That froze her right on the spot.
Hammond chuckled. “See what I mean? You have no idea what I’m capable of. This is why you need to think bigger picture, sweetheart. Power and wealth come in mighty handy when things need to get done,” he said. “Now, it’s been real nice chatting with you, but I don’t want to be late to my own party.” He lifted one hand and gestured toward the field where the meeting was going to take place, making a big showy gesture. “Ladies first.”
It took everything Chey had not to accidentally stick him in the ribs as she walked by. She wasn’t sure what part she hated most, that he’d actually put fear into her, or that he’d purposely culled her from the herd because he saw her as the weak link. She had two vulnerable spots in her life now. Wyatt and Lavender Blue, along with the people she loved who lived there with her. Would Hammond actually go so far as to hurt one of them? More likely, he’d hire someone to burn the place down, or, as he said, destroy their reputations and with them, their business, rather than physically harming them. Things that didn’t involve him getting his hands quite that dirty but delivered the desired result.
As she walked, hating with every fiber of her being that he was walking behind her, she played out the scenarios he’d laid out. Then she remembered her phone. She slid it from her back pocket, not caring what he thought.
“No phone calls now,” he said.
“Who would I phone?” she called back to him. “The police? The fire department? I’m assuming that won’t do me any good. Someone as powerful as yourself would have them in your pocket.” She played to his ego as she looked at her phone, then tried not to slump in defeat when she saw that while she’d managed to get the camera turned on, she hadn’t gotten it to the video setting as she’d hoped. Recording their conversation had been the only solution she could think of. Even muffled, it would have been something. She did, however, turn it on now.
“Don’t think about sending a heads-up text, either,” he said.
“What good would that do?” she chided him. “You’ve threatened to burn down my house and destroy Wyatt using his subscribers against him. What text is going to fix that?” She angled the phone up close to her shoulder, just out of his line of sight, hoping she’d baited him into saying something, anything, incriminating.
“Well, now you’re just making stuff up, honey,” he said, and she suspected he was well aware she was recording him. “Here I offered you an escort and you’re saying all kinds of crazy things. Have you had a little something to drink? Maybe you’re on medication to deal with all that pain and tragedy in your past. Terrible thing,” he said, sounding sincere. “No one would blame you a bit, of course, but I know they can mess with your mind.”
She shook her head. Oh, he’s good. Disgusting and terrifyingly evil, but very good at it. She’d bet he’d had lots of practice. And to think Vivi had been out with this asshole in the middle of a lake, with no one around for miles. Thank God they hadn’t come up with their alternate resort plan until after that. She shivered, thinking of all the things that could have gone so terribly wrong that day. That Vivi had made him swim to shore, Chey was certain, was also why he’d chosen to target Lavender Blue specifically with his threats. She was just thankful Grant had been with Vivi pretty much the entire time since then, or he’d have likely tried to extort her. Or worse.
Chey slid the phone halfway into her back pocket, so the camera at the top remained uncovered, video still recording. Then she lifted both hands up, the knife still in one of them, though she held it butt end now. “No texting,” she said. “Happy now?”
“No, but in about an hour from now, I plan to be very, very happy.” This last part was said far too close for comfort. She could smell his breath again and tried not to flinch. He snagged her phone from her back pocket, turned it off, and handed it to her. “Amateur hour. Now come on.”
He took her elbow in a bruising grip and steered her toward the stage. She didn’t give him the satisfaction of trying to yank free, knowing it was doubtful she’d succeed. They were only a dozen yards from the stands and the picnic area, both filled to maximum capacity. Apparently, he was no longer worried about the knife now that they had an audience.
They had to walk through the gauntlet of media trucks to get to the back of the stage, which wasn’t much more than a deck with a podium on it. “Show time,” Hammond breathed, then shoved her forward a step, letting her go as they arrived.
And that’s when Chey got an idea. Showtime, indeed.
“Hey, you made it,” Wyatt said, hopping down and coming over to her.
Hammond had walked to where three of the five council members were standing, all three of them men, one of whom was Henry Bassett, the lead councilman. All three looked very relieved to see him. Good. Now she knew who else was in their developer’s pocket.
Wyatt leaned down to kiss her as she folded her knife and tucked it into her pocket.
Seeing that, he frowned, then followed her gaze to Hammond. “Everything okay?” he asked, then really looked at her for the first time. He started to turn them both away, but she slipped free.
“I can’t explain it all right now,” she told him, “but I need to do something. Before we get on stage. Could you snag Vivi and Grant, and meet me over where Hammond and the councilmen are standing? I’m going to get Addie Pearl.”
“What’s going on, Chey?” he asked, looking truly concerned now.
“Just your standard small-town corruption and extortion,” she said, then smiled and kissed his cheek in case Hammond was watching her. “But we’re about to take care of that. Or at least a good chunk of it.” She started to go, then turned back. “Hey, is Peli here?”
He nodded.
“No streaming, but do you think she could maybe wiggle in somewhere inconspicuous and put a lens and maybe a mic on our little meeting?”
“Sure, but—”
“There’s no time to explain. We need to do this before they get on stage,” she said. “Just . . . please trust me, okay?”
“Absolutely,” he said, “always.”
Chey and Addie Pearl merged with Wyatt, Grant, and Vivi just as the three councilmen and Hammond turned toward the stage.
“Hello,” Chey said to the foursome. “I thought you all might like to meet Wyatt Reed and Grant Harper,” she said with a broad smile. She could feel the heat of Hammond’s glare coming at her from the side. She spied Peli behind the bushes just in back of them. She gave Chey a quick thumbs-up, then ducked back down. Chey corralled the group closer to the bushes as they made their introductions and shook hands.
“We really need to get this going,” Hammond said, striving for a convivial tone, but the strain was there on his face.
“I know, I know,” Chey said, “but there was a small matter I needed to discuss with the councilmen first. Can we get the other two of them over here?”
The three older gentlemen standing beside Hammond looked surprised.
“It’s important,” she told them. “It’s about the proposal we were going to make today.”
She saw Hammond’s shoulders relax the moment he heard her use the past tense in reference to their plan. Good. The better to catch you off guard with.