Sophie Oak - Siren in Waiting

“I just need a little more time. It’s here,” Bryce insisted.

The man with the gun shook his head. “You made a deal with my employer. You took my employer’s cash in exchange for your products. You set yourself up as a distributor. No one forced you to do that, Mr. Hughes. But we do expect to get what we paid for. I want the drugs now. We’ve been more than patient. It’s been months. You, put down the gun or I’ll shoot both of the women. I assume at least one of them is yours.”

Bo let the rifle drop. Roxanne wasn’t going to help him out now. Terror threatened to claw at his insides. One slip of that man’s finger and Beth’s life would be over. His life would be over.

“Look, mister, I can see you have some business with Bryce here. I can’t stand the man, myself. Why don’t you let me take the women, and you can conclude this transaction in private?” He was pretty sure it wouldn’t work, but he had to try.

“Call me Carlo. I think we’re going to be friends, Mr. O’Malley. Yes, I know all the players in this sad little town. My employer pays me very well to keep up with everything. Including his product. You see, Mr. Hughes here started out as a small-time meth dealer. I believe your employees work out of a trailer park in another town.”

“Bryce, what is he talking about?” Shelley’s hands shook.

“Shut up, Shelley. This isn’t any of your business.”

Carlo chuckled, though the sound was slightly sinister to Bo’s ears. “It is your business, darling. He used your business to do an enormous amount of our work. He’s laundered money through it. He’s gotten us some incredibly interesting information with which to blackmail certain politicians. It isn’t easy to get drugs over the border these days. It certainly helps to have a few, shall we say, influential people in our pockets. You weren’t aware of the hidden cameras you placed in your clients’ offices when you redecorated? I can see not. It was probably smart of you to keep your little wife out of it, Hughes. Now, Mr. O’Malley, get to your knees, please, and allow Mrs. Hughes to use the zip ties I carry around for just such an occasion. It’s really shocking how often I find the need to tie people up in my line of business.”

Bo felt his whole body harden, every muscle screaming for him to not allow this to happen.

“I wouldn’t play the hero, Mr. O’Malley. You might be able to take me down, but not before I kill her. The instant I see you move, I will put a bullet through her brain. Is that an acceptable outcome? Do you not believe that I will kill someone? I think you need a demonstration of my willpower. Mr. Hughes, as you obviously can’t even manage to properly search a home, I have no further use for you.”

Bo watched in utter horror as the gun in Carlo’s hand moved slightly and he fired, the discharge pounding through the small room with the force of a grenade. Beth screamed, trying to put her hands to her ears, but Carlo held fast. Shelley stood in shocked terror.

And Bryce Hughes stood in the middle of the room, perfectly still for a moment, as though frozen in time. Then blood bloomed from the neat hole in his forehead. He tottered, as though his body wasn’t sure which way to fall. It seemed to take forever for him to find the floor. All the while, Bryce stared out, his eyes as blank as a doll’s. He hit the floor, and time seemed to speed up again.

Shelley cried out. Carlo tightened his hold. Bo wanted to run, to tackle the fucker, but he couldn’t risk it. Beth’s left ear was bleeding. Her face was so pale. He couldn’t stand the thought of her hitting the floor, her body still forever, her strong heart silenced.

Bo got to his knees, his hands behind his back. “Shelley, you’ve got to do as the man says.”

“Excellent, Mr. O’Malley. Mrs. Hughes, bind the young man’s hands, and then this one here will bind yours. We’re going to see how well Miss Hobbes knows this house. Bryce was convinced his partner hid a half a million dollars worth of cocaine somewhere in this house. You can find it, or I’ll start killing your friends.”

“I can find it,” Beth promised, her eyes finding Bo’s as Shelley slipped the zip tie on and tightened it. Bo could feel Shelley’s hands shaking.

Bo had to pray Beth could do what she’d promised.

Trev pulled into the rickety trailer park and sighed. The whole place had an air of neglect he recognized. This was one of those desperate places. Every city and suburb had them. Every small town, too. This was a place without hope and that very few escaped from. It was definitely the place to get drugs.

It had been remarkably easy to get the information he wanted. Everyone was willing to buy that he wanted to score. Apparently Marty had come through, drinking and asking the same questions. He’d been looking for drugs for his client. No wonder no one believed him when he said he was straight. His former agent had blown his reputation before he’d even had a chance to settle in.

No one even questioned it. He’d hauled himself into The Rusty Spur and in fifteen minutes knew where to go for meth.

Nelson Hall. Bryce’s good friend. Nelson Hall, who had sent his son to do his dirty work, who obviously let his son test the product.

He stopped the truck. There were three teens standing around smoking.

“Hey, can you tell me where to find Nelson Hall?” Trev asked.

The only female of the group pointed down a thin, gravel road. “He’s the last one on the road, but I don’t think he’s there. His son is.”

Apparently juvie wasn’t what it used to be if Austin Hall was already out. Trev nodded and prepared himself. It was a stupid plan, and he couldn’t help himself. He had to know. He started down the road.

Fuck, what was he doing? He was putting himself in harm’s way. He was going on a drug buy. He wasn’t supposed to be getting close to this life again, but he had to. He was supposed to be working O’Malley’s herd, marking time until he came into his money and got the chance to work his own herd. He wasn’t even going to stay in this town. He was leaving. He’d just needed a little distraction.

A vision of Beth between himself and Bo assaulted him, her body twisting as she tried to kiss them both, her heart big enough to handle both men.

He’d started the relationship because she’d seemed to need him, and he’d needed a distraction.

Some fucking distraction.

She’d wormed her way into his heart, and he wasn’t sure if he could live without her. It was his lot in life to never be able to do anything halfway. The only time he didn’t feel was when he was drunk. Love for Beth was rolling in his veins and with it the acknowledgement that he loved Bo, too. Bo was the brother he’d never had, the person who might have been able to save him if Trev had given him half a chance.

Could he make it work? Did he even have the right to try?

Trev stopped the truck in front of a ramshackle single-wide that had seen way better days. Austin Hall sat on the steps outside the trailer.

The kid looked far older than his sixteen years. His face was covered in sores, and when he smiled, Trev could see that his teeth were already showing the effects of meth. Thank god he’d never gotten into meth.

“Should have known you would show up. When dad heard you got back into town, he said we should up production.”

Trev just managed to not clock the little shit. The need to kill the kid was right there. He’d taken a shot at Beth. But hurting some sixteen-year-old meth head who probably didn’t have much of a chance of seeing his seventeenth birthday wouldn’t fix things. He let his face go slack and tried to keep his hat slung low so no one noticed how clear his eyes were. “I need a fix, man. Bryce Hughes told me this was the place to come.”