Rules of Survival(30)

“He’s lying,” I said, not bothering to keep my voice down. I didn’t care if Patrick knew I was listening.

Patrick sighed. “I know he’s lying.”

“You do?” both Shaun and I said in unison.

“Mel had no family. It was just her and the kid.”

“How do you—”

Shaun balanced the receiver between his head and shoulder, and covered my mouth. “We don’t have a lot of time, Pat. Does the name Mick mean anything to you?”

There was another pause. “Mick? Where did you hear that name?”

“You know who he is, don’t you?” I wrestled the receiver away from Shaun. “We think he was one of Mom’s partners. Him—and someone whose name begins with the letter T. We need to know what you know, Patrick. Was he the one who killed her?”

“Mick is—”

And the line went dead.





Chapter Eleven


I stared at Shaun, horrified. “You just hung up on him! Why would you—”

He clamped his free hand over my mouth again. “Kayla, we need to leave.”

I lifted my left hand and shook it, rattling the chain. “Are you ins—”

He jerked his right arm, pulling the chain taut. “Forget about the cuffs. This guy’s been gone too long. Something’s not right.”

Holy shit. I was an idiot. Shaun was right. How long did it take to grab a saw and come back? “Let’s get out of here.”

Shaun nodded and we rounded the corner and cut through the kitchen. The back door was a few feet ahead. When I took a closer look around, I realized how run-down everything was. The floor was peeling up in the kitchen, and when I peered out the window, I noticed the roof on the barn had caved in on one side, not to mention that there were no cows in sight.

“Pat knows who Mick is. I’m betting he knows T, too,” Shaun whispered, reaching for the door.

“And he was about to tell us—but you hung up on him.” I cried, and checked behind us. Still no sign of Gerald. We were in the clear.

Shaun shrugged. “You sure you don’t remember seeing anything else in that letter? Something you’re conveniently forgetting to tell me about?”

I shook my head, glaring at him pointedly. “Someone interrupted me while I was reading it, then people started shooting at me. I only got a chance to skim it. I promise. I’ve told you everything now. There was a bit about a murder, the two names—one I didn’t see—and that someone betrayed her. And then the bit about the information she wanted me to find…”

Shaun eased open the door. We took a step outside, then froze. Gerald appeared in front of us, blocking our path with a gun in his hands. “I’m sorry, girlie. You have to know that. I had no choice and I’m sorry.”

I looked from the gun to Shaun, who was as pale as paper. He backed up a step, gaze trained on Gerald, and pushed me behind him as if to protect me.

A wash of cold rushed through me and settled in the pit of my stomach. All of a sudden it was nearly impossible to breathe. “What did you do?”

“I’m losing my farm. It’s falling apart and I’ve got no way to earn the money to fix it. This place is my life… The price on you is more than enough to set things right again.” He lifted the gun and aimed it at us, taking a step forward. “Ya gotta know I feel awful about it. Your mamma really was a good egg, but like I said, I ain’t got no choice.”

“No choice?” I whispered. This wasn’t happening. How could I have made such a big mistake? “That’s bullshit…”

“Who?” Shaun growled. “Someone’s paying you to hand her off, right? You sick f*ck, who is it?”

Gerald laughed. “I’m a sick f*ck? Aren’t you trying to do the same thing?”

Shaun’s expression darkened. He glared at Gerald, but said nothing.

“That’s right, boy,” Gerald said, holding the gun steady. “I know who you are and why you’re with her. You’re just mad I bested you. I beat you to the prize.”

“Who?” I demanded, trying hard to ignore the truth in Gerald’s words. “Who is paying you the money?”

Gerald didn’t flinch. He just stood there watching me, gun drawn and silent.

“Answer me,” I screamed. A part of my brain knew we should try to run, but I couldn’t make my feet move. I needed to know. Was it Jaffe? Mick or T? Or was it an entirely new player? “Who was it? Who paid you to kill me?”

“Kill you? I ain’t gonna hurt you so long as you don’t move,” Gerald wheezed defensively.

“No? What do you think they’re going to do to me when they get here, Gerald? Buy me dinner?” I stepped around Shaun and grabbed the barrel of his gun, jamming it over my heart. I felt the cold steel of the barrel through the thin material of my T-shirt. “Let us go or pull the trigger!”

He stared, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. “I didn’t—”

Shaun tensed and shot me a sidelong glance. His gaze alternated between Gerald and the gun still braced against my chest. “Who paid you?”

The old man sighed. His aim didn’t waver, but he said, “Jaffe.”

At least that ruled out Mick and T. “Who is he? Who is Jaffe?”