Heart Lies & Alibis (26 page)

Linc looked at me waiting for the answer. "My boyfriend." I answered. Perhaps I should have lied about who Declan was but I was so scared the truth just popped out.

Linc's eyes darkened with a jealousy I had seen many years before and then he laughed. "Robbing the cradle a bit, ain't ya Bobbi Jo? Baby-face out there looks a bit young for you."

I felt my cheeks flame slightly. "Fuck you." No way I was going to let this hillbilly asshole judge me for my choices, even in this terrible situation.

He backhanded me so fast I didn't have time to duck.. I had been hit many times in my early life and this was exactly how I remembered it. My head snapped back hard against the chair, my lip left split and bleeding. My face throbbed but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing it hurt. I straightened in the chair and looking directly at him, I licked the blood off my lip without a flinch. He wasn't going to have the pleasure of seeing me cry.

Declan banged against the door. He had to be concerned when I hadn't come to let him in right away. He was calling my name when Linc pulled a pistol from his waistband and walked to the door. Rose pulled his own gun out, holding it to my head, and leaning down to my ear. "One sound and I blast your fucking brains all over the wall Princess." I stared straight ahead watching as Linc whipped the door open.

Linc's gun was in Declan's face before Declan could even react. Declan's face paled for a moment as he looked quickly from the gun to Linc's face but never said a word. I had never felt so scared and so relieved all at the same time.

"Well hello there lover boy. C'mon in. You are just in time for the party." Linc stepped back, motioning for Declan to step all the way into the room before Linc slammed the door, flipping all the locks, his gun still centered on Declan's chest.

Declan didn't question anything as he was ushered further into the room where he could finally see me. Our eyes met and I knew he could see my fear across the room because his face tensed and his body became more rigid. His eyes briefly flicked to the gun at my head and back to me.

Rose never moved his gun from my head while Linc pushed Declan further into the room with the barrel of his gun. He gave him one final shove causing him to fall onto the sofa. Our eyes were still locked together and having him near made the nightmare we were in more bearable.

Declan finally broke his eyes from mine and turned them on Linc. Declan's body radiated anger and rage but he held himself in check.

Linc sat down in a chair next to the couch, his gun still directed at Declan. "So, my my my, I never thought Bobbi Jo was into jail bait but then again, I did know her when she was still jail bait herself so what can I say? And I don't blame you for wanting to be with a firecracker like her, even if she is a few years past her prime. Yes sir, that girl was always good in the sack and I'm sure she has only gotten better with age." A lascivious smile spread across his face and I turned away in disgust. I looked back to Declan but his face was void of emotion.

Linc's use of the name Bobbi Jo must have triggered something in Declan because he remained calm in spite of the situation. He understood exactly who these assholes with the guns were and why they were in my house. "You must be Lincoln Dixon," he said with an even voice before he turned and gave a blazing glare at Rose, "and that must be your brother Roosevelt. What are you doing in my lady's house gentlemen?" His voice dripped with barely contained anger.

Linc looked at him for a moment, before he nodded. "Very good, young stuff. We are indeed the Dixon Brothers of Winchester Kentucky. As to what we are doing here, well, we've already explained that to Bobbi Jo. Suffice to say, you are a complication in our plans that we did not anticipate that is for sure."

Declan glared at Linc, while flexing his arms against his thighs, his hands squeezed into fists and his jaw grinding as his anger grew. "I see. But here I am all the same. So what is the plan now Lincoln?" Declan's stare never wavered. He was establishing his dominance in the room toe for toe with the Dixons, an Alpha male standoff as it were, and I hoped he would be the victor.

Linc nodded, a look crossing his face that made me suddenly so worried for Declan I knew I had to do something. So I spoke up. "Linc, please, Declan has nothing to do with this. You don't need to do anything crazy just because he is here. We can talk about all of this before someone gets hurt."

My outburst earned me a hard backhand from Rose. Again my head slammed back into the chair. My nose burst open on one side. Blood trickled down my face as I straightened and looked back at Declan.

Declan bounded from the couch, stalking across the room towards Rose before being halted by the barrel of Linc's gun. He paused, his nostrils flaring, and his fists curled and shaking. Had he reached Rose in that moment, I was sure he would have killed him.

"Calm down lover boy. My brother is just teaching your
lady
, as you called her, some manners. She seems to have forgotten how to behave around men once she left Kentucky. No worries though, we will gladly help her remember." Declan's chest was heaving and his hands were still curled into fists, locked at his sides. He looked at me again and I pleaded with my eyes for him not to do anything to make this situation any worse. I couldn't do this without him. He gave me one nod, an acknowledgment that he understood and would back off, for now.

"Now let's get you a seat right here next to the lovely Bobbi Jo. We need to have a little chat about how the rest of our time together is going to go and I think having you restrained might be in our best interest." He nodded at Rose, who went and retrieved another kitchen chair, bringing it to the living room and placing it facing mine. Linc nudged the gun against Declan's head until Declan was sitting in the seat. Rose then secured him to the chair as tightly as he had secured me.

Linc started to walk away when he stopped suddenly and stepped back. He cracked the gun against the side of Declan's head, sending it slamming into the back of the chair. "That's for being too damn pretty with your goddamn Irish accent and all. For showing up when you weren't wanted. Oh and for fucking my woman." Linc's insanity was a loose cannon banging around my life, smashing Declan, me, and any chance we might have of getting out of here. Rose howled with laughter next to me. The sick asshole really had become more sadistic over the years.

I screamed in horror watching Declan's head drop to his chest. Rose stopped laughing long enough to tell me to shut up. I watched as Declan's head lolled to the side for a moment. The blow had stunned him and it took some time for him to recover. Eventually he sat back up and his eyes met mine. A trickle of blood ran down his cheek from where the gun had hit his head. He managed a small smile but I could tell he was really hurt.

Tears streamed down my face as I looked at him. How had I let this horribleness into my life and into Declan's world as well? Would we get out of this hell alive? I wasn't so sure.

He spoke in a whisper. "Don't cry
a chroi
. I'm okay."

I whispered back. "I'm so sorry Declan. For all of this. So very sorry. I wish I could go back and fix things. I never meant for you to get mixed up in my old life." The guilt hurt almost as much as seeing Declan injured.

Rose barked. "Hey, Romeo and Juliet, Shut up," He upended the fresh beer he had just opened and guzzled half of it without pause before belching loudly and ambling out of the room.

They kept us tied to the chairs for quite a bit of time while they divided their time the next few hours between slipping into the kitchen to discuss their plans for us or get a new beer. Their departures were the only break in the painful monotony of our situation. Each time they left the room, we would try to make our own plans for escape. By midafternoon, things didn't look good.

I whispered to Declan. "What do you think is going on? They seem upset after that last phone call." I looked toward the kitchen where they had retreated again.

"I'm not sure. I caught a couple words before Linc left the room and I don't think things are going well with them making the deal with the Lazcanos." Declan continued working his arms and legs against the ropes but to no success. He said his head still pounded from the blow Linc gave him earlier, as did mine, but his eyes were more clear now. He assured me he would be okay.

Linc and Rose stormed back into the room. The last call they received must have really gone bad. "Here's the plan folks. We are all going to get some sleep because when morning comes, it'll be time to meet your destiny Bobbi Jo and we want you to be as fresh as can be. Rose and I are still not sure exactly what we'll do with lover boy yet but we'll worry about that tomorrow."

Linc walked over and cut my ropes, dragging me out of the chair and toward the stairs leading to the second floor. He stopped at the bottom, my arm twisted painfully behind me to keep me from escaping. "Rose is going to keep an eye on your boy toy and you and I are going to spend some quality time together upstairs." We started climbing the stairs and I fought against his iron grip on my arm to no avail. He was not letting me go. What the hell was I going to do to get out of this situation?

I could see Declan rage against his restraints once again with his entire body lunging hard against the ropes. He only stopped when Rose turned the gun on him. I heard Declan growl through clenched teeth. "If you fucking touch her, I will kill you. That is a promise." Declan's threat was met with another slam to his head from the butt of a gun. It was hard enough to make Declan pass out. I screamed his name once as Lincoln drug me the rest of the way up the stairs to my bedroom. I continued to struggle against his grip but did not slow him down in the least.

He kicked the door open throwing me onto the floor before kicking it closed again. The slam to the floor stunned me a bit but I recovered quickly, scrambling to my feet as fast as I could. I wasn't fast enough to get away from Linc though. He yanked me up from the ground enough for him to get both arms around me from behind, slamming me back against his body with a crushing force. I exhaled loudly as the breath was driven from my body. His arms felt like coiled steel around my body and I knew I wouldn't get away from him tonight.

Linc had kept a steady enough pace drinking with his brother and the stench of beer on his breath overtook me. I turned my head trying to find clean air but failing. Between my fear and nausea from being so close too him, I could barely catch my breath as it was, and the smell was making it worse.

His lips were at my ear now, his hot breath like sandpaper on my skin. "Calm down Bobbi Jo. I ain't gonna hurt you so just relax." In spite of his words I knew I was in grave danger. He continued to hold me in his arms, my body pressed hard back against him. And I could tell he was really enjoying holding me captive by the feel of him against my ass.

He spoke again. "I thought we could just talk a little. Get reacquainted as it were. I have missed you over the years, you know?" His arms were starting to relax a bit but his hands kept a hold of my arms, keeping me nearly immobile. "If I let you go, you need to promise not to scream or run or do anything else to annoy me. If you do, I will be forced to keep you quiet." To make his point more clear, he let go of one of my arms while he reached back and removed the gun from his back waistband and slid the barrel down my free arm.

I focused on calming my breath while the cold metal slid along my skin. Lincoln knew how to use the gun to scare the hell out of me without ever pulling the trigger. He had done it before and the memories of those moments flooded my mind.

I scrambled for my next move needed to be but my mind kept returning to Declan and the last image I had of his head slamming against the chair before he passed out. I hoped with everything I had for him to be okay. I knew, deep down, if I could help him at all now it would only be if I made it out of this room alive tonight.

"Okay. Linc. I'll be calm. I promise." He let me go and I walked to the chair in the corner of the room, sitting down on the edge of the seat and watching him.

He walked around the room looking inside all of my things but his eyes kept darting back to me. I watched him while my mind spun as I tried to think of any way out of this nightmare. After he had searched all the dresser drawers and such and found nothing, he must have been satisfied I had no weapon. I desperately missed my knife tonight. He flopped on the edge of my bed, his long legs stretched in front of him but the gun never wavering from pointing directly at me. "So let's catch up Bobbi Jo. How about you tell me what happened to you all those years ago? How the hell did you get out of Winchester and disappear?" His dark eyes sparked for a brief moment, a mixture of curiosity, anger, and pride swirling through them.

I kept my face void of emotion and spoke in clipped tones. "I'd rather not talk about that." His face flushed with annoyance and I wondered if my overconfidence had just gotten me in more trouble. I clamped my mouth shut to keep from saying anything else.

He sat up moving his arms onto his thighs and using the gun to punctuate his words as he hissed at me. "Listen, you little bitch. This situation can go one of two ways tonight." He smiled slightly at the fear I'm sure he saw fill my face. "We can have a nice conversation and catch up on the years we were apart or things can get more physical between us. Now, I know I wouldn't mind that second option, but would you?" His threat made my heart nearly pound out of my chest but I forced myself to remain calm. At that same moment, Linc stood and started toward me. I pushed back as far as I could in the chair but couldn't go very far, obviously.