She sat back on the desk, her face lit up with glee. “It is.”

Skeeter pointed his gun at Kate. “Then that makes you the master of ceremonies. You better start talkin’.”

“I’ve been waiting for this night for two years, Mr. Malcolm. You can wait five minutes,” Kate said. The condescension was heavy in her voice. “You never were a patient man.”

Kate flicked a gaze at me. “James and I go way back.”

“When he worked for your father.”

She nodded, then turned her attention to Skeeter. “If you play this right, I’ll let you make it out alive.”

His shoulders stiffened. “Why?”

“Because I like you. I think we can work out some sort of arrangement.” The innuendo in her voice made it clear it wasn’t an above-board business deal.

Skeeter ignored her implication. “Then why’d you set this up for your daddy?”

The ring on her hand caught the light, and I said, “She set this up for her father, but not how you think, James. This is her revenge. Her revenge against her father for killing her fiancé, Nick.”

Skeeter gestured toward Sam Teagen. “So what’s this piece of trash doin’ here?”

“He’s my guest,” Hilary said. Then, before I realized what she was doing, she pulled a gun out of her fancy cream-colored purse and pointed it at me. “I’m going to need Sam handy, so don’t be getting any ideas about incapacitating him.”

I cursed myself for having turned my attention away from her. Then again, she was pregnant. And while she was a sociopath, her baby—Joe’s baby—was an innocent caught up in her madness. I wouldn’t shoot her even if she attacked me, and the satisfaction on her face told me that she knew it.

“Now, James,” she said, his given name clearly an insult on her lips. “I’m going to need you to put down the gun, or I’ll be forced to kill your Lady in Black. And Rose, you need to drop yours, too.” The saccharine sweetness in her voice nauseated me.

Skeeter’s gaze lifted to mine, and if I hadn’t known he was on my side, I would have been terrified of the rage in his eyes. He squatted and dropped his gun to the concrete floor, then rose to his full height, a good six inches above the man in front of him.

“Rose.” Hilary’s voice was harsh, and she looked like she was searching for an excuse to shoot me, so I dropped mine to the floor, too.

“Now kick it toward Sam.”

I put a little too much effort behind it, and the gun skidded past Teagen, stopping close to Hilary.

I glanced at Skeeter and found him watching me with a mixture of anger and guilt. Since the anger wasn’t directed toward me, I welcomed it, but the guilt only fueled more guilt of my own. He’d put my life before his, and now he had a gun pointed at him.

This was my fault. I should have waited for him. We could have made a plan. But I could beat myself up about it later. Right now, I needed to focus on getting us out of this. I still had a gun in my pocket.

Teagen bent to pick up Skeeter’s gun, then pulled out a zip-tie from his back pocket. I watched in horror as Teagen tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans, then bound Skeeter’s hands behind his back, tugging with more force than needed.

“Got that tight enough?” Skeeter growled.

“Let me check,” Teagen sneered, pulling even tighter. Then he circled around in front of Skeeter and punched him in the gut.

Skeeter bent over slightly, his jaw clenched.

“That’s for killing my friends. And this is because I just don’t like you.” Teagen pulled his fist back and slammed it into Skeeter’s nose.

I cried out as blood spurted down Skeeter’s face, but Skeeter didn’t miss a beat. He tipped his head back and dipped at the knees, then slammed his forehead into Teagen’s face.

“Just wanted to add to Rose’s handiwork. Not so pretty anymore,” Skeeter grunted as Teagen covered his face with his hand.

I decided to take advantage of the distraction and started to lunge for the weapon sticking out of Teagen’s jeans, but a bullet struck the floor in front of me, sending up sharp little shards of concrete. Startled, I jumped back and lifted my eyes to Hilary’s amused face.

“I’m an excellent shot. Just ask Joe,” Hilary said.

“Is Joe coming?” I asked, trying to keep the hope out of my voice.

Hilary turned to Kate. “You weren’t stupid enough to invite Joe to this showdown of yours, were you?”

“I’m here.” The voice came from the darkness. Joe stepped into the circle of light seconds later, still dressed in his sheriff’s uniform. His face was hard as he took in the sight before him, ending with Hilary and the gun she had trained on me. His silence spoke volumes, but his hands hung at his sides, no gun in sight. In fact, his holster was empty.

“Did you come unarmed, like I insisted?” Kate asked.

He gave a curt nod, then turned his dark gaze on the mother of his baby. I could only imagine what Kate had said to get him to leave his gun at home.

Hilary turned pale. “Joe, I know this looks bad, but I can explain.”

“Never feel the need to explain, Hilary,” a voice I knew all too well called out from behind me.

I turned to see the object of my worst nightmare staring right at me.

It was clear from the look on his face that J.R. Simmons planned to make me beg for mercy. But the evil in his eyes assured me I’d never find it.

Chapter 32

While J.R. climbed through the window with the assistance of a man I didn’t recognize, I took a deep breath, trying to put all the pieces together in my head.

J.R. got his balance, but he seemed unsteady on his injured leg. After making sure his boss wouldn’t tumble, the new guy scanned the room. A smarmy grin crossed his face when his eyes landed on Skeeter.

“The fall from grace is a bitch, isn’t it, Malcolm?”

“You can’t fall from the gutter, so I guess you wouldn’t know,” Skeeter spat out. “I see you’re still in Simmons’s posse of twelve pussies. I’m surprised you set foot outside of Columbia County.”

The other guy looked like he was about to respond, but J.R. held up his hand.

“Enough.” J.R.’s gaze turned to Joe and he blinked, the only sign that he was shocked by the presence of his son. “Joseph.”