CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“Teddy?” Dixie called out.
Teddy’s gaze turned toward us, and the self-assured look on his face instantly faded. “Dixie? Summer? What the hell are you doin’ here?”
“What are you doin’ here, Teddy?” Dixie asked, but the dismay in her voice gave away her fear. “You’re selling drugs?”
Cale started to laugh. “Teddy Baumgartner. I never would have expected it. I guess that explains the extra cash you’ve been spending on your farm.”
His eyes hardened. “Gotta do what I gotta to do to take care of my family.”
Cale’s eyebrows rose. “Funny you should mention that.”
“Why’s my family here, Cale?”
“They’re far too nosy.”
Disappointment filled Teddy’s eyes. “I told you to leave it alone, Summer. Why the fuck didn’t you listen to me?”
“Why the fuck are you supplyin’ drugs to lowlifes like Cale Malone and Ryker Pelletier?” Dixie asked in disgust.
Teddy pointed to the door. “I want them gone, Malone.”
“Not gonna happen, Baumgartner. They know too much, and I don’t trust your cousin one iota.”
“Then no deal.”
“Dixie won’t talk,” I said. “She’s used to keepin’ secrets. Keep me, let her and Bill go.”
Cale’s face hardened. “Everybody stays.”
Teddy looked like he was about argue, then said, “Fine. Let’s get this deal ironed out.”
Cale nodded. “Now we’re talkin’.”
Teddy turned all business. “I head up to Atlanta twice a month to get a new shipment. I’ll give it to you at the same price I offered Pelletier.”
“I’ll pay five percent less,” Cale said.
“Five percent and we send Dixie out of here right now.”
Cale grinned. “Ten percent less and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Teddy gave me an apologetic grimace. “Done.”
“What?” Dixie wailed. “No!”
I grabbed her arm and gave her a shove toward the door through which we’d entered. “Dixie, go.”
Cale moved in front of her, blocking her path. “You will keep everything that happened here to yourself. If anyone walks in through that door, I’m shootin’ your brother and then your cousin,” he said, aiming the gun at me while he spoke. “Have I made myself perfectly clear?”
She nodded as tears streamed down her face. “I hate you, Cale. If you hurt them—”
“Don’t piss me off with meaningless threats, Dixie. I suggest you get out of here before I change my mind.”
She looked back at me with guilt-filled eyes.
“I’ll be okay,” I lied. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. Go.” I expected Luke to show up any minute, but now I worried what would happen if he did.
I pushed out a sigh of relief when Dixie walked out the door, and Teddy’s face relaxed a bit.
“Summer.” Teddy reached out his hand to me, and I started to walk toward him.
“She stays where she is,” Cale said in a cold voice.
I lifted my hands in surrender. “I’m fine here. Just get your deal done.” I cast a glance back at Bill, who looked like he was about to crap his pants. I understood why he was worried. He didn’t have anyone fighting for him.
Teddy and Cale discussed delivery dates and how the shipments were never the same, but always a mix of prescription drugs that included Adderall, Xanax, and Oxy. When they reached an agreement, Teddy looked Cale in the eye. “I have a shipment I planned to sell to Ryker right outside this door. I’m ready to make a deal right now. You got the cash?”
Cale grinned. “Eager, huh?”
Teddy didn’t respond.
“Okay,” Cale said. “I’m ready to do this now. Summer, go get his supply. And you better come back or Teddy’s a dead man.”
I’d never hated anyone like I hated him right now. “Unlike you, Cale Malone, I believe in loyalty.”
“Save the lectures, Summer,” Cale said as though exhausted, “and get the drugs.”
I cast Teddy a worried look, but part of me was so pissed at him I wanted to kill him myself if we survived this mess.
I walked out the door into the dark room and nearly screamed when I bumped right into Luke.
He covered my mouth with my hand, then pulled me into his arms and leaned in to my ear. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Jesus, Summer.” His hold tightened.
“What’s takin’ so long?” Cale called out from the room.
I pushed Luke’s hand away and said in a loud voice, “I’m lookin’ for it.”
“It should be to your right,” Teddy shouted.
I stared into Luke’s terrified eyes, fighting the urge to cry, then whispered, “Teddy’s makin’ a drug deal with Cale.”
“I know.” He sounded defeated, and I realized he was holding a small black bag in his hand. “You have a choice, Summer,” he whispered, but his tone sounded ominous.
“What are you talking about?”
“Teddy’s workin’ with the sheriff as an informant—I didn’t know until about five minutes ago—but he needs this deal to go through to nail Cale.”
The relief I felt was palpable. My cousin wasn’t a bad guy. I’d been right to believe in him. “I have to go back in there.”
Luke grabbed my upper arms and held me in place. “No. You don’t.”
“Yeah. I do,” I said more calmly than I felt. “I have to. For Teddy and for me.”
“This is dangerous, Summer.”
It was, and Teddy would do it for me. In a heartbeat. “I know.” I snatched the bag from him, then turned around and went inside.
Cale looked furious. “Where the hell were you, Summer?”
“I couldn’t find it. I think Dixie must have kicked it on her way out.”
Cale reached for it, but I had no idea how this was supposed to work, so I shoved it at Teddy.
Bill was still in the corner, his camera tucked under his arm. He looked like a statue.
Teddy unzipped the bag and dumped the contents on the chair. Two bags full of pills landed on the seat.
“The goin’ price is two thousand,” Teddy said.
“Eighteen hundred with my discount for not killin’ your sister.”
“What about my cousin?”
Cale held his gaze. “Eighteen hundred.”
Teddy put out his arm and pushed me behind him, but I stood to the side so I could see. “Fine. Where’s the money?”
Cale reached into the top pocket of his shirt and pulled out a folded-over envelope that looked all too familiar. The last time I’d seen it was in a brown paper bag.
“That doesn’t look thick enough to be carryin’ eighteen hundred dollars,” Teddy said.
“That’s because it’s not. It’s a deposit of five hundred. I’ll get you the rest once I make a few sales.”
He held out the envelope, and Teddy snatched it from him. “I look forward to doing business with you.”
Cale gave Teddy a questioning look, suspicion covering his face. “No argument?”
“I just want to make sure Summer’s safe.” Then he glanced over at Bill. “And him too. No one needs to get hurt here. We’re all adults. We know how to keep our mouths shut.”
Cale shook his head. “You know that’ll never work. Dixie’s good at secrets. She never told a soul who sold her boyfriend those drugs, but him . . .” He turned his gun and attention on Bill. “I don’t know shit about him.”
My heart jolted when I heard a gunshot, quickly followed by another. Everything was happening too fast for me to follow.
Bill fell to the floor, his camera banging on the concrete. He lay sprawled on his side, not moving.
I screamed as Teddy shoved me to the ground and then fell on top of me.
There was movement behind us, and I realized Luke was in the room, holding a gun on Cale.
Cale’s left arm was bleeding, but he was holding a gun on Luke.
My heart leaped into my throat, and I felt like I was going to throw up. Oh, please let Luke be okay. I couldn’t lose him again—not like this.
“Cale,” Luke said. His voice was calm, but I saw the tension on his face. “Just put the gun down.”
“No. No way. If I put this gun down, it’s all over for me.” Cale pivoted and pointed the gun at me and Teddy, his arm shaking. “I’ll shoot her, Luke. I’ll empty this gun into the both of them to make sure I kill her.”
“And you know I’ll kill you, Cale. Before you even get off the last shot.”
A bitter smile lit up Cale’s face. “That’s a chance I’m willing to take. Are you?”
Luke’s eyes filled with indecision.
Bill moaned in the back corner, but Luke kept his gaze on Cale. “Why are you doin’ this, Cale? You’re a good man.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that being a good man doesn’t mean shit. And we both know we can’t make squat in this town.”
“Then move to Birmingham. Or Atlanta. Don’t start supplying drugs to addicts.”
Cale released a sharp laugh. “Hey, job security, right? Besides, you and I both know that addicts will get drugs no matter what. I might as well be the one makin’ money off it.”
“And killin’ people?”
“An unfortunate consequence.”
“An unfortunate consequence,” Luke repeated in disgust, then straightened his arm with a new determination hardening his eyes. “Don’t make yourself another unfortunate consequence, Cale.”
He grinned. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about Summer.”
The two men held their guns on each other for two more seconds.
Bill released another moan, and Luke said, “I’m willing to let you walk, but you can’t hurt anyone else. You just take your drugs and get the fuck out of here.”
Triumph filled Cale’s eyes, but he looked down at the bag, then back at me. “Summer’s gonna put this back in the bag.”
“No fucking way,” Luke grunted.
But I was already trying to shove Teddy off me. “Let me up, Teddy.”
“No.”
I elbowed him hard in the stomach, then took advantage of his momentary shock to scramble out from under him.
Luke started to protest, but I held up my hands and slowly walked toward the chair. “Let me do this and we can send Cale on his way.”
Luke swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, as he watched me reach for the first bag of pills. I stuffed it into the larger bag and then did the same with the second. After I zipped up the bigger bag, I held it up, facing Cale. “Is this what you want? Was this bag full of pills worth three people’s lives?”
An ugly grin spread across his pale face. His arm was covered in blood, and a small puddle had collected on the floor beneath him. “We’re gonna take a walk to my car, and then I’ll let you go.”
“You think I believe that?” I asked, outrage overriding my fear. “You just stood there a few minutes ago and told me I was smart.”
“I guess that’s the chance you’ll have to take,” he said, but I could see he was starting to wobble.
He was standing about three feet from me, his gun pointed at my chest. I knew in my gut if I went with him, he’d shoot me just to hurt Luke. He’d already killed three people and injured another. What was one more?
I took a step toward him, holding the bag of drugs in my clenched fist. “You want this bag, Cale?” I said, as my anger continued to build. “Here’s your fucking bag!” Then I swung the bag upward, putting my whole body into the move as I aimed for his arm.
The gun went off, and I ducked on instinct, but the ricocheting sound told me the bullet must have hit a metal beam above us. Cale lost his balance and stumbled as his gun went flying into the air.
“Son of a bitch!” Luke yelled and rushed past me to tackle Cale to the floor.
Seconds later, several sheriff’s deputies ran into the room with guns raised, but Luke already had Cale pinned to the ground.
Adrenaline flowed through my veins, and I stomped closer to Cale, ignoring the hatred in his eyes. I put a hand on my hip and pointed my finger at him. “Gotcha!, you asshole.”
Luke glanced up at me with an expression that vacillated between relief, admiration, and anger. But admiration won out, and he grinned. “Yeah, you did.”