with the belief and confidence in Gunny’s gaze. “He ain’t walkin’ out of here. Hell, he ain’t crawlin’ out of here. He ain’t breathin’ out of here.” He untwisted and faced Sallabrook. “Old man dies here. Like I said before, you and me are on the same page, brother.”
Sallabrook coughed. Bane watched his body jerking with the effort, wishing for an instant he’d pressed a little harder on the man’s neck.
“I’ll be back in a minute, Bane.”
The door opened and closed at Bane’s back. He didn’t take his gaze off Sallabrook, watching as the man’s eyes opened, pupils wide and dark. The old man’s head rocked back, and he stared at the ceiling. “You took my boys.” Coughs wracked him, nearly stole the words as he rasped out a whisper. “Took my girl, too.”
“She took herself out of here.” He allowed himself a single step towards Sallabrook, his feet straining to move farther. “The fuck kind of shit you runnin’ up here? What were you even doin’ goin’ back to her old man? What’d you expect to get outta the deal? Did you go there hopin’ to get your money back? I know you bought her from her father, low-life piece of shit.”
“Made me angry. I came home and she was gone. Hadn’t made supper.” Sallabrook flexed his muscles, pulling at the restraints. “I went to her daddy because I thought she’d run home. She weren’t there.” Sallabrook laughed, breaking off in the middle with wracking coughs. “He give me the boy. The other one hitched a ride in the back of my truck. Didn’t find him until after I got up the mountain. Figured it was divine intervention.”
Bane’s fist connected with the side of Sallabrook’s face, the club ring on his middle finger splitting open the flesh over the man’s eyebrow. Blood welled immediately, looking dark, an unhealthy maroon color in the shadows. Like the motherfucker’s poisoned, inside and out. “Divine intervention my ass, motherfucker.”
“Ow, shit.” Sallabrook shook his head and stared up at Bane, apparently shocked at being struck. “The hell you go and do that for?” He blinked against the steady flow of blood coming from his forehead. “Shit.”
“You still pissed, old man?”
“Hell yeah, I’m still pissed. More so now.” Sallabrook lifted his chin and scowled at Bane.
“Took the boys and dumped them in the barn.”
Sallabrook’s smile smeared blood across his teeth. “Not all I did.” He turned his face to the side and spat red. “But you already know that. Why don’t you just kill me. Took my property. I can’t run the place by myself. Might as well finish the job.”
Bane leaned close and let saliva pool in his mouth. He waited a beat, until Sallabrook’s gaze settled back on him, then spat in his face. The man smiled wider as the viscous liquid slid down his cheek.
“I’m gonna finish it, old man. Rest assured you’re gonna die today. Slow and long, and painful.” The door opened, and he watched Sallabrook’s eyes dart back and forth, unsure where to settle his gaze. “It’s me you gotta worry about, motherfucker. Keep your goddamned eyes on me. Tell me what your plan was for the boys. What you intended to do.”
“Didn’t ask for ’em. Figured I’d use what God saw fit to put in my path. The girl left. She left all her work to me. They were supposed to take care of the animals and garden. All her chores, seemed right to have her brothers deal with what she’d abandoned.”
“And you goin’ after Luke? That part of your plan?” Bane slammed his boot between Sallabrook’s thighs, grinding the steel toe deep into his crotch. “Heard Thad protected him like a good brother. Then you took it farther.”
“Boy wasn’t respectful. Boy should respect his elders.” Sallabrook’s head rocked back again, tendons straining in his neck. “Like you give a shit about trash like them.”
A memory of Myrt swam across Bane’s vision, the fear when she’d talked about how Sallabrook owned her and could order her back. Bane had spoken truth to her about the common law lack in Kentucky, but he hadn’t known about the child at the time. If she birthed it, Sallabrook could take the child. She might not want it, he reminded himself, going over Vanna’s words in his head. Her choice, either way. Her choice, not Sallabrook’s. Fuck him. His fist blasted against the side of Sallabrook’s head again, the ring catching along the cheekbone this time, splitting the flesh to the bone