cold, bare concrete floor. Every bone, every joint ached as he scooted back to lean against the dirty, nasty, grease-stained wall. He’d managed to find an abandoned garage space away from town. It had taken far longer to reach the outskirts of Shiloh Springs than he’d planned. Turns out Shiloh Springs wasn’t some little Podunk town in the middle of nowhere, it was also the name of the county, a lot of which was covered by nothing but dirt, trees, and a bunch of dead-looking bushes.
Getting this far had been a chore, one he hadn’t anticipated. Turns out, most people in Texas were leery about picking up hitchhikers. Who’d have thought it? After all, Texans were supposed to be friendly, kind, and courteous to strangers. Ha, what a crock! Only two cars had stopped the entire time he’d been walking with his thumb out, and he’d ended up hoofing it most of the way.
When he wasn’t hiding.
Every bone ached from lying on the hard, cold concrete. Of course, it was still better than sleeping outside. One more thing he could lay at Beth’s feet. One more black mark she’d pay for when he caught up to her. Her ledger contained page after page of black tally marks, and he’d make sure she’d pay for each one.
Brushing off his wrinkled clothes as best he could in the diffused morning light spilling through the filthy windows, he stared at the pattern of sunlight sparkling on the broken glass sprinkled along the ground, projecting prisms of light against dirty, graffiti-stained walls.
“I can’t believe I’ve sunk this low. Scrounging around dumps like this for a place to sleep. No food, no water. Not even a pot to piss in.”
With a last frowning look around, he stepped outside, shielding his eyes with his hand, letting them adjust to the sudden change in lighting. Taking a deep breath, he stretched, loosening up his muscles. His mind whirled, thoughts bouncing around like bingo balls in one of those automated hoppers, while scene after scene of what he’d do when he caught up with Beth raced through his head. A crooked smile tugged at his lips with every image, each nastier than the one before.
He knew he couldn’t simply walk up to her in the middle of town. There’d be far too many people around. Besides, she’d feel safe with her friends and family around her. Not to mention those blasted Boudreaus. Especially that scum-sucking sheriff and his equally pesky brother. He really wanted to meet Rafe Boudreau in a dark alley. Give him five minutes and he’d eliminate him, painfully and finally.
And Tessa. Oh, sweet little Tessa owed him big time. Most of the blame for his current dilemma lay directly at Tessa’s door. If she’d given him the Crowley County bond, he’d be living the good life in another country, instead of having been sentenced to decades behind bars. And while he was at it, he might as well add his attorney to the list of people who needed to pay for betraying him. Camilla ended up finding somebody to take his case, because she felt horrible he was behind bars. She was sweet and naïve, totally gullible, and believed every word out of his mouth. Hook, line, and sinker.
And the idiot lawyer? More like a mouse who’d convinced him to take a plea bargain, promising he’d get a slap on the wrist. Oh, yeah, he needed to pay, too.
Scanning the horizon, there was nothing except trees tangled with brush and weeds as far as he could see. The night before, he’d walked until he was ready to drop before stumbling upon this abandoned garage space. The stench of oil and gasoline lingered in the air, stale yet pungent, even though it was apparent the place hadn’t been used in years. But it had one advantage that made it perfect. It was close to Shiloh Springs, and that’s what mattered. Too bad he didn’t know how to hotwire a car, or he’d have made it here a heck of a lot sooner.
In the end, none of that mattered, though. Today was looking up. Soon he’d have everything he wanted.
Money.
Freedom.
But, more than either of those things, the one thing driving him forward was finally in his grasp—vengeance.
Beth made her way to the kitchen after her shower. Her hair was still damp, and she’d borrowed a set of clothes from Nica, not wanting to put on the clothes from the night before. She absently ran a comb through