Page 131 of My Knotty Mountain Men

She laughs, and it’s a cruel one. “Not so tough now, are you?” she spits. “No gun to point at my head and threaten me with?” Her eyes turn back to the road. My eyes flick to the window, and my stomach turns when I see we’re on the main highway.

“Sylvia. Please,” my voice cracks. “Please, don’t do this.” I have no idea what she is going to do, but it can’t be good if she’s unstable enough to take off with us in the car.Is this considered kidnapping?

She shakes her head. “Nope. No point in begging me. As much as I’d love to see your pathetic ass get on your knees and kiss my fucking feet...” she pauses, laughing maniacally. “You had your chance to leave. But you didn’t take it. I offered you an out more than once, a nice amount of money, too, but you were too stupid to take it. The offer is gone now, and soon you will be too.”

“W-what are you going to do?” I regret asking the moment the question comes out of my mouth.

“The mountains are a very large place, Violet,” she says. “So much unexplored land. So many places to get lost and never be found.”

Horror turns my gut as she flicks her eyes up to me. It’s at this moment I realize just how crazy she is. She’s planning on killing me.

A little grunt has my eyes darting down to Hazel. No. No, I won’t let this happen. I won’t let her hurt us.

“Do whatever you want to me, but please don’t hurt her,” I plead, my mind trying to come up with a plan. What was it they say... play into the mind of the crazy? “If you want me to leave, I’ll go. You can drive us there if you want—as far away as you want. I promise; we won't be a bother. I don’t care about theguys, not as much as I care about my daughter. If you want them so bad, you can have them. I just want her.”

Half lies. There’s no way in hell I’d leave my pack for this crazy bitch.

She shakes her head, laughing. “Too late, Violet. It’s too late.”

As we get deeper into the mountains, my panic starts to grow. I’ve never been this way; I don’t know where this highway leads to.

Think, Violet, fucking think!

Just as I’m about to slip into full-on panic mode, the sounds of sirens fill the air. I almost sob in relief. She’s not going to get away with this. Thank fuck.

Sylvia’s eyes fill with panic, and the car starts to speed up. My heart thunders in my chest as I spin around to see cop cars coming up behind us.

“Slow down!” I shout. “There’s no point, Sylvia. If you pull over, I’ll lie. I’ll tell them you didn’t do anything.”

“No,” she shouts. “No! It’s not over. If I’m going down, you're going down with me,” she sneers.

One of the cop cars zooms past us, then another. Now they have her surrounded, with two behind us, two in front.

They speed up past us going down the road. I watch as they turn their cars, coming to a stop and making a barricade.

For a moment, I think Sylvia is going to crash through them and possibly kill us all in the process, but she slams on the break, sending us both jolting forward.

I go flying, hitting the back of her seat. “Fuck!” I shout.

“No,” Sylvia says again. “I will not let you get away with this!” she screams like a lunatic.

She leans over the center console, and I see that she’s reaching for a gun. It must have been on the front seat and fell to the floor.

Without thinking, I grab her by the hair and yank her back. She screeches as I put her in a chokehold. “Let go of me!” she gasps out, clawing at my arms. Her nails dig into my flesh, but I ignore the pain.

Fear is replaced by a murderous rage. “How fucking dare you?” I say in a low, dangerous tone. “How fucking dare you come into my life, threaten me and my family, and try to take what’s not yours.

“They are mine!” she shouts, and I tighten my hold, loving the way she chokes and gags.

“I hope they lock you up for life, that they put you in with women much worse than you. You’re going to pay, Sylvia, for all the pain you caused my family.” I bring my lips low to her ear. “And if, by some chance, you get out. If you ever come back to Snow Valley, if you ever come near my pack, my family again? I’ll fucking kill you myself.”

The front door to the car is yanked open, and everyone’s guns are pointed at Sylvia.

My back door is opened, and an officer sticks his head in just as I let go of her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Get me and my daughter out of here, now,” I plead, the adrenaline crash pushing me forward.

Sylvia is dragged out, kicking and screaming. She’s threatening the cops with how she’s going to kill them, charge them, or get them fired.

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