“But that didn’t have to come between us, it didn’t have to define us.” I can hear the plea in my voice even though I know nothing I say will make a difference.
“Fucking grow up, Sloane. After Daddy’s little princess came along, he couldn’t wait to get the reminder of his first marriage out of the house. You fucking ruined my life.” Thepitch of his voice rises with each word, and he lifts his hand to point-shove the gun in my direction with each word.
The tears that I have been holding back start to stream down my face and I lift my fingers to cover my mouth. The hatred he feels for me is like laser beams to my chest as he talks.
He starts to laugh and settles back into the seat, “The only way to get the money I needed was to get rid of them, but the bastard changed his will, he split the accounts between us and now I need access to your accounts.”
I suck in a sharp breath, “You killed them?”
The sneer on his face is cold as he smiles at me. “It wasn’t hard, the old bastard thought he was untouchable. I just had to make it look like an accident and boom,” he laughs as he throws his fingers open with one hand like an explosion, “problem solved.”
Horror and disbelief must show on my face as I look at him because he throws his head back and starts laughing.
“How does it feel to lose your parents, Princess? I lost both of mine when you came along.”
What do I say to that? Nothing I say will ease his pain or mine.
“Anyway, you’re just another means to an end. I needed money so I sold you just like I sold everything else that bastard owned.” He swipes the back of his hand across his forehead, “I just have to get you back to them so things will be square, and they will be off my fucking ass.”
Another second goes by, and I realize what he said, “Did you say he split the accounts between us?”
His eyes slide to me, “He changed his will, everything was supposed to go to me, but he couldn’t leave his little princess without the posh life she was used to. Once I finally get you declared dead, I’ll get the money from your account.”
My heart sinks. The past seven months with the Harlowshave shown me what a real family looks like, no matter what happens, they are always there for each other. On the one hand, I’m devastatingly envious of what they have, and on the other hand, I’m heartbroken that my only living family hates me so much.
He snorts, “Don’t worry sweetheart, once you get a taste of the shit they pump into the girls, you’ll be thanking me.”
Resisting the urge to put my hand protectively over my stomach, the last thing I want to do is tip Austin off about my maybe-probably pregnancy, I lean back against the seat.
“What’s wrong, princess? You think they might miss you?” He snorts again and rolls his eyes, “Give it a few days and they’ll forget you even exist. Anyway, they have to know how much trouble you are at this point, why would they want to keep you around?”
Tears sting my eyes, he managed to pick the thread of my biggest fear, why would they want to keep me and all my trouble around?
Looking around the cab of the SUV, I try to see who is driving but it’s too dark, and he has a ballcap on that is shading his eyes in the mirror. Anger bubbles up and I look at my brother, “Mason and his team know that you’re involved, he’ll find you when they start looking for me.”
Will he look for me? I think he might.
He looks at me with a smirk, “His team? Team of what? Horse wranglers?”
It’s my turn to look smug and I sit back against the seat, “Mason is Special Forces, they deal with people like you for a living.” I don’t really know that for sure, but bits and pieces of what I’ve overheard have been about being hired to take care of things that regular police can’t handle.
The smirk on his face falls and his eyes look over my face to see if I’m serious, “Then you and I are as good as dead either way, then, aren’t we? You’ll die while being fucked by thethousandth guy to mount you and bust his nut in you, and your boyfriend will kill me.” He swipes his hand across his forehead again, “I sure as fuck am not letting you go, I’ll take my chances with your boyfriend if he ever finds me.”
Turning my head to lock eyes with him, I say, “He already knows where you live in Tulsa, and Vegas, he’ll find you.”
The smug slides off his face when I list both of his homes, and even though I don’t know anything for sure, only bits and pieces of what I overheard while they were talking and I was cooking, I am enjoying wiping the smile off his face.
A phone in the front seat rings and the driver picks it up, “Yep, I’ve got her. It’s clear for inbound.”
My head jerks in Austin’s direction, “What does inbound mean?”
The smirk comes back, “Did you think we would just drive away and leave the coast clear for them to follow us? We have to keep them busy taking care of their own for a while.”
At that point, a car speeds past us in the opposite direction, and I look out the back window to see another SUV moving away from us, “What have you done Austin?”
“Ensured they won’t be following us anytime soon.”
No!
