Page 63 of Branded Betrayal

For fuck’s sake, I need to pull myself together. If they see any hint of panic or unease, they’ll ice me on the spot.

I don’t know what has me so twisted. I’ve done shit like this plenty of times for him over the years, but tonight just feels . . . different. Can’t explain why there’s a nagging, annoying-as-fuck voice yelling at me to run. Fast and far away.

Squaring my shoulders, I look up to the black sky, the stars pretty much the only light guiding my path.

An active distribution center should have shipments moving in and out, especially at night when there’s little chance of anyone stumbling upon the operation. But this place is dead quiet.

Dead. Fuck.

I pull open the door, the rusted metal hinges creaking. What the hell? Why is the place so dark? They had to know I was coming to make a pickup.

Stepping inside, I keep one hand around my back, ready to grab the gun if I need to. My other hand holds out my phone, using the flashlight to find my way around. Just like the place in Birch Falls, this space is empty other than rows of wooden crates. The thick stench of rotten garbage, fried food, and weed makes my stomach roil. It hangs heavy in the air, sticking in my throat when I try to breathe.

An overhead fluorescent light flickers on, and I stop short just before my foot crashes into a metal column. My head jerks left and right for any sign of movement.

I part my lips, but my throat is so tight, I can barely squeeze out a word.

A menacing voice growls from behind me. “What do you want?”

I twist around, the gun in my outstretched hand.

The guy in front of me just lifts an eyebrow. Probably not the first time someone’s pointed a gun at him. Actually . . . I narrow my eyes at a scar on his right arm . . . looks like he’s already been shot at too.

“Here for a pickup. Wilkerson sent me.”

Fuck my life. Am I ever gonna be free from him?

But I already know the answer. He’ll never let me walk away without hurting someone I care about. The only reason why they’re still alive is because I’ve accepted this fucking fate. The second I lose value is the second he finishes me off. Then I’m no use to anyone.

He nods and runs a hand over his bald scalp. Tattoos cover the skin and trail down the side of his neck. His arms are inked up too. Unlike the guy in Birch Falls, this guy is big, his face twisted into a scowl. He’s clearly the muscle of the operation.

“He said he was sending a soldier, not some pretty boy in a cowboy getup.”

And an asshole to boot.

“How I look doesn’t fucking matter, does it? What matters is me making the delivery. So why don’t you load me up and then fuck off?”

The guy chuckles. “A wannabe-badass pretty boy. Yeah, you’ll fly under the radar right nice. And if a cop stops you, just tell him you’ll suck his dick.”

My finger itches where it sits on the trigger. I wanna squeeze it so fucking badly right now.

The guy pushes past me and starts loading crates onto a hand truck. “I ain’t alone here, boy. You start shooting, so will my guys. And trust me, takin’ a bullet will be the least of your problems.”

I bite back the words fighting to explode from my lips because I’d really like to get the hell out of here alive. I pile the crates into my flatbed and cover it once everything is accounted for.

The guy eyes me up again once we’re finished. Then with a scoff, he pulls out a cigarette, lights it, and walks back into the building.

I don’t waste a second jumping into my truck. I whip the steering wheel around, the tires catching on the gravel as I peel past the barbed wire fence lining the place. He may have been bullshitting me about the other guys hawking the building, but I sure as hell don’t want to hang around for any longer than I need to and risk proving him right.

Wannabe-badass cowboy. I roll my eyes. I could’ve filleted that guy in a hot fucking second.

I drive into the darkness, the headlights my only guide and George Strait’s smooth baritone my only distraction from the thoughts assaulting my mind.

By the time I roll back into town, it’ll be nearly dawn.

I could make a pit stop at Red Rock on my way home.

It’s time for me to break something else that’ll send Savvie into another spiral.