Locked Away (Living With Lies Book 2) (22 page)

I nod my head as anger sets in. My chest tightens at the idea of someone trying to hurt either of them. “Why the hell did she come back here?” I ask harsher than I meant to. I know this man loves her, that much is clear, but he has to see what his life has done to her.

“Because Manuel found out she stayed in a hotel all weekend...with you,” he adds, causing acid to turn in my gut. “He told her if she didn’t leave he’d kill you...and Kate.”

My heart speeds up with the knowledge that this is all my fault. I rented that room, never once thinking my name would trigger people who are after her. I got her pregnant, which is the reason she’s lying in a bed, broken and on the verge of dying.

“Don’t do that. Don’t beat yourself up,” Damian firmly says. “I have a million what ifs in my life, and none of them change where the two of us are standing right now. My daughter needs you. Your child needs you.” My child...my breathing picks up as my guilt takes a back seat to my nerves.

“If you care about my daughter even a fraction as much as she cares for you, then you need to step up because I can’t go with her. Outside of the few who haven’t betrayed me, I’ve been presumed dead, and I need to keep it that way for the time being. If anyone spots me with her, she won’t get the help she needs.”

I push down my fears and show Damian the confidence he’s looking for. “I love your daughter, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she’s taken care of.”

Damian’s shoulders relax. “Get her across the border. Get her the help she needs. Before you return home, make sure Gavin hires a professional to watch his house and yours. You have to be positive that Manuel has given up on you. He knows Belle returned to Mexico six months ago because she used the ID he gave her to cross the border, but my guess is, he’ll expect her to return to Kate’s if she leaves the country.” He’s talking fast and my brain is trying to keep up.

“If Gavin isn’t a hundred percent positive then go somewhere else, but make sure Gavin is watching Kate closely. I’m down but I’m not out and things are about to get ugly.”

His eyes burn into mine as I swallow and agree. “I promise. I’ll take good care of your daughter. I love her and I want that baby she’s protecting.” As the words pass my lips, I know I meant everything I said. I’ve known for less than ten minutes that I have a child on the way, but now that the knowledge has set in, I understand Isabelle’s fear of leaving.

The doctor speaks up. “Dr. Ross knows exactly how I’ve treated Belle. Get to the address on the paper in the bag and he’ll take care of everything.”

Damian watches me closely before sighing. “You need to be careful who you trust, but I’m telling you...trust this doctor.” I nod.

“You can’t leave Alex’s car here. If Manuel finds it, he could make the connection to the doctor in Houston, but you can’t race out of town, either. Whatever you do, get out of Mexico without drawing attention to yourselves.”

“Okay.”

“Check the bag over closely when you get out of here. Everything you’ll need is in there.” Damian closes his eyes and exhales loudly. “Excuse me. I’m going to go say goodbye to my daughter.”

My mind is twirling with information, but one thought stands out: If we can get out of this godforsaken hellhole, then...I’m going to be a father.

Kiran

The doctor gave something to Isabelle before we left to help her relax. She’s in pain and the jerkiness of the ride to Houston won’t be easy on her. If this were a normal situation, she’d be traveling in a helicopter—but again if this were a normal situation, she would have received help long before she got in this condition.

I climbed into the back of the car and placed Isabelle’s head in my lap as Alex drove until exhaustion set in and we traded places. Isabelle woke up two times, claiming she needed to use the bathroom. Every step she took, she fought back pain, and as I stood guard outside the restroom door, I could hear her crying.

Never in my life have I felt as helpless as I do now. I would give or do anything to take even an ounce of her pain away. Hours tick by, as do the miles, and both Alex and I are on the verge of a panic attack by the time we made it to the border.

“Isabelle, can you sit up? Just for a few minutes. We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves.” Her droopy eyes slightly open and she nods her head while she puts her legs on the floor and her back against the seat.

I grab the bag and pull out the passport and ID Damian gave us before shoving the bag under the seat. Alex gives the guard all three of our passports and IDs before they search the car for any additional people. A long conversation takes place between the guards before they glance in the back at Isabelle and me.

My heart rate spikes but thankfully the guard hands everything back to Alex and motions for him to go on.

“Shit,” Alex mumbles under his breath as we drive out of Mexico and into Texas. After miles pass between us and Border Control, Alex looks in the rearview mirror, making eye contact. “Five more hours,” he whispers.

I look down with worry at the woman who immediately curled up in my lap when she was told she could lie down. Five more hours...I can feel her body burning against mine, and for the first time in my life, I find myself praying.

****

We make the call that we’re close and when we pull into the parking lot of the address we were given, three men are standing outside waiting.

“I’m Dr. Ross,” the older man says, nodding to the other two men to help Isabelle out of the car. Alex and I follow behind. We walk into a clean medical office, but the doctor stops us as the men carrying Isabelle continue walking away. My heart speeds up at the distance growing between Isabelle and myself.

“I need you to wait here. I’ll be out as soon as I can to tell you what’s going on.”

I push past him when Alex puts a hand on my chest. “Trust him, remember? Every second he’s out here with us means he’s not in there with her.”

Damian told me to be careful whom we trust, but to trust this doctor, and honestly, we don’t have any other choice. Isabelle became more lifeless the closer we got to Houston.

“Go. Take care of her,” I add with a jerk of my head. Dr. Ross nods then quickly makes his way to Isabelle.

I walk over to a small waiting room off to the side and place my head in my hands. “She’s going to be okay. She has to,” Alex says, taking the seat next to me. “We need to call Gavin and Kate and let them know what’s going on.”

“I’ll call Gavin. Damian is worried someone might be watching Kate.”

Alex’s eyes snap to mine. “Who?” he questions.

“The guy Isabelle thought was her friend. He wants Isabelle bad enough that Damian is worried he might be watching Gavin and Kate’s house.”

Tension spreads as I give this man more thought. Isabelle trusted him and the whole time she was a pawn in his attempt to take her father down.

“I’m going to step outside to make the call. Come get me if the doctor comes back,” I tell Alex.

I walk to the edge of the parking lot and hit Gavin’s number on my phone.

“Hello?” he says with concern in his voice.

“We found her.”

“Thank God. Is she coming back with you?” he quickly replies.

“Yes. Maybe. We’re in Houston.”

“Houston. Why the hell did you go there?”

“Isabelle is sick. She needed a doctor. That’s why Damian sent the messages. He needed someone he could trust to get her the help she needs.”

“Wow. He trusted you enough to leave with her? I barely know the guy, but that doesn’t sound like Damian. I still don’t think he trusts me with Kate, and I’ve known her longer than he has.”

I suck in a breath and blurt out my next comment. “She’s pregnant.” The phone goes silent. I take a deep breath. “Isabelle is pregnant with my kid. Like it or not, Damian had to let someone else take care of her, and thankfully, he decided I could be the man who steps up seeing as it’s my kid she’s carrying.”

“Dude, you got her pregnant?” I hear Kate yell something in the background. “Calm down,” Gavin mumbles to Kate.

“Outside of being pregnant, what’s wrong with her?”

“She has a urinary tract infection she didn’t get medicine for. Left untreated, it caused a kidney infection. By the time we arrived, she was running a fever and she was going into kidney failure.” My voice cracks as I try to fight back my emotions.

“Good Lord,” Gavin breathes out.

I nod my head even though he can’t see me. “We’re at some treatment center in Houston. Damian said Isabelle will get the help she needs, the doctor will be paid, and we can be on our way, but there’s another problem.”

“What?” he immediately asks.

“Isabelle’s friend back home...it was him and his father that started this war, and he wants Isabelle.” I stop and clear my throat, knowing my next comment is going to send my best friend into a panic. “Damian is worried you’re being watched.”

“What?” he growls into the phone.

“This guy, Manuel Ramos, wants Isabelle bad enough that he’ll do anything and that means he could be watching Kate to see if she’s hiding Isabelle. It also means ...” I trail off.

“He could take Kate hoping Belle will give herself up to save her.”

I swallow and close my eyes. Nothing about this situation is a win for anyone. “It’s possible. It’s definitely possible,” I add. “Damian wants you to hire someone to watch Kate and your house. People think he’s dead and he wants to keep it that way. Damian said he’s down but not out and this will all be over soon, but in the meantime, we need to do everything in our power to protect his daughters.”

Gavin lets out an annoyed laugh. “They wouldn’t be in danger if it wasn’t for him.”

“I agree. But it doesn’t change what we’re dealing with.”

Gavin remains quiet for a few seconds before switching back to Isabelle. “Belle’s going to be okay, right?”

“I don’t know. God, Gavin...her fever was so high for so long. She’s in a lot of pain, and honestly, I don’t think she even really knows that Alex and I are the ones with her. When she did open her eyes and looked at me, they were blank.”

Alex steps outside and waves for me to return. “Look, I gotta go. As soon as we have word on Isabelle, I’ll call you. In the meantime, stay sharp and focus on Kate and Callie.”

“Will do and good luck, man.”

“Thanks.” Right now, I need all the luck I can get.

****

“I have Isabelle started on an IV and antibiotics that won’t harm the baby. I did a sonogram. The baby’s heart rate is lower than it should be, probably from the stress the fever caused. As far as Isabelle’s kidneys are concerned, she isn’t in as bad of shape as I was expecting. Another day or two and it would’ve been a different story, but I think once the antibiotics start working, she’ll be fine.” I breathe a sigh of relief.

The doctor pushes a motel key card across his desk. “The motel across the street, room 224, is yours to use until I’m ready to release Isabelle. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want but use this room to rest and clean up.”

I hold my hand out. “Thank you, doctor.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Alex adds.

“She was sleeping when I came out here and I expect she’ll rest for some time. If you want to sit with her, that’s fine, but please let her rest as much as possible.” I nod my head as I stand.

Alex and I follow the doctor out of his office and into a room where Isabelle is fast asleep. Alex’s shoulders relax. “She already looks a little better.” She does. Her cheeks are still rosy but her face isn’t scrunched up in pain like it’s been for the last sixteen hours.

We both take a chair on each side of her bed and the day starts slowly passing by. Isabelle’s fever finally breaks a few hours later, but she doesn’t wake up. It makes sense for one or both of us to head to the motel to shower and rest, but neither of us can make ourselves leave her.

“My grandparents have a farm outside of Kansas City. We can go there when she’s well enough to travel.” I glance at Alex but even as he’s talking, he’s staring at Isabelle. “It’s our mom’s parents. The house is huge and grandma is always nagging at me to come and visit. I’m figuring she’s going to flip her shit when she discovers I have Hayden with me.”

Isabelle doesn’t look like a Hayden. She looks like...Isabelle. “They won’t do anything crazy like tell the press their stolen grandchild was finally found, will they?”

Alex shakes his head. “Nah. Not if I explain to them what’s happened.”

“Okay. We’ll talk to her when she wakes up, and if she’s okay with it, then we’ll go to Kansas City.” I pull Isabelle’s hand into mine.

Alex looks over at me. “Are you okay with her being pregnant?”

I shrug. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not fucking terrified.” I clear my throat and look toward him. “What if I’m a shitty father?”

Alex chuckles. “I think the fact that you’re worried is a good sign. Shitty dads don’t worry about being shitty...they just are. Believe me, I would know.” His eyes soften as he looks at his sister.

“I often wonder...if maybe my dad wouldn’t be a fall down drunk if she hadn’t been stolen from us.” I’m sure a thousand what ifs have traveled through his mind.