He watches me for a few more seconds before slowly retreating. “Ain’t nobody to blame for this but Jagger,” he says.
“What will happen to him?” The words fall from my lips.
“Your boyfriend will fall in line or suffer the consequences.”
A shiver runs through me. Cole did all this to save Ace, to protect his brother... it doesn’t seem fair.
But I know all too well that life isn’t fair. It’s cruel and hard and messy. I’m only eighteen, but sometimes it feels like I’ve lived too much life for a young girl.
My stomach aches and I want nothing more than to rub it, to place my hand there and settle the nerves wreaking havoc inside me. But the second my mind goes there, I think of the baby that may or may not be growing. If I’m pregnant, I can only be six or seven weeks at the most.
Tears well in my eyes. A baby is the last thing I need, the last thing Cole needs, but I can’t deny the rush of love I feel. After everything I survived at the hands of my parents, it feels like a second chance.
A shot at doing things right.
My captor clears his throat, yanking me back to reality with a thud. My head snaps up in his direction, and he shoots me a dirty smirk. “Who knows, maybe if Jagger fucks up, you and I will get to have some fun after all.”
The memory of his knife at my throat, his body pressed close to mine, floods my mind. I would rather die than become his plaything.
Cole will come.
I want to believe the little voice. But when you’ve been betrayed by everyone you ever cared about, it’s not easy.
“See you soon, pretty girl.” He slips into the shadows and the trailer door creaks open before slamming shut and plunging me into darkness once more.
I’m so cold and tired, still weary from whatever drug he gave me. But I can’t slip under again. Not if I want to survive this. I need to stay awake. I need to be ready for when someone comes for me. Because I have to believe they will.
I have to believe that Cole and his brothers are out there, looking for me.
Because if they’re not... then I have nothing.
No hope.
No one.
Chapter Two
Cole
My eyes are still locked on the image of Hadley on my cell, and just one word repeats in my head.
Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.
My hand trembles as the world around me tilts on its axis.
This can’t be happening.
It has to be a dream. Or at the very least, one very sick joke. A way of getting back at me after her attack. She’s punishing me, showing me just how much I needed to get out of the life I’ve found myself in.
But I know it’s neither of those things.
This right now is very much real.
The fear that’s lacing through my veins. The panic that’s squeezing my chest to the point I’m struggling to drag in the air I need. It’s all very real.
And the photograph before me? That’s equally as real.
That motherfucker has my girl.
He could… he might… “Fuuuuuuuck,” I scream, launching my cell across the room.
“You need to come right now.” The sound of Remi’s equally panicked voice fills my ears, and when I look up, I find her eyes wide and face pale as she holds her cell to her ear.
“We’ll wait here. Be quick. Please,” she begs down the line.
She hangs up and drops her arm, letting it dangle uselessly by her hip.
“Ace is coming. We’re going to fix this, Cole. We’re going to find her and everything will be okay.”
Her words register in my head, but I can’t make myself believe them.
Donny has her. Nothing about this is okay.
“Y-you said…” I stutter but soon trail off, not able to even say the words.
“I don’t know, Cole. She told me last night that her period is late. It-it’s probably just a false alarm but…” It might not be.
She doesn’t say the words, but I hear them loud and clear nonetheless.
Stumbling back, I hit the wall with a thud before sliding down until my ass collides with the floor.
I shouldn’t just be sitting here. I should be out trying to find her, to save her, but as my head continues to spin, I can’t get a grip on reality, let alone consider what my first move might be.
He could have taken her anywhere.
She could already be… “No, no, no,” I chant, needing to hear the words. He wants me, not her. Killing her wouldn’t get him what he wants. He’s just trying to draw me in.
He’s planned this. Knowing Donny, he’ll have planned it well. We need to go in with a plan of our own, one that’s going to result in all of us walking away unscathed while Donny dies a slow and painful death for trying to mess with us.
I have no idea how much time passes as I sit there with my forehead resting on my arms, but eventually I hear two pairs of feet race our way before both Ace and Conner come barreling into the room.
Lifting my head, I find their wide-eyed, panic-stricken faces, but unlike me, they seem to be holding it together.
“Where’s the picture?” Ace asks the second he comes to a stop, clearly knowing what he’s doing.
Remi hands him my cell, which she must have collected from wherever it landed after I launched it. I’m surprised the damn thing still works.
“Motherfucker,” he grunts—I assume at seeing Hadley bound, gagged and completely useless—but the next words out of his mouth make me think he’s already got a plan. “You two, pack her a bag, whatever you think she might need, and get to the house. You,” he states, looking down at me. “You’re coming with me.”
I scramble to get to my feet. “W-where are we going?”
“To go and get your girl back.”
“But where? How?” My heart pounds. “She could be anywhere.”
“Yeah, but she’s not, is she?” My brows pull together at the riddle he seems to be talking in. “Are you just going to stand there looking confused, or are you coming?”
After giving Remi a kiss to her forehead and throwing his bike keys at Conner, he takes off.
“Please be safe,” Remi calls after him.
“Always. I love you, Princess.” If the situation were any different, I’d expect Conner to say something about Ace’s show of affection for his girl. As it is, when I glance at him, he just slaps me on the shoulder in a way of support before pulling a terrified Remi into his arms as I race off behind Ace.
I catch up with him as he exits the building.
“You got the car keys?”
“Yeah.”
“Good, let’s go.”
The two of us sprint toward the parking lot, and before I even get a chance to think, Ace is in the driver’s seat and wheelspinning the heap of junk out of Sterling Prep.
“You gonna tell me where we’re going anytime soon?” I ask as he makes a sharp right, throwing me into the car door.
“How closely did you look at that photo Donny sent?” His voice is so steady and calm. I wish I knew how that was possible in this situation. I feel like I’m about to explode at any minute.
“Not very close. I got the gist of it pretty damn fast, though.”
“Look again,” he demands, passing my cell back over.