Page 79 of Hell or High Water

My brows snapped together. “What?” I asked incredulously.

He shrugged. “Linc agreed with me. It’s not easy to get past us, and he’s done it twice. Then this…” He pointed at the bottle. “It’s almost as if we are being taunted now. Maybe he’s pissed we have her or that you are with her.”

“Who the hell would it be?” I asked, shaking my head. “None of us knew her before. And none of us are that fucking twisted. Wouldn’t we have noticed someone acting different?”

I couldn’t peg this on any of the guys. How could Bane? And Linc?

Bane rubbed his jaw. “I never said Mississippi family. I just said family.”

I stared at him, running that through again. “You mean…another branch of the family?”

He nodded.

“Fucking who?” I demanded as if he had the answers.

“I’d guess we start with the Louisiana branch, although it’s based in New Orleans, and that’s a four-hour drive from Monroe. We’re closer to Monroe. There isn’t another family branch closer than New Orleans, except for us.”

My eyes shot to the truck. What if it was family? I wouldn’t be allowed to kill family. He’d not hurt her, so they wouldn’t hold that against him. But he had been fucking with us. Surely, that would get some kind of punishment.

“Has Linc said anything to Blaise?” I asked.

“Talking to him now. That’s why we’re meeting at his office at ten.”

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling like I’d just been caged. I’d been set on torturing the son of a bitch. But this turn wasn’t one I had seen coming.

“Who do you know from the Louisiana branch other than the Davidsons? I don’t even know Thaddeus that well. Just Wayon.”

Thaddeus was the leader of that branch, and Wayon was his son. We’d done some jobs together due to our close proximity, but that was it.

“A few. Mostly just had interaction at one of the races. No one stands out though as a psycho. Not like Gage Presley or Thatcher Shephard.”

Gage was Blaise Hughes’s best friend and had gotten away with some fucked-up shit. Thatcher was a Shephard, and that was almost as good as being a Hughes. Almost. They were brought in to handle the most dangerous jobs.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see Ransom’s name on the screen.

I swiped to answer.

“You almost here?” I asked him.

“Don’t have to. The picture that Bane sent was clear enough. I was able to pull the batch number and run it.” He paused.

“Well, who the hell did we give it to?” I demanded.

He sighed heavily. “You. The bottle was taken out and signed for by you.”

I heard the phone crack in my hand just as the fury exploded in my chest. The pieces shattered as I slammed it against the tree. I stood there unable to harness the storm ripping through me. Another phone rang but I continued to seethe not moving or speaking.

“He smashed his phone,” I heard Bane say as I heaved, glaring down at the bottle.

Someone had gotten it from me. Someone I knew or someone who had been close enough to me had taken it right from under my nose.

“February 8,” Bane said. “Yeah, I remember that. Okay. I’ll tell him when he stops acting like he’s about to morph into The Incredible Hulk.”

I swung my head toward him and waited. He had more information. I’d been unable to wait for it before snapping.

Bane ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket. “You calming down, Bruce Banner?” he asked.

I wasn’t in the mood for his comments.

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