Page 88 of Winning His Wager

Bruce held a lighter out to the nearest cardboard box and waited. “This shit is highly flammable, you know. We’re going to watch itburn, burn, burn.”

She twisted, pulled, kicked, bit.

Nothing she did was enough to make him let her go.

And he just kept lighting boxes around her.

77

Will pulledhis dad’s arm over his shoulder. “We’re getting out of here.”

Someone else came in. “What the fuck is this about?”

“Hayden, help me,” old Mr. Rutherford said, reaching for his kid. Hayden just stared at him for a moment. Like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Hell, Hayden’s dad practically looked like hamburger right there.

“Dad? Who did this?” Hayden reached down to help his own dad up. Hayden and his dad were really close.

“Bruce Tyler. He’s around here somewhere,” Will’s father said. He was beat up, but he was in better shape than Hayden’s dad and everything.

“I’m going to go find him and kill him for this.”

Hayden always carried a gun. Will didn’t. He probably should start. This was stupid—Bruce was still out there. He’d just left. Will needed a gun.

“Help me get them to Braelyn’s car. I’m getting them out of here,” Will told Hayden. He didn’t care about Bruce right now. He just wanted to get his family safe. “Bruce abducted my sister and brought her here too. I want out. I’m leaving Masterson for a while.”

Toby and Scotty were there, arguing about what to do next.

“Saw Tyler take off after some woman. Or some kid. I didn’t see her close enough. Just saw really blond hair. Pretty sure it’s a girl, though,” Toby said, agitated and excited like he always was when he was high or something. Guy should just go back to Texas where he was from and just stay there. He disgusted Will. “Let’s find him. Show him what kind of loser he really is. Then grab that girl and have fun. I’ve been wanting that kind of good time since that hot cop in Texas got away from us.”

“Leave her alone,” Will said. “She is just here by accident.”

“So? She see your face? She’s gotta go, man. That’s the way the new boss wants things now. It’s the new rules. No witnesses leftever.That’s the way we’re going to do it,” Toby said.

“You can do things that way. I’m getting out. And you are going to leave Dylan alone, you understand? Or I’ll kill you myself.” Dylan didn’t deserve to be involved in this. Not even for a moment. The only reason she was there at all was because of Will. He wasn’t going to let these jackasses hurt her. “Just go find Bruce before he gets us all killed. That guy is insane. I don’t want no part of dealing with him.”

“Chickenshit.”

“You know what, I don’t care. I’m getting my dad out of here.” He was getting his dad, Abby, and Dylan out of there. No matter what.

Will wasn’t going to screw this up.

78

Abby had drivenBraelyn’s car before. Millions of times. She didn’t have a car of her own any longer. She’d borrowed Braelyn’s whenever she’d needed it. Will was coming, and he had her dad. He was helping her dad down the steps. To the car.

Abby opened the driver’s door. Hayden was there, to help his own dad.

She never thought she’d be grateful to see her brother’s stupid friends. But there were four of them, and Will. They could keep her and her dad safe from Bruce Tyler.

That man was the man of nightmares. “Daddy, hurry. Let’s get into the car. We’ll take you to the hospital. Get you better.”

“No! There will be too many questions,” her dad rasped out. He sounded so old, and he looked even older than his sixty-five years in the low porch light. “About why Tyler was after us in the first place. Just get us to the house, baby girl. I have money put back. I’ve been keeping it, in case we had to run, for a while. Since…Preston was arrested.”

Abby barely bit back a sob. She didn’twantto leave Masterson. She’d hadplans.Real ones. For a good life. Maybe not with Fletcher, but maybe she’d still be able to be in one of Hunter Louis Clark’s movies…she didn’t want to leave Braelyn or her other friends. Her home. Even her job at the inn. “Where will we even go?”

“Does it even matter?” Will asked. “Dad will be safe. Let’s go. Hayden, are you coming with us or not? It’s Toby and those other idiots, or your dad, man. You decide.”

Abby looked at the other man as he handed her brother a gun. A real gun. She had been in the same class with Hayden. She had known him her entire life. “Hurry. We need to leave before Bruce comes back.”