Dirty South Drug Wars (11 page)

“What’s going on?” Lucy asked.

“I think the Montgomerys have Josie.” I tried to call her once more, cussing below my breath. The call went to voicemail yet again. “Some guy took her phone. They’re at the old train station. He wants me, you, and Peyton to meet him there.”

“Shit!” Brodie dropped to his knees, reached into the pool, and yanked on the rope that drooped from the side of the raft.

He began shaking Peyton and screaming his name. Peyton continued to snore. Brodie grabbed the side of the raft and hoisted it over, dumping Peyton into the water.

Peyton broke the surface, coughing and sputtering. Pure shock, then anger contorted his face. The tousled curls on his head were plastered against his face. The eyeliner melted down his cheeks and neck leaving a wavering black mess on his skin.

“What the hell, man?” His eyes locked on Brodie’s in accusation.

“The Montgomerys have Josie at the old train station! Let’s go!” Brodie yelled, his voice tinged in panic.

Peyton’s anger dissipated. Sluggishly, he made his way to the pool steps. His clothes clung to his body as he emerged from the water.

“Call everyone!” Brodie bellowed over his shoulder, darting behind Peyton and jumping into his truck.

He spun down the long driveway. The truck veered wildly at an alarming speed. I cringed, terrified of my frantic cousins crashing the vehicle in their haste.

Lucy and Mia tapped at the screens on their phones, alerting everyone of what was going on. I was too frantic to call anyone. My hands trembled at the possibility of Josie being injured. Lucy relayed that she sent a group text to everyone in her phone as the three of us darted across the lawn, easily crawling into my Jeep since the top was off. The air smelled of rain, but I didn’t have it in me to worry about a possible downpour at that moment.

“Are you all right to drive?” Mia asked.

I nodded glumly, my thoughts on Josie. At that moment, I swore on my father’s grave if someone hurt her I’d kill them. My body was on autopilot as I changed gears and shoved my foot against the gas pedal.

Pushing the Jeep to the limit, we flew down the old country roads toward the train station, which stood near the edge of town near the Tenn-Tom. The wind slapped my hair across my face leaving it stinging and sore.

The station had been abandoned years ago, becoming a hangout for the local kids. An ancient Coke machine still stood on the platform, faded and rusty in its old age. A dozen or so cars and trucks sat on each side of the lot. Mayhaw kids were on one side and the unfamiliar kids from Birchwood were on the other.

I maneuvered around the familiar-looking vehicles of the kids I went to high school with. Josie’s truck was parked precariously near the train station, her driver’s side door slightly ajar. I could tell the vehicle was abandoned by the dim light that shone from inside.

Brodie’s large red truck was parked next to it. As we pulled up to the station, headlights shone against my rearview mirror. Vehicles flowed in as I parked next to where Brodie and Peyton stood. I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Brodie’s arm wrapped around a sobbing Josie, and my heart wrenched for her.

In the middle of the dirt parking lot stood two guys, one of whom I recognized immediately. He was the same shaggy-haired boy from the party in Birchwood, the same shaggy-haired boy from the party in Oak Bluff … the same shaggy-haired boy who Lucy claimed was the man of her dreams. Chance Hayes.

Standing beside him was another guy around my age. He was about six feet tall with dark blond hair slicked back against his head, making him look like a younger version of a shade-tree car salesman. The evil glint in his eyes caused me to swallow nervously. He and Chance glared distastefully in Brodie’s direction.

I found myself scanning the many faces of the other kids who stood behind them, searching in vain for Tanner. I hoped he was there so I could get one more look at him. But I was also terrified to see him as well. If he was there and didn’t already know my true identity, he would by the end of the night. The truth of that weighed heavily on me, and I was overcome with simultaneous relief and sadness that he wasn’t among the large group of kids facing us.

I grabbed the handle of the door and shot my sister a firm stare. Lucy stared straight ahead at Chance. Her face no longer showed happiness and yearning. Only hatred and vengeance shone.

“Lucy, stay in the Jeep,” I commanded.

Lucy nodded minutely, but it only made me doubtful.

Mia clambered over the seat, following me out of the Jeep. I grabbed Josie’s hand, tugging her away from my burly cousin’s arms. She murmured my name, throwing her arms around me. Her makeup was smeared, leaving dark shadows under her eyes. Josie’s body trembled in my arms as I gave her a tight hug.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked, my voice muffled against her neck.

“We were hanging out on the platform when they pulled up.” She withdrew herself from my arms and swiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “They demanded I call Brodie and Peyton. When they didn’t answer, they told me to call you.”

“What do they want?”

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me. They just said they needed to talk.” She shrugged, shuddering slightly. “The one guy was pretty rough, grabbing my arm, but Chance stopped him.”

“What the hell do you want, Drew?” Brodie bellowed, walking away from us and creeping toward the two guys in the middle of the lot. “Why did you call us down here?”

The guy with the slicked-back hair gave Brodie a menacing grin and a dark chuckle. “Why did I call y’all down here? You mean you don’t know? I called you down here because of the broken boundary rules.”

My heart stopped. Josie’s eyes met mine as soon as the words left Drew’s mouth. The blood drained from my face and Josie’s as well. Cold terror consumed me.

Had we been caught?

Brodie approached the opposing group, stopping just a few feet shy of where Drew stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “What are you talking about? We didn’t break the boundary rules. And what’s it to you even if we did? You’re not a Montgomery.”

“No, I’m not a Montgomery. But I do work for them. You honestly don’t know about the boundary rules being broken? And I didn’t say the
Monroe
family broke the boundary rules. Think back, about two years ago.” Drew raised an eyebrow in my direction.

The group of Mayhaw kids surrounding us turned to stare at me. I was overcome with simultaneous relief and embarrassment—relief because our rendezvous in Birchwood remained a secret, and embarrassment because I’d thought for the past two years no one, outside my family, knew what had happened between my mother and Davis.

“Is that her? Is that Rue Monroe?” A sinister smile curled on Drew’s lips.

“What do you want with her?” Brodie’s face burned red, his fists clenched at his sides. “Rue’s not her mother’s keeper. She had nothing to do with what her mother did. And it was the Montgomerys who broke the boundary rule, not the Monroe family.”

“Who broke what rule doesn’t matter. The fact remains that the rules
were
broken, which is what brings me here tonight.” Drew’s mischievous stare never wavered from my face. “I’m here on Tanner Montgomery’s behalf.”

At the mention of Tanner’s name, my heart flipped inside my chest.

“Tanner Montgomery?” Brodie wrinkled his brow. “What the hell does he want?”

“He wants to give y’all a heads up. He’s coming to town soon, and he wants to remind y’all that all the rules are off the table now. The rules have been off the table for a while. You can’t do shit about him being in Mayhaw.”

“He’s coming to Mayhaw? Is that some sort of threat? What are you, a Montgomery gopher?” Peyton’s body betrayed his enraged voice. My cousin shook like a leaf.

“I’d rather be a Montgomery gopher than be associated with a Monroe any day,” Drew said. “You people, you’re nobody. Amos’ still pedaling dime-bag weed when the Montgomerys have moved on to far greater things.”

“What does he want in Mayhaw? What business does he have here?” Brodie demanded, causing Drew and Chance to laugh.

“I’m not sure, but the rumor is he has a hankering to meet the daughter of the man who murdered his father,” Drew replied, sneering.

Drew and Chance snickered and Brodie muttered a low curse. My heart lurched in my chest, sweat beading on my forehead.

“Is he planning on
hurting
me?” I asked.

“Hurting you? No, I have a feeling his intentions for you are completely dishonorable, but they have nothing to do with
hurting
you.” Drew snorted at his own words, and Chance soon joined in.

The two of them shared a good laugh at my expense. Drew’s innuendo hung in the air, and my mouth fell open in shock.

“You son of a bitch. You tell Tanner Montgomery to stay away from Rue!” Brodie screamed. He launched himself at Drew, smashing his beefy fist into the side of Drew’s face.

All hell broke loose as guys from both sides of the lot ran forward cussing and screaming. Their bodies slammed into one another and they were lost in a sea of swinging arms and legs. I lurched forward, but was quickly held back by Josie, Mia, and even Lucy, who, of course, had exited the Jeep against my wishes. I screamed for the fight to stop, struggling to get away.

Through the fighting, screaming, and dust billowing around from the massive scuffle in front of us, my attention was somehow drawn to an old, black muscle car. The body style told me it was a seventies model Mustang. The surface was sleek and shone in the moonlight. It was beautiful, and whoever owned it took good care of it, perhaps rebuilding the car himself. Only people with money and time owned a car like the one across the lot.

Jerking away from the girls, I stalked in the direction of the Mustang. I weaved between the scuffling gang of teens who paid me little attention.

“Get out of there and face me, you jerk.” I pounded on the glass with each word. “You wanna see me? Well, here I am. Get out and face me like a man.”

I didn’t expect him to actually get out of the car, so when he did I stumbled back in shock. The door swung open and there he stood in all his sexy, angry glory. All six-plus feet of him smirked down at me as he slammed the door behind him. The courage I had built up while crossing the lot dwindled away with each step he took forward.

I glanced over one shoulder at the lot, hoping someone noticed the two of us standing there, but no one paid us any attention. The girls couldn’t be seen through the mass of fighting, angry boys, and the boys were only concerned with slugging and swearing, kicking and spitting.

Tanner continued to stalk forward. “We need to talk, Moon Goddess. Or should I call you Rue?”

I turned to run, but he grabbed me, pulling me against his chest and cupping his hand over my mouth before I could scream. Terror gripped me, images of my father resting in a casket triggering a new fear. He dragged me backward toward the old wooden building. I kicked up dust and attempted to hit him, but he was too strong. Like a rag doll, I went limp, but he dragged me along like I weighed nothing. Pulling me behind the building, he hid us from the outside world.

As soon as the two of us were hidden from view he released me, gently pushing me against the rugged wooden boards of the aged train station. I stared up at him in fear, terrified of what he had planned for me. But he no longer looked angry. Tanner rubbed his forehead, an internal struggle wrinkling his brow.

“Why? Why did you lie to me about who you were?” His quiet voice was barely audible over the rumble of thunder in the distance.

“To avoid this.” I gestured between us. “Being seen together isn’t safe for either of us.”

I pressed my back against the building as he stalked closer to me. He placed his hands flat on either side of the wall beside me, enclosing me, his lips twisting into a smile.

“You were protecting us? Protecting
me
.”

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “Protecting
myself
.”

“You said being seen together isn’t safe for
either of us
.”

“You misunderstood.” I tried to shove past him, no longer afraid but irritated by his smugness.

He placed his hands on my shoulders, pinning me against the building. The smile faded and he bit his lip, releasing it slowly from between his teeth. “When did you realize who I was, huh? Did you know when you walked out of the party that night? Did you know before I stepped onto that pier?”

His absurd words caught me off guard and I dropped my arms, shaking my head. “No, I didn’t know who you were. How could I when we’d only met one time as kids? If it weren’t for this stupid tattoo …” I grabbed his arm and flipped it over, scowling at the word.

“You wanna know what I think?” Tanner cupped my cheek and I froze, whether from shock or fear, I wasn’t sure. “I think you knew
exactly
who I was when you saw me at that party. And you ran, knowing I’d follow.”

I knocked his hand away, my stomach queasy from his accusation. “You think I tricked you? Like you tricked me tonight, kidnapping my cousin and luring me down here? I didn’t know you were a Montgomery until I saw your tattoo. And I didn’t know
which
Montgomery you were until you asked me to stop crying. It’s the same thing you told me after my father’s funeral. If I’d known it was you—”