One of them pulls a phone out; I can’t see much, but I can barely see the light.
“You thought you could steal from us and just disappear?” the man shouts, pacing the dirt in front of me.
I know he has to be talking to my brother.
My wrists burn. My mouth is dry.
A pause.
“She’s tied up on our property. You’ve got till midnight. We’ll send you the location just before.”
I stop breathing.
“No cops. No tricks. You bring the full amount in cash.”
Another pause, but it’s longer this time. I picture my brother’s face, feel the panic he’s trying not to show.
“Because if you’re late,” he says softly, “I start taking things off her.”
The man crouches in front of me, brings the phone closer.
“And I’ll make sure she’s alive long enough to feel it.”
“Say hi,” he adds, shoving the phone closer to my face.
“Knox!” I yell, as loud as I can, not even trying to hide the panic.
A hand yanks the phone away.
The other man’s voice, flat and final, adds, Midnight.”
Click. Silence.
They loop a rope tight around my waist, pinning my back to the pole, and wind it until my ribs can barely expand.
“Don’t squirm,” says the one with the knife. “You ain’t going anywhere.”
The sack comes off and I blink. It takes me a second tosee the outlines: wooden beams, the farm equipment, the dust-clouded windows along the rafters. I’m in a barn, like I guessed, but not one I recognize. One of the men has a scrappy beard and a tattoo of a playing card on his neck. The other two are the Kennedys I’ve seen around the bar a few times.
The bearded one steps back and surveys me, head tilted. “Damn, you’re a lot prettier than I expected.”
His friend whistles. “She won’t go on a date with you after this, idiot.”
“Worth a shot.”
I give them my best glare, chin up. “You wanna slide in my DMs? You can find me under the usernamego fuck yourself.”
“Language,” says the big guy. “You kiss your mama with that mouth?”
I don’t answer. I stay glaring.
“Alright, princess,” the bearded one says, crouching in front of me. “Time for the family business talk. You ask about your brother? You really want to know what he did?”
I press my lips together. “You said he owed you money. For what?”
They exchange a glance. The big one grins.
“He’s been doing work for us. But then outta the blue, he decided he’s too good for us, stopped picking up our calls. Thing is, we already paid him. So now there’s a hole in our books. That’s a problem.”
