Page 36 of Stone Cold Bad
The gunman pressed his weapon against my back again.“Enough of the smartass shit.Keep moving or I’ll shoot you dead here and toss you over the side.”
I walked toward their boat.It was a nice ski boat, but something told me these guys didn’t do many water sports.“Great.Are we going to do some wakeboarding?”I asked.
Muscleman, who had obviously taken an instant disliking to me, kicked me hard.I flew over the side and onto the deck.He hopped into the boat next to me.The entire vessel tilted to the side with his weight.
I got a good look at the gunman too.He was smaller than the other two and looked a bit more brainy.“Don’t give us any ideas, Stone,” he said.“Otherwise, I might just tie you to a tow line and drag you across the fucking water.”
“So, you know my name is Stone, and I guess there’s a purpose to this whole fucking thing.But something tells me this isn’t one of those crazy fun birthday kidnappings where you drag me blindfolded into a strip joint and have some nice girl give me a lap dance.”
“Tie him up good and cover his fucking mouth.I can’t listen to his bullshit anymore,” the gunman sneered.
“So, that’s a no on the strip club?”I asked.
The one guy had the muscles, but it turned out the dude with the skull tattoo had the right hook.His fist slammed my chin, and my teeth clamped down hard on my tongue.Blood oozed toward my throat.I spit a nice red loogie onto the polished wood deck.
Muscleman grabbed my hands and tied them with rope.His friend tied up my feet.Then, with a great amount of pleasure, muscleman stuffed a dirty rag into my bloody mouth.
I sat back against the bench and began trying to work loose my hands.But there was a solid knot in the rope.We took off going south.I watched the three men.They said nothing to each other as the boat coasted out to sea, slowly at first, and then gaining speed once we were past the buoys.The rag they’d stuffed in my mouth was pungent with some kind of cleaner, but it helped to absorb the blood dripping off my tongue.There was no doubt in my mind that Ward had sent these guys.Word had gotten around that Jade was with me.Most people in the area knew me, so I was easy to find.
Whatever the hell it was on the cloth, varnish or paint thinner or some other pungent shit, it was giving me an unwanted buzz.I needed to keep my head clear.I wasn’t completely sure what they had planned for me, but I didn’t want to be high on fumes when it went down.My jaw was numb from the hit as I moved it to work the cloth forward.I spit the gag out and a fine shower of spit and blood came with it.Muscleman and skull stared down at the blood soaked cloth.Neither, it seemed, were inclined to touch it.I decided to just keep my mouth shut and keep an eye on where we were headed.
The boat slammed over the choppy water, and I bounced on the bench.Being tied up made it hard to keep balanced, and twice, my head slammed the railing behind me.Slade had mentioned a black car driving by the house.My biggest worry was that someone had followed Amy to the cottage.Jade was all alone out there.Slade knew something was up, and he knew I was at the boat when I was talking to him.But it was impossible to follow a trail on the water, especially when you didn’t know which boat to follow.This bookie was going to some extraordinary lengths to get Jade back, and I couldn’t blame the guy.She wasn’t a girl you could easily watch walk away.Almost felt sorry for the fucker.Of course, I also wanted to pound him into pulp.
After a rough trip over the water at top speed, we pulled up to a private dock.A big stone and wood cabin loomed above on a small bluff behind the beach.It looked like a rich man’s beach house, Ward’s no doubt.We pulled up to the dock and gunman and skull tied off the boat.
I decided to keep my mouth shut and keep an eye out for a chance to get away.My first chance came when muscleman untied my feet.My hands were still secured behind my back.He gave me a boost up to the dock.The second my feet hit solid wood planks, I spun around and kicked him hard in the face.He flew back onto the deck of the boat, landing solidly on the engine compartment.I took off at a run, but skull tackled me hard.With no hands to stop me, my face slammed against the dock.My head buzzed as if my brain was vibrating from the impact.
Muscleman had recovered from the kick, but his face was red from my boot mark and from rage.He and skull yanked me to my feet and walked me toward the house.Then we veered left, and they took me up a long path to a waiting van.The door slid open and a new face, a man with red hair and a red beard, peered out.He had a gun too.He pointed it directly at my face.Ward had a big fucking crew.
Muscleman, who was still pissed as hell about the kick, shoved me so hard into the van my head whipped back.I fell face first into the cargo hold.The door slid shut.Red kept a gun on me while the others climbed into the front of the van.We were off.There were no windows, and I had no fucking clue where I was headed, but something told me the next face I saw would be the man himself.
I propped myself up.I moved slowly because red seemed extra nervous and possibly a little trigger happy.He never lowered the gun but kept it trained on me like I was a rattler poised to strike at any second.
I leaned my head back against the metal wall of the van and closed my eyes.The face slam on the dock had given me a headache.Every movement of my jaw sent shooting pain through my face.Something told me this was only the beginning.I hadn’t personally ever dealt with Ward.Gambling was more Hunter’s thing.From what he’d told me, the man was ruthless when someone didn’t pay up in time.I guess you don’t get awesome beach houses and a loyal army of thugs unless you’re cutthroat.I would most likely end up dead once this was over, but I wasn’t going out without a fight.I was going to do everything I could to keep the asshole away from Jade.It would figure that the one time I let my guard down with a girl she’d have all kinds of shitty baggage behind her.
TWENTY-FOUR
JADE
Ipaced back and forth from the mattress to the pile of Noddy’s things in the corner.I’d sent a text back asking how long Colt would be, and there was no response.Slade had called me right after to see if I’d seen Colt.He said that they’d been talking.Then some other voices came through the phone, and Colt had stopped responding.Hunter had confirmed that he definitely hadn’t sent any text to Colt about meeting him at the boat.
I waited anxiously to hear from Slade and Hunter.They were driving to the dock to check out the boat and ask around to see if anyone had seen Colt.
A knock at the door made me stiffen but then Amy called to me.“It’s me, Jade.Let me in.”
I ran to the door.“Any word?”
Amy looked just as worried as I felt.She shook her head and hugged me.“But Slade and Hunter will find him.Besides, Colt is a badass.He can definitely take care of himself.Have you seen anyone out here yet?Slade said some guys kept driving by the house earlier.Do you think it’s that guy who’s looking for you?I mean the boys are always dealing with some sketchy shit, but none of it has ever come to their doorstep.”
I swallowed to alleviate the dryness in my throat.“This was the last thing I wanted to happen.I should have just left town.Now I’ve put Colt and all of you in danger.”My voice shook with despair.
“Don’t fall apart now.We need you to keep your wits about you.You might have to lead the boys to this guy’s house.”She put her arm around my shoulder and led me to the kitchen.We sat down.
“That’s where we should be heading right now,” I said.
“The guys are just talking to the fishermen and other boat owners.I guess there was a pleasure boat or something parked near theDurangothis morning, and no one knew who it belonged to.We’ll wait for their call.”
TWENTY-FIVE
