Forcing me into one of the only upright chairs, he said, “Now it’s time to tie you up.”
“Is there an itinerary we’re following? Would you be willing to share this timetable with me?”
He slammed the butt end of the knife against my temple, muttering, “I told you to shut up.” Stars swam behind my eyes and wet trickled down the side of my face. Washes of gray and red hazed my vision and I held back a groan as the taste of metal washed over my tongue. If this guy triggered a seizure, I’d kick his ass as soon as I could see straight. “Didn’t think you’d talk so fucking much. Can’t even think.”
Thank you for that helpful information.
“These are reasonable questions.” I cringed as he pulled a length of rope from under his black hoodie. I’d really hoped he was planning on improvising this part. “I’m just wondering how you plan on righting all these wrongs I’ve committed. I mean, how does any of this get you what you want?”
“You have no idea what I want,” he yelled as he crouched behind me.
If there was ever a chance to get the hell out of here, it was now, when he was on his knees and focused on the rope. I could run for the door—which I’d already bolted but that would only hold me up for an extra second or two—and then to the oyster company. Ineededto get over there.
But I thought a second too long and that chance dissolved before my eyes.
Joey yanked my arms behind the back of the chair and looped the rope around my wrists. He stopped, unfurled the rope, and started over. It sounded like he put the knife down for a second but then I felt the cold steel on the flat of my wrist.
“You wanted Leary’s tavern and then, the money from the sale of Leary’s tavern. But how does hitting me with your car or tying me to this chair get you any closer to those things?”
“Because—because you should pay for what you’ve done to my family,” he sputtered.
“Okay. Sure.” I nodded. “But wouldn’t it be so much better if we talked this out and we found a solution that didn’t involve—”
“Shut. Up.” He pushed to his feet and kicked over the last table standing. It was enough entertainment to distract him while I worked the ropes open. “Just stop talking.”
Another bolt of lightning filled the night sky and Joey fumbled the knife, grasping for it as it flipped end over end until it skittered along the length of his forearm and sliced his sweatshirt open. Blood poured down his arm, over his fingers, and all he could do was stare.
I didn’t waste a minute on thinking this time, not when I didn’t have a minute to spare. I jolted up to knee him in the crotch and swung the rainbow cast into his nose, and though I had a feeling I’d invented a new way to break my arm all over again, the resulting crunch of his bones was immaculately satisfying.
“Fuck me,” he grumbled as blood spilled down his face.
Then, the anger avalanched and he lashed out, throwing punches with one hand while he held the other to his face. I backed away in time to dodge one hit but the second landed high on my cheek as I fought my way around overturned tables and chairs.
My head filled with static and my balance wavered but my attention shifted toward the back door, and in the tiny moments between a slow, throbbing blink, a blur of movement crossed the café. A series of crashes and grunts filled the space as I worked to process the scene unfolding in front of me but the signals were taking too long to travel from my eyes to my brain.
“Talk to me, Sunny. Tell me you’re all right.”
Beck.
Maybe it was a delayed reaction to being punched in the face, maybe it was hearing his voice. Either way, my eyes filled with tears and I melted back against the counter. “I’m all right,” I managed.
“Okay, sweetheart, that’s great. Do me a favor and slide down to the floor.”
“Why?”
“For fuck’s sake, Sunny. I need to hold this guy down and I don’t want you hitting your head if you fall because I plan on strangling you later for throwing karate chop moves while someone had a knife to your throat.”
My backside met the concrete as another round of thunder and lightning hit. I forced the memory of the scent of lavender to the front of my mind and some of the fogginess cleared. Fighting with Beck helped too. “Yeah, well, I’m going to strangle you first for yelling at me during a literal hostage situation.”
“I believe the situation warrants yelling, Sunny.”
“A lot of opinions from the guy who waited until the absolute last minute to get his ass over here. It’s not like you’ve ever hesitated to stomp across the driveway and unload your mood of the day.”
“Good news for you, I’m not going to be stomping across the driveway because I’ll be right here, all day every day, keeping you out of trouble.”
I blinked and I got a hazy look at Beck where he held Joey flat on the ground, one hand on the back of his neck and the other binding his wrists. “You’re not staying here because you’ll end up hating this town even more than you already do and resenting me for making you stay.”
“Give me a year,” he said.
