Jolene shook with hatred. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to fetch you.”
Of all the things Jolene might have expected to hear, this hadn’t been among them. “Fetch me? What am I, a fucking dog? You gonna throw me a stick? Make me do some fuckin’ tricks? The fuck are you talking about, whore?”
Myra chuckled. “Let me ask you a question or two, Jolene.” She came several steps closer to Jolene, with the ease that comes from supreme confidence. Jolene gulped. She wished she could slip through the wall behind her back, just step through it like a ghost. The need to be away from Myra was sudden and intense.
There was something…wrong…something very wrong with her baby’s girlfriend, something she sensed on a primal level. It was palpable, rolling off her like Louisiana swamp stink. Her eyes watered and she began to feel nauseated. How had she never sensed this wrongness before?
Myra was standing over her now.
She smiled again. “Do you like my present?”
“What?”
Myra rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t play dumb. Wait. You are dumb. Still, brains aren’t everything.” She looked Jolene over, appraising her in a slow, frank way that made the fine hairs at the back of her neck tingle. “Hmm, not a bad little body for an aging piece of white trash. It’s much as I remember it.”
Jolene’s confusion deepened. “Remember? What the fuck kind of sick-ass game are you playing here? Why’d those cop bastards let you in here?”
Myra reached into a jacket pocket, brought out a pack of cloves and a Zippo. She sparked up and blew smoke at Jolene. “I own them. Like I own practically everyone else in this town. Now let me ask you another question-do you remember the time you got down and dirty with Moira Flanagan?”
Jolene gaped at the girl. Her heart seemed to stop for a long moment. Her mouth opened, moved as if to form words, but no sounds emerged.
How could the bitch know about that?
Fuck, it was impossible.
Nobody knew about that.
Myra exhaled another stream of pungent smoke. “I remember, Jolene. Because I was there.”
Jolene scowled. “Bullshit. You couldn’t have been no more than a baby.”
Myra smiled. “I remember how surprised you were when I showed up at your door alone that day.” She licked her lips and her eyes shone with a mischievous gleam. “And I remember how easy it was to seduce you. Later you told me how much it turned you on to fuck your son’s girlfriend.”
Jolene’s mouth continued to work, but she still couldn’t speak.
Myra flicked the half-smoked clove away. “But enough of Memory Lane. Let’s get back to the matter at hand.” She giggled. “In your hand, that is.”
Jolene at last was able to push a few halting words through her numb lips. “You…you’re not her. Moira’s dead. You…look nothing like her.”
Myra’s face contorted with sudden anger and her voice boomed out in the celclass="underline" “ENOUGH!”
Jolene cringed and whimpered. That voice. Holy Mother of God. No human voice could ever be that loud. What was she really dealing with here? She couldn’t begin to guess. She recognized then how helpless she was. Terror burned in her guts like acid. “Please…”
Myra’s features smoothed out. An almost serene smile touched the corners of her mouth. “You don’t need to be afraid. Now about your husband…”
Jolene sniffed. “My…husband?”
“You know, the abusive asshole clutched in your grubby little fist.”
Jolene felt Hal squirm in her loosened grip and clenched her fingers tighter around him. “That was…you?”
Myra nodded. “Yes. I did that. It’s my goodwill gesture to you. It’s not the kind of thing I can do too often. Too much of an energy drain this close to the Harvest. But I think it was worth it in this case.”
Jolene shuddered. “What do you want from me?”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Myra sat down next to Jolene, draping an arm over her shoulders. “As you’ve seen, I’ve got a lot of power. I can do amazing things to people. I can make most of them do whatever I want them to do. Some people, though…well, let’s just say I sometimes find it useful to find alternate ways of manipulating them. Let me ask you another question.”
“Okay.”
Myra started stroking Jolene’s hair. “Would you say your son Jake is an ungrateful little piece of shit?”
“Yes. Yes, I certainly would.” Jolene nodded.
“Good. I can see you and I are on the same page now.”
Jolene closed her eyes and savored the feel of Myra’s fingers gliding through her hair. All of her previous anger and fear dissipated. She’d badly misjudged this girl. Something about her touch made all the bad feelings go away. She shivered when Myra’s fingertips brushed the back of her neck. A little erotic tingle went through her. It felt nice. More than that, it felt…familiar.
Myra leaned close and whispered into her ear. “I’m getting you out of here, Jolene. In more ways than one, I’ll be your liberator. But I’ll be expecting a favor in return. There’ll come a time when I’ll ask you to help me hurt Jake.”
Myra’s other hand settled on Jolene’s knee.
The girl’s breath was nice and warm on her earlobe. “Will you help me with that, Jolene?”
“Yes. I’ll do anything you ask,” Jolene sighed.
Myra smiled. “Of course you will.”
She gave Jolene’s knee a squeeze, then got to her feet.
She held out a hand and Jolene let the girl pull her off the cot.
Then, arm in arm, they walked out of the jail.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Bridget’s gaze was riveted to the knife in Jordan’s hand. “You cheated.”
Jordan sneered. “Think I give a shit?”
Bridget smiled. “Guess not. The concept of fair play’s for chumps anyway. Should have done it myself.”
Jordan glanced back and forth between Angela and Bridget. Though possession of the knife gave her a theoretic advantage over them, her elation didn’t last long. The other women possessed amazing, unnatural strength. She wasn’t at all certain she could win against either of them, unarmed or not.
Against the two of them working in tandem…
She shivered.
“Look, she’s getting scared,” Angela said with a chuckle.
Bridget locked eyes with Jordan. Jordan’s throat felt thick and her heart fluttered. “I see that. She’ll pee herself any second now.”
Jordan’s expression hardened. “Shut up.” She brandished the knife in a general way. “Keep your fucking mouths shut. You think I won’t use this? Okay, maybe I am scared, but I’ll do whatever I have to do to get out of this.”
Bridget covered her mouth. She looked as if she were attempting to suppress hysterical laughter. But Jordan knew the truth-the bitch was just mocking her again. Bridget’s hand came away from her mouth and she laughed heartily. “You’re so cute, Jordan. You with that knife, so big in your scrawny little hand. You’re a child playing at grown-up games.” She licked her lips. “So it’s time to start treating you like a child. You’ve been extra naughty. So I’ll be bending you over my knee for a spanking in a minute.”
Angela leered. “Oooh, now you’re just turning her on.”
Bridget giggled.
“Go. To. Hell,” Jordan seethed.
The mirth vanished from Bridget’s face at once. Her expression now was cold and unforgiving. “I’m tired of indulging your pathetic rebellion.” She glanced at Angela. “Get the bitch.” She looked at Jordan. “Now.”