He placed the box, and then her backpack, and closed it all up. “At least we know the lawyer didn’t have time to place a distress call,” he said as they got in the car. “But Eddie knows about this place. I knocked him out, but I don’t know for how long. He could be on the way here.”
Her blood ran cold as Jonah headed toward the access road. “Did he really kill Patrick?” she said.
He nodded. “Tortured him first. Wants to know what he told us, and where the evidence is. So he knows it exists, at least.”
“And now he’ll torture us. Kill us.”
“Not if he can’t find us.”
There was a glow around the curve ahead that seemed out of place. Jonah slowed as he navigated the road—and then slammed the brakes abruptly. A sedan and a pickup truck, parked lengthwise, formed a roadblock between the access road and the main road. Four men with guns stood in a loose line in front of the barricade.
Then the front car’s door opened, and Eddie Verona got out.
Jonah’s expression looked carved from stone. “I won’t let him hurt you,” he said in a strange, dead tone. “But listen…you can’t run. He will shoot. Whatever he says, just play along. And whatever he does to me—you stay out of it. Don’t try to stop him.”
Her heart refused to beat. “Jonah, I can’t just watch him…”
“Please,” he said. “Promise me. It’s the only chance we have.”
“All right,” she whispered. “I promise.”
Eddie and one of the thugs approached the car. The loan shark sported a nasty black eye and a cut down his cheek—she guessed Jonah must’ve done that to him. As the man with the gun headed toward her window, Eddie split and walked around to the driver’s side, where he opened Jonah’s door. “Get out.”
Without a word, Jonah complied as her own door opened, and the gun was aimed at her head.
“You see that?” Eddie said. “Turn around and look. Understand that I only need one of you for this—so if it comes down to it, I’ll do whatever hurts you the most, you traitorous bastard.”
Jonah looked. His gaze met hers, but there was nothing in his eyes.
When he turned back to Eddie, the man punched him full in the face.
She struggled to stay silent as Jonah’s head snapped aside. Eddie grabbed him by the arm, jerked him forward and hit him again, hard. Then he spun him around and slammed him against the car. Jonah let out a muffled grunt.
Eddie produced a set of handcuffs and bound Jonah’s arms behind his back. He nodded across the car to the thug. “Cuff the girl,” he said.
Piper struggled briefly as she was hauled out and handcuffed. She looked to Jonah, but his eyes were closed and blood trickled from his nose.
They were both loaded into the back seat. Eddie got in the driver’s side, slammed the door, and looked back at them. “Tell me,” he said. “What did you do with my lawyer?”
When Jonah said nothing, Piper decided to do the same.
“Fine.” Eddie called the thug over. “Take Greg down to that shithole and see if Malory’s there. Room four. Tell the other two to follow me.”
The thug nodded and moved to obey.
Eddie let out a sigh and waited while his men moved the vehicles. “All right, kids, we’re going for a ride,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll drive.”
As he pulled away, Piper tried to position herself so the cuffs weren’t digging into her back. Not that it would help any. It was over—they’d lost.
At least she wouldn’t have to live without Jonah…but dying together wouldn’t have been her first choice.
* * * *
Eddie Verona was a creature of habit, and Jonah knew them all.
He knew Eddie would bring them to the warehouse and separate them. There would be a guard posted outside the place, another in the back with Piper, and a third in the main room with him. He knew Eddie would take his time beating him, questioning him, and beating him some more before he got around to bringing Piper in.
And he’d told Piper to play along, not to fight him, because if he could drag this out for two hours then the cavalry would arrive. She’d said the marshal was coming. It had already taken a good thirty minutes driving from the motel to here.
But he’d lost track of how long Eddie had been hitting him. More than half an hour, and a little less than forever.
“You’re really starting to piss me off here, Jonah.” Eddie hooked a fist into his gut, hard enough to tip the chair he’d been cuffed to back on two legs. He stepped back rubbing his knuckles. “It’s a simple question. What did Patrick tell you?”
Jonah coughed and took a minute to stare at the blood that spattered his thighs. “He’s a Capricorn, and he enjoys long walks on the beach,” he rasped.
“I never knew you had a sense of humor.” Eddie fisted a hand in his hair and yanked his head back. “I need to know everything,” he said. “What he told you. Who you told. Where this evidence is that he claims to have. Are you really going to make me do this the hard way?”
He gave an abrupt laugh. “You don’t have an easy way, Eddie.”
“Huh. True enough.” Eddie pulled once and let go with a shove—then backhanded him. Fresh blood filled his mouth. “I’ll admit, I have a little dilemma here. Can’t decide whether to break out the hardware and ramp up the pain, or bring my pretty prize out here to loosen your tongue. Like I told you before, I really don’t enjoy hurting women. But you’re not giving me much of a choice.”
“How’s it feel?” Jonah managed to lift his head and flash a bloody grin. He had to keep Eddie talking—the longer he did, the less likely the bastard would be to go after Piper. “Being trapped,” he said. “Helpless. Knowing that no matter what you do, you’re not getting what you want.”
“Oh, I’ll get what I want. I always do.”
“Like Celeste?”
Eddie glared at him. “The hell are you talking about?”
“Celeste.” He’d definitely hit a nerve there. “Hot blonde, took your money and ran. Patrick was banging her, you know.”
“What?” Eddie’s tone was quietly lethal.
Jonah smirked. “Patrick was banging Celeste,” he said. “The whole time. Behind your back, maybe even right under your nose. He thought it was hilarious. All these years, and you never—”
A sudden blow to his gut knocked the wind from him. The world tilted as the chair fell back and smashed him on the floor. Then Eddie started kicking him.
By the time he finished, Jonah was half-blind with pain and struggling to breathe. Eddie grabbed his shirt and hauled him upright, chair and all. The fabric tore halfway down the front on the way. “Bet you think you’re hurting now,” he said. “Let me tell you something…you don’t know pain. Not yet. But you will.”
Jonah forced himself to focus on breathing until his vision cleared. “Bring it on, then,” he gasped. “What are you waiting for?”
Snarling, Eddie balled a fist and drew back—but then stopped and lowered his arm slowly. “Well played,” he said. “You almost had me.”
“What…”
“You’re stalling. Keeping me pissed at you so I don’t hurt the girl.” A cold smile fixed itself on his face. “It’s been eight years, Jonah. You might be the most stoic son of a bitch I know, but I can still read you.”
“Yeah? Well, read this,” he said. “You touch her, and I will end you. And that’s a promise.”
Eddie actually hesitated for a minute. Finally, he said, “You know what? I don’t believe you. If you had that kind of sack, you would’ve done it years ago.” The smile resurfaced colder than ever. “You just sit tight,” he said. “I’ll be right back with the entertainment.”
Jonah watched him walk away. When Eddie had gotten a good distance across the vast main room, he started twisting his arms and wrists around, working to get at his sleeve—where he still had the lock pick stashed.
It was time for plan B.
Chapter 14
Piper tried not to panic when
Eddie came to get her. She managed to stay calm as he led her, still handcuffed, down a few hallways and through darkened, cluttered rooms, with the thug who’d been guarding her right behind them.
But when they entered a huge open space and she saw what he’d done to Jonah, she came close to losing everything.
He was in a chair in the center of the room, with his hands cuffed to one of the back support slats and his head tipped back. One entire side of his face was bruised. His lip was split, his nose bleeding badly, and more blood ran from his temple. The front of his shirt was torn and hanging down, revealing heavy bruising all over his torso.
She wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
Despite her best efforts, tears streamed from her eyes as she looked at Eddie. “Stop,” she whispered. “Please…stop hurting him.”
“Oh, I’m done with him. At least for a little while,” he said. “Right now, I’m going to hurt you.”
“Don’t.”
The awful, grinding word came from Jonah. She stared at him as he lifted his head with agonizing slowness and glared at Eddie. “I meant what I said. I will end you.”
“You know, I’d really like to see you try. So I’m just gonna go ahead with this.”
“Wait,” Piper said. “What do you want?”
“To hurt you.” Eddie gave her a ghoulish grin. “Tell you what, though—I’ll make you the same offer I made him. You tell me what Patrick said, where this evidence is, and we’re done here. You’re free to go.”
“What about Jonah?”
“Him, too.”
“He’s lying,” Jonah ground out. “Piper, don’t—”
Fast as a snake, Eddie whirled around and backhanded him, eliciting a pained gasp. “You keep that mouth shut, or I’ll make sure you can’t open it again.”
“Stop!” she cried, half-sobbing. “I’ll give you what you want. Just leave him alone.”
“Finally, the voice of reason,” Eddie said. “All right. Start talking.”
She glanced at Jonah. That blank stare was back in his eyes, and even though he was looking at her, he didn’t appear to see her. She’d have to hope he understood that she was stalling, hoping against hope that the marshal would get here soon. It’d been nearly two hours since they left the motel.
“Well?” Eddie snapped.
She swallowed once. “Patrick didn’t tell us much,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “He kept saying Celeste didn’t want me to know. But he was going to tell Jonah, and I guess you killed him before he could.”
Eddie’s expression twisted. “You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true,” she said—and it more or less was, since they’d found out everything on their own, without Patrick. At least it made the lie more convincing. “But I do have the evidence.”
“That’s better. Where is it?”
Once again, she looked at Jonah. Still unresponsive. “In my pocket,” she said. “Front left. I’ll get it, if you take the cuffs off.”
“Hell, no. I’ll get it myself.” With a sickening grin, Eddie shoved his hand in her pocket and came out with the two thumb drives. He frowned at them. “This is it?”
She nodded. “They’re password protected.”
“What’s the password?”
For an instant she debated lying. But she’d looked at the smaller drives while Jonah went to meet Patrick, and there wasn’t much on them. Most of it was duplicate information—scanned images of the articles and photos from the envelopes, not damning by itself. She figured he’d want to check whatever password she gave him, and maybe he’d waste more time looking through the files before he realized they were practically useless.
She took a deep breath, and said, “99 blue kisses. No spaces.”
That got Jonah’s attention. He let out a frustrated snarl, and Eddie laughed. “Well, it sounds like you’re not lying, at least,” he said. “I don’t think your boyfriend here appreciates your honesty, but I do. Still, I’m going to make sure it works.”
“You said we could go if I told you,” she said.
“And you can. Just as soon as I have a look at these.” Eddie summoned a second thug from across the room. “Either of them tries anything, shoot them,” he said to the pair. “But leave them alive. Understand?”
They both nodded, and Eddie walked away.
She waited until he’d left the room, and then caught Jonah’s attention. “I had to,” she said when he looked at her. “It’s been long enough.”
His stare came slowly to life. “Has it?”
“Yes. Give or take.” The smallest amount of relief bloomed in her. Maybe he did know what she meant…if the beating he’d taken hadn’t scrambled his brains. “I think we—”
“All right, shut the hell up.” One of the thugs came over to stand between them and loomed over Jonah, sneering down at him. “Having fun, freakshow?” he said. “I knew he’d get rid of you eventually. Can’t wait to take your place.”
“It’s all yours,” Jonah rumbled. He sent Piper a weighted glance, and then looked back at the thug. “You might want to step back.”
Somehow she understood he was talking to her. She stepped back.
One minute the thug was opening his mouth, probably to deliver some tough-guy comeback. The next Jonah was on his feet, swinging the chair around in a wide arc that crashed into the side of the thug’s head, dropping him where he stood. “Get down!” Jonah shouted.
She abruptly collapsed to the ground. And Jonah charged.
It was over fast. She heard a struggle, a brief shout, a few meaty thuds. By the time she righted herself, the second thug was down and Jonah was headed for her. He pulled her up, putting an arm around her waist to steady her. “Are you all right?” he said in roughened tones.
“Better than you,” she managed shakily. “How did you—”
“Still have the lock pick. Can you stand?”
She nodded.
He let go and she felt him maneuvering the cuffs, heard a brief series of clicks. Then one of the metal bracelets was off, and she lowered her arms in relief. “Come on,” he said. “There’ll be another man outside. We’ll take their guns.”
“Good idea.”
But before either of them could move, the blast of a gunshot filled the space—and Jonah cried out and dropped to his knees.
“You even twitch, and the next one goes into her skull,” a sickly familiar voice said.
Numb with shock, Piper turned slowly to find Eddie Verona striding toward them with murder in his eyes.
* * * *
Goddamn it, this hurt.
Jonah’s vision blurred and doubled, and he tried desperately to focus. The bullet had torn into his lower right leg and lodged in what felt like bone. Eddie could’ve killed him if he wanted to. But the man was hell-bent on torturing Piper and making him watch.
He was still breathing, so that wasn’t going to happen.
Behind him, Piper uttered a breathless cry. He stiffened and waited until Eddie came around, one arm locked around her throat and the other pressing the gun into her side. She struggled, but her movements were slowing by the second.
“You’re good,” Eddie said. “But you’re not that good.”
Jonah shook his head briefly. He could almost see now—but he had to wait for the right opening. One mistake and they were both dead. “I don’t know, Eddie,” he said. “We took three of yours, and you’ve only gotten one of us.”
Eddie sneered. “Let me rephrase that,” he said. “You’re not bad enough. You haven’t taken shit, because you keep leaving them alive.”
“And your way’s better.”
“My way is final,” he said. “I don’t leave loose ends.”
“Except for Celeste.”
“She’s the end of Celeste.” Eddie squeezed harder, and Piper let out a strangled gasp. “And you’re more trouble than you’re worth. I should just put you out of your misery right now, like the dog you are.”
Jo
nah stared at him. “Go ahead.”
“Nnn—” Piper’s struggles increased. “Don’t,” she choked out. “Let him live.”
But Eddie only laughed. “Maybe I’ve got this the wrong way around,” he said. “Maybe it’s better if I kill you in front of her. She talks easier than you.” He brought his arm out to point the gun directly at Jonah. “How about it? You ready to retire?”
It was the opening he needed. The only one he’d get. “Not quite,” he said, drawing on the last of his strength. He had to move fast. “I still have a few bones to break.”
“Change your mind about hurting women?” Eddie said.
“No.” He smiled and grabbed the bastard’s wrist. “I’m breaking yours.”
One sharp twist and he heard bones snap. Eddie screamed. He managed to catch the gun as it fell, but Eddie recovered enough to push Piper away and kick his arm. The gun flew across the room.
Jonah surged to his feet, grabbed Eddie and threw him.
The man landed cradling his broken wrist. He rolled once and stood, teeth clenched, sweat glistening on his face. “So this is how we’re gonna do it?” he panted. His good hand dove into a pocket and pulled out a switchblade. “You really think you’re bad enough to bring me down?”
“You should know,” Jonah said. “You made me.”
“Yeah, and now I’ll break you.”
“You already did that, Eddie.” Jonah moved toward him, ignoring the fiery mass of pain that was his leg. “It’s my turn now.”
Eddie snarled and lunged at him.
He never got a chance to use the knife.
Jonah knocked him aside, as easily as swatting a fly. He snagged Eddie’s arm as it came around, blade flashing, and pried the knife from his fingers. Three well-placed blows dropped the loan shark flat on his back.
When he tried to rise, Jonah planted a foot on his chest. Eight years of pent rage surged through him and came out in a killing fury. “You were right, Eddie,” he said. “It does get easier. I could shatter all of your ribs, right now. You’d drown in your own blood—and I wouldn’t feel a thing.”
Eddie’s attempt at laughter emerged a pathetic wheeze. “You won’t kill me,” he said. “You think you’re too good for murder. Like you don’t have oceans of blood and pain on your hands. You’re a monster without fangs.”
Dawson's Honor (Welcome to Covendale Book 6) Page 12
