“Nothing? What do you mean nothing?”
“Patience, brother. One thing you learn inside is patience. Good things come to those willing to wait. We’ll get our orders soon.”
“I thought the reason we were observing Eureka was because you wanted to go over there. You don’t now?”
“Look at how that has worked for others. No, they’ll come to us. We’ll head back home and get some more supplies. Then wait for our orders. If they don’t come to us, we’ll go to them and destroy their homes.” That would be a start. He wanted to strip them of everything they had and make them suffer for their crimes against his flesh and blood. “They’ll have to do some runs for supplies and when they do, we’ll be waiting. Right now they think they have the upper hand. They think they’re untouchable. That fire last night made it clear they aren’t. The people will be looking to their leaders for answers, reassurance. Like we were instructed. Let’s make sure they can’t give it.”
He exhaled a lungful of smoke and smiled at his brother.
Life on the outside was about to get really interesting.
“God, it’s good to be back in the saddle,” he declared.
Chapter Nine
Three months. Three months of observing from afar, biding her time, patiently waiting for him to show up alone. And here he was, like clockwork, crawling into town like the cockroach he was. He’d returned to the same place to get his dick wet because no real woman would willingly let a creep like that get close. The sight of him sickened her. Days, weeks and months had passed since he’d bumped her off that dirt road, stripped and humiliated her. Her memories were still vague and that’s why she’d told the family that he hadn’t raped her.
But he had.
He was guilty and deserved to die.
Miriam loaded a magazine into the Glock 19, and put a round in the chamber. She sat in an abandoned Ford sedan and watched Seth look both ways before he slipped into the shady spa that was known to be a house of ill repute. “Got you,” she whispered.
She’d told her family the reason she was staying with her mother while they moved into Eureka was because she pitied Martha and didn’t want her to be alone. But that was a lie. She despised her. Hated being there and watching her drink herself to sleep every night, or listening to her whine about how her family had abandoned her. At no point did she thank her or say she appreciated her staying at the farm.
No. The reason she stayed was because of this. With family around they were always on her case, watching her every move, expecting her to strike out at the Stricklands after what was done to her. That’s why she waited so long. It would be worth it. And besides, time had allowed her to learn more about Seth’s day-to-day activities. He was a creature of habit. A diseased rodent that frequented the same areas of town every few days. When he wasn’t getting laid, he was getting drunk, exchanging drugs for other supplies, or returning to his home north of Alderpoint Road.
She’d contemplated visiting him there, entering while he slept off the alcohol. Stabbing him in his sleep but that was too good for him. He wouldn’t know what had hit him if he was asleep and she wanted him to know.
She wanted him to feel the terror she’d felt when his brothers stripped her and he straddled her and pummeled her with his fists. She wanted to stare into his eyes and see fear. She wanted him to beg for mercy before she extinguished his life.
After, she would hide his body.
She wouldn’t make the same mistake Alby made.
No, that would bring the Stricklands down on her family and with the agreement her mother had made, that would only reignite the feud, if it even needed reigniting. She sneered and looked over to the passenger seat to a long piece of leather. She unfolded it to reveal a gleaming machete.
“Time to pay.” Miriam scooped it up and got out of the vehicle.
She’d left Kane at the house with Alby. As much as she adored the dog, she couldn’t bring him along. This had to be done fast.
She pulled up the hood on her jacket and jogged over to the side door and opened it. Miriam glanced up to see they hadn’t replaced the bells she’d stolen from the place a few days earlier. Miriam had already scoped the place out. The first time she’d entered, the bells above the door let out a shrill to alert the owner. She couldn’t have that happening. So, on the way out, she’d taken the bells with her.
Inside, it stank like bad body odor. It wasn’t the typical spa that advertised outside. It was next door to a Chinese takeout, and the previous owners had left behind all the food to rot. The odor now filled the air surrounding the building. It smelled like someone had died.
There were a few metal chairs with torn gray cushions in a waiting area, a front desk with a bell and a sign that said to ring for assistance. There was a computer, and a menu on the back wall that listed the various massage treatments. None said sex but most locals knew it was offered.
Miriam removed her shoes to deaden the sound of her approach on the hardwood floor. She could hear a woman talking suggestively to him as he grunted, and a table sounded like it was getting bent out of shape. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly. All her brothers and sisters had killed someone at one time or another except for her. What would it be like? Could she live with herself? The moment she began to think that way, her thoughts returned to that day.
The thump of the
