Dixie Lynn Dwyer (14 page)

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us about him and what he did to you,” Juliet stated.

“It doesn’t matter now.”

“What did Monte and the sheriff say about those scars?” Ava asked her.

“They didn’t push for answers, and as far as they’re concerned, they’ll never find out. I have to do this, Ava. You know that I’m their only hope of surviving.”

“Why can’t we help, too?” Elise asked.

“You need to stay here and keep things covered while I’m gone.”

“And what about the sheriff and Monte?” Ava asked.

“Tell them that I had to go help my cousins.”

“And what if something goes wrong?” Paula asked.

Susanna stared at them a moment. “Then you open that safe and you read and follow my directions. I love you guys so much, and in case I never told you, I’m glad our paths crossed and we created Dixie Chix. You ladies keep it up and running no matter what.”

“Oh shit, Susanna.” Juliet began to cry.

Susanna felt the tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry and don’t freak out. I’m not planning on getting killed. I’m planning on ending this and bringing home my cousins.” Susanna hugged each of them before heading downstairs.

Susanna glanced back at the front of their home before she pulled out of the driveway. They were all there. Her four closest friends and women who were survivors just like her. She didn’t have a choice here. Brook was evil. He had worked for her uncles years ago and then did some hits for a few mobsters. He was a shit and had no respect for life. How he caught up with Alexa and Sally they would never know, but she needed to intervene. Her cousins couldn’t handle this.

* * * *

Sally and Alexa did as Susanna had told them and tried to lose Brook. They were both surprised that Susanna knew exactly who Brook was, and she reminded them of the hits their uncles did on a group of businessmen before Susanna helped Sally and Alexa to escape. They remembered hearing about the brutality of the murders and the fact that Brook bragged about them.

Alexa looked around the train station as she and Sally grabbed their bags and headed down the walkway. It was evening time and Susanna had told them she would meet them by the back entrance to the ladies’ room and maintenance entryway.

They found it immediately as they looked around them before entering the door. It was unlocked, and as they entered there was Susanna.

“Oh God, Susanna!” Alexa cried as she and Sally ran to their cousin and hugged her tight.

“We’re so glad to see you,” Sally cried as Susanna held them tight.

“Did anyone follow you? Did you see him at all?” Susanna asked as she released them and quickly locked the door.

“No. We didn’t see him, and we remained inside of the sleeping quarters like you told us to,” Alexa told her cousin.

“Good. I’m certain he’s nearby. I parked the car a few blocks from here and down a deserted road. We’re going to cut through the woods so we’re sure he’s not following us. Are you guys okay to do that?” she asked them, and Sally nodded her head.

Alexa looked at Susanna. “You look good, Susanna. We’re so glad that you’re here, but we’re worried, too. What if he sees you and calls Casper?”

“Then I handle it. Let’s not worry about the what-ifs. Let’s move and get you to a safe place.”

Alexa began to head toward the door they’d entered when she heard the lock turn.

Susanna placed her finger over her lips, indicating for them to remain quiet.

Alexa panicked as she stared at Susanna for direction. She waved them toward the back of the room, and they followed.

As they traveled through the utility room, they came to an exit door. Susanna slowly opened it and peeked out to make sure it was safe. They followed her out the door and directly over to the wooded area.

* * * *

“Where is she, Ava? You said she’d be back Monday, and now it’s Tuesday,” the sheriff asked Ava as she and her friends stood in the office at Dixie Chix. Monte was with her, and so were Carl and Richie.

“She hasn’t called, but she will soon to let us know where they are. Her cousins were far from here, and she said it might take a day or two.”

Ava had lied and the sheriff knew it.

Juliet kept her eyes down, and the others seemed nervous.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m getting the feeling that y’all are lying to me. If she’s in some sort of trouble, Monte and I have a right to know. She’s our woman and we care for her very much.”

Juliet began to speak when Paula grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“Juliet, do you know something? Is Susanna in some kind of trouble?” Carl asked her in a very firm voice, and she shook her head no.

The sheriff didn’t believe them for one minute.

* * * *

They were just about out of the woods when they heard someone following them. “Stop. Wait right here,” Susanna whispered as she lowered her backpack.

“Take these.” She passed the keys to Alexa and her cell phone to Sally.

“You get in the car and you head to Delite. It’s in the navigation system. You call Ava at Dixie Chix. It’s five o’clock. They’ll be there. You get to them and you don’t stop for anyone. Do the speed limit so you don’t get pulled over.”

“But what about you?” Sally asked.

“This has to end now, or he’ll never stop looking for you or me.” She pulled the gun from her backpack. Alexa and Sally’s eyes widened.

Sally held her arm. “You’ll go to prison if you kill him.”

“You two get moving. I don’t plan on using this gun except in self-defense. I have a license to carry it, so don’t you two worry. You get in the car and head home and you call Ava immediately.” They hugged her. Then they slowly made their way to the car. Just as they started the engine, she spotted Brook. He was running toward them and she ran after him, tackling him to the ground. They struggled as he struck her, knocking the gun out of her hands. She scrambled across the ground when she heard the sound of a gun with a silencer go off. Turning onto her elbows she looked and saw Casper and his main bodyguard Williams standing over Brook’s body. Blood oozed from his chest and Casper smiled.

“Now this is a very nice surprise.”

She scrambled backward and began to run when she heard the crushing of dirt and pebbles behind her then felt the hand grip her shirt and pull her back. She lost her footing, and her shirt ripped as Williams grabbed her, hurled her over his shoulder, and headed toward Casper. A moment later, a long, black limo pulled up, and his driver, Felix, got out to open the door.

“Let’s go, Susanna. We have so much time to catch up on.”

* * * *

Ava heard the phone ringing, and she glanced at the sheriff and Monte then at the others.

She looked down and saw that it was Susanna’s cell number. Relief hit her. “It’s Susanna.” She answered the call. She could see the relief on their faces, and then she heard Alexa’s frantic cry.

“Calm down, Alexa, tell me what happened,” Ava stated, and she moved around the room closer to the couch. “No, oh God, no he didn’t.”

She fell to the couch and kept one hand against the cell phone and the other covered her other ear as if she were trying hard to listen to the caller.

“What is it? What happened?” the sheriff asked.

“You come straight to the club. We’ll be here waiting. Oh God, I know, Alexa, I know.” She disconnected the call as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Tell us what’s going on,” Juliet asked as she cried, too.

“That was Alexa and Sally. Susanna helped them to escape. She made them leave her there because that guy Brook was following them. They saw him attack her as they sped off. Then they saw a flash like a gun go off, but they kept going like Susanna told them to.”

“Where is she? Where did she go? And we want to know every detail,” Monte demanded. The women all looked at one another.

“Did she get shot?” Paula asked.

“They aren’t sure.” Ava stood up. The sheriff grabbed her by her arm and stared down into her eyes.

“You start talking now, Ava.”

“I will, Sheriff, right after I follow Susanna’s orders.”

“Oh God, Ava, you think he killed her? You think she’s dead?” Juliet cried as she covered her mouth with her hands. Paula and Elise held her on either side as they consoled her.

“I have to assume the worse. She did have a gun, but they didn’t hear a shot. They saw a flash. Susanna was always prepared, and she said to open the safe if anything went wrong. Since she’s not on her way here with Alexa and Sally, then this is the next step.”

“Y’all need to start explaining things to us so we can help. She’s in danger, or from what you’re saying, Susanna could be dead,” Monte stated.

“We’ll explain everything to you,” Elise told them, and the women began to share their stories about how they met Susanna, how she’d saved their lives, and what little they know about her past.

* * * *

The sheriff and Monte were shocked at the information and even more so that their woman had been through so much and was on the run. These women needed protection. The kind of protection Monte provided for special clients and government officials. If Susanna had confided in them sooner, they could have intervened and helped her. They had so many connections and means of help it would have been possible to assist her and her cousins.

“What do the papers say?” Monte asked as Ava handed them over to them. “There’s a will. She split her share up between her cousins and the rest of us, plus she left everything to all of us split evenly,” Ava stated as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“She’s not dead. She just can’t be dead,” Juliet cried.

Monte headed over to the computer on the desk. He pulled out his cell phone as he gave information to someone he knew about the names on the papers. Susanna had incriminating information, detailed and witness accounts of dealings and murders committed by both this guy named Brook and this other guy named Casper. As he spoke to his connections in the government, an update came through about Brook. He jotted down information and looked at his brother.

“What did you get?” BJ asked.

“Brook is dead. He was found shot on an abandoned street a few blocks from the train station in Dallas. She has to be alive, and this Casper guy is really bad news, too. He’s wanted for questioning on numerous cases the CIA is working on. This information Susanna wrote down is evidence against him. She’s got enough information here to lock him away for life as well as his associates,” Monte stated.

“Damn, Monte, this guy Casper could have her right now.”

Ava gasped.

“What? What is it?” Monte asked her, and she looked at the others.

“He’s the one who hurt her. He left those scars on her body,” Juliet stated, and Monte and BJ looked at one another, both filled with anger.

“Well, he isn’t gonna hurt her again. Let’s get on this now. Call who you need to, Monte, and let’s get our woman.”

The goon tied her hands behind her back then got out of the back seat of the limo to sit up front with the chauffer. She stared at Casper, the pompous bastard, as he looked her over from head to toe. Her shirt was ripped, the collar hung low to her chest, and her legs were scratched up from tackling Brook. At least he was dead and her cousins were safe now. He wouldn’t be bringing Alexa and Sally back to their dad and uncles.

“You look good, Susanna. Despite the dirt and plain rags you’re wearing.” He zoned in on her breasts, and she felt the chills run through her body.

She would love to tell him that she couldn’t say the same about him, but the asshole looked good. He looked just as charming and handsome as the day she’d met him. Money could buy a lot of things. She’d learned that fast, and it helped her to get away from him. But now, she needed to focus on Alexa, Sally, and the others. She hoped they followed her orders.

“Come to me.” He told her as he sat with his thighs parted, wearing expensive dark dress pants, a blue striped button-down shirt with real diamond cuff links attached to solid white cuffs. The pinky ring, thick, gold, and covered in diamonds, tapped against his knee. She knew that stance, that look in his eyes, and the way he sat there waiting. She knew in her mind and remembered the consequences of not going to him immediately. She also remembered the feel of that ring cutting her skin, abrasively bruising her inner thighs when she didn’t respond fast enough.

“Now!” He growled at her, making her jump, but she didn’t move. That was the old, Susanna. The one who had to obey in order to make her plan of escape. There was no need to follow his orders now. Alexa and Sally would be safe and well taken care of just like the others. She swallowed hard as she thought about Monte and BJ. At least they had Saturday night and Sunday morning.

“This will cost you.”

“No it won’t. I’m not your subordinate little slave anymore, Casper. I left that life behind me when I left you.”

He reached for her and pulled her forward across the carpeting. Her knees hit the floor, and her chest fell between his thighs. With her hands tied she couldn’t brace herself against the fall.