Chapter 30

30

Melissa

W hen Jake returns, I’ve yet to figure out a way to get myself out of this mess.

I’m cuffed to this stupid chair, shaking and terrified, trying to come to terms with the situation. It’s particularly infuriating to want to do more and not be able to even move.

My wrists hurt, so I tell Jake as soon as he walks in, “The cuffs are too tight. You have to loosen them a bit.”

He gives me a crazed look as he starts pacing across the room. Outside, it’s dark and cold, the winter slowly and steadily creeping into the old house. Shivers run down my spine. I’m not sure if it’s because of the drop in temperature or because of Jake’s terrifying expression.

“Your comfort is the least of my concerns, Melissa.”

“What happened? Where were you?”

Jake stills in front of the fireplace, slowly turning to face me. Only now do I see the anger, the fear, and the insecurities bubbling to the surface, overwhelming an already overwhelmed man who still has a gun in his hand.

“Here and there. Listening. Watching. Eavesdropping. Realizing that your boyfriends screwed me over before I even had the chance to really drive my point home.”

“What do you mean?” I ask hearing the tremor in my voice.

“I was going to get word to them, to let them know they can get you back if they pay me,” Jake says. “I figured I’d find them at the sheriff’s station, moping around, waiting for a ransom call. But no, I found Laurel and Louisa there, both in custody. Laurel. How the fuck did they find that bitch when I couldn’t?”

“They have Laurel?” I gasp, a splinter of hope cutting through my heart.

“Of course, which means everything is off the table,” Jake says. “If she’s in custody, I’m fucked. They got to her before I could.”

The realization slams into me, damn near knocking the air out of my lungs. “Laurel disappeared before you could kill her after she testified on your behalf,” I mumble. “Like you killed Bruce. That’s why nobody could find him.”

“You have no idea how much work I put into this project,” he scoffs. “How many hours, how much energy I burned to make this whole thing happen, from the planning stages and all the way down to the execution. Yet every fucking time, somebody had to get something wrong along the way. And here I am, fucked sideways.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It wasn’t supposed to end like this!” Jake snaps and points the gun at me. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but…”

“Whoa, whoa, hold on, Jake, talk to me,” I say, desperate to live. “Maybe Laurel didn’t say anything to the cops. I mean, she lied for you once, didn’t she? Did she know you’d try to kill her after the trial?”

He takes a moment to think about it, then slowly shakes his head. “I don’t think so. We parted on somewhat friendly terms. I paid her. Told her not to be a stranger.”

“Was she in contact with Bruce?”

He shakes his head again. “No. Not that I know of.”

“So technically speaking, Laurel might not even be aware of what’s going down here. Maybe Colton and the sheriff found her, but she’s not saying anything. How close were you able to get to her?”

“I stole a janitor’s uniform. I snuck in. But I couldn’t get in to see her or talk to her. Some of the deputies came back. My photo is plastered everywhere. I barely snuck back out without getting caught.”

Jake is wading through a mess of his own making, and he’s running out of solutions, out of ideas, out of reason.

“Jake, don’t get yourself in deeper,” I manage. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do, actually. I can’t have you telling the truth. Someone might believe you.”

“I think we’re a little past that, don’t you?”

“It won’t matter anymore,” he says, raising his weapon once more.

Staring down that dark hole, I feel… nothing. It’s as if everything inside me has come to a sudden halt. I’m frozen. Speechless. All I can do is hold my breath and wait for it.

A honk rather than a gunshot tears through the silence of the night. It rips the whole universe apart, accompanied by rumbling engines and scraping across the half-frozen snow outside. By the time Jake realizes we’re not alone anymore, boots thud across the porch. The door bursts inward, splinters flying everywhere.

I scream at the sight of one too many men clad in black.

So many weapons.

“Melissa!” Colton’s voice finds me.

Jake is about to shoot, but a familiar face pops into my hazy field of vision and smacks him hard across the face. It’s not Colton, though. It’s not Ethan either, or Mitch.

“Ramon,” I whisper, looking at them all, confused. “What is going on here?”

“I can explain!” Jake starts sobbing. His gun lands on the floor and slides farther away from him. Suddenly, he’s alone and helpless, mewling and whimpering like a lost kitten.

I gasp as I realize that Ramon, the nice man I bumped into the other day, is Ramon Esparza. Holy shit. I was mere feet from him a few weeks ago.

“We need to talk,” Ramon tells Jake. “But first, you’re going to let this poor girl go.”

“Let her go? I caught her for you!” Jake tries to spin this back in his favor.

Ethan whips out his gun, prompting Ramon’s people to point theirs at him. Ramon curses in Spanish and motions at Ethan. “Put that down. We had a deal, Mr. Avery!”

“Fucking hell,” Ethan hisses and puts the gun away.

Immediately, Ramon’s men focus on Jake, while Colton and Mitch flank Ethan—their eyes searching my face. I’m dazed and beyond confused, trying to wrap my head around what just happened. Seeing Colton and his brothers in the company of the cartel, while Jake is out of excuses and lies… I admit, I did not see any of this coming.

“Alright, Jake, so here’s where we stand,” Ramon says, glaring at him with dead eyes. “You need to remove Melissa’s cuffs first.”

“Ramon, I—” Jake tries to object, but Ramon smacks him across the face with the butt of his gun. It’s the second blow, and it draws blood, splattering it across the dusty, grimy floor.

“Uncuff her.”

Jake nods and does as he’s told. With trembling hands, he fishes the key out of his jeans pocket and rushes around, getting behind me. As soon as I’m free, I jump out of the chair and bolt right into Colton’s arms.

“Are you okay?” he whispers.

I feel Ethan’s hand on the small of my back.

“Yeah,” I whisper back.

“Ramon, hold on, you got things wrong here. I was planning to bring? Melissa to you,” Jake tries to weasel his way out of this, but it’s not going to work the second time around. “I had her in cuffs for you.”

“You were going to kill me before the cartel got anywhere near the truth,” I say, my tone flat, my sympathy in shambles. “Had they not come in…”

Ethan pulls me closer to him. “It’s alright, baby. He’s not going to hurt you anymore.”

“Jake, I don’t like being played for a fool,” Ramon says. His calmness is eerie, reminiscent of the quiet before a devastating storm. “What’s this about Laurel and Bruce committing perjury in court? I listened to their stories. I believed what you told me about Melissa because I thought to myself… No, Jake can’t possibly be stupid enough to even consider playing me.”

“I never played you, Ramon, Melissa was going to run off—”

Ramon cuts him off. “Say that lie one more time, and I’ll put a bullet in your head right here. I heard Miss Buchanan’s revised statement. Here I am, terrorizing these good folks, hounding this poor woman, thinking she’s going to get me my money back, while you’ve been doing what, exactly? Laughing behind my back? What the fuck are we doing here, Jake?”

“I… I never… Ramon, you gotta believe me…”

“You wanted Melissa to go down for you. You made me believe this girl tried to pull off one hell of a brazen heist. Truthfully, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have bought into it. You were the one transporting my merchandise. You’re the lazy, greedy little fucker. And you made me look like the ultimate stooge,” Ramon sighs. “Honestly, at this point, I’m too tired to start from scratch and try to get my money back.”

“What do you mean?” Jake mumbles, the color draining from his face.

I can feel his dread almost echoing within me as Ramon raises his gun and points it at Jake. “I need to make an example out of you. My honor demands it. Nobody plays Ramon Esparza for a fool and gets away with it.”

“Ramon! Wait!”

The bullet pops through his head, throwing him backward.

My scream is muffled as I hide my face in Ethan’s coat, averting my gaze. I hear Jake’s body drop with a pathetic thud. I can almost hear the last breath escaping from his chest. He’s gone. It’s over.