Trusting Them (13 page)

Everything had gone to shit faster than he could blink. He was supposed to be the oldest and be able to take care of not only his brother, but their woman as well. He’d failed both of them. It whittled away at him as they climbed in the truck and started down the snowed-over drive. The road around the back way would be treacherous for sure. He worried that even if they managed to get there in time they wouldn’t be able to get her out safely because of the snow and ice.

Brady looked over at him and nodded his head. They were going to do this. One way or another, they would get Jeni back.

Chapter Nine

“Pick up the pace, bitch!” Hugh screamed at her for the umpteenth time.

“I’m going as fast as I can. These boots are too big for me.” She didn’t even have to try to slow him down. She was telling the truth about the boots.

“You keep me from getting my money, and I’ll cut you just for the pleasure of it,” he griped as they slid another few feet in the icy snow.

Several times Jeni thought about just losing her footing and taking her chances by rolling down the hill. What was the worst that could happen to her? Then she did trip and ended up rolling a good ten feet down the hill. By the time Hugh had made it to where she’d stopped hard against a rock, she was near tears at the pain in her side.

“Fucking klutz. Watch where in the hell you’re walking.” He jerked her upright again and gave her a nudge with the rifle.

He’d put the knife away as soon as the men had left. He couldn’t very well head down a mountain with a knife out. It would be too dangerous for him should he slip and fall. No, the gun was a better bet. She watched for any opportunity to wrestle the gun from him, but so far, there hadn’t been one. Jeni knew her time was running out. As soon as Hugh turned her over to her ex, he’d have her where he wanted her, under his thumb again. She had little doubt what he would do about it too.

“Stop your daydreaming and put a move on it.” He prodded her with the barrel of the gun again.

Jeni growled at him. She was tired of the damn thing poking her in the ribs. She was already sore as hell there anyway. The next time he did she was going to grab the damn thing and shove it up his ass. It wasn’t long before she got her chance. She whirled around and grabbed the gun barrel and shoved it hard into him. When he fell, she stood there for a minute then she tried to take off running, only to make it a few feet before the bottom of the world dropped out from under her.

She slid down a snowy embankment then rolled farther until she hit the side of a rock with her head. She saw stars and must have passed out for a minute because when she opened her eyes again, Hugh was standing over her with the rifle pointing at her nose.

“Get the hell up.” He backed up but kept the gun pointed at her.

“I don’t know if I can.” Jeni tried moving every part of her body that would and found that nothing appeared to be broken.

“If you don’t get a move on, I’m going to shoot your ass here and now. I’ll bring him back to see you come spring.”

She rolled over to get up and found she could kneel without much problem. Getting to her feet proved to be a much bigger deal than she would have thought it would be. The world spun when she stood up straight. She grabbed a tree trunk to keep from keeling back over again.

“What’s wrong?” Hugh griped.

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk straight. Everything is blurry.” Jeni held on tight to the tree trunk.

“I think you’ll figure it out soon enough. We don’t have much farther to go thanks to your little fall there.”

“Glad I could help out,” she snapped back.

He raised his hand to hit her then thought better of it. No doubt he realized if he knocked her down again, she might not make it back up this time. Jeni figured she had a concussion, to say the least. Not only were things fuzzy, but she saw two of everything as well. She was in no condition to fight but fight she would, given half a chance. There was no way she would go to her ex willingly.

Slowly, she made her way down the path using trees and bushes as anchors to pull her way down without losing her footing in the snow and ice. Twice she nearly fell, but both times she managed to hold on to the bush she was using as a crutch and guide.

“We’re almost there. You keep next to me unless you want me to shoot you as soon as he sees you. I don’t think he much cares if you’re alive or dead,” Hugh said.

“Actually, I do care.”

Jeni looked up and squinted to bring the two men that were her ex into focus.

“Well, now. I brought her to you. Where’s the money you owe me?” Hugh asked.

“Howard? Give the man his money.” Glenn remained at the open door of the truck.

Jeni figured he didn’t want to get wet in the snow. She turned her head to see Howard hand Hugh a bag. The other man didn’t bother opening it but walked back into the trees until she could no longer see him.

“So, Jeni, dear. You’ve led me on quite a chase. I’m not happy with you one bit.” Glenn shook his head and made a
tsking
noise.

“Fuck you,” she yelled as she backed away from him.

“Yes, well, we shall see about that. Howard, could you fetch my wife for me please?”

Jeni froze. Howard would hurt her if he had to come after her. Glenn wouldn’t even care. She swallowed and looked around her for something to use as a weapon. Aside from some sticks, she was on her own. Could she outrun Howard in the snow? He wouldn’t be used to it anymore than she was. One more look at him trudging her way was all it took to spur her on. She bolted, heading for the high ground.

“Stop her, Howard,” Glenn’s whiny voice cried out.

She didn’t turn to see where Howard was. She continued climbing in hopes of reaching a safer position. The whirr of something speeding past her head startled her just before snow splattered to her right. She froze. Were they shooting at her? Jeni turned around to look and, sure enough, Howard had the rifle to his shoulder pointing it at her.

“He’s a good shot, Jeni. You might want to reconsider joining us down here,” Glenn yelled up at her.

If she went back down, Glenn would hurt her before he killed her. If she continued climbing or stayed where she was, Howard would either shoot her or come and get her. She was screwed, no doubt about it, so screwed that the lesser of the two evils didn’t even apply. There really weren’t any options left open to her. She would have to go back down and face whatever torture Glenn cooked up for her this time. At least Brady and Brock were okay. That was of some comfort to her.

Howard took a step up the trail. He growled at her as he sunk into the snow. Jeni cringed and started the slow descent that would take her right back to where she had started, in deep shit. Despite knowing what lay ahead of her, Jeni hurried down the trail to keep Howard from getting any madder at her for making him hike in the deep snow. She made it to where he stood and stopped.

“Come on, bitch. You’ve got some groveling to do.” Howard grabbed her by the upper arm and dragged her back to where Glenn stood.

He twisted her arm until she fell to her knees in the snow that now came up to her chest. The wet stuff began seeping into her clothes from all angles. She sneezed and Howard laughed.

“Not only do you leave town without my permission,” Glenn began. “But you take up with a couple of backwoods men like a common whore. I can see you need to be taught a lesson.”

Jeni didn’t bother denying anything or offering any sort of defense. You couldn’t win with Glenn. He was always right. She would only make things harder on herself by fighting with him. As if reading her thoughts, he smiled down at her and raised his hand.

“One day you will learn that you belong to me.” He backhanded her, knocking her back into the snow.

Jeni struggled to get to her feet but couldn’t get the too-large boots to cooperate and let her stand up. Finally, Howard jerked her out of the snow and to her feet again. Her arm felt as if he’d pulled it out of the socket. Her face hurt, and there was blood in the snow where she’d fallen. He’d probably busted her lip again. She was too numb from the cold to notice any pain. Maybe that was a good thing. From the looks of his face, Jeni figured he was just getting started.

* * * *

“Shh. I hear them,” Brock said as they slipped out of the truck.

The two men eased through the snow around the side of the hill where the voices were coming from. The snow blanketing the ground dulled some of the sound but the voices were clear as crystal. Brady eased forward with the rifle at shoulder level. He would be ready for whatever shot he could get.

Brock circled around to the other side of a boulder and waited on Brady to get into position before he made their presence known. He would rather wait until the sheriff arrived but that could be too late. They wouldn’t risk Jeni’s life by waiting.

“Pick her back up again, Howard,” Brock heard a man’s voice say. Then he heard a whimper and knew it was Jeni. He eased over the top of the boulder and looked down towards where the voices were coming from. The sight of their Jeni swaying unsteadily on her feet held by a monster of a man angered him. The massive guard stood close to seven feet and was bald. He hadn’t even bothered with a cap. He’d regret that before the day was over with.

The man standing over their Jeni was not much taller than Jeni. He had a slight paunch and his blond hair looked almost yellow in the pristine white of the snow. This was the ex-husband who had made her life hell. He wouldn’t be anything at all to worry about without his henchman to do his dirty work.

About the time Brady was in place to shoot, Glenn raised his hand and closed his fist. Brady growled and Brock watched as his brother squeezed the trigger on the rifle. Glenn screamed and spun around before falling face first in the snow. The bodyguard turned while grabbing for Jeni at the same time.

“Jeni! Get your ass down, now,” Brock yelled.

He raised the shotgun and racked it, then fired. The giant cried out as pellets hit him all over. He went to his knees, but was soon digging around in the snow looking for something.

“Brady, he might have a gun. Watch him. I’m going after Jeni.” Brock started running the best he could through the snow.

He reached Jeni about the same time the other man pulled out a gun and aimed it at her. He dove for her and the sound of guns going off everywhere deafened him. He landed on top of Jeni and felt a third weight fall on him. For a few brief seconds he panicked that he couldn’t breathe. Finally, the weight was rolled off him and someone was pulling him away from Jeni. He’d be damned if he let someone take her from him again.

“Brock. Let go of her. We need to check her. Brock, can you hear me?” It sounded like Brady’s voice but there was ringing in his ears he couldn’t quite hear around.

The next thing he knew, Brady was sitting in the middle of the snow with him and Jeni while the sheriff and his deputies were checking over the two bodies on the ground. One of them didn’t move, and the other one was writhing on the ground as if in great pain. Still, the ringing in his ears didn’t lessen any.

“Jeni,” he kept saying over and over. Why wouldn’t anyone listen to him and tell him if she was okay? They’d wrenched her from him as soon as they’d uncovered her.

“Man, quit yelling!” Brady said into his ear. “She’s okay. They’re checking her out is all.”

“What happened?” Brock asked.

“When that bastard raised his arm to shoot, I hit him and so did a couple of the sheriff’s men. He’s dead all over. Your ears are probably ringing, though. He got off a shot right next to your head. Went wide, though, thank goodness.”

“You’re sure Jeni is okay?” Brock wanted to see her. He stood up with the help of his brother.

“Yeah. Well, mostly,” Brady hedged.

“What the hell does that mean?” Brock pushed past Brady and shouldered his way between the two deputies standing in front of where they had Jeni lying down.