Page 70 of Torment

I started going through one of the other drawers in case I’d left it there instead. It was stacked with papers and nothing else. As I slammed it shut and opened another one, there was a sharp rap at the front door.

I ignored it and continued my frantic search through the sideboard. The fucking gun had to be somewhere. I distinctly remembered putting it in a dark wooden drawer.

“I know Jolie Chastain’s in there!” Tom shouted from the other side of the door. “Come on. Open up!”

“Go fuck yourself,” I muttered, even though he couldn’t hear me.

He didn’t give me another warning. A moment later, a gunshot cracked in the air, blowing a hole right through the lock.

“That’s better,” Tom said, breezily kicking the door open.

“Stay the fuck out of here,” I snarled, rising to my full height as I tried to block his entrance. It would be a lot fucking easier if I had my gun. I could just blow him out onto the porch and the problem would be solved.

With a sudden sickening jolt, I realized I had my drawers mixed up earlier. I’d stashed the gun in the middle drawer of my bedside table, not the sideboard. I couldn’t go into my bedroom and get it now, though. There wasn’t enough time. Tom was on the threshold only four feet away, so if I ran out of the room, he’d follow me and find Jolie immediately. There was no way she would’ve already opened the bathroom window and made it into the crawlspace.

“Mason fuckin’ Ashwood,” Tom said in a slow drawl, eyebrows rising. “Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting to see you, old friend.”

“Whose fucking house did you think it was?” I said, eyeing his pistol. If I could somehow get it from him, I’d gain the upper hand I sorely needed to keep Jolie safe.

Tom shrugged. “I was just tracking Jolie. I had no idea she was coming to see you, although I guess it makes sense. You two have quite the history, don’t you?” he said with a chuckle.

Black hatred brewed in my gut. I narrowed my eyes. “You know, for a guy who supposedly fell twenty thousand feet into a river to be eaten by alligators, you look quite healthy,” I said, trying to stall him.

Tom laughed. “Thanks. For a guy whose car I personally blew up, you look pretty good yourself. Your family, though… not so much, from what I hear,” he replied, a sadistic gleam flashing in his eyes. He cocked his head to the side. “Hm. For some reason, I’m suddenly craving barbecue.”

“You fucking cunt!” I roared and lunged forward as my rage spilled over, only stopping when Tom aimed the gun right at my face and flicked off the safety.

“Calm down, Mason. Don’t do anything rash.” He waved the gun from side to side, mocking me. “If it makes you feel any better, the guys Jacob hired to deal with your family were mob-associated. I heard the foot soldiers who carried out the hit were all killed in some sort of shootout in the Ninth Ward a few years back.”

I gritted my teeth. “No, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” I ground out.

“How sad,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, quit stalling. Tell Jolie to get her skinny little ass out here.”

I shook my head. “She’s not here. I guess your tracking bug is wrong.”

His sparse blond brows met in the middle. “Nice try, moron, but I know she’s in the house. I saw her walk in from the driveway three minutes ago.”

He kept the gun aimed steadily at my face and stepped forward, pushing me into the living room. “Jolie!” he called out in a sing-song voice. “Come on out, sugar. I’m not here to kill you. Your daddy just wants me to collect you so that you two can have a long-overdue chat.”

I kept my eyes trained on the gun, silently praying that Jolie had already escaped out the bathroom window. A sudden crashing sound from somewhere down the hall confirmed that hadn’t happened, though. It sounded as if she’d just tripped over something.

Fuck.

“Don’t come out, Jolie. No matter what!” I said.

A triumphant gleam lit Tom’s eyes. “I fucking knew it,” he said smugly. “Jolie, don’t listen to him! Like I said, I’m not gonna kill you. I’m just here to pick you up. No one has to get hurt if you act like a good little girl.”

“Don’t do it!” I shouted. “Stay right where you are, by the bedside table!”

“If you don’t get your ass out here in the next two minutes, I’m gonna blow the good side of Mason’s face off,” Tom called out. “Jacob told me I could kill anybody who got in the way.”

“Don’t listen to him,” I said, though I knew it wouldn’t work. Now that Tom had threatened me, Jolie wouldn’t stay hidden. She was too selfless. Too enamored with me.

As I predicted, there was a shuffling sound a moment later, and then Jolie appeared in the arched doorway, holding my pistol with both hands. I breathed a slight sigh of relief. She’d understood the hint I conveyed to her about the table and found the weapon.

“Good girl,” I mouthed to her.

“Do you even know how to use that thing?” Tom asked, laughing at her. “C’mon, look how your hands are shaking.” He pretended to lunge at her. “Boo!”

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