Page 91 of Second Chance Savior

“Yeah, I was. That’s before I saw his stupid face and heard him begging. He doesn’t deserve mercy.”

“My sentiments exactly. But waving a knife won’t instantly get him to open up.”

“I’d been planning to do more than just wave it.” My body trembled with all the fury inside me. “I called that man my boyfriend. Appeared at any number of events on his arm, smiling. And he was taking dirty money. He’s been here leaching off my parents while you and I were running for our lives.”

“Then let’s find out what he really did before you punish him for it. Agreed?”

“I suppose.”

I walked across the grass behind my parents’ house, trying to calm down.

River followed me. “To get the full truth out of him, we’ll need to stay cold as ice. Ruthless.”

I took another deep breath. Ruthless. I could do that. “Okay, I’m calm.”

We went back inside. Jud had recovered some of his composure. He tried one of his sympathetic, dignified smiles. Like that was going to work on me. “Charlotte, I don’t know what you think happened, but I swear?—”

I held up my finger at him. “Don’t say it. Unless you’re going to tell me the truth.”

Jud looked over at River, who was leaning casually against a set of shelves.

“Don’t look at him,” I said. “You just called him a psycho. You think he’s going to help you?”

River held the hunting knife casually at his side. His eyes had the same fierce blankness that I’d seen there multiple times now. The look of a predator.

“Quite a fall for you,” River said. “Going from a big man in state politics to skulking around scrounging for food.”

A hint of color returned to Jud’s face. “Wait, I know who you are. A friend of Sheriff Douglas’s. I’ve seen you in Hartley. Kwon. River Kwon.”

“Guilty as charged. I’ve seen you around too, Juddy. I’m not a fan.”

Jud scowled. “Charlotte, I have no idea how you ended up with this guy. But whatever he’s been telling you, you can’t believe it. Youknow me.”

“I know you’ve been working for Stillwater.”

His eyes widened. I went on.

“You had advance warning they were going to attack my fundraiser.”

“Well, I…okay. That’s why I tried to warn you.”

“Now you’re running from them. You’ve been using my parents’ house and my mom’s art studio like a free Airbnb. Did the police come by already? I’m assuming you ran into the woods and hid? Or maybe you crawled under a bed like a spider.”

“State troopers came by. I hid because I’m trying to survive this. Just like you.”

“You’renotlike me,” I spat out. “I have no idea why Stillwater would commit so many resources and risk so much to come after me, but I bet you do.”

Jud squeezed his eyes closed. Then stared up at the ceiling. “I will tell you what happened. But please let me sit up like a human being. I can’t lay here on my back like this and explain myself. It’s humiliating.”

He deserved his humiliation. Every moment of it. But I couldn’t let my anger drive me.

In my career, I did know how to be ruthless when it was warranted. And sometimes, you had to let your enemy relax a little in order to get them where you wanted.

“Fine,” I said, nodding at River.

He crossed the concrete. Jud flinched as River came nearand cut the ropes with the knife. Jud sat up. His wrists and ankles were still tied, but no way would I agree to removing those. Jud didn’t bother asking. Instead, he tried to get comfortable in his awkward position. Probably searching for some way to re-establish his dominance over this situation.

“Thank you,” he said. “For being reasonable.”

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