Clearly, he’d gone soft. He should have moved on weeks ago. Yet if he had, would Jodi already be a missing person?
They drove away from the cabin, not toward town, and not toward King’s property. The road turned to gravel, and then dirt. The farther they went, the more remote it became. Remmy glanced to the guy at his left, which prompted the dude to ask with wary belligerence, “What?”
“Nothing.” The guy to his right leaned forward to say something—and Remmy threw an elbow at his nose. Judging by the spray of blood, he’d landed it perfectly. “Just that.”
The car swerved as the driver’s seat was jostled by the man on the left grabbing for Remmy. No time like the present, he decided, and drew up his legs to kick the driver’s seat as hard as he could, folding the driver over the wheel.
The car veered off wildly while the driver tried to regain control. Not easy, since Remmy continued to kick his seat every chance he got. Blood went everywhere from the guy’s broken nose. Fists flew, and he landed a few more elbows. During the melee, he managed to wrest a knife from the belt of the man on his right. Remmy even allowed a punch to the temple so he could shove the knife into his pocket. Before he could go for a gun, the car came to a quaking halt, inches from an enormous tree off the side of the road.
If he could get out of the car, he might have a chance to escape them in the woods—The barrel of a gun pressed into his neck.
“Fuck King, I’ll end you now, you bastard.”
Only because the threat sounded serious beyond the nasally whine of a smashed nose, Remmy relented. “Do,” he reminded him, “and King will likely kill you, too.”
The driver said, “We’ll all swear you were trying to shoot us and killed yourself by accident.”
Okay, so that was funny enough that Remmy laughed. “I’d like to see you sell that.”
Rage smoldered in the driver’s eyes. “Hold him.”
Two sets of rough hands clamped down on his shoulders, pressing him into the seat. The driver leaned toward the back. Remmy expected a direct punch, and instead, the asshole brutally clubbed him in the temple with the butt of his gun.
Stars exploded in his vision before everything faded to black.
He came around as hard hands dragged him from the car and onto the rough ground. He landed on his face. Clearly, they hadn’t had far to go, because he knew he couldn’t have been out for long. Contrary to the BS pitched in movies, blackouts didn’t last long. If someone stayed knocked out more than a minute or two, they were seriously hurt.
He wasn’t.
Yes, he had a killer headache, and as two of them hauled him forward, it felt like they would wrench his arms from his shoulder sockets, but he wasn’t dying. At least, not until King had his way.
A bullet would probably be easier than whatever he faced.
Knowing that, he subtly glanced around and realized they were at a rustic property not that far from the cabin where he’d been staying. A little wooden hunting shack sat on a cleared spot of earth, surrounded by thick woods. He detected the sound of a creek nearby.
Did King plan to bury him here?
“What’s this?”
The second King’s booming voice echoed around them, the bastards dropped him once more. He didn’t have time to get his hands under him, so again, his face hit the dirt. If he managed to get out of this, he’d make them both pay for the abuse.
Spitting dust and gravel, Remmy sat up and glared around him. Oh, shit. Opposite him, looking maniacal, Danny Giggs grinned. Deliberately snubbing him, Remmy turned his gaze on King. “What the hell is this?”
Casually, King leaned against a tree, flanked by two other men. “It appears Danny is dying to tell you.”
If Danny heard the implied threat, he didn’t show it. Taking a step forward, the idiot said, “I went to her house. I knew you were lying. I could tell.”
“Whose house?”
“Hers.”
Danny had been to see Jodi? And he was still alive? “What did you do?” Slowly, driven by an internal rage that revitalized him, Remmy stood.
“I set her house on fire.”
Without taking his gaze off Danny, Remmy flexed his arms. “Since you’re not dead yet, I take it she wasn’t there.”
King laughed. “So much faith in your girlfriend?”
“Fucking her once does not make her my girlfriend, and against Danny? Yes, I have all kinds of faith that Jodi would have blown his fool head off.”
Danny roared, ready to charge him.
Even with his brain pounding, Remmy relished the opportunity to destroy him.
King didn’t give him the chance. “No” was all he said, and Danny was forced to subside. “Now, finish explaining, Danny. I’m sure Remmy is anxious to hear it all.”
“She wasn’t there, you’re right. I started the fire and waited for her to run outside. I’d have killed her for Mr. King, and his...” Hesitating, Danny glanced around at the others. “The stuff he doesn’t want found would have been destroyed.”
Such a shortsighted fool. “Did Mr. King say he wanted it destroyed?”
King answered. “No, I did not. Nor did I request that he go after her. As you knew—as you both knew—I’d planned to have some fun. I was looking forward to it, in fact. Now, however, with her house burned to the ground, we have no choice.”
“The house is stone,” Remmy pointed out. “It wouldn’t burn to the ground.”
King’s eyebrows lifted. “Surely, everything inside would have.”
“Might depend on how Danny handled the fire. With enough accelerant around the doors and windows, the fire might have spread inside. Of course, that’d make it tough for her to run out, too.” He turned to Danny and asked, as if it didn’t matter, “You stuck around to watch it burn?”
Belatedly realizing his error, Danny said, “I heard sirens, so I got out of there.” When everyone stared at him, he got defensive. “She was up at the other guy’s house, probably banging him! That means you never touched her. You lied to Mr. King. I think you’re soft on her. I think you’re protecting her.”
Remmy laughed, and this time it was completely forced. “I said I fucked her, not that we have anything exclusive.” He glanced at King. “Not yet, anyway. I’d planned to work on it, as you suggested.” Actually, he’d ordered it, but whatever. He loosened his shoulders again. “That is, before you sent goons after me. Now I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
King’s small smile showed real amusement. “I see you didn’t come along peacefully.”