The suit takes a seat on a bale of hay, sounding exasperated. Heather and Livvy whimper in the corner, but there’s no quit in Owen. He struggles until he’s back on his knees with his head held high.
“Dealing with you backwoods hicks should have been an easy enough task, but since none of my employees are capable, I had to fly across the country to this God-forsaken place and take care of things myself. I could let the land go. I have plenty of money, and this land isn’t the largest fortune I’ll ever come across. However, money's no longer the point. You see, I’m a man who gets what I want. A man who doesn’t appreciate being told no. Your friends continue to ignore my messages, so I need to go bigger. I figure, your decapitated head on the McKinnon’s doorstep might get their attention. What do you think? Will your head in a box get my point across?”
He’s running his mouth like he can say whatever he wants because there will be nobody to spill his secrets. Spilled blood is all he plans to leave in his wake.
Grateful I’m in my sneakers and not my boots, I pray my steps are quiet enough to get behind the stacked hay bales five feet away. I scurry behind the cover and prop the gun on top of the stack. Before settling in to take aim, Owen gives a small shake of his head. I lift my finger to my lips in the hopes he won’t give me away. He’s spotted me, but instead of giving me up, he does his best to distract the suit.
“Do what you want to me. Just let them go,” Owen says, keeping all attention on him.
“Unfortunately, there won’t be any Swifts going anywhere tonight. However, I’m not a monster. I’ll let you watch my men put bullets in your mother and sister’s heads, so they don’t have to watch me cut yours off. Sound fair?”
“You don’t want to do this,” Owen pleads, trying to stall him as he desperately pulls at the hard plastic keeping him bound. “You’ll never get away with it.”
Suit lifts his hand. “Bradley, you take the sister. Morris, you get mom.”
My time is up. If I don’t act now, I may be too late.
Just breathe, Daisy. You can do this. Youhaveto do this. Inhale for four, exhale for four.
Finding the trigger with my forefinger, I settle into position. Suit grabs Owen by the hair, turning him to watch.
I take one last inhale for four and then I breathe out for five... four... three... two...
Bang!
Bang!
Chapter Forty-Three
Owen
Bang!
Bang!
Releasing my hair, Madden drops to his knees crawling for cover. My ears ring from the blasts, but I recover quickly after years of training and experience. I may only have one working eye, but when I see Mom and Livvy scrambling toward me, I could cry.
They’re alive.
When I got in my Jeep after the game, I had just started the engine when my front passenger and back driver’s side doors opened. Someone in the back seat pressed a pistol to the back of my head while the other in the front seat, wearing a tactical vest, held his phone out to me. On the screen, Mom and Olivia were in a horse stall holding on to each other, crying.
Then the camera flipped to a suited man with ginger hair. Fucking Carmine Madden. “Officer Swift, I see you’ve met my associates.”
My sister yelled my name in the background, and Madden smirked. The way his eyes danced, I swear he got hard hearing her plea. It was like looking into the eyes of the devil.
“Your sister’s feisty. I wonder what it would take to quiet her down.”
“Don’t you fucking touch her!” I roared, only to have the pressure of the pistol pressed against my skull intensify.
“Now, now. Let’s not get too excited. I’d like to make you an offer.”
He was using my family as chess pieces, but what he was going to ask for I couldn’t be sure. I didn’t bait him... I waited him out.
“You, for them.”
Relieved he was willing to let them go and that he didn’t ask for Daisy or Cal, I had no problem agreeing.
I drove to the ranch with one gun to my head and one in my ribs, following their every instruction and praying the entire way there that the redheaded bastard kept his word and didn’t hurt them.
