Chapter 4

I ran down the mountain trail as fast as I could, grabbing a fistful of mud on the way and smearing it all over my face.

This time I was going to be ugly and stinking, so there was no chance of getting targeted again.

Colt's phone kept buzzing in my bag.

It was Bree,【Babe, I'll be there in ten minutes! You need to get Wren taken care of ASAP. Best if you trick her into stripping for some bondage, and then we just don't untie her and toss snakes and bugs and rats all over her. What do you think?】

I laughed. Great idea, Bree. I'd already used it on Colt.

I texted back, 【Sure, whatever my Bree wants. Hurry up, I can't wait!】

I can't wait to watch you two get brutalized by killers!

I'd barely hit send when I spotted three men sneaking around in the brush ahead.

One of them was bald. I knew him in a heartbeat. Last life, his name had been all over the news and the courtroom coverage, Dale Kessler. The man the other two called Big D. He was the one who'd hurt me the worst. After all three of them were done, Big D still wasn't finished, and he picked up a branch off the ground.. Just thinking about it made my teeth chatter.

I swallowed my terror. I held my breath and eased behind a big old oak, hiding.

A guy in glasses, the one they called Specs, muttered, "Big D, this place is fucking remote! You sure there's any marks out here worth robbing?"

The buzz-cut one, Buzz, snapped back, "You doubting Big D? You want to die? Don't forget, without Big D none of us would've busted out of the pen!"

Big D hadn't said a word the whole time, just kept his head down, wiping his blade. Then suddenly he spoke, "Shut up! Somebody's nearby!"

I went stiff and held my breath.

Did he find me? I dug my nails into my palm, trying not to shake from fear…

Then a familiar voice rang out from the trail ahead. "What is this dump? Colt, do we seriously need to be this remote just to do it in the woods?"

Bree was panting, walking along a side path. She was in a white sundress that made her calves look smooth and pale, and I could see the three convicts in the brush staring at her like they'd been hit by lightning.

Bree wiped the sweat off her forehead and angrily started typing. A second later, the phone in my hand buzzed, 【Colt, where is your tent?? It's so hard to walk up here!】

My hands were trembling as I typed back, 【Midway up the mountain, under a huge old oak. Come on up!】

Bree pouted and kept going, grumbling under her breath. "Stupid Colt, when I see you, if you don't let me torture Wren to my heart's content, don't ever think I'm talking to you again!" She hiked her skirt up in one hand and kept walking.

Behind her, Specs was practically drooling. Big D gave him a look, and he took off after her.

Ten minutes later he came sprinting back, out of breath. "Big D! There's a tent up there! Food! Easy targets! Besides the pretty woman, there's a good-looking naked guy tied to a tree, all pale and smooth! Way better than those filthy hairy bastards in the pen! I say after we take their cash we do the woman, and the guy too… hahaha!"

Big D, who'd barely said a word until now, finally picked up the machete, its blade flashing cold. He gave a slow, ugly smile and said one word, "Go."

I clapped a hand over my mouth, holding down the terror and the thrill rising in my chest, and watched them head up the mountain.

This was so good. So, so good. The payback for this rotten couple was finally on its way!