Page 146 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
Chapter Fifty
Ivy
Light spears my eyes. The air is unbelievably hot and thick, and there are insect sounds, small rustlings and churring all around. Confusion fogs my head.
I blink some more. Where am I?
My cheek itches. I try to scratch it, but can’t. My hands are tied back with some kind of wire. Fear cuts through the confusion. I look around. Dirt and grass underneath, a green canopy of leaves above me.
“You whore. Finally awake, huh?”
The voice is ugly and mean. I could swear I’ve heard it before, but I can’t place it.
My gut says it doesn’t matter who he is. Gotta escape. Or die.
Oh God. The realization wraps around my throat like a tangled vine, suffocating me.
I squint up and see an unfamiliar face. Brown hair, cropped neat and short. Brown eyes, smiling but unkind. The corner of his lips lifts up into a nasty smirk. He’s a big guy, with beefy shoulders and body. He appears even bigger, since I’m on the ground looking up, helpless and tied up.
“Who are you?”
The superior look vanishes for a moment, replaced by incredulity. “You don’t know who I am? For real?”
I shake my head slowly. If he believes I don’t know him, he might let me go. Or something. I don’t want to die, I think, then understand that he isn’t going to let me live no matter what. He didn’t go this far just to free me. Dread mixes with cold, and I shiver.
“Hot damn.” He laughs. “Guess Sam wasn’t lying about you not remembering shit.” He pops a breath mint into his mouth, then squats until his face is much, much closer. “You don’t look crazy, though.”
Fear hammers in my chest, but I push it aside. I can’t afford to panic. I have to think, figure out what’s going on, how I can get out of the situation. “What did you do to Bobbi? Where’s Sue Ellen?”
He glances at his watch. “That big girl’s probably drawing her last breath by now.”
Oh my God. Bobbi. I sob. A bullet couldn’t kill her, but protecting me finally did it. He’s definitely not letting me live after this. He’s talking because he knows it won’t matter. I’m going to die.
I wriggle my wrists, testing the binding behind me. It holds. No, no. What can I do? Have to get free.
He smirks. “Cuffs don’t come undone so easily. This ain’t a movie.” He smiles widely now. “As for my dear wife, she’s enjoying a nice little dip in the bayou.”
I jerk. Sue Ellen is his wife? But she said her husband was great… “You can’t swim in the bayou.” Or can you? Aren’t there snakes and alligators in the water?
“It won’t be for long. She’s weighed just enough to keep her under, but not so much that when she’s full of gas and bloated, she’ll pop up on the surface in two, three days. Insurance won’t pay out until they’re certain she’s dead. Otherwise, I would’ve made sure she never, ever pops up. Funerals are a bore.”
Terror beats in my veins. I can’t draw in enough air. “She’s your wife!” I say, as though it’s going to appeal to his humanity. A man who kills has none.
“Yeah.” A shrug. “Got tired of her sniveling. She’s just a stepping stone in my plan. Law enforcement. Local politics. National. I’m aiming for the presidency. I won’t be dancing to tunes from the likes of the Blackwoods the way my dad did. She wasn’t fit to be at my side throughout it all. No ambition or gumption. I need someone better. With more class and connections.” His eyes twinkle.
“You’ll never get away with this,” I say in a pathetic attempt to get him to stop, even though deep inside I know it’s futile. I’m next. I know I am.
“I won’t? Sugar, I’m the law here. Who else’s gonna to look into it? People die. Bad luck. Nobody cares. These cases go unresolved, you know. Cold.”
I look around. Trees and more trees. Sweat trickles down my neck. If I scream, will anybody come? Are we too far from the town?
I have to make him rethink his plan. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why? Honey, this here is what you call payback.”
This can’t be about Tony. He’s been away for too long. What could I have done to make him hate me enough to kill? Can I talk myself out of it? “For what?”
“For denying me what I want. A strong man has a right to take what he wants, when he wants. It ain’t like you were saving yourself for marriage.” He fondles my breasts roughly.
