Page 55 of Auctioned to the Lumberjacks (Auctioned)

“Crystal.”

The determination in his voice and his steady eye contact reveal everything I need to know.

We turn our heads to keep watch.

To wait.

He has aged since the photo I saw in the local rag cheering his promotion. Deep lines score around his mouth, and his neck has thickened. Neither of us is the same as we were before this job grounded the good out of us.

He betrayed me, but tonight, we’ll call it quits.

He can return to his life in the force.

And I can return to mine in the forest.

I know who’ll be happier.

The tracker’s dot blinks on the map on my phone screen.

So close, it continues the last part of its journey. I shove the phone into my pocket and fix my eyes on the road.

Carter’s chrome-colored Cadillac Escalade turns into the lot bang on eight-fifteen as had been agreed between him and Bones.

He’s expecting to meet the Shadow Outlaws to seal the deal. They’re getting the drugs for a reduced price if they tell him where Skye is. His desperate drive to find her and destroy her clouded his mind and made him sloppy.

The engine cuts, three doors swing open simultaneously, and all three men are immediately recognizable from the pictures.

Carter fucking Reynolds. Devon Webster. Keith Morgan.

This has to work.

Their heads swivel on the lookout for threats of danger.

I readjust my position in the seat.

Bill coughs but doesn’t take his eyes off the prize. “Son of a fucking bitch.”

I don’t respond but take note of Carter’s confident swagger. He’s shorter than I expected. Another smile twists my lips.

I allow myself a moment to imagine my hands gripping tightly around his neck, choking, and squeezing the life out of him. In my imagination, his face glitches, becoming my stepfather and then returning to Carter’s. Their sickeningsmirks match almost identically—two evil peas from the same degenerate pod.

The three men approach Bones and his sidekicks slowly. Devon and Keith finger inside their jackets where they’re concealing weapons. They have parked close enough to minimize their exposure to anyone lurking in the parameter.

I glance at my phone. No call from West. They didn’t bring backup. No need to resort to plan b. I power off my phone.

Carter’s arrogant walk says it all. He thinks the Shadow Outlaws are small-time operators. He doesn’t see them as a threat.

That’s going to be a mistake that will cost him.

A brief conversation takes place, with Carter taking the lead. All six men in the scene throw their heads back and laugh at something he says.

Bill’s ragged breathing is distracting. His lungs are fucked from smoking too much and doing no exercise.

Bones signals for Lester to lift up the case of cash. Carter looks back and nods to one of his men.

And then it all happens so quickly.

Ethan bursts out from the rear door of the bar, stumbling backward and losing his balance, crashing down with force against the ground and grunting at the impact.

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