“No matter how bad it got, I always had this flicker of hope.”
“Hope is the most powerful emotion I can think of.”
I smiled at Cora. “Me, too. You’ll get more and more of it the greater your distance is from him. Lean into that hope.”
“I’m trying.”
A loud bang sounded as the front door crashed into the wall, the doorknob leaving a hole in the plaster. Brandon strode into the space. “Well, well, well. What do we have here? It’s the whore and the traitor.”
Jack began to wail, and Brandon scowled at his son. “I can tell you what I didn’t miss—that fucking racket.”
My heart hammered against my ribs as my eyes zeroed in on Brandon’s hand. A gun. Beckett and I had been over and over what to do if someone had a weapon. You needed to run. Get away and never let them take you to a secondary location, even at the risk of getting shot. You were supposed to run in a zigzag pattern so the person had less chance of hitting you.
Yet Brandon stood between Jack and us. We couldn’t leave a defenseless infant behind with this monster.
Brandon sneered in my direction. “Cat got your tongue all of a sudden? You’re usually nothing but mouthy.”
“You need to leave.” I said the words as calmly as possible, only a slight tremble in my voice. “The sheriff’s department will be by any minute, and they’ll take you in.”
A grin stretched Brandon’s face. “You think I don’t know their little routine? Drive by, make sure they don’t see my fucking truck. They aren’t looking for a horse. Not that they could see Butch anyway. Got him tied up in the tree line.”
The edges of panic began to set in. “They come to the door.”
Brandon’s grin got wider. “Once. Always in the evening.”
“Brandon,” Cora said softly. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just let Addie take Jack and go. Then you won’t have to hear the crying.”
Brandon lifted the gun and pointed it directly at Cora. “You think I’m a fuckin’ moron? That I’ll let her go straight to the cops?”
“N-n-no. I’ll leave with you first. We can get away.”
Brandon stalked towards Cora. “You think I want your tainted ass now? You’ve probably been spreading your legs for everyone in the sheriff’s department. I’m here to make a point. No one crosses me.”
The gun went off before I even knew what was happening. Cora crumpled to the floor, clutching her stomach. Red bloomed under her fingers as Jack screamed.
I rushed forward, but Brandon caught me by the back of my shirt, tugging me against him. “Uh, uh, uh. You’re coming with me. There’s someone who will pay good money for you.”
42
BECKETT
“Tell Addie to come see me this week,” my mom said as I secured the two containers of apple pie in my saddlebags.
“I will.” I pulled out my phone and studied the screen. There was only my unanswered text.
Me: Went to see my mom and she was making apple pie. As soon as it’s done, I’ll be home. Drive safe.
“What’s wrong?”
“Addie hasn’t texted me back yet.”
Mom shook her head. “She’s going to want to live her life, Beckett.”
“I know that,” I grumbled. The truth was, Addie was forever leaving her phone in her purse and forgetting about it for hours. I shoved my cell into my jacket and threw a leg over my bike. “I’ll see you next Sunday for dinner.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Mom called as I started up my bike.
I made the trip back to the farmhouse in record time, hoping that if one of my brother’s officers pulled me over, they’d take pity on me. I needed to see Addie, make sure that she was okay and that the visit with Cora hadn’t brought up too many difficult memories.