“Of course he is.” Ray’s hellish grin turned to a snarl as he got so close I could feel his breath against my scalp. “You really must be a delicious piece of ass. Two brothers who fell for you—the loser and the quarterback.”
“Grady’s not a loser.” I lifted my head and felt my face flushing with rage. “He’s more of a man than you.”
“Do you think an insult is going to upset me?” Ray slammed his hand against the wall beside my face, causing the sheet rock to shatter. “You should have married the quarterback. At least then you would be a wealthy whore instead of wasting these curves on Grady.”
“We’re going to get the money. You have no business being here. The week isn’t up.” I tried to remain defiant, but a lump was rising up in my throat.
“I just thought the two of you could use a reminder.” He smiled again and leaned close to my ear. “If Grady doesn’t come through with the money, I’m going to kill him. I’m not going to make it an easy death, either. I’m going to break him piece by piece until he chokes on his bones.”
“That might not be as easy as you think.” I pushed him hard in the chest and spit directly in his face.
“You’ve got some fight in you.” His expression didn’t change. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out his handkerchief and wiped away my spit. “People pay good money to watch pretty little things like you get broken—they pay even more to be the one that breaks them. I’d pay at least fifty-thousand for that.”
“You’ll never lay a hand on me.” My jaw tightened and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Tick-tock...” He took a step back and tapped his watch. “Your time is running out.”
I DIDN’T NEED A VISIT from Ray Stone to remind me how real the situation was and how terrible the consequences were going to be if Grady didn’t return with the fifty-thousand my father owed Walter Grant. I needed to see Grady. I needed to know that Ray’s threat was just callous words from a man I would never see again once we paid the debt.
I walked to the kitchen and grabbed the only set of keys left. My father had taken Grady’s motorcycle and Grady had taken my car, so the only thing left was my father’s truck. It barely run most days and had left him stranded on the side of the road more times than I could count, but it was the only option I had. I saw Ray’s SUV still parked on the street when I walked outside and climbed into the cab. His menacing glare was in the rear-view mirror and he tapped his watch again as I turned the key and tried to start the engine. My father always had the magic touch and could start it with one rotation, but it started to grind when I tried to crank it. It took several tries, but I finally heard the engine roar to life. I had no idea where Grady was, but I knew he was going to see his brother, so that was the first place to look.
Where are you, Grady?
I could see lights on at the Faulkner house when I approached, but I didn’t see my car. I thought about driving by, but the engine started to stall when I slowed the truck down and sputtered when I hit the gas. It seemed like fate was telling me I was going to have to confront the man I had betrayed—it was the only way to find out where Grady could possibly be.
I sent him one more text message, just hoping we had passed in the night and he was on his way back to my house. I got no response, not even a few dots suggesting he was trying to type something back. The entire screen was filled with my messages to him and not a single one from his end. I took a deep breath and started walking up the driveway to the front door of the house. I could hear music playing, which suggested someone was home. I knocked on the door repeatedly until I heard footsteps and when the door open, I saw Dane’s face—a face that quickly turned to an angry scowl when he saw it was me on the other side.
“It’s you.” He tightened his grip on the edge of the door. “Did you come to beg for money on your own after Grady failed to convince me to pay off your father’s debt?”
“Grady was here? Do you know where he went?” My words were hurried.
“Who fucking knows. He probably went home.” Dane shrugged and started to close the door.
“Wait, Dane—please.” I put my hand on the door.
“Who is it?” I heard a woman’s voice call out from behind him.
“See for yourself.” He let go of the door and the pressure I was putting on it caused it to open wider. I saw the blonde woman from the draft standing behind him—completely naked from head to toe.
“You must be Monica.” She laughed and walked over, putting her hand on Dane’s shoulder. “Sorry honey, he’s all mine now.”
“So much for that abstinence pledge.” I looked at Dane and raised my eyebrows. “And you’re drinking, too?” I could smell it resonating off of them both.
“He just needed someone that had a pussy worth fucking.” The blonde woman scoffed at me.
“What a proud thing to say about yourself.” I rolled my eyes. “Dane, I’ll go if you can just tell me where Grady is.”
“Not here.” The woman shook her head. “He’s been gone for hours.”
“He probably went to his apartment.” Dane shrugged and started to push the door closed. “Have a nice life, Monica.”
“Wait!” I put my hand on the door. “Uh, where is his apartment exactly?”
“You don’t even know where your own husband lives?” Dane laughed and the woman joined in. “Why am I not surprised. Allison, go get a piece of paper. I’ll give her the address if it’ll get rid of her.”
“Sure thing.” Allison kissed his cheek and locked eyes with me before walking towards the living room.
“Dane, I’m really sorry about what I did.” I sighed and shook my head. “I deserve your hate. I understand why you don’t want to give me the money, but there’s a lot at stake here.”