lay. Had she moved? Is that what caught the man’s eye? Stepping to the couch, Will squatted down next to her to check her pulse. As he did, he was surprised when her eyes opened. She tried to speak but her voice came out a whisper. He leaned closer.
Behind him, he heard Mick thank Poppy for the water. Closer, Ruby grabbed his hand and squeezed it as she whispered, “He’s lying,” and closed her eyes. He felt his back stiffen as he slowly got to his feet.
When Will turned, he saw that Mick was watching him closely. Lamar had moved off the hearth, giving his brother the room he seemed to need. But Poppy was still standing next to Mick after bringing the glass of water.
Will took it all in in a horrifying instant. That was all the time he had before Mick met his gaze and shot to his feet from the hearth to grab Poppy in a headlock. From his coat pocket, he pulled a gun. Ruby’s gun, Will thought before terror seized him.
“Let her go, Mick!” he said in a voice that belied the terror he felt. Not Poppy. No, please, not Poppy. “There’s no place to run. You don’t want to kill any more people.”
Lamar had jumped to his feet but Will signaled him and the others to stay back. “Everyone just stay calm,” Will ordered.
He heard Allison begin to cry and Dean murmur, “I told you. Now we’re all going to die.” Dorothea hadn’t said a word, but out of the corner of his eye he could see that all the color had drained from her face.
He met Poppy’s gaze. Her green eyes were wide with fear, but he could see her trying to remain calm just as he was. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be all right, but he couldn’t promise that. He couldn’t promise her anything.
“Just let her go,” Will said, his heart pounding so hard he feared it would burst from his chest. “The sheriff is on his way. You don’t want to hurt anyone else.”
Mick let out a bitter laugh. “I’m in so deep now, what’s one more murder or a half dozen?”
“No,” Lamar said. “You couldn’t have been the one to kill Dad and Lexi. It was Kirk.”
His brother laughed. “Kirk was up to his neck in it. But he didn’t have what it took to kill. He whined and cried and wanted to turn himself in.” Mick made a disgusted sound. “I knew once the sheriff got here that Kirk would sing like a canary. That’s why I busted him out. He didn’t want to go. I guess he knew what was coming. That is, if it wasn’t for Ruby.” He glared at the couch where she lay. “I thought she was dead. I was in a hurry so I didn’t check her pulse...” He was shaking his head as if it was a mistake he wasn’t apt to make again. “She tell you she’s DEA?” He laughed as he met Will’s gaze. “Of course she did.”
“Ruby is DEA?” Allison said and began to cry harder. “Why didn’t she arrest you?”
“Because she couldn’t be sure who Kirk was working with,” Mick said with a laugh. “All of you could have been involved. It isn’t like you’re all so squeaky clean.”
“Mick,” Lamar said in a heart-wrenching wail. “How could you kill your own father?”
“That bastard? He hired Ruby,” Mick said. “Don’t kid yourself. He knew it was me behind the dope and he put the DEA on me?” Mick sounded close to tears again. “Why couldn’t he just come to me?”
“Because he’s bailed you out so many times before,” Lamar said. “Maybe he was done.”
“Done?” Mick laughed at that. “You can’t just be done with your son, your flesh and blood. No, you have to protect them. He let me down. He tried to make excuses for it, but in the end, he deserved what he got.”
“Big Jack brought us all up here suspecting that Mick and Kirk were involved in the drug business?” Channing demanded. “If that’s the case, then I think Mick’s right. The old man got what he deserved.”
Will knew he had to defuse this and quickly before they got Poppy killed. He could hear Dean muttering to himself about how they were all going to die.
“What’s your next move, Mick?” he asked, trying hard to keep his voice as neutral as possible.
“What are my chances of getting out of this?” Mick asked, smiling. “You see any reason I shouldn’t kill everyone in this room?”
As Allison let out a scream and started for the door, Will kept his eye on Mick. If he moved the gun barrel away from Poppy’s head, he would go for him.
But Mick only laughed as Allison and then Dean practically killed each other fighting to get out the door first. Channing seemed to be amused by all of it as if she intended to stay and see how it all ended. Lamar hadn’t moved and Will didn’t like the look on the older brother’s face. He didn’t need Lamar playing hero.
“Stay out of this, Lamar,” he warned him, praying he could contain this. Otherwise... He refused to let his mind go down that path. He had to do whatever was necessary to get Poppy away from Mick.
“Let me handle this,” he told Lamar, his voice breaking with the tension he felt, the fear.
“He’s my brother.”
“Which is why you need to let me handle it.”
Mick let out a curse. “Neither one of you are going to ‘handle’ me, all right? Just back off or I will put a bullet into t
he cook’s head and then where will that leave us all?” He smirked. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Will here is going to get his keys to that big old truck out there with the plow on it.”
“I’m not even sure that truck will start,” Will said.
Mick scoffed. “I’ll take my chances since it’s my best bet to get out of here. The snow is melting. Just not enough to leave in one of the SUVs sitting out there. Then Poppy and I are going to leave and none of you are going to try to stop us.”
“I’m not letting you leave with her,” Will said.
“I don’t think you have much of a choice. I can shoot her right now, shoot you and my brother, and take your keys and leave. Up to you.”
“You’d shoot me, too,” Lamar said with a disbelieving shake of his head.
“In a heartbeat. You’ve been a pain in my ass all my life. I’m sick of being the little brother. You run On the Fly while I work at some menial job there?”
“That’s just it,” Lamar snapped. “You didn’t work. You never have. Since you were a kid you always wanted someone to pay your way. You always took the easy way out. I’m not surprised you were selling dope out the back door of the plant. That’s you. You never gave a shit about anyone but yourself.”
Mick grinned. “And you’re surprised I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you?”
“Take it easy,” Will said, seeing how worked up both brothers were getting while there was a gun to Poppy’s head. “I’ll get the keys to the truck but take me instead of Poppy.”
Poppy said, “No,” and for the first time looked as if she might cry.
“I know the best way out of here,” Will said. “I’m your best bet since I also know the truck.”
Mick studied him for a moment. “Talked me into it. Get the keys.”
Will started toward the office, but turned back to look at Lamar. “Can I trust you to keep your cool? You don’t want Poppy’s death on your hands.”
Lamar’s jaw muscle jumped but he nodded.
In his office, he quickly opened the safe with trembling fingers and took out the keys for his truck. He’d put them there because he’d been worried that another one of the guests would pull the same stunt that Kirk had.
As he stepped back out, he hoped Mick was good to his word and would let him drive them out of here. He held up the keys as he approached the man. “I’ll take you off the mountain, give you the truck, but now you let Poppy go.”
“Well,” Mick said. “That’s the thing. I’ll let you drive, but Poppy’s going with us. She’s just a better insurance policy than you are.”
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“That’s because you aren’t the one making the deals,” Mick said.
“Don’t do this.” Lamar took a step toward his brother. “You need help. I will see that you get it and the best lawyer that money can buy.”
Mick laughed. “My big brother.” His expression darkened. “I’m leaving with Poppy and Will. If you try anything, I’ll shoot her, then Will, then you. You can’t save me any more than you can save them. So sit down and stay here until I’m gone and then I don’t give a damn what you do.” He began edging Poppy toward the door. “Will, you lead the way, and remember, anyone tries to stop me, she dies.”
* * *
POPPY TRIED TO BREATHE, but it was hard with a gun barrel pressed to her temple and Mick’s arm tight around her neck. He’d grabbed her so quickly that she hadn’t had a chance to move or scream or even think. Suddenly, he was threatening to kill her and she now knew that he’d already killed two people so his threat was real.
She’d looked at Will, seen the terror in his eyes and heard him tell everyone to remain calm. She was trying, but everything Mick had said only terrified her more. The man had killed his own father. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill again—anyone who tried to stop him. And now Will was risking his life for her.
As they walked through the heavy snow, she could see how quickly it was melting. Rivers of water ran down the mountainside. With the sun working on it and the day warm, it wouldn’t be long before the snow and the storm were nothing but a memory.
If she should live that long.
“Open the door,” Mick ordered as they reached the passenger’s side of the old truck with the plow on it.
She pulled the door open. It groaned in protest. Mick pushed her up and inside, the gun on her the whole time. He climbed in, put his arm around her and the barrel against her temple again. The inside of the truck smelled like a lot of old trucks, a combination of dust and age, oil and grease. The old brown leather on the cover was cracked and ripped in places. Will opened the driver’s-side door and got in. He put the key in the ignition.
It took a few tries to get the engine running before he dropped the plow and gave the truck gas. She’d noticed that the tires on the rig were worn as they’d approached it. What would happen if they got stuck down the road? Would Mick just kill them both and take off on foot?
Poppy didn’t want to die, but worse was the thought of Will dying. She was angry with him for putting himself in this position, but as he started to drive the truck down the road away from the guest ranch, she realized that Mick had needed him all along. She and Will were both part of his plan to escape.
“What was the real story between you and Allison?” Will asked as he drove.
Mick seemed surprised by the question. “I thought I was in love with her. Now I wish I’d shot her before she could get out the door.” He sighed. “But at the time it was enough that she thought I was going to.”
Poppy couldn’t believe what a cold-blooded killer the man was. She remembered what Lamar said about him being spoiled. Apparently Mick got what he wanted or else. It was as if he’d been born without a heart.
“She kept playing me,” Mick said almost to himself as he took his arm from around Poppy to rub a spot on his side. “I don’t know what her story is, but she’s lucky I didn’t just take her.”
“You mean rape her?” Poppy said, only to have the man grab her roughly and pull her against him again. The effort, though, made him groan as she pressed against his left side and he loosened his hold a little.
“It’s not rape when she’s been asking for it for months,” Mick spat.
The truck lumbered slowly down the road, the V-shaped plow cutting through the heavy wet snow noisily. Poppy thought she’d couldn’t despise the man more when he’d confessed to killing his father and Lexi, but she realized she’d been wrong. She cringed at his touch, wanting more than anything to get away from him. He smelled of blood and sweat and a foul darkness that seemed to ooze from his pores.
She turned her mind to how to escape. As she’d climbed into the truck, she’d seen a large wrench sticking partway out from under the seat, along with what appeared to be part of a jack. Both could be lethal weapons—if she had the chance to get her hands on either.
Will appeared intent on his driving, but she could see the tension in his face. His jaw muscle worked and when she furtively placed her hand on his thigh he glanced over at her. Their gazes locked for a moment and she felt a jolt as a signal passed between them. They would do whatever they had to do to get out of this.
* * *
DOROTHEA LET OUT the breath she’d been holding. Like the others, she’d been afraid Mick would decide to turn the gun on all of them. He’d sounded crazy enough.
She rushed to the window in time to see Will, Poppy and Mick get into the old plow truck. What she didn’t know was what to do.
Turning back to the room, she saw that Lamar was bent over in his chair as if in terrible pain. She imagined he was, given what he’d just learned.
Channing got up and walked toward the kitchen. “I suppose this means we’re on our own for food,” she said as she wandered into the kitchen. Dorothea heard her open the refrigerator and dig around. She wanted to tear the woman’s
hair out. Channing had been difficult since the beginning of this outing. But she told herself that maybe this was the way the woman handled trauma.
Lamar slowly sat up, pushed himself to his feet and headed for the door. He had a strange look on his face, like a man who had nothing to lose. Dorothea could see that the old plow truck was still in view.
“Don’t go out there and risk their lives trying to play hero,” she ordered. “Will knows what he’s doing.” She hoped Will did. She thought of Poppy with a gun to her head. Not exactly what the young woman had had in mind when she agreed to come up here and cook. No, Poppy came looking for retribution and got so much more than she’d bargained for. “I mean it, Lamar. You will only make matters worse.”
He spun around to glare at her. “What do you suggest we do, then?”
“The only thing we can. Wait for help to arrive.”
He scoffed at that. “We have no way of letting anyone know that we need help even if it could get to us. You saw that old truck. What are the chances Will can get through to the plowed roads in the valley?”
She had no idea. If Will got the truck stuck and couldn’t go any farther... Well, then he would be of no use to Mick. And Poppy wouldn’t, either.
Will was like a son to her...and Poppy... She guessed she’d fallen for her the same way Will had. The young woman could cook. She put love into each dish. She cared. Maybe that’s why Dorothea had found herself liking the woman. Also she’d seen that Poppy was good for Will. She was strong and capable, just the kind of woman who would give Will a run for his money. They belonged together.
She swallowed the lump in her throat at their prospects right now.
Lamar sat down again and buried his face in his hands. “He’s my brother.”
Channing came out of the kitchen after making herself a sandwich. The woman was on Dorothea’s last nerve.
“Nice of you to offer to make everyone else one while you were at it,” she snapped at Channing.
“You seem to think I’m happy about being here in this hell,” Channing said. “I grew up in foster homes. I could write the book on dysfunctional families. I learned to make the best of a bad situation and keep my head down a long time ago.” She plopped down in a chair and took a big bite out of her sandwich as she glared at Dorothea.
