appeared
was the operative word. For the longest time, Blount had appeared to be an uneducated country boy, and Payne had trusted him completely. Now Blount appeared to be telling the truth a second time, and he was asking Payne to believe him again. But how could he? Blount was such an incredible actor there was no way Payne could separate his bullshit from reality.
“I’m still not sold. You’re going to have to tell me something to convince me.”
“Like what?” he whimpered. “I’ll tell you anything, just don’t kill me!”
Jones stepped forward. “What kind of business is the Posse in?”
“You guys should know. You’re holding some of their products in your hands.”
“Guns?” Payne remarked. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why bring all of these innocent people to this island if you’re going to smuggle guns? There has to be more than that.”
“There is,” he grunted. “But you’re going to like that even less.”
Payne’s eyes flared with anger, causing the pressure on his gun to increase. “Why’s that, Bennie? Why am I not going to like it?”
“Because you’re white.”
“Okay, you racist bastard, what does that have to do with anything?”
“Hey, I’m not racist, but the Posse is.”
Payne smirked. “No shit! I kind of figured that out. What does racism have to do with the Posse’s business? Racism can’t be sold, you know.”
Blount stared Payne directly in the eyes. He wanted to make sure that Payne recognized the truth of his words. “That’s true, but slaves
can
be sold. White slaves.”
The concept made Payne shiver. If Blount was telling the truth, it meant that these people weren’t just being tortured. They were being broken-housebroken-for their new masters. “And how do you know this?”
“I just know! I’ve been walking around this place for several weeks and have heard stuff. Everybody treated me like an idiot, so they tried to talk over me. Nobody knew that I could put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. But I could. I’ve just been waiting for the right moment.” Blount took a breath. “And that moment is here. It’s finally here!”
“Why’s that?” Jones wondered.
“Because of you two. You’ve killed most of the Plantation guards, you have the masters running for their lives, and as far as I can tell, you got rid of the cargo ship. This is the time to finish them off! We can end the Posse right here, right now.”
“And why should we trust you?” Payne demanded. “You already dicked us once.”
“But I couldn’t help that! I couldn’t risk blowing my cover to help you out. I couldn’t! I tried to make it up to you, though. You know that! If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve died in the box.”
Payne shook his head. “You’re going to have to do better. I wouldn’t have been in that damn box if it wasn’t for you.”
“I know you don’t trust me, but without my help you won’t be able to save your girlfriend from a life of slavery. I can help you find her, and you know it. But we can’t wait much longer.”
The comment staggered Payne. With all of the fighting and arguing that was going on, Payne had forgotten about the one thing that mattered most: Ariane.
“How can you help?”
“I know the island much better than you. I can be your guide and an extra gun. Whether you know it or not, Ariane means an awful lot to me, too.”
Payne pressed the gun even harder into Bennie’s neck. He interpreted Blount’s comment as some kind of sexual insult.
“Why is that, you skinny bastard? And trust me, if your answer isn’t a good one, I’ll splatter your dreadlocks all over the wall!” Payne took a deep breath to control his fury, but it didn’t work. He was still fuming. “Why is Ariane important to you?”
“Why?” he stuttered. “Because she’s my cousin.”
CHAPTER 50
ARIANE
could hear heavy footsteps in the hall, but she had no idea who was out there until the door burst open. Two large figures entered the room.
“Well, well, well.” Greene laughed. “If it isn’t the trou blemaker’s bitch!”
Holmes followed him into the room. “All tied up and lookin’ good! If we had a little more time, I’d be tempted to play with her.”
Greene shook his head. “Unfortunately, we don’t. And all because of Payne.”
The sound of his name made her heart beat faster. “Is he here?” she tried to ask, but it came out mumbled.
“Wow, I think she’s trying to talk.” Holmes stared at her jaw, which had been broken by Harris Jackson. “A good-looking bitch who can’t talk. It’s like a dream come true.”
“Tease her later,” Greene suggested. “We gotta move before the two soldier boys find us.”
Two soldier boys? The sound was music to her ears. That meant Jones was probably with Payne, which only made sense. They did everything together, especially when it came to the military. But how in the world did they find her so quickly? Were they brought to the island the same time as her, or did they find her on their own?
Truthfully, it didn’t matter. As long as they knew where she was, she had a chance.
“Okay,” Holmes said. “I’m going to untie you from the bed now, but I expect you to be on your best behavior. Understood?”
Ariane nodded, even though it hurt her jaw to do so.
Holmes reached for the knot near her left wrist, but before he got ahold of it, a frantic voice came out of his radio. “Jesus! Is that Jackson? What does he want now?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Greene muttered. “You take care of the girl. I’ll take care of Harris.” Greene pushed the reply button on his own radio. “Harris? Is that you?”
“Levon,” Jackson answered, “we’ve got a major problem here!”
Greene frowned. “What’s going on?”
“I went down to the dock to check on the boat and . . . it’s gone!”
“What are you talking about?”