Page 73 of Trailer Trash

“Then I must be a really great actress,” I said in disgust. Beasley had always been weak and easily manipulated by his brother, but this took the cake.

“Stella agreed with him.”

I froze. “When did you speak to Stella?”

I’d gone to see Beasley once after he’d been convicted; then I’d called and written him multiple times until a little over a year ago, and he’d never once mentioned Stella. But maybe that explained why he’d suddenly changed.

“She came to see me. She told me that Branson wanted to come home, but he was scared I’d turn against him. She told me that I’d gotten everything all wrong, that you’d manipulated me.”

“And youbelievedher?” He had always hated Stella. She’d treated him like shit, and because of his low self-confidence, he’d just taken it. It had provoked her to treat him even worse.

“He came to see me after that and told me that Stella was havin’ his baby and they wanted to be together, but you were stoppin’ them.”

Crystal was Branson’s daughter? I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “I was livin’ my life in Arkansas, trying to forget about the both of them.”

“Like you were forgetting about me.” His mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. “You never uttered one word about yourfiancé.”

“No . . .” Maybe. I’d met Ronnie by then, and transferred all those feelings of gratitude and obligation to him. Only, I hadn’t realized it.

“Branson said I had to make sure he was protected.”

And that meant giving him evidence to keep me in line. The edges of my vision began to black out, but I refused to lose consciousness. I was facing this head-on. I already knew the answer, but I had to ask anyway. I needed confirmation. “What did you do, Beasley?”

He gave me a defiant look. “I told him about the azaleas.”

Chapter 20

“Neely Kate, are you finished?” Jed asked in a voice so cold it scared me.

Was I done? I was so shocked I wasn’t even sure what to ask. “Yeah.”

Jed was out of his seat in a flash. He grabbed a fistful of Beasley’s shirt with his left hand and jerked him out of his chair and to his feet. “You thought you were safe, huh? That Neely Kate had me on a leash? Or are you just plainstupid?” He gave Beasley a shake. “I’m going with stupid, because that’s the only explanation I can come up with to justify all the shit I heard pour out of your mouth.”

Beasley grabbed Jed’s hand and tried to break his hold. “Leave me alone.”

“You stupid asshole, I haven’t evenbegun.”

Pure terror washed over Beasley’s face.

“Where’s your piece of shit brother?”

“I don’t know.”

Jed punched him in the face. Beasley’s knees buckled, but Jed’s hold on his shirt kept him upright. “Let’s try that again. Where’s your brother?”

“I don’t know!”

Jed gave him another punch, and Beasley sagged even more. Jed released his hold, and Beasley dropped to the ground in a heap.

“Let me make this perfectly clear, Beasley,” Jed said in a cool, matter-of-fact voice. “Iwillfind out where your brother is, so this can go as easy or as hard as you like. It’s entirely up to you.”

“He’ll kill me if I tell you.”

“I’ll kill you if you don’t, so I guess it’s a matter of which one of us you would prefer to end your life.”

Beasley started to cry.

“That’s right,” Jed growled. “Cry, but we both know it’s an act. You really like it. You were just beggin’ for this. You’re using me to get what you want. Is this the point where I let someone screw you?”

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