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“I don’t know what location you’re talking about,” I said.
“Did you think that son of a bitch’s death would be the end of things? He gave you up, Caleb. Said you had it.” Rush asked.
I could only assume he was talking about Jennings or my father. I shook my head, but before I could say anything, Rush’s fingers wrapped around my throat, instantly cutting off my air. I instinctively clawed at his hands, but my efforts were futile.
“Or maybe you were thinking that you could take up where he left off? That you could milk me like he did?”
Understanding dawned at his words, but it didn’t matter because I couldn’t say anything with Rush’s hand slowly stealing my life away. My vision started to dim and spots danced before my eyes when Rush suddenly released me. I collapsed onto the ground and tried sucking in air, but I couldn’t seem to manage it.
“You were a good fuck, but not worth anywhere near the amount of money that fucker was getting out of me. But guess what, I paid in full. You want even a cent out of me, it’s going to cost you a lot more than a quick fuck in the dirt.”
Rush yanked me to my feet and then turned me and bent me over the conveyer belt. Terror ratcheted through me as he blanketed my body with his. I could feel his dick pressing against my ass. “Maybe I ought to get a preview to see if you’re even still worth it.”
I dug my fingers along the underside of the edge of the conveyor belt and winced when I felt something pierce my skin.
Something sharp.
As Rush began grinding against me, I closed my fingers around the object to see if I could work it loose. I didn’t make much progress because Rush chose that moment to reach for the zipper on my pants. “The phone! You’re talking about Dad’s phone!” I screamed, though the words came out in a strangled rasp since my throat hurt so bad from Rush choking me.
He stilled, then jerked me upright and turned me around. “So you’re done playing innocent, huh? Where is it?”
I wasn’t even sure if my father had kept the phone he’d used that night. The cops had confiscated his phone when he’d been arrested, but it wasn’t the one he’d owned while on the camping trip. But it didn’t surprise me in the least to learn he’d told Rush I had the phone. Something like that would have been sure to get Rush to come after me, even if it wasn’t true.
“If I tell you where it is, will you let me go?” I asked, knowing full well what Rush’s answer would be.
But he didn’t actually answer me. Instead he grabbed me by the throat again, but he didn’t apply enough pressure to cut off my air. “Do you know how many good men I lost because of you? I mean, there I am, minding my own business, when I get a call that you’re dredging up the past.”
“Did Mr. Jennings call you? Or did he call my father? That’s what started it, right?”
“That faggot Richard called your father first saying we were all going down. Your father told him he better figure something out because the video on the phone only implicated him and me. The little fucker practically ordered me to fix things.”
“You mean Mr. Jennings,” I said. “I thought he was my father’s friend and that you worked with him.”
“My sister’s kid went to Richard’s school,” Rush said. “Your father and Jennings grew up together. When your father was looking for someone to do some stuff for him – off the books – Richard sent him my way.”
“Did Mr. Jennings really kill himself or was that you?”
Rush laughed. “Did you actually think he hung himself out of guilt for what happened in those woods?” He leaned in so close to me that I could smell his breath. “He may have put on a good show about not wanting to fuck you, but you should have seen his face when he sank inside that tight little body of yours. The hounds of hell couldn’t have stopped him at that point.”
Rush shoved me back against the belt. The second my fingers closed around the lip of it, I searched out the sharp piece of metal again and frantically tried to pry it loose.
“Where’s the phone?” Rush demanded.
I knew my time had run out. There was no way for Jace to find me, so trying to hold out made no sense. But my instinct to survive was stronger than ever. I managed to straighten and stepped closer to Rush. “I don’t have it, Rush,” I murmured. “He lied to you. If the phone exists, it might as well be gone because I don’t have any idea where he would have put it. There’s no evidence to implicate you in anything.”
