No, that couldn’t be possible. Jack wouldn’t lie to her. He was a good man.
Is he now?
Piper paused as she started to wonder what she actually knew about Jack. Other than his kindness to her, and his investment at the restaurant, she didn’t have a clue.
“You’re starting to see it now.”
“Ronald, you don’t need to do this. Leave the girl, call Jack, and we can run,” Marshall said.
“Shut up.” Ronald turned back to her. “You ever wondered what happened to your mother, to her boyfriends, or to anyone that could cause you harm?”
She shook her head.
“Jack killed them all. It’s how I knew the best way to get to him was through you. For some strange reason, you’re Jack’s weakness, and I do actually find that really hard to believe. You’re not sexy. You’re not like the other sluts he dates.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as he continued to insult her.
He grabbed her hair, making her cry out. Pulling her up to her feet, he pressed her face against the bar. Pain exploded against her head.
“Ronald, stop!”
Marshall grabbed his brother, and she collapsed onto the floor, trying to curl herself up. She was terrified.
Staring up at the two men, she saw Ronald had the gun pointed at Marshall.
“What the hell are you doing?” Marshall asked.
“You’re getting in my fucking way.” Ronald shrugged. “I thought you were my brother.”
“I am your brother. What you’re doing is wrong. She’s an innocent.”
Ronald burst out laughing. “The books have gone to your thick fucking head. There is no innocence in this world.”
“I can’t let you kill her.”
“Oh, Marshall,” the gun went off, “you don’t have a choice.”
Piper screamed as she Marshall fell to the floor with a single bullet through his head. Holy crap, she’d just witnessed a murder.
“Now, we’re alone, we can have a little more fun.” Ronald bent down, unlocking the cuffs that secured her to the metal pole. He pulled her up, and suddenly she was thrown against an old stuffy sofa. Dust exploded out of it, and she screamed as Ronald’s intentions became clear. He attacked her clothing and started at her jeans. Every time she tried to wriggle away, he kept hold of her.
He punched her in the stomach, making her gasp.
“Let’s see what is so special about your tight little cunt.”
She screamed, begging for him to stop.
What she didn’t expect was the gun pressed to Ronald’s head, and the next second it going off. Blood sprayed on her face, and she panicked as his lifeless body collapsed on top of her.
Jack pushed him off, and she couldn’t take it. She stared at Jack with the gun in his hand, and everything that had just happened to her hit her.
She stepped back, and the whole world went black.
****
Jack saw the fear in her eyes, and it was like a punch to the gut. When he saw her body start to give up the fight, he grabbed her as she fainted.
“I’ve got you.” He stroked her cheek feeling the overwhelming flood of emotion. She knew the truth now, or Ronald’s twisted concept of the truth.
“I followed you,” Drake said, making him turn.
“What about Louisa?”
“I have people I trust, and I figured you’d put yourself in harm’s way trying to get to Piper.”
“He was trying to rape her. I used his violence against her to kill him. He was too distracted to even hear me turn up.” Carrying her out to the car, Jack turned back to the house. “The bodies need to disappear.”
“There’s fuel in the back of the car I took,” Drake said, already walking toward it. For the next few minutes, they covered the house in as much fuel as they needed. Jack stared down at the corpses of Ronald and Marshall. There was no remorse at the deaths he’d caused. He was pleased both men wouldn’t live to see another tomorrow.