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“And that’s why he’s not walking out, Draegan. If Vin had planned to send him out, he would’ve already done it. You need to prepare yourself for what comes next because tomorrow afternoon, we will hear from Vin Vance. And the more time passes the more I’m convinced that those videos and photographs are old.”
Draegan slowly turned. “What are you saying here?”
Bane looked equally troubled then. “I’m saying it’s a very real possibility that Markie is already gone.”
* * * *
Markie was finally coming to terms with a real possibility. He was on his own. While he still had faith that the McCalls were out there looking for him, he also believed Vin Vance was smart enough to outsmart them.
Apparently, he’d put some thought into his abduction. Markie had been an easy mark because he played with fire anyway.
Cursing his need for love and the way he went about trying to find his soul mate, he vowed to avoid casual hookups and local dating avenues once he was free. Once he put this incident behind him, he was turning over a new leaf.
He’d wait for love rather than chase it down like a rodeo cowboy, swinging a lasso around just hoping to rope in the right kind of lover. He grimaced as he thought about the coming hours.
Vin had a plan and his plan included the McCalls. Markie would soon go free because the McCalls would definitely do whatever his abductor asked, but then what? Would Vin Vance kill the only men he’d ever really thought of as his family?
A door opened and those heavy footsteps headed his way. A few seconds later, Vin sat before him once more.
“You and I need to have a talk.”
“I agree,” Markie said, coming to terms with what he needed to do. “Whatever it is you want to do, go ahead and do it to me. Don’t kill the McCalls. Kill me.”
Vin’s mouth twit
ched. “But that would be far too easy, Markie. See, you’ve betrayed some very important people. Now, they want you to pay for that betrayal and the only way to do that is to make you understand what running cost you.”
Markie swallowed. Betrayed important people? Who? How? “What are you talking about?”
Vin snorted. “You’re really going to hang there by your bloody wrists and pretend you have no idea what I’m talking about?”
“The only ‘important’ people I know are the McCalls and the rest of Trouble’s founding fathers.”
“We both know that’s a lie.” Vin sneered. “You’ve been running since you were fourteen years old and you’re, what…mid-to-late twenties now? You’ve been on Cobalt’s top three for over a decade.”
“Cobalt? Who is Cobalt?”
Vin studied him thoughtfully then. “Who is Cobalt?” He approached Markie as if he were in awe of him then. “Wait a second.” He circled him like a predator ready to pounce, eager for the kill. “You don’t know. Do you?”
“I don’t know what?” Markie jerked the restraints, wishing he could just break free for a minute. His arms felt like gelatin and his legs were tired. He’d been strung up like a pig waiting to be gutted and now he was utterly exhausted, convinced he could die like this.
“They didn’t tell you.” Vin made this nasally racket and stopped in front of him. “You have no idea who you are. Do you?”
“I’m nobody important,” Markie assured him.
Vin doubled over with laughter. “You’re nobody?” When his fits of laughter subsided, he grabbed Markie by the hair of his head. Sneering, he came as close as possible and breathed, “Well, Mr. Nobody, Why don’t you tell me something then? Why don’t you explain why your head is worth a whole lot of money? And when I say your head, I mean, there’s value in taking it off and shipping it overseas in a box.”
Markie trembled. He had known his death would be violent if he indeed faced death, but a beheading? Why? Who would want him dead? More importantly, who would pay to have proof of his death? He wasn’t important. He was—as Vin had so eloquently put it—a nobody.
Deciding to brave the task of ending this, he said, “Sugar, if someone is willing to pay you a lot of money for my head, I suggest you do that ritualistic chant and ‘off with it’ as soon as possible before they change their mind.
“See, you’re right about one thing. I am a nobody, and if some idiot out there is payin’ for my death? They’re probably unaware of just how insignificant I am, so cash in if you must but please do it quickly. I’m tired of pissin’ my pants and hangin’ here like an animal already slaughtered.”
“Remarkable,” Vin whispered. “The McCalls never told you the truth.”
“What truth?” Markie grated out, thinking Vin wasn’t as intelligent as he’d originally thought. Apparently he was just as crazy as his siblings.
“You’re the longest living patsy, the sacrifice that never was. You’ve become a legend of sorts and now that I know the truth, the game has indeed changed. We may not need the McCalls after all.”
