Page 50 of Auctioned to the Lumberjacks (Auctioned)

Her eyes widen at the sight of Jack's gun.

"I didn't know what else to do." Her voice is almost a whisper; she’s choking back tears, and Skye is frozen in place.

"How the hell did you know where to find us? Does he know you're here?" Jack growls, and the harshness of his tone catches our visitor off guard.

Shona takes a step back until she's pressed against the door, with her hands spread against the wood. Her frail build shrinks further, and her eyes dart around the room.

"I had to come," she says. "Please." One of her hands rises slowly and she focuses on Jack, waiting for him to lower his gun. When he doesn't, she blinks and then removes her hat, which somehow expresses her vulnerability. Skye rises and crosses theroom, putting her body between the long barrel of the rifle and Shona.

Jack immediately lowers the gun, but his expression is far from relaxed.

Shona trembles before dissolving into sobs that wrack her body. She seems wrung out. Skye steps closer and wraps her arms around Shona, and the woman sinks into the embrace, her face lost in Skye's neck.

Skye keeps her head level, staring straight ahead. The embrace is stiff, the impact of the photos of Shona with Carter and Hallie the other night still resting between them.

"Hallie misses you, Skye. She’s safe, but she misses you. And I do, too. I'm so sorry, Skye. So sorry." She clings to Skye's shirt desperately.

Does she know that we’ve seen the photos giving her away? Why has she come here?

Jack shifts until he's to the left of Shona, raising his gun again. She glances at him, and pulls back from Skye, focusing on the two barrels of the gun.

"Why are you here?" His voice is a menacing growl.

"Carter doesn't know, but I had to come. I told him I was staying a night or two with a friend. I didn't know where to go. I overheard Carter talking about Reggies’s bar, and when I got into town, I met someone at the gas station, who told me where to find you. I think his name was Ethan?"

West growls, which takes Shona by surprise, and she shrinks back in shock. "God damn it. That fucking useless piece of fucking shit. He'll get us all fucking killed."

"You said Carter doesn't know that you’re here. But does he know that I am?" Skye's voice has a hint of desperation, but she’s trying to keep herself composed.

Shona casts her eyes down again, the shadows beneath them deep and dark. “He doesn’t know exactly where … yet.”

I step forward, drawing her attention. "I saw you the other night. You and Carter. Looking cozy. And with Hallie, too."

Shona sniffs as fresh tears break her attempts to compose herself.

"I was taken in, Skye. I’m so sorry. After you left, he made a play for me. You know how he is, throwing his cash around, indulging me, making me feel special. Until it became obvious that he used me to get to you. He took my phone. He read your message. Then everything changed."

Skye slowly lifts her gaze and silently addresses each one of us in turn. Her eyes are pleading with us to say or do something.

"He's angry, Skye. So angry. I didn't know how bad he was … I never saw what you saw, not really." Her voice trails to a whisper. "He's not going to rest until …"

She doesn't finish the sentence, but we all know what remains unsaid.

He's coming for Skye. He wants to finish what he started once and for all.

"What about Hallie? Where is she?" Skye sobs.

Shona shakes her head. "I was caring for her, but when Carter found the message, he took her away … to his sister's maybe. I overheard him telling her that she'll need to travel … I think he's planning to get Hallie out of the country for a while."

Tears leak from Skye's eyes, but she swipes them away and turns to me, then West and finally Jack with pleading eyes.

Help me, they say.Help me get my baby back.

She won't ask us outright, but every fiber of her being strains to express her desperation.

Jack moves forward, seating himself at the table and resting his gun across the polished wood. He takes a shot of Jack Daniels and tosses it back. He taps his cellphone, and the sound of a dialing tone on the loudspeaker moves to a calling tone. Moments later, the call is answered, a gruff cough being the only indication of this.

"It's me." Jack's voice is low, steady, and strong.

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