Chapter Forty-Four

  

Cassie sat in a chair overlooking Lake Lanier and watched her sister. Two men who’d escorted them from the mansion in West Paces Ferry to here stayed in the room with them, both with guns in holsters under their arms.

Regan paced back and forth. “What would ever make you think I’d wanna come back wit you?”

On a table in front of Regan lay a small mirror with two lines of white powder and a small straw on it.

Cassie said, “Because you’re my sister.”

Regan stopped. “I was your sister. Now look at me. Thanks to your friends I run this whole thing.” She leaned over the mirror and did a line of the powder.

Cassie asked, “What do you mean?”

Regan raised her head. “Who you think got Vito to check into that fancy hotel suite with someone who looked like you? You know, someone short an’ fat.” She approached Cassie and put a hand on her shoulder. “An’ your friends come a runnin’. We wanted that dumb Marine to get what was comin’ to him. I had four men there with guns waiting for him.” She tilted her head back and sniffed the air as if to capture any escaping cocaine.

“You set up my friends?” Cassie realized for the first time that Regan was truly crazy. She’d tried to ignore all the signs before. But now crazy was looking straight at her.

Regan said, “My finest plan yet. I figured either way I won. This way though—ha! He put me in charge with nothin’ to stop me now.”

“Why’d you have Nina killed?” Cassie asked.

Her sister smiled. “You should have done a better job of pickin’ people you could trust.”

“She worked for you too?” Cassie felt nauseous.

“Let’s just say Nina had a little problem with oxycodone and needed someone to help her with it.”

Before Cassie could respond, something beeped.

Cassie saw one of the men check his phone, then show the message to his partner.

“What?” Regan asked.

At that moment, a young woman entered the room. Cassie recognized the sniveling little snit as Regan’s assistant. She’d been the one who let Cassie in Vito’s mansion and then locked her in a room for Regan.

The snit whispered something in Regan’s ear.

Cassie saw that whatever she said really upset Regan because her light-skinned face reddened.

To the men, Regan said, “You know what is going on?”

One of them nodded yes.

Regan yelled, “Then get over there and stop them! We already lost three stockyards. I ain’t gonna lose them tusks too.”

The man who’d nodded at her watched his phone. “It’s too late. I’m watching Pelton make a phone call on replay. The police will be there before we will. It’s over.”

Regan screamed, “We need that shipment!”

Cassie said, “Don’t look like you can handle it, you ask me.”

Regan looked at her sister. “What you say?”

“I said you’re out of your league.” Cassie folded her arms across her chest. “Thanks to you, Nina’s little children have no mother. Mutt’s in the hospital. Good people are risking their lives for me. And for you. You always been beautiful, but you sure are dumb. And you ain’t worth a pot to spit in. I’m ashamed you ever was my sister.”

“If that the case,” Regan said, “then I ain’t gonna worry about what I do next.”

Cassie realized, too late, that Regan really was crazy. Before she could react, Regan’s hands were at her throat. Cassie tried to fight her sister off, but she was in a rage. Cassie couldn’t breathe, the pressure on her windpipe was painful. She gasped for breath, but no air could get in. Her head pulsed. Then she blacked out.