“I don’t, but I’m not letting you off the hook that easily,” I say.
“No! I’m not going to that fucker. Forget about it!” Her hand manages to squirm free, and she scratches me in my face, leaving a nasty gash.
I grasp her wrists and pin them to the floor, spread out. “I won’t take you to my uncle.” This catches her attention, so I cock my head, and add, “If you behave.”
She pffts. “Fine.”
I wasn’t going to take her to him anyway, but she doesn’t need to know that.
He’d probably kill her on sight, especially when he sees the damage she caused to his precious hotel, but I won’t let him have that honor. No fucking way.
“Now, are you gonna come quietly or not?”
She narrows her eyes, a smirk appearing on her face. “Sure. I’ll come … quietly.”
Fuck her and that fucking double meaning. I don’t have time to play games and definitely not any that involve her coming.
Though it did cross my mind many times when we were still together.
Fuck.
Why am I even thinking about this now?
The smirk on her face grows bigger. I’m sure she can tell what I’m thinking.
I immediately get up and haul her to her feet. Before she can run away again, I swiftly pull her wrists behind her back and push the gun into the small of her back. “Walk.”
“Yes, sir,” she mumbles wickedly as if she’s still trying to deceive me. But her charms won’t work on me. That time has long past.
Chapter Ten
Dixie
He drags me down a stairwell and through more hallways until we get to an exit. Brandon’s in a rush as if he’s afraid something bad will happen. As if it didn’t already.
Half the goddamn hotel exploded.
I wish more of it was gone, but at least I did some damage.
Still, I should’ve used more explosives. That fucker Josiah should’ve been buried along with this casino. And that goes for Brandon too.
Fuck, I never expected to find him here, out of all places.
Though I shouldn’t be surprised because I knew Josiah was his uncle. I should’ve thought of this sooner.
Not that I care whether he lives or dies. I hate him to death. Literally, I wish I could kill him. I probably would if I had a chance.
He’s probably thinking the same thing, which is why I’m so confused as to what his plan is. If he wants to kill me, why not do it now when everyone is still in a panic? No one would notice. I’d be just another body lying in the rubble.
But he keeps dragging me along while all the sirens blare and the smoke fills our lungs. He doesn’t seem to want to give up. I’m worried he might take me to his uncle anyway, and that I’m going to face endless days of torture until I beg for someone to kill me.
Maybe that was his plan all along. I may deserve it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight it tooth and nail. I’d prefer to go down my way.
I should’ve perished when that bomb detonated.
That was the plan, and I’d committed to it. Everything was going just as I had in mind. This was going to be my magnum opus. A final shot at proving my worth to my dad.
And then it all went to shit … because of him.
Brandon Locklear. The only man I wish I’d never met.
I still regret the day I first set my eyes on him.
Way back when during a school break outside on the playground where he was burning grass. Always obsessed with fire … he was already dangerous back then and still is to this day.
I should’ve known meeting him would come back to bite me in the ass one day.
Suddenly, a phone goes off, and Brandon stops in his tracks to answer it.
I’m leery of him. I wonder if, on the off chance that he looks away, I can snatch that gun from his hands and use it to my advantage. It doesn’t hurt to try.
Right now, he’s still fixated on me, so I’ll have to wait. But good things come to those who are patient, and when it comes to killing Brandon, I’ll wait an eternity.
It’ll be worth every second.
*
Brandon
“Tell me you fucking found her,” my uncle screams through the phone. No hello, no nothing. “I swear to God, I’ll kill the fucking bitch.”
Sweat drops dance on my back. What the fuck do I say to him?
“Brandon! Answer me!”
The blaring sound of the fire alarm coupled with his screaming is getting on my nerves.
“I haven’t,” I lie.
I don’t know why I’m lying.
And that stupid grin on Dixie’s face makes my nostrils flare. She sees right through me. Always has.
“Are you telling me the whole goddamn truth?” my uncle shouts.
“Yes!” I reply. “She … escaped.”
Now, she playfully raises her brow at me. I place a finger on my lips.
Uncle Josiah loses his shit. “Fuck!”
I can hear him chuck his phone to the ground.
“Josiah? Uncle Josiah?” I say, keeping my gaze on Dixie because she’s eyeing my gun.
I know she wants to snatch it away from me with those pretty little prying fingers of hers, but it’s not gonna work. I’m not that stupid.
So I twirl my gun around until she gets the picture and spins on her heels to face the wall. Then I push the gun against her back, making sure she remembers who’s in charge.
My eyes can’t help but wander down to her ass. Fuck me, it’s perky as hell.
“Brandon! Get your ass to my office, right now!”
My uncle’s voice pulls me from my thoughts immediately. Apparently, he’s picked up his phone. He’s lucky he didn’t break it.
“Don’t you want me to go look for her?” I ask him, trying to mask my lies by offering to help.
“How the fuck are you gonna find her? You let her escape in the first place, goddammit!” he screams through the phone.
“I know, all right? I’ll fix it!”
“How? How are you gonna fix this shit, Brandon? The entire hotel has exploded!” I don’t think I’ve ever heard him raise his voice this much before.
“I don’t know, but I am going to follow her. I won’t let her get off that easily.”
He immediately spits, “You’d better get your ass here, or you’re fucking fired.”
“I’ll find her. I promise. I’ll call you later.”
Before he can say another word, I hang up.