Page 102 of Ace of Spades
I manage to choke out a laugh, turning to find Weston seething at my side.
“Hey,” I stop him, reaching out an arm to block his advance. “You can worry about killing him tomorrow. He did just save your sister’s life, after all.”
“Isaved her life,” he grinds out. “And I wouldn’t have saved his ass if I’d known he’d been messing around with my little sister.”
“Let’s just worry about getting him to the hospital right now, okay? You two can sort your shit out tomorrow,” Rhondascolds, helping Chance sit up as the sounds of the water hoses begin to drown out the flames.
With the roaring fire having died down to a steady crackling, my ears clear out just enough to make out a faint noise. I turn towards the surrounding woods, the familiar sound catching my attention.
It couldn’t be…
I take off running, sprinting to the truck where I had tied the horses and yanking Casino’s reins loose, my mare’s hooves dancing beneath her as I shove my boot into the stirrup and swing my leg around. I’m barely seated in the saddle as I kick her forward, my name ringing through the air as Weston calls for me, but I’m already racing off in the direction of the woods.
“Come on,” I urge Casino, hanging on in the saddle as we’re swallowed by the thicket. The branches claw at me like greedy fingers, tearing at my shirt and legs as my ears guide us toward the sound.
Her hooves beat steadily below me, the faint glow of headlights breaking through the trees.
It’s funny how to some people, all trucks can sound the same. When you’re raised around trucks your whole life, you learn to tell each of them apart—and the low grumble of the exhaust on my dad’s truck is no different.
I reach the source of the headlights, curving right to run alongside the dirt path, the rocks and potholes forcing the vehicle to drive slow enough for me to catch up in no time.
Passing the truck, I throw my reins towards the path, headlights flashing bright in my face as I pop out of the treelineright in front of my dad’s truck, Casino rearing on her hind legs as the vehicle comes to a sudden stop to keep from hitting us.
I lift my arm to shield my eyes from the bright light as I hear truck doors swing open, my heart racing in my chest as three figures step out, who I can only assume to be my dad, his business partner, and my ex-boyfriend.
“Hailey!” my dad’s voice booms. “What the fuck are you thinking!”
“You’re behind this?” I ask in bewilderment, my mind still refusing to catch up with the thought that he had done this. I knew that I shouldn’t be surprised, not when I was fully aware of the lengths he was willing to go to for his business, but he was still my dad.
“What is wrong with you! Do you realize that there were people in there!” I scream, my throat raw from all of the screaming I’d done tonight.
“Nobody was supposed to be in there, it was just meant to be a message,” he tells me, taking large strides towards me.
“Why?” I ask. “Why would you do this?”
“Because they took everything from me! You, and now your mom—”
“No, Dad!” I scream, my voice cracking. “Youdid that.Youchased us away!”
I don’t notice Scott walking up beside my horse before it’s too late, his rough hand wrapping around my arm as he yanks me off of Casino, the wind knocked out of my lungs as I hit the hard ground. I push myself up to my knees, looking up in time to see Casino startle and bolt for the trees.
“We can’t let her go now that she’s seen us,” Scott’s cold voice states, the click of a gun slicing through the air causing my blood to go cold.
“We’re not killing her,” my dad hisses.
“We don’t have much of a choice, now, do we? Someone just had to meddle around,” the man at my back snarls, the cold metal of the gun shoving into the back of my head. I don’t move—can’t move, as I look pleadingly between my dad and Brad, silently begging them to stop this madness.
“Dad—” Brad says, his eyes widening as even he realizes that this is going too far.
“She’s my daughter, Scott!”
“Fine,” Scott grinds out, the gun lowering to his side. “Then she’s coming with us, and you’re going to have to find a way to shut her up.”
I don’t get a moment to stop and think of a way out of this before Scott grabs a rough handful of my hair and pulls me to my feet, a yelp escaping my lips as I wince in pain from the brutal force.
My hands shoot up to wrap around his wrist, trying to relieve some of the pressure from my scalp as he drags me towards the truck, my mind racing as my adrenaline skyrockets. I know one thing for certain, and it’s that I’m damn sure not letting them get me in that truck.
“Dad,” Brad bites out once more, Scott and I both looking up to find his arms slowly rising. I hadn’t heard the second click of a gun, my chest flooding with relief as Weston steps forward, the barrel of his pistol resting against my ex-boyfriend’s temple.
