TAKING THE FALL - the Complete Series (21 page)

“
Is that any way to greet your father?” he says, leaning into me. I take the opportunity to spit in his face. I immediately regret it when he backhands me. I can taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth as I fall to the ground.

“
Put her in the car,” he snarls and turns to head towards the sedan.

The driver pulls me to my feet by my hair and I feel the sting in my eyes. I grit my teeth in an effort to stop myself from crying out. I won’t give them the pleasure.

“
We got interrupted the last time we were together. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen this time,” the driver says, and licks the side of my face. I feel the vomit rise in my throat.

“
Carter is going to gut you!” I growl at the man.

“
Well I’m going to fuck you. Let’s see who gets what they want first,” he sneers, grinding his hard-on into my ass, then pushes me towards the car.

When I hear the squeal of brakes, I turn to see if Carter has found me. No. He can’t find me yet. I have to find out where Justin and my mom are. I may not be close to my mother, but she’s my mom. Who knows what my father has done to her.

Then I see Jeanette come flying out of the car. I can see on her face that she notices the mess she’s in a fraction too late.

“
Take her too!” my father barks.

The driver pulls a gun out of his jacket and points it at her. Jeanette raises her hands and looks at me.

“
I’m going to kick your ass,” she says, talking to me and not the man pointing a gun at her.

“
Move it,” he says, motioning for us to head towards the car. The trunk pops.

“
Get in.”

I crawl in and Jeanette squeezes in next to me.

“
We do everything together,” I hear her whisper. I can’t believe I’ve pulled another person into this. I brought her to the warehouse to keep her safe but it looks like I just brought her into the lion’s den.

The trunks slams shut, and everything goes dark.

CARTER

“
Fuck
!” I scream.

“
What just happened?” Saint asks in a panic. He knows if I’m losing my shit, that something just went wrong.

“
Something happened. Layla is leaving the house. Check the tracker on her phone,” I growl as I turn the car around and head back in the direction of the warehouse.

“
Jeanette,” Saint whispers, and I know he’s thinking the same thing. She wouldn’t have let Layla go alone. “Step on it.”

I’ve gotta get to my girl. My heart is in a panic, and I don’t know what to do other than drive as fast as this car will go. My Layla.

It takes Saint five minutes to pull up the info I need, but it feels like years. “She’s at the library? What the fuck? That doesn’t make sense.”

I turn the car in that direction, screeching tires towards the exit. It’s been too long. I can feel it. The time has gone by too fast. “We aren’t going to make it,” I say.

“
Shut your fucking mouth and drive, Carter,” Saint bellows.

I fly around the corner, hoping I don’t flip the car and I jump out with my gun drawn. I see two of the cars from the warehouse sitting in the parking lot with no one else in sight.

I fall to my knees, throw my head back, and let out a scream loud enough to wake the dead. “
Layla
!”

A moment later, Saint runs over and grabs me.

“
I think I’ve got movement on her tracker. It’s fading in and out, but wherever she is, she’s moving.”

I check the tracking and see they’re headed to the desert. “O’Leary’s got her, I know it. And he won’t kill her. Not until he gets what he wants. If you want out, now is the time to speak up. I’m going in prepared to not walk out.”

“
You gonna drive or you want me to?”

LAYLA

I close my eyes to the light that floods the inside of my cramped compartment when the trunk pops open.

“
Move your asses,” a gruff voice barks. I try to shield my eyes from the blinding light to see where we’re at.

Jeanette climbs out first, and I watch the man run his hungry eyes over her. I hadn’t noticed what she was wearing before, but it’s clear she didn’t have time to change out of her pajamas before she went running after me. She’s wearing a white tank top and really tight red cheer shorts, which show off her extremely long legs. She probably put it on earlier to piss off Saint, but now she clearly has someone else’s attention.

“
What the fuck are you looking at, asshole?” I hear her snap as I crawl out of the trunk, making sure my hoodie doesn’t rise up and reveal the gun I have stashed in my waistband. I’m shocked we haven’t been patted down. My father used to pat down anyone who ever came into the house, but looking around I can tell this is pretty far from my father’s usual accommodations.

The man eyes Jeanette’s chest and reaches out to tweak her nipple poking through her thin top. She smacks his hand away.

“
What that fuck?” she snaps again.

“
Jeanette,” I warn her through clenched teeth. I don’t want her getting hurt, and with a mouth like hers that’s what’s going to happen. We need to stay calm and draw as little attention to ourselves as we can.

“
She’s feisty. I like that,” the man says to my father who is leaning up against the side of the car, looking at me. I still can’t get over how different he looks. He used to be slick and put together, dressed in thousand-dollar suits. I’m sure the one he’s wearing now still cost out the ass, but it looks just as tired as he does. Worn down.

“
You can play with her later, Marco,” he states firmly, pushing off the sedan and walking past me towards wide metal doors. “Bring them inside.”

Looking around, I try to get a feel of where we are. We drove for a while after we left the library, but I never felt like we picked up any real speed so I’m guessing we didn’t get on a highway. The area we’re in now looks like a massive garage with a few vehicles parked in it.

Marco grabs us each by the arm and starts to pull us forward.

“
Where’s my mother?” I ask while Jeanette breaks free of his hold. She isn’t bolting; it just looks like she doesn’t want to be touched by him. Marco releases me from his hold and grabs her with both hands, pulling her to him. He kisses her with an open mouth, licking at her feverishly.

I try to jerk them apart but his hold on her is so strong. Screaming out, he suddenly pushes her from him and I can see blood dripping from his mouth.

“
I bite,” Jeanette snarls, spitting the taste of him out of her mouth. She stares at him with a smug look on her face. I feel my stomach roll because I know what’s coming. I fought back against Marco too. He likes the fight, I remember that much. He also likes to dole out pain.

And he does just that – one solid punch to Jeanette’s stomach and she’s on her knees. Running to her side, I try to run my hand through her hair to give her some comfort. I ignore Marco because anything I throw at him he’ll only enjoy. I look at my father watching us with a bored look on his face.

“
What the hell is the matter with you? Why are you treating us like this? I’m your daughter!” I yell, looking into his eyes. Yelling at him like this was not something I ever really did. My father didn’t abuse me when I was growing up; he was just cold and dominant. Everyone was to respect him and his word was law. I remember moments of tenderness, but as I grew up they became more and more fleeting. I never would’ve thought it would come to this. Even when I have flashes of the night I was beaten, it’s still hard for me to believe it was something he orchestrated.

“
I’m treating you like this,
daughter
,” he spits the word like it tastes bitter in his mouth, “because you chose your side, and you chose wrong. You’re a lesson. An example.” He strides towards me until he’s right in my face. It takes everything in me not to divert my eyes from him. I’m not the little bird he caged away, and I want him to know that. He doesn’t control me anymore.

“
And what have we learned from this lesson? We’ve learned that if you cross me I will destroy you, family or not.”

All I can do is shake my head at that. What can I really say? But he’s wrong. He’s not my family anymore. I have Carter, Jeanette, and this baby growing inside me. I need to remember that. I can’t provoke him or do anything that could get me hurt. This isn’t about me and my pride right now. It’s about surviving until I can get us free.

I drop my gaze from him and my shoulders slump. I want him to think I’m defeated. Maybe the less we fight them, they more they’ll let their guard down. I need to find out where Justin and my mom are and then make a move.

Grabbing my chin, he makes me look back at him. My father isn’t tall like Carter. I don’t have to strain to look at him.

“
You look nothing like your mother. It’s such a shame. I could’ve gotten a good price for you if you had.”

I don’t know what that means. Does he plan to sell me?

“
Speaking of whom, she’s right inside. Get your friend and come.”

Helping Jeanette back to her feet, I pull her close.

“
Calm down and think. Your temper isn’t going to help right now. It’s just going to get us hurt,” I whisper.

“
Fine. But if they come at you, Lays, I have to draw their attention. We both know you can’t fight them right now,” she whispers back and looks pointedly down at my belly.