Page 132 of Ozzie

Maybe I can get some answers if I take a nicer approach. “What if I agree to stay married to John? Willingly. Because I don’t think my parents are going to go forward with whatever deal you all had if they don’t hear from me.”

They still ignore me.

“When is John coming back? I’d like to talk to him.”

“Shut up!” his father yells as he jumps up and grabs something out of a suitcase in the room. It’s a syringe, and he’s walking toward me with it.

“Tom, stop!” Patsy says. “You can’t give her that. Think about the tox report!”

Tox report? “Do you plan to kill me?”

While they may have kidnapped me and forced me to marry John, I never thought they would kill me. Aren’t they trying to keep me here long enough for my parents to agree to their deal?

Patsy’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t say anything.

Tom puts the syringe on the nightstand. “Yes. And they won’t need to do a tox report.”

Patsy turns to him. “No! Don’t tell her that. Now she’ll be afraid.”

Patsy is right about that. Now I’m afraid. Why would they want me dead?

Tom sits back on the bed. “If she knows the truth, she’ll stop asking so many damned questions. Yes, we plan to kill you.”

“Why?”

“Because our family business is about to go under. Once we get the money from your life insurance policy, we’ll be back on our feet and no one in town will ever know we had troubles.”

Life insurance? “What policy?”

“We bought policies for you and John as a wedding present. Congratulations,” Tom says.

They planned this. This isn’t some seat-of-their-pantssituation. “When did you buy the policy?”

“I don’t know. A few weeks ago.”

Before John kidnapped me and took me back to Montana. They planned to kill me there.

“But John will be the main suspect,” I say. Have they seriously thought this out?

Patsy smiles. “John will have an alibi. He’s getting himself arrested as we speak. His bail will be revoked. It won’t be possible for him to do it.”

She’s really pleased with herself. I wonder if she was the one who came up with this plan.

“You two will be the next suspects,” I say.

He laughs. “No, as far as everyone is concerned, we’re still in Montana. Alibi is set in stone.”

I swallow. They really have thought this out.

“This is why you wanted that video, so my parents will believe this is what I wanted.” It’s not a question. Their intentions are clear to me now.

“Yes,” Patsy says.

Ozzie won’t believe it for a minute. Neither will Durango. They’ll go after John and his family. But I have to stop this. I don’t want to die. No, I’m supposed to have a life with Ozzie. I can see it. Why would I be able to see it if I’m meant to die here?

Tears flow and I can’t stop them. “When will it happen?” I doubt they’ll tell me, but I want to know how much time I have to get myself out of this mess.

“Tomorrow afternoon. Don’t worry, we won’t make you suffer,” Tom says.

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