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I nod my head “Okay,” because it’s all I can muster. I’m too exhausted to think any more about it. He searches my eyes for something, I’m not sure what, but after a moment he seems to have found it, turning back to the men in the room.
“Alright, boys. Time for a fun little game.” Nathan takes a gun from his waistband, a revolver. “Sheriff, you seemed to have misplaced your gun. Good thing I found it for you.”
This side of Nathan should scare me. He seems so detached, so void of emotion, but he’s also calm, and confident. This is the cold, killer he warned me about, yet I feel absolutely safe in his presence, and a hint of excitement. These men have made my life hell, and he intends to punish them. A normal person should be worried, but I must not be normal, because my heart swells at the sentiment.
The version of me three weeks ago would have been terrified to be here right now, surrounded by violence, by the prospect of death, but now I’m eager to see the conclusion of all of this. To finally put this chapter of my life to rest.
I watch as he discards four of the six bullets from the chamber, tossing three of them to the ground, one at a time. Cold. Calculated. Making both of the men flinch each time a round clammers onto the wood floor. The fourth he puts into his pocket.
He spins the cylinder, aligning it with the barrel so it’s ready to be fired. I don’t know what he has planned, but I’m watching with curious fascination. He walks up to the Sheriff, placing the gun in his hand, and holding onto it so it stays aimed right at Tony’s chest. The Sheriff, flinches at Nathan’s nearness, visibly trembling.
“Go ahead, pull the trigger,” Nathan commands, his tone full of ice. The Sheriff whimpers at his words, not moving at all, other than his uncontrollable shaking.
“I was afraid you’d get cold feet,” he tsks at the Sheriff, forcing him to angle the gun upward towards himself, the barrel resting just below his dirty mustache.
“You either get to pull the trigger at yourself or your brother-in-law, which is it?” He asks, not letting the Sheriff move the gun an inch. Maintaining total control over him. I stay silent behind them, taking everything in.
I watch him as he taps the gun against the Sheriff’s mouth as if he’s waiting for an answer, tick, tock, tick, tock. His head tilts to the side as if he’s studying his prey, his body language eerily calm.
If this is how he operates as a civilian, I can’t imagine seeing him in action when he was active duty. He was probably even more menacing.
He must see something in his expression that I don’t because he nods his head and finally lets the Sheriff point the gun back at Tony. It only takes two seconds before he moves his finger over the trigger, and pulls it back.
Click.
Chapter Fifty-One
Nathan
“You no good, sorry son of a bitch!” Tony yells after the blank shot. Clearly, he doesn’t like it when he’s the one being shot at.
“Again,” I tell Sheriff Donahue. I feel his arm flinch at my command, but he doesn’t shoot, his body frozen in fear.
“Again,” I say even deadlier. Getting my point across this time, I watch him as he pulls the trigger back, slowly.
Click.
I’m enjoying this. The fear I’m invoking in these mother fuckers is sweet revenge for what they put my girl through. And the secretary, who is hopefully halfway down the mountain by now.
After I had told her to get dressed, she fell to her knees apologizing for the part she played in luring Callie here. She seemed miserable enough already, and what she went through with Bub was probably punishment enough. So I told her to get the hell out of here. She was so frightened, she didn’t question me at all, just took off outside.
Tony’s still throwing around curses like it will do anything to save him. If only he knew his fate was sealed the first time he took Callie. He never should have chased her into my arms, because once he did, he was on my hit list.
Then, he had the balls to take her again. I won’t be making the mistake of letting him live this time, the bullet he catches tonight is going to be a kill shot. God forbid he would be able to keep roaming the Earth with his depravity.
“Again.” The demand makes Tony squirm as if he can move out of the way. As if I’d let that happen. The hammer moves as the trigger is pulled back, releasing with a click.
Another blank.
I probably only have about fifteen minutes until the State Police make it here. After I had gotten both of them tied up, I texted Jesse telling him we were safe, and then called 911, knowing it would take them some time to rally a couple of cars and make it this deep into the mountains.
I look at Callie, my strong, beautiful Callie. She’s leaning against the wall, watching the display in front of her. She looks exhausted, but there isn’t an ounce of fear in her eyes. She’s braver than most people, even if she doesn’t realize it. She’s amazing. I give her a small wink, before turning my attention back to the Sheriff.
“Again.” His whole body is shaking, making his arm vibrate against the chair he’s tied to. I hold the gun steady in his hand, not letting the barrel point anywhere but right at Tony’s chest.
“You can’t do this!” Tony whines, not accepting that his death is inevitable. “You can’t just kill us like this!” He continues to fight against his restraints.
“You’re right.” I pull back slightly, giving Tony a false sense of hope. “I should do much worse. You deserve worse for everything you put Callie through. I should have slaughtered you in cold blood.”
