Not a chance. The bitch owed him over a hundred grand, and now she could work it off. She was obviously worth more to him alive and able than dead and cold.
Kilo laughed aloud and stuffed the binoculars in his shirt. Opportunity was best enjoyed when no one expected to see a second chance coming. The cowboys must’ve hit the showers.
He watched for any movement. Then, he glanced at the open windows on the main level one final time.
All clear! Great. He’d hurry over to the house, grab his bitch, and they’d get the hell out of there. By midnight tonight, he’d know firsthand how well Morgan could her earn her keep and work off the dough she owed.
Oh yeah. He was planning on a good time enjoyed by all. With any luck, he’d turn a profit on the junkie he almost set free. He could almost hear his phone ringing off the wall now. Whores like Ms. Keesling brought top dollar for a reason. It was difficult for men with eclectic tastes to find a woman like Morgan.
He snickered. Not only did she perform well, she seemed to enjoy herself, which mattered to some men. Kilo didn’t care either way.
“If she’ll do it for free, she’ll do it for me,” he sang, descending from his perched position. “Ah yes, Morgan. You and I are about to reconcile and have us a mighty fine time.”
* * * *
“What have we here?” Grant asked, glaring at the sorry son of a bitch who apparently wasted little time in traveling to Blountville. When he’d first spotted the asshole practically dangling from the tree, he almost didn’t believe his eyes. This guy was some piece of work. “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you were already nearby when we spoke on the phone.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Kilo asked, brushing off his hands.
“Kilo, let’s not dance here, brother. I rope steers and ride bulls. I play with big girls, grown women, and I have no patience for little girls who wear their hats backwards and their pants so low they look like they’ve been shanked several times,” Grant taunted him, watching his tan skin turn pale.
“Grant, don’t be rude. Our guest may need a formal introduction,” Blake said.
“You reckon?” Grant asked, clenching his fists.
Blake aimed the gun at Kilo’s cock. “Oh yeah, I think a man has a right to know who’s gonna blow his dick off. What do you think?”
“For the record,” Grant drawled. “I ain’t seen Blake here on his knees. And he sure ain’t offering to loan you our woman.
“Given the fact you watched us with your binoculars, I’d say you already know Morgan won’t be servicing you anytime soon—or more correctly, ever again.”
“She ain’t anything but a junkie,” Kilo said, twitching as he moved, acting like a coked-out crackhead. “But, man, if you want her, we ain’t gotta fight about this. I’ll name my price. You can pay up, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Is that right?”
“Of course, yeah. You know, since she’s a junkie and all. I’ll try to set a fair price.”
“You’re right about one thing. I’ll give you that. Morgan is an addicted somebody,” Grant said, his nails biting into his palms. “She goes at my cock like she ain’t ever gonna get enough.”
Kilo’s left eye twitched and his brow furrowed. Grant narrowed his gaze on the man who’d made Morgan his pawn. He saw right quick-like that this man wasn’t going away without a fight. And as for selling her at a fair price, Grant might have laughed at that if this guy Kilo wasn’t so pathetic. Apparently, he really thought he could sell another human being.
“I ain’t leaving without her,” Kilo said, studying his fingernails. “I was thinking about, you know, selling her to ya, but on second thought, I want her with me.”
“Is it because you love her, or because you refuse to let another man—or men—make her happy?”
“What difference does it make?”
Grant turned toward Blake and shrugged. “He’s right. It doesn’t make a damn to me either way.”
Kilo flashed a couple of gold teeth. His smile widened and then rapidly dimmed.
Before Blake could stop him, not that Grant expected he might, Grant threw the first punch of many. Once he started the beating, he couldn’t hit Kilo hard enough or often enough.
* * * *
In the distance, Morgan wailed like a baby. Her cries only added fuel to the fire. She would deal with the nightmares and cold sweats for a long time coming, and the least Grant could do was fight for the woman he used to know, for the lover who’d owned his heart right from the start.
He threw a left hook, and then a right one. Then, he thought of another reason to throw a few more for good measure. He hit Kilo on his left side, imagining he must’ve provided drugs to someone like his brother, too.