Mike smiled. Now that they were out in the open, Nate could clearly see the malice etching Mike s
features. Like I said, Nate, we re gonna wait a few minutes for my partner, then we ll go over the game
plan. He looked around, taking in the scenery. Nice place. Amy and I were gonna buy a plot just like
this one day, but we thought we d have years yet to worry about death and dying. If Wilson had
knocked you off that first night like he was supposed to, we d have had those years together. You have
no idea how upset I was when I came back from Atlanta and found you not only still alive, but shacked
up with Nash. And after I came up with a sick aunt and everything. He sighed. You caused us all a hell
of a lot of extra work. We intended to kill you, then make it look like Calder had hired someone to do
the job by exposing his scheme with Phillip and his prejudice against gays. Because of you, we were
forced to go through the whole gay bashing scenario. You have any idea how hard it is to torch a place
without getting caught? Wilson did it right when he burned H&G. I ll give him that much. Too bad he
screwed up and left that fingerprint on the undercarriage of your car. We were forced to re-think our
entire strategy. Mike looked at Nate, his hatred shining in the pale light. Why didn t you just die like
you were supposed to? What the hell are you, a cat? You ve got more lives than I can count.
Nate scanned the area for something he could use as a weapon, but apart from a few scraggly branches,
he saw nothing. He decided his best bet was to keep Mike talking. Okay, so you hate me. I got that
part. But why hurt Marjorie Newman? What did she ever do to you?
Mike shook his head. Nate, Nate, Nate. Don t you realize that in every war, there are a few casualties?
I hadn t planned on hurting Marjorie. Hell, I ve been buying books from her on a weekly basis since
Amy and I moved here. But when Calder announced he was coming to Reed to save Seth from his queer
brother, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Planting that receipt to expose the connection
between Calder and Phillip was a must. Since I m so well acquainted with the layout of the store, I
volunteered to do it. When Amy came to tell you about Calder s impending visit, I snatched the receipt
out of Philip s room during all the confusion. I took Amy home, tucked her in bed, and went down to the
Book Barn. I waited until Marjorie was busy, then snuck into the men s bathroom to hide out until she
left. Marjorie always closes right at five, so I thought I was safe. I waited until five-thirty, and then came
out, expecting the shop to be empty. Instead I ran right into poor Marjorie. Apparently, she got delayed
by a last-minute customer. She demanded to know what I was doing, lurking in the bathroom like that.
Mike shrugged. The old bat didn t leave me much choice. I conked her over the head with one of those
brass bookends she sells and then burned the place. Went up in seconds, thanks to all those
book-binding glues. He grinned. Not bad for a first time pyro, huh?
Nate wanted to throw up, but he knew he couldn t afford to be sick. Swallowing hard, he started to
speak, but a noise coming from the woods stopped him. He could just make out the shadow of someone
coming through the trees. Mike s partner had arrived.
* * *
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Brandon exhaled the breath he d been holding when the Reed City limits sign came into view. He d been
so relieved when he heard Nate s voice on the phone, but his relief turned to dread when he heard where
Vaughn had taken him. He d instructed his men to surround the cemetery, but to stay out of sight until he
got there. He wasn t sure just how over the edge Vaughn really was, but he couldn t take any chances. If
one of Bran s men spooked him, Vaughn would shoot Nate without even thinking twice about it. He
took little comfort from the fact that Vaughn was waiting for his cohort to arrive, but at least it bought him
some time. Just as he turned onto the main highway into Reed, he heard Nate gasp over the cell.
Brandon knew his grace period was over.
* * *
Mike turned his head slightly at the sound coming from the tree-line, but he kept the gun trained on Nate.
After a minute, he turned back to Nate with a smile. I see our special guest has arrived. Nice night for a
family reunion, don t you think?
Nate watched as the figure stepped into view. The moonlight cast a halo around the blond hair, turning it
silver. The brown eyes were lost in the shadows, but Nate could see a faint glimmer coming from them.
He wasn t certain if the twinkle was caused by excitement, madness, or a combination of the two. He
forced himself to show no emotion as Leda Morris stepped into place beside Mike.
She gave Nate her best pageant smile and said, Hello, Nathan. I suppose you re a bit surprised by all
this.
Nate wasn t sure what shocked him the most: that his mother was the one who wanted him dead, or that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]