“You’re making all the wrong moves.” He glared at me and I just stood there, staring right back at him. Danger lurked behind his glare, but I didn’t budge. If he wanted to kill me he could do it right here.
He smirked. “Yup. I like you.” I watched him walk towards the courthouse and he turned to me. “You comin’?”
I resigned myself to follow him. Either way, that’s where I was headed anyway. Stepping into stride with him I wondered what the hell he was doing here. “You’re not FBI or IRS, and you’re definitely not here to save my ass, so why are you here?”
“Let’s just say a bounty just fell and Halthorn was kind enough to let it fall on my lap.”
I nodded in full understanding. The FBI were not on their way, neither was the IRS. An APB was put out for the bounty. “So, it’s just you? No backup, no law enforcement?”
“I want you out of my way, Axford. Raymond Rothshire is coming in with me dead or alive. At this point, they don’t give a shit, that’s how valuable his life is to them.”
I figured he was talking about the men that Eric mentioned before, the ones Rothshire had a debt to. I eyed the man as he pulled out his gun. “I want you to stay far away.”
“Don’t think I’m going to let you use that while Sarai is present.”
He pressed a hand to my shoulder, jerking me back. “You stay out of my way and let me do my job, understood.”
I stared down at this stranger, knowing I couldn’t trust him. What I was about to say was not the brightest of words, but I needed him to know I was not playing games here. “You hurt one hair on her head and I’ll kill you myself.”
He smirked. “That’s not in my plans, but if she gets caught in the crossfire I’ll give you my gun and you can shoot me yourself. Just remember who put her there and make sure he gets a bullet too.”
I stared at his back as he continued across the street. These fuckers weren’t playing, and I had no other option than to put my life in his hands and hope that he took care of her. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to kill Eric when I saw him.
10
Sarai
My father dragged me through the house and out to the car, not once leaving my side. He hadn’t fed me in the last day and a half and I felt weak and dehydrated. He shoved me back into the back seat and flung a water bottle at me.
“Drink it and I better not hear a sound coming from back here.”
I trembled as I brought the bottle to my lips, swallowing down the contents in a matter of seconds. This was what it had come down to. This was what my life had become. There was no escaping. I had tried and failed. I needed to accept my fate, make the best of it, and pray that I could survive this round.
“Jeb is waiting for you. We’ll go in, you sign the papers, I’ll get everything notarized and I’ll hand you off. I’m so fucking sick and tired of having you around.”
I stared out at the open space as we drove into town, numbness settling into my heart. The trees lined the road and sun filtered through them lighting them a bright green. Such a pretty day to die, I thought as I watched the leaves sway in the light breeze. A pair of wild horses ran alongside the car to my right, and I wished I was on one. I wished he’d save me.
After about twenty minutes of driving along the ample streets, we pulled up to the Courthouse. It took up at least three blocks of the small town and loomed over us, justice supposedly prevailing in it’s depths, but I would not be vindicated. The streets were empty this Monday afternoon, most of the townspeople were already in their homes, getting on with their normal lives as the sun set. He yanked me roughly out of the car, my dress getting caught on the door hinge and ripping.
“Goddammit!” He roared and yanked me forward where I tripped and fell onto the concrete. I stared down at my hands, small pebbles indenting in the skin. I brushed them away as he hauled me forward, his grip tight, probably leaving another bruise.
“Clumsy, just like your mother. Pathetic women the lot of you.”
I held back my tears as I thought of my mother. My sweet innocent mother who had suffered at the hands of this monster. I was so sorry to her, so sorry that I couldn’t be there for her like she needed. So sorry that I wasn’t able of saving her. And even more sorry that I couldn’t save myself.
“Let’s go!” He dragged me up the courthouse stairs and I stumbled along, no fight left in me.
I tried one last time and fell to my knees at the door. Clinging onto his wrist I begged. “Please. Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything just not this.”
He looked down at me, an evil smug look in his eye. “You’re mother used to beg too. Look at where that got her. Now get the fuck up!”
As he dragged me up to my feet, my breath caught. A man came forward, and from behind, Micah’s handsome face came into the light. He’d come for me, just as he promised. My father didn’t hesitate, pulling out his pistol he aimed it right at his head. I screamed and shoved his arms up as he pulled the trigger. He elbowed me in the chest and as he lifted his gun once again, the sound of another gun being cocked caught his attention.
The man beside Micah grinned at him. The man had a threatening glimmer of satisfaction in the depth of his eyes, he was different, cold, and he was not from around here. If Micah exuded dominance, this man radiated intimidation. He was a tall, burly man, his beard was disheveled, the locks of his hair hid half his face. But it was that threatening glimmer in his eyes that made me shiver in fear. A dark charcoal gaze, fixated on my father, that showed no empathy whatsoever.
“I suggest you put that gun down and come with me, Ethan Rothshire.”
“And who the fuck are you?”
“Let’s just say I’ve come to collect a debt.”
“I don’t owe you shit!” My father cocked his gun and I just felt it in my bones, my father wasn’t coming out of this alive.
“You’re right, you don’t owe me anything. But the men who sent me say they’ve been looking for you for quite some time.”
“I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about?”
The man smirked, and I shivered from his cold gaze. “I think you know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.”
I shifted beside him, but that was a mistake. As soon as he laid eyes on me, he grabbed me and dragged me up in front of him, using me as his shield. He was a coward, this I knew, and this confirmed just how little he considered me. I wasn’t his daughter, I was a business deal gone wrong. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it still stung. I looked over at Micah who had his fists clenched to his side, a murderous glare in his eyes.
“See, now why’d you have to go and do that,” the man spoke firmly. A serious threat in his tone. “I suggest you let the girl go, because no matter what, this bullet came with your name on it.”
“Micah,” I whimpered as my father backed up, nearly toppling down the stairs. Micah took a step closer, but the man pressed a hand to his chest.
“Stay back or I’ll put a bullet in you!” He stared at me, his muscles taut, ready to grab me at any second.
“You think you can take me down so easily? No one will believe you! I rule this fucking town!”