Page 39 of Swallow Your Fear
“To your own personal hell.”
Horses got injured all the damn time, so a little blood on the rubber mats wouldn’t be suspicious. The multiple hoses and drains were convenient for later, hence why Chase was currently tied to a chair in the middle of the wash rack, his hands and legs bound to weathered wood. We hadn’t been soft with his broken wrist, and we’d heard all about it the entire time we tied him up. I didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t deserve an ounce of mercy.
He let out a muffled shout, trying to say something through the cloth looped around his head to keep him quiet. He’d started screaming the moment the rope was tight around his wrist, so I’d finally shut him up. He could yell all he wanted—there was no one to save him out here—but my sanity needed the fucker to quit his complaints.
Brynne hadn’t said a word to me on the drive back and went straight into the house after we pulled into the driveway. I’d wanted to go after her, to explain that I only said what I said to keep her safe, but I had other things I needed to take care of first. The fact that I had to choose between her and Chase only made me hate him more. I’d get theinformation we needed out of him, and then he’d be off my hands, and I could go make things right with the woman in our house.
I couldn’t believe I was even thinking those words, but here I was.
In the aisle of the barn, the propane forge burned bright, heating up the metal on the fire poker. I would’ve used our branding iron, but I didn’t want any ties to this ranch with what we were about to do.
Henley set the fifth bucket of water by the wall, wiping his hands on his jeans. The autumn night air held a chill, a coyote howling somewhere in the distance, as I nodded at Austin. He stepped toward Chase, whose eyes were frantic as they darted around, looking every which way. Austin pulled the cloth down to his neck, then retreated a few feet, crossing his arms.
Chase sucked in quick breaths, his chest heaving against the ropes. “What do you want from me?”
I held his gun in my gloved hand, holding it up to admire it like I’d never seen such a weapon before, but in reality, I was all too familiar with how to handle the firearm. “Not going to ask where your girlfriend is?” I fuckinghatedputting the claim on her like that, but I wanted him riled up.
His brows pulled inward for a split second, enough time to indicate he’d completely forgotten she was a part of this. What a fucking dick.
Chase pointed his eyes at me. “Where is she?”
I dropped the gun to my side, my finger off the trigger with the barrel pointed at the ground. “In my bed.”
The vein in Chase’s neck bulged as realization hit him. In his mind, she was fucking the wrong side.
“Why’d you shoot at her?” I asked, casually starting to circle him where he sat.
“I was aiming at you,” he bit out.
We both knew that was a lie.
I came around his side, bringing the tip of the barrel to his chin to tilt it upwards. “Why’d you try to shoot Brynne?”
This wasn’t the objective here. All we needed was to figure out where the deed to the ranch was, and we could kill him. Yet here I fucking stood, playing protector over a woman who wasn’t even mine.
“I told you, I wasn’t trying to hit her.”
I cocked the hammer back with my thumb. A bead of sweat rolled down Chase’s temple to his jaw, dripping onto the mat without a sound, along with the rest of his perspiration and other various bodily fluids that would be washed away later, along with his soul.
“This time, I only want the truth.”
His neck bobbed as he swallowed, choking out a breath. “Okay. Okay! She’s the only one who knows where I might go to hide. If she’s dead, she can’t tell anyone.”
I hesitated a moment, letting him wonder if I believed it or not, then lowered the gun, stepping away from him. “Why do you need to hide?”
He was setting this up perfectly to spill about the deed. It was almost too easy.
“I already told you why I shot at her. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? So you can let me go now.”
I was becoming rather bored, and it was getting late. This needed to be sped up.
I made eye contact with Henley, who dipped his chin in acknowledgment. He bent to grab the handle on one of the buckets, then Austin stepped forward, pulling the cloth back over Chase’s mouth. Chase shouted, the sound muffled by the fabric, as Henley came up behind him.
He lifted the bucket in the air, and then a gush of water was cascading over Chase’s body in a rush. His gag quickly became soaked, his breaths sputtering as his hair lay damp in his eyes. Austin left the cloth like that for a moment before yanking it down again, the act anything but gentle.
A bored sigh escaped me. “Why would you need to hide?”
Chase blinked rapidly, heaving breaths. “My boss. I owe my boss.”
