Page 28 of Stone Cold Bad (Stone Brothers #1)

TWENTY-THREE

COLT

H unter’s motorcycle wasn’t parked in its usual spot by the docks, which was not completely unusual, especially since his bike had been having problems. Still, I couldn’t remember the last time Hunter had made the trek to the boat on foot.

He’d ride his damn bike down the hallway to his room if the handlebars weren’t too wide.

I checked my phone. He hadn’t texted me since the last message asking me to meet him on the Durango at noon.

I decided to check and see if Jade was keeping her phone near her.

I sent her a quick text. “Miss you already. Everything all right?” Most of the boats were still out fishing, the only other signs of life were a few pelicans waiting for the fishing boats to return.

Aside from the Durango , only a few other vessels bobbed up and down in the water.

There was no sign of Hunter as I neared the boat. Jade texted back. I stopped to read it.

“Everything is good. I guess no gas means no hot water either. I took a speedy shower, but now I’m in desperate need of body heat. Only yours will do.”

“Damn, I better get back quick then.” A call from Slade came through, and I answered it. “What’s up and where’s Hunter?”

“His lazy ass is still in bed. Think he spent the evening fucking that new drink server up north.”

“That idiot. He texted me an hour ago to meet him at the Durango .”

“Nah, couldn’t be. He came home last night complaining that someone had jacked his phone out of his coat pocket while he was playing a round of pool. But I was calling to tell you that this black car keeps driving by the house.”

“Wait.” I scrolled through to the text. It was from Hunter’s phone.

“He must have found it because the text came from him. What car?” Footsteps pounded the wood planks behind me.

Before I could turn around, the hard end of gun barrel pressed against my back.

I sensed there were at least three men standing behind me, including the one with the gun jammed into my kidney.

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” Slade asked.

A hand reached forward and grabbed the phone away. The guy patted me down, but I wasn’t carrying a gun. I hadn’t needed one for helping Hunter with the boat.

“We’re just going to walk real slow to the boat at the end of the dock,” the unfamiliar voice said.

I turned my head and glimpsed his two partners.

I didn’t recognize any of them, but something told me they were part of Ward’s new security team.

One of the guys had a skull tattooed on the side of his neck.

He looked like the kind that finished his beer by chewing up the can.

One looked as if he ate steroids for breakfast. He’d stretched an extremely small black shirt over his shoulders to accentuate his arms.

I shot him an amused smile.

“You’re on the wrong end of a gun to be grinning like that, boy,” he snarled.

Whenever I was in trouble, I always managed to dig myself deeper with my big mouth, and I figured I might as well keep the tradition going.

“No, man, you’re right. I was just wondering though— do you need an extension on your comb to be able to reach your head with those big, beefy arms?

In fact, how the hell do manage to wipe your ass? Or maybe you don’t.”

His thick fingers pinched my skin as he grabbed my shirt. He brought his ugly horse face right up to mine. “You smart ass, I’m going to have fun messing up that face of yours.”

“Never mind,” I said. “You answered my second question. Your breath smells like shit.”

The guy with the gun in my back shoved it hard into my muscle, and I stumbled forward. Muscleman took the opportunity to throw his fist into my stomach. I coughed and sucked in the salty air hovering over the dock.

The gunman pressed his weapon against my back again. “Enough of the smartass shit. Keep moving or I’ll shoot you dead here and toss you over the side.”

I walked toward their boat. It was a nice ski boat, but something told me these guys didn’t do many water sports. “Great. Are we going to do some wakeboarding?” I asked.

Muscleman, who had obviously taken an instant disliking to me, kicked me hard. I flew over the side and onto the deck. He hopped into the boat next to me. The entire vessel tilted to the side with his weight.

I got a good look at the gunman too. He was smaller than the other two and looked a bit more brainy. “Don’t give us any ideas, Stone,” he said. “Otherwise, I might just tie you to a tow line and drag you across the fucking water.”

“So, you know my name is Stone, and I guess there’s a purpose to this whole fucking thing. But something tells me this isn’t one of those crazy fun birthday kidnappings where you drag me blindfolded into a strip joint and have some nice girl give me a lap dance.”

“Tie him up good and cover his fucking mouth. I can’t listen to his bullshit anymore,” the gunman sneered.

“So, that’s a no on the strip club?” I asked.

The one guy had the muscles, but it turned out the dude with the skull tattoo had the right hook. His fist slammed my chin, and my teeth clamped down hard on my tongue. Blood oozed toward my throat. I spit a nice red loogie onto the polished wood deck.

Muscleman grabbed my hands and tied them with rope. His friend tied up my feet. Then, with a great amount of pleasure, muscleman stuffed a dirty rag into my bloody mouth.

I sat back against the bench and began trying to work loose my hands.

But there was a solid knot in the rope. We took off going south.

I watched the three men. They said nothing to each other as the boat coasted out to sea, slowly at first, and then gaining speed once we were past the buoys.

The rag they’d stuffed in my mouth was pungent with some kind of cleaner, but it helped to absorb the blood dripping off my tongue.

There was no doubt in my mind that Ward had sent these guys.

Word had gotten around that Jade was with me.

Most people in the area knew me, so I was easy to find.

Whatever the hell it was on the cloth, varnish or paint thinner or some other pungent shit, it was giving me an unwanted buzz.

I needed to keep my head clear. I wasn’t completely sure what they had planned for me, but I didn’t want to be high on fumes when it went down.

My jaw was numb from the hit as I moved it to work the cloth forward.

I spit the gag out and a fine shower of spit and blood came with it.

Muscleman and skull stared down at the blood soaked cloth.

Neither, it seemed, were inclined to touch it.

I decided to just keep my mouth shut and keep an eye on where we were headed.

The boat slammed over the choppy water, and I bounced on the bench.

Being tied up made it hard to keep balanced, and twice, my head slammed the railing behind me.

Slade had mentioned a black car driving by the house.

My biggest worry was that someone had followed Amy to the cottage.

Jade was all alone out there. Slade knew something was up, and he knew I was at the boat when I was talking to him.

But it was impossible to follow a trail on the water, especially when you didn’t know which boat to follow.

This bookie was going to some extraordinary lengths to get Jade back, and I couldn’t blame the guy.

She wasn’t a girl you could easily watch walk away.

Almost felt sorry for the fucker. Of course, I also wanted to pound him into pulp.

After a rough trip over the water at top speed, we pulled up to a private dock. A big stone and wood cabin loomed above on a small bluff behind the beach. It looked like a rich man’s beach house, Ward’s no doubt. We pulled up to the dock and gunman and skull tied off the boat.

I decided to keep my mouth shut and keep an eye out for a chance to get away.

My first chance came when muscleman untied my feet.

My hands were still secured behind my back.

He gave me a boost up to the dock. The second my feet hit solid wood planks, I spun around and kicked him hard in the face.

He flew back onto the deck of the boat, landing solidly on the engine compartment.

I took off at a run, but skull tackled me hard.

With no hands to stop me, my face slammed against the dock.

My head buzzed as if my brain was vibrating from the impact.

Muscleman had recovered from the kick, but his face was red from my boot mark and from rage.

He and skull yanked me to my feet and walked me toward the house.

Then we veered left, and they took me up a long path to a waiting van.

The door slid open and a new face, a man with red hair and a red beard, peered out.

He had a gun too. He pointed it directly at my face. Ward had a big fucking crew.

Muscleman, who was still pissed as hell about the kick, shoved me so hard into the van my head whipped back.

I fell face first into the cargo hold. The door slid shut.

Red kept a gun on me while the others climbed into the front of the van.

We were off. There were no windows, and I had no fucking clue where I was headed, but something told me the next face I saw would be the man himself.

I propped myself up. I moved slowly because red seemed extra nervous and possibly a little trigger happy. He never lowered the gun but kept it trained on me like I was a rattler poised to strike at any second.

I leaned my head back against the metal wall of the van and closed my eyes.

The face slam on the dock had given me a headache.

Every movement of my jaw sent shooting pain through my face.

Something told me this was only the beginning.

I hadn’t personally ever dealt with Ward.

Gambling was more Hunter’s thing. From what he’d told me, the man was ruthless when someone didn’t pay up in time.

I guess you don’t get awesome beach houses and a loyal army of thugs unless you’re cutthroat.

I would most likely end up dead once this was over, but I wasn’t going out without a fight.

I was going to do everything I could to keep the asshole away from Jade.

It would figure that the one time I let my guard down with a girl she’d have all kinds of shitty baggage behind her.