“Get in the house, you stupid bitch! Move it!”
Hanna stepped over Jesse and cried out when she saw his bloody face. Josh had won the battle for the gun.
“Shut up and grab that bag on the counter.”
She did as told and handed it to Josh. He waved the gun at her.
“Sit your ass on that chair. If you move, I’ll finish him off. My patience with you two is wearing thin. I should have killed that bastard at the tent and then hightailed it out of the area. Nobody would have ever suspected it was me that put that prick out of his misery. Now I have both of you to deal with.”
Josh took the new roll of duct tape out of the bag and straddled the detective. He pulled Jesse’s arms to his back and wound the tape around both of them a half dozen times, then he did the same to Jesse’s knees and ankles. He tore off another strip of tape, flipped Jesse over, and covered his mouth with it. After kicking him in his fractured ribs, he stepped over him and headed toward Hanna.
“Look at me!”
She reluctantly did.
“You try to pull one more stunt like that and you’ll be swallowing the barrel of this gun. Understand?”
Hanna nodded and wiped her tears away defiantly.
“Put your hands behind your back.” Josh wrapped tape around her clenched hands and wrists and then around the chair back.
“What are you waiting for? You keep saying you’re going to kill Jesse, but you haven’t. What kind of sick game are you playing with us?”
“It’s none of your business. You’re just collateral damage, nothing more. You weren’t supposed to be a part of this, so that’s on you. This is between McCord and me, and he knows what’s going on.” Josh looked over his shoulder. “But it doesn’t look like he’s able to explain it to you right now.”
“You’re a sick son of—”
Josh stretched a piece of tape over Hanna’s mouth and leaned in only an inch from her face. “Since you can’t shut up, I’ll shut you up. Next time, it’ll be permanently.” He grabbed her right ankle as she tried to kick him away. Josh swung the gun and cracked her in the head with it. Hanna went limp. “I swear to God, you’re as much of a pain in the ass as your boyfriend is.” He wrapped her ankles, knees, and the chair legs in tape then went to the refrigerator. “Now, let’s see what’s in here to eat.”
After making himself a sandwich and eating it, Josh grabbed the back of Hanna’s chair and dragged it across the floor and into the family room.
“We’re going to watch the news together. Seems like the disappearance of your boyfriend has been on a continuous loop at the top of the hour on every news channel. After tomorrow, they’ll be airing news of his death instead.”