Isabella scooted up against the headboard, fear obvious in her expression. Barkley walked toward the bed and reached out, grabbing a handful of her hair. She screamed and grabbed at his arm, but he was too strong. He roughly dragged her from the bed.
Mont’s hands clenched into fists, and Smitty gave him a slight shake of the head in warning. Mont tried to relax, but he was finding it difficult to do. He wanted to kill Barkley.
Isabella screamed in pain as Barkley yanked her around by her hair. Suddenly, Barkley threw her to the floor and stood over her. She glared up at him, tears filling her eyes. He reached down, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. Once she was on her feet, his free hand clasped her throat and he shoved her against the wall.
Mont nearly went after Barkley, but Smitty placed a hand on his arm stopping him. Isabella’s face was turning red from lack of oxygen. He watched her put her hands on Barkley’s arms to make him stop, but it didn’t deter him. Barkley bared his teeth at her.
“Don’t ever do that again, understand? I will kill you! The next time you try getting away, it will be your last. You understand me, you little bitch? Got it?”
When she blinked and gave a slight nod, he released her. Mont watched her fall to the floor, gasping for air, putting her hand to her throat. Her moist eyes shifted in his direction and narrowed. He hadn’t done anything to help her and she knew it. The pain in her eyes was killing him. He saw a tear run down her flushed cheek. He clenched his jaw and his hands fisted again. All he wanted to do was go to her, but he couldn’t. Barkley stood in the center of the room, his breathing hard with his anger as he glared down at her.
“I don’t care anymore about keeping you alive. I don’t need you to get to your precious daddy. As long as he thinks you’re alive, he’ll do what I want. You’d better keep that in mind,” he growled as he turned away from her then looked down at her again. “I won’t stop choking you next time. I’ll keep squeezing until you take your last breath.”
Barkley walked toward the door, motioning for Mont and Smitty to move along. They turned to move toward the kitchen and heard the bedroom door slam and the lock click. Mont didn’t stop in the kitchen but strode straight past Dayton out the back door and into the woods.
That was the hardest thing he’d ever had to watch. The life was draining out of her and all he could do was stand there. Barkley wanted to kill her, but he was teaching her a lesson first. The next time he would kill her, Mont knew the man wouldn’t hesitate. Mont accepted Barkley was the boss, but his feelings for Isabella were taking over and he wanted to help her.
Damn. He groaned, knowing he couldn’t. If Smitty hadn’t been standing there beside him to stop him, he would’ve gone in there and pulled Barkley off her. He stopped walking, put his hands on his hips, and stared at the ground. He was breathing hard with his anger and frustration and that was how Smitty found him.
“You’re getting too attached to her. You can’t do that and you know it. It can’t go anywhere.”
Mont sighed. “I know that. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to protect her and…”
“Worry about her? Love her? You do, don’t you? You’re in love with her,” Smitty probed him, but Mont didn’t answer him. He didn’t need to.
Neither man spoke again as they walked back toward the house. Barkley stood in the kitchen and narrowed his eyes at them as they entered.
“Where the hell did you two go?”
Smitty spoke up. “Colt thought he heard something, we went to investigate it—like we’re supposed to do.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass about it, Smith. I thought maybe you two couldn’t take seeing the little princess getting pushed around.”
Smitty and Mont both laughed.
“You know better than that, Jonas. She needed to be taught a lesson,” Mont answered as casually as he could.
Barkley looked at them for a few seconds as if trying to decide if they were telling the truth. Once he seemed satisfied they were, he nodded. His cell phone rang, and he walked into another room to answer it. Mont and Smitty simultaneously released sighs of relief. Neither noticed Dayton standing behind them so when he cleared his throat, they both turned.
“Jesus, Dayton. Quit sneaking up on people,” Smitty hissed at him.
Dayton raised his lips in what was probably a smug smile but with Dayton, it was hard to tell, and then he walked around them, leaving the room. Mont glanced at Smitty, who was frowning. They couldn’t be sure how much Dayton had seen or heard. Mont was about to motion for Smitty to follow him to the living room when Barkley came back in, and was smiling.
“Lofton is going to meet me tomorrow. Some cabin he has. He’s sending me the coordinates. This is finally going to be over—tomorrow. Smith, you can get rid of the girl. Kill her and get rid of the body,” he commanded with a casual shrug. “You can do it tomorrow after we leave. Dayton and Colt will be going with me.”
“I can take care of the girl,” Mont interjected.
“I’ll do it. You’re no killer, Colt,” Smitty said without hesitation.
Mont narrowed his eyes at Smitty, but Barkley had the last word on it.
“He’s right, Raines. I don’t need you to kill Lofton either. I’m going to take great pleasure in doing it myself. You won’t need to do anything but make sure no one else is around. Smitty can take care of the girl.” He suddenly laughed. “Do what you want with her before you kill her, Smith. Rough her up if you want, I don’t give a shit anymore. I’m finally getting what I want.” His cell rang again, and he left the room to answer it. When he returned a few minutes later, his face was red with anger.
“What’s wrong?” Mont asked trying not to think about Isabella.
“Pollard and Gentry were arrested. That was Long on the phone. They didn’t get him, but...” He paced and Mont could see his face getting redder by the second with rage.
“How?” Smitty asked with hesitation.
“I have no idea. Long said he was at one of the drop-offs, keeping an eye out when Pollard and Gentry went to get the money. Suddenly, the FBI surrounded them. God damn it!” Barkley raised his fists in the air and roared with anger.
“But what about Lewis and Rodgers?” Mont asked when Barkley seemed a little calmer.
“Long figures they were caught too. He’s been waiting for them to show up, but it’s been four hours already and they aren’t back yet. We set both pickups on the same day and for the same time, and the feds just happened to be there. Son of a bitch!” Barkley’s rage hadn’t ended.
“How could they have found out, though?” Mont asked with his own curiosity piqued.
“I haven’t figured that out yet. The only ones who knew were those guys, me, and…” Barkley turned to look at Mont.
Mont narrowed his eyes. “Don’t even think about it, Barkley. You know better.”
“Do I? It’s kind of strange all this shit went down once I brought you inside.”
“Maybe it was Lewis and Rodgers? Maybe that’s why they aren’t back.” Mont stared him down.
Barkley stared back at him. Mont didn’t blink. Barkley swore, shaking his head.
“You’re probably right. It’s awful funny no one’s heard from them. Either they tipped off the feds or they just took off with the money.”
Mont nodded his agreement. He caught Smitty watching him with a scowl. Mont glared back at him, making Smitty shrug before pulling up a chair at the table and sitting down.
“Worry about that later, huh…you need to start working on your strategy for tomorrow. We’ll figure out all that other shit later,” Smitty said, reminding Barkley about what he really wanted.
Barkley agreed, took a seat, and motioned for Mont and Dayton to sit. They spent the next hour or so discussing the meeting with Lofton set for the next day. Barkley reminded Smitty to make sure the girl was dumped somewhere she’d never be found. Smitty nodded.
Mont’s heart was in his gut. If he could get her out of here, he’d do it in a heartbeat, but it wouldn’t do him an
y good. Barkley would hunt them down and kill them both once he found them—and he would find them. There was no doubt of that in Mont’s mind and it terrified him.
Chapter Six
Isabella stretched out on the floor where Barkley had left her and cried. Why hadn’t Colt stopped him? She knew the answer to that—he couldn’t. Barkley was the boss. If Colt made a move against him, he’d be dead. She’d been terrified thinking she was going to die. Her neck was sore from where his fingers were tight around it. She hated Barkley.
Finally, she pulled herself up from the floor. She’d laid there for what felt like hours. Besides her neck hurting, her head was sore from where Barkley had grabbed her by the hair. She couldn’t be sure but he may have pulled some out by the roots. She rubbed her aching scalp and took a seat on the bed.
It seemed quiet in the house. She didn’t know who was there and who wasn’t anymore. She hoped Barkley was gone because she wanted to kill that man. If she had the means, she would do it. Never in her life had she felt such hate for someone, except perhaps Blackman, but she didn’t have to worry about him anymore. That problem was gone—thanks to Colt—but then Colt hadn’t helped her when Barkley was throwing her around. She’d looked to him for aid, pleading with him with her eyes, but he’d done nothing. He hadn’t because he couldn’t, and she knew that. She’d seen the look of pain on his face. Watching Barkley mistreat her had hurt him. Perhaps that was part of the reason she’d lied to Barkley, telling him she wouldn’t try to run again. Fear more than anything made her lie because she couldn’t tell him the truth because he would’ve choked the life out of her right there. What she’d really wanted to do was to spit in his face, but he would’ve killed her for sure. Would Colt have allowed him to kill her?
Isabella gazed out the window and saw the sun was beginning to set again. She’d slept most of the day away until Barkley had come in and tossed her around like she was a ragdoll. Her hands clenched into fists. More than anything, she’d wanted to fight back, but he was so much stronger and she couldn’t breathe. Once he dropped her to the floor, she’d struggled to catch her breath and live.
Crossing the room to the bathroom, she turned on the light and looked into the mirror. What she saw there made her want to scream. Around her neck was an angry handprint. She almost did but suddenly, the door connecting to the other room opened and Colt walked into the bathroom. He quickly closed the door behind him, then moving around her to the door to her room, he pulled it closed too. Turning to face her, he pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him to her.
“I wanted to kill him,” he said against her hair, smoothing his hand along the length. “I couldn’t do anything. I’m so sorry, Bella.”
She looked up at him through tears. “I know. At first, I was so mad when you wouldn’t help me, but then I realized you couldn’t.”
Colt cupped his hands around her face, leaning close to kiss her. She held on to him as tight as she could, and then pulled back from him.
“Colt? What are we going to do? I lied to him. I can’t stay here. I have to get out of here.”
He shook his head, frowning at her. “Don’t, princess, please. I’m telling you, he’ll kill you when he finds you. He doesn’t make empty promises.” He hesitated, closing his eyes as if what he was about to say would hurt her. “Barkley is meeting with your father tomorrow.”
She tried to pull away from him, but he held her tight. “I’m going with him, Bella.”
She jerked away from him, glaring up at him.
“Please tell me you’re joking, please.” She didn’t want to believe his words, but he shook his head.
“Get out,” she screamed at him when he started to say something. “I can’t believe you’re going with him to kill my father! I was hoping…”
“You were hoping I’d help you escape,” Colt said, his fingers trailing through his hair in frustration. “Jesus Christ, Bella! How do I get it through your head? I won’t help you. I can’t help you. I would think you’d finally understand that since I’ve brought you back here…twice!”
Isabella slapped him, his expression going from frustrated to one of surprise in a flash.
“Get out! I hate you just as much as I hate the rest of them. You’re all going to get caught eventually. You will be caught and I’m going to take great joy in testifying against you—all of you!” Reaching for the doorknob on the door leading to her room, she paused and turned slightly. Looking at him over her shoulder, she exhaled. “Or you’re going to end up dead…dead, Colt.”
Stepping through the doorway and without looking back, she closed the door behind her.
* * * *
Later in the evening, Jonas Barkley met with Dylan Long. “Why are we here, Long?”
“I don’t trust Raines. Don’t you think it’s a little strange everything started going wrong after you brought him in?” Dylan folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the metal table in the abandoned warehouse.
“I trust him and that’s all that matters. He’s never given me a reason not to trust him. He’s done whatever I’ve told him to do. He’s smart, Long. Damn smart,” Jonas said.
“Maybe he’s too smart. How do you know he’s not the one who turned the guys in? It’s really funny how that shit went down right after you introduced us all to Raines, and filled him in on what was going on,” Dylan growled.
Jonas ran his hand over his thinning hair. “I thought of that too, but he’s been right beside me for almost a year now, and he has never given me cause to doubt him.”
Dylan stared at him, and then finally nodded. “If you trust him then I guess I have to, too.”
“You’ve got that shit right, Long. I can’t have any of my men after each other. It was bad enough when Raines had to kill Blackman.”
Dylan straightened up. “What? You didn’t tell me about that.”
Jonas huffed. “The stupid son of a bitch tried to rape Lofton’s daughter. I don’t go for that shit. Rape pisses me off big time. Apparently, Raines caught him on top of her and they fought.” He shrugged. “Colt stabbed him dead. He ended up stabbed too, in the shoulder. Weird thing was, the Lofton bitch didn’t even try to run.”
“She just hung around while they fought?” Dylan stared at Jonas in disbelief.
“Yeah, weird huh? I think she was in shock or something. Otherwise, I know damn well she would have taken off.”
“Sounds a little fishy to me...are you sure about Raines? I mean, maybe he’s a cop or something.”
Jonas laughed. “Cop? Colt’s no cop. I was in the cell next to him inside. I saw two guards kick the shit out of him. I can’t see a cop letting that happen just to be in jail for any reason.”
“Any reason? Come on, Barkley. The only reason a cop would be in prison would be to get to you.” Dylan shook his head. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
“You don’t have to like it. You just have to do what the fuck I tell you to do. Raines does what I tell him and I expect the same from all of you or you know what will happen,” Jonas growled at him, enjoying when the man looked away in reaction to his intimidation. “Even Raines only talks back when he thinks I’ve fucked up and trust me, if I didn’t agree with him, he’d be gone. He’s my right hand man and I trust him. It should be enough for you and if it’s not, leave.”
Dylan stared back at him. “I don’t like it but I’ll go along. Just promise me if it turns out Raines is a cop, I can have him.”
Jonas nodded and grinned. “You got it. Hopefully, this will all be over tomorrow.”
“Yeah, let’s hope so,” Dylan said, rubbing his jaw. Jonas knew something was still sticking in the man’s craw. “Still seems strange to me that the girl didn’t run. I mean, she had the perfect opportunity yet she stuck around.”
“Like I said, she was probably in shock after Blackman trying to rape her. He smacked her around a good bit,” Barkley explained, wondering why Long couldn’t let it go. �
��The stupid son of a bitch. He used to be my right-hand man, but he got sloppy. I never would have had him with me at all if I’d known the prick was into rape.”
“I don’t like it either. As far as I’m concerned he got what he deserved,” Dylan replied.
“You’re right about that. I may plan to have her killed, but rape is a whole other matter. Who the fuck gets their jollies out of taking a woman by force? There are plenty of women out there who give it up without a fight, right?”
Dylan nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never forced a woman in my life, and I don’t plan to—no matter what. Stupid bastard.”
* * * *
The next morning, someone shook Mont awake. He opened his eyes to find he was staring up at Barkley.
“Get your ass up, Raines. We need to get going. Lofton’s cabin is an hour from here.”
Mont yawned and nodded, rubbing his hands over his face and jaw.
“Let me get a quick shower.” Barkley grunted his approval and left the room.
Mont got out of the bed, strolled naked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. He looked toward the door leading to Isabella’s room. He knew she thought Smitty was in the next bedroom, but he’d told Smitty he wanted to be in here and Smitty hadn’t argued.
He was shaving when the door to her room opened. Isabella made a squeak of embarrassment but when she realized it wasn’t Smitty, she stood staring at him. In the reflection of the mirror, he watched her blink back tears from her eyes. She crossed the small space to stand alongside him and gaze up at him. He finished shaving even though he surprised himself that he was able to without cutting his throat with her standing so close watching him. After he wiped the traces of lather from his face and neck, he met her eyes in the mirror. She stared back at him.
“Colt…” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He practically ripped the pajamas off her when she reached for the towel around his waist, pulled it loose, and dropped it to the floor. His cock was so hard for her it ached. When she wrapped her hot hand around it and smiled up at him, he thought he would embarrass himself by coming right then.
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