by Caitlyn Dare
“It’s the key to our brand-new camper. Well, brand new to us... it’s actually a heap of junk that I intend on restoring with Ace and G at the shop. But it’s ours.” He shrugs. “I thought we could take it cruising over the summer. Just you, me, and nothing but the open road.”
“You bought us a camper?”
Conner nods.
“Holy crap, that’s so cool,” Shelbie says, and I’m glad she’s answered him because I can’t find my voice.
A camper.
He bought us a camper.
“Babe, you’re looking at me like I’ve grown a second head.” It’s Conner’s turn to frown.
“I... a camper?”
“Yeah?” His eyes cloud with uncertainty. “I thought it would do us both good to get away from Sterling. Just the two of us... if you want to, I mean.”
“Yes,” I breathe, throwing my arms around his neck. “Yes, I want to.”
“She said yes!” Shelbie shrieks with amusement, and I flip her off over my shoulder.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
“Believe it.” Conner peppers my mouth with tiny kisses. “I want us to enjoy each other, K. I want us to heal.”
His words hit me right in the chest. He did this for me.
“I love you.” I squeeze tighter. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, babe. And after tomorrow, it’s just you, me, Betty, and the rest of our lives.”
“Betty?” I gawk at him.
“Yeah, our camper.”
“You named our camper Betty?” Soft laughter bubbles in my chest. He is such a goofball.
My goofball.
And I wouldn’t want him any other way.
“Oh my God, you can’t stop smiling.” Shelbie arches her brow as I walk her to the door.
“He’s just so...” I can’t even put into words how I feel about Conner.
“You’re so freaking lucky. Makes all this worth it.” Her expression falls. “Shit, that was a stupid thing to say. Me and my big—”
“Shelb, it’s fine. Besides, you’re right.” Knowing this will all be over soon and that I’ll be with Conner makes me feel like I can survive anything.
One more day.
I only have to get through one more day.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Shelbie asks, lingering in the doorway.
“I told you already, I’ll be fine.” Besides, I don’t want her to be here if Warren comes back early. Who knows what kind of mood he’ll be in.
“So I’ll see you at the party tomorrow?”
Nervous energy zips through me. “Yeah, okay.”
“Hey, it’ll be okay.” She reaches for my hand and squeezes. “Just think of Betty.” Shelbie winks before skipping off down the gravel path. I watch her disappear into the darkness and then I close the door, sliding the deadbolt in place.
Conner only left an hour ago, but I already miss him. Part of me wants to leave now. To beg him to come get me and take me far away from here. But I know James Jagger has a plan, so I need to be patient.
One more day.
Trying to push all negative thoughts out of my head, I clean up the pizza boxes and empty cans of soda before switching off the lights and going to my room. Mitch must be staying over at Hilda’s, but—unsurprisingly—I feel safer in the trailer alone than I do when he’s here.
He knows how Warren treats me. He knows, and he’s never once tried to stop him. But I feel an immovable sense of sadness for him too. His wife is gone. He obviously never got over the heartache, and Warren as his son isn’t exactly a consolation prize.
I change into my pajamas and brush my teeth before combing out my hair and braiding it loosely over one shoulder. Then when I’m ready, I go to my drawer and pull out my toiletry bag. Hopefully Conner will still be awake. I want to tell him how much my gift meant.
But when I open up the bag and rummage inside, horror washes over me.
My cell phone is gone.
Fear snakes through me as I pull out the entire contents of the small bag. The rational part of my brain knows it’s gone, but the irrational part, the part trembling with terror, needs to be sure.
“Where the hell is it?” I mutter to myself, throwing myself on the floor to make sure it hasn’t fallen out in the drawer.
I’m so lost in the frenzy that I don’t hear the door open. I don’t see Warren looking over at me until it’s too late.
“Looking for something?” he snarls, his eyes pitch black.
“You took it.”
“Kennedy, baby, when are you going to learn?” He leans down and grabs my arm, wrenching me to my feet. Pain ricochets through my muscles, but I swallow the yelp in my throat.
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” His body cages mine against the wall, his warm, bitter breath fanning my face. “Do you think I didn’t know that you and that fuck Jagger have been sneaking around? I know everything, Kennedy. Every-fucking-thing. And you played right into my hands, baby.”
“Y-you set me up. You—"
He fists my hair, yanking me up until my body hangs in front of him, the tips of my toes scraping the carpet.
“W-Warren.” My fingers claw at his hand, trying to loosen his death grip on me.
“You’re tainted goods, baby. Why do you think I’ve been sticking it elsewhere?” He cups me roughly, scratching the skin there.
I bite down on my lip to stop myself from crying out. It hurts. But it’s nothing compared to what I know is coming.
“Why?” I finally cry out.
“Why?” he seethes. “WHY? Because James Jagger and his good for nothing sons deserve to know what it feels like to have everything ripped away from them.”
“W-wha—" Warren shoves me hard and I crumple to the floor, breaking my fall with my hands and knees.
“What do you—" He backhands me so hard my head feels like it snaps from my neck, agony shooting through my jaw and into my spine.
“I should do it now.” Crouching down, Warren runs a finger down my cheek, through the river of silent tears cascading down my face. “Shit, you look good like this, baby.” He grabs my hair again, holding me in place. “It’s a real shame to dirty you all up before your birthday, but you make me so fucking mad, Ken.”
“I-I’m sorry.” Survival mode kicks in. This time feels different. He’s unstable, anger swirling around him like a devastating storm. He wants my pain, my tears, and my blood.
He wants to make me hurt.
Only, I’m not sure I’ll survive if he unleashes hell on me tonight... and I don’t mean metaphorically.
One more day.
That’s all I had to get through. But he knew. All along Warren knew, and he waited, biding his time until this moment.
He tsks, spittle flying into my face. “You’re not sorry, you’re just scared, aren’t you, baby? I could squeeze the life out of you right now,” his fingers wrap around my throat, “and nobody would know. Jagger thinks you’re safe and sound enjoying girls night with that dumb bitch Shelbie, Mitch is getting his dick sucked nice and deep by Hilda, and Daddy Jagger thinks you’re strong enough to take whatever I have to give. I mean, why else would he have sent you back to me? He can’t care about you that much, can he? If he’s willing to sacrifice you for his beloved sons.”
He shoves me again, and I land sprawled over the bed. Warren closes in behind me, pressing the length of his body up against mine. When I feel his hardness at my back, I almost puke. I can’t go through this again.
I can’t.
If he takes me like this, so angered and volatile, I won’t survive. My body might, but my heart will be shattered into irreparable pieces.
Intrusive fingers dance up my inner thigh, grazing my pussy. I clamp my legs together, trying to force him out. I’d rather take the physical beating than let him rape me.
“Don’t play hard to get, baby. You gave Jagger your greedy little pussy without putting up a fight. It seems only fair I get a taste too.”
> Bile washes in my stomach.
But I can’t give up.
One more day.
I only have to get through one more day.
“I won’t let you do this, Warren,” I say over my shoulder, trying to disguise the tremor in my voice.
“You think you can stop me.” His fist flies toward me and for a second, I think I must be dreaming. That this is all some nightmare I’ll wake up from. But the crunch of bone on bone, the flash of sheer agony radiating through my eye socket, tells me otherwise.
This is real.
And there’s no escaping.
“What do you mean, you can’t come over to get ready?” I can practically hear Shelbie’s pout over the line.
It’s almost noon on Saturday. My eighteenth birthday. The day I’m supposed to be celebrating. For more reasons than one.
But it’s impossible to feel anything but bone-deep dread as Warren watches me like a hawk from the couch.
After his tirade last night, he left me cold and alone on the bed. I could barely move, every inch of me sore and tender.
I fell asleep in the same position he abandoned me. When I woke up some hours later, there was a glass of water and some pain pills on the nightstand, but no apology.
We’ve crossed a line. I feel it hanging in the air like a storm on the horizon. I need to warn Conner, but Warren hasn’t let me out of his sight.
“I... Warren wants to take me for dinner first. He’s got the whole thing planned.”
“Did something happen?” she whispers.
“Yeah, he says it’s a surprise.” I reel off the words like a well-rehearsed script. Part of me wants her to figure it out, but the other part is too scared about what might happen if she does. “So we’ll see you there,” I add with as much conviction as I can muster.
“Kenny, if something happened, you can tell me... give me a sign or something and I’ll—"
“Yeah, okay. See you later... Bye.”
Hanging up is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I don’t know what else to do. As long as Warren is here with me, he isn’t out looking for Conner.
Although I can’t help but think he’s lying in wait for the real showdown...
My birthday party.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Conner
The second I wake up, I reach for my cell. I was expecting some messages from K after I left yesterday. She’d had the whole night to herself, so there would have been no reason why she couldn't have called if she wanted.
My stomach knots with the dread I fell asleep feeling.
Everything is okay, I tell myself. All of this is going to be over today.
I'm going to get my girl back.
I want to say the dread is replaced by excitement at that thought, but it's not. We've still got a long way to go until I can have her back here in my arms.
The knot only gets tighter when I see I don’t have a message or missed call from her.
Opening our conversation, I tap out a message.
Conner: Happy birthday, babe. I can't wait to celebrate with you later. Love you x
I stare at it, waiting for it to show as delivered. But it never does.
Finding another number, I hit call and lift my cell to my ear.
"Shelb, you heard from K?" I bark the second the call connects.
"Morning, Conner," she groans, her voice rough with sleep. "No, not yet. What time is it?"
"Almost lunch."
"Shit. I'll call her. Give me a few."
She hangs up on me before I can respond. The move pisses me off, but mostly I'm relieved that K has Shelbie in her corner.
I stare at the minutes as they pass on my cell, waiting for her to call back.
When her name appears, I'm so quick to answer it that I fumble and drop the fucking thing to my lap.
"Is everything okay?"
"I don't know. She sounded... weird."
"Fuck. I need to—"
"No, Conner. We've got a few hours until the party. Just sit tight and do what you need to do to get her back. You go running in now and you'll likely ruin everything and make all of her suffering pointless."
I nod, knowing that she's right despite how much I hate it.
"Conner?" she barks, reminding me that I didn't actually answer.
"Yeah. You're right."
"I know. Do you know what time you're going to be there yet?"
"No, we're going to get the lowdown later, apparently." Whatever the fuck that means.
"Okay, well you know where I am if you need me."
"Just... keep an eye on her... on them."
"You got it, Con. This is going to end today. Everything is going to be fine." Shelbie says those words like she's convincing herself more than she is me. I appreciate them though.
"I know. Thanks. I'll see you in a few hours." I hang up and throw myself back on my bed and let out a heavy sigh.
Please, for the love of God, let this come to an end today.
Dad paces back and forth behind his desk while the three of us watch him.
"I hope you know that if I thought there was a way to keep the three of you out of this then I'd be doing it."
"There isn't one. Tell us the plan," I damn near shout at him.
The party is starting in less than an hour now, and I'm starting to lose my patience and my grip on reality.
"Okay," he breathes, running his hand down his face. "In two hours time, you and some of my guys are going to gate crash that party."
"Your guys?" Ace asks incredulously.
"Just listen to him," I snap.
"My men are going for Warren. All you three need to do is get Kennedy out of there."
"Sounds simple enough," Cole says, rubbing his hands together as if he's more than ready for a fight.
"I wouldn't assume that. Warren is... smarter than he looks. He's found things out that most don't even know to look for."
"Are you going to tell us what this stuff is anytime soon?" I ask, getting more and more pissed off with all his secrets.
"I will tell you what you need to know once this is over."
"What we need to know? That's bullshit. We deserve to know everything."
"I can't put you all at risk like that. I need the three of you to trust me when I tell you that everything I do is to protect you."
"Whatever," I say, waving him off, already fed up with his bullshit secrets and excuses. "We leave in an hour, yes?"
"Yes."
"I'm going for a shower."
I storm out of Dad's office, ensuring the door slams back against the wall so they know just how fucking pissed off I am.
I go straight for the bathroom and lock the door behind me.
My chest heaves as my heart slams against my ribs. I need this fucking over now.
I strip down and stand under the shower before turning it on. The blast of water is the shock I need to drag myself out of my head and focus on what's coming.
I'm getting my girl back today.
With a towel wrapped around my waist and my clothes in a bundle in my arms, I make my way back to my bedroom.
I groan when I find Cole sitting in the chair by the window, waiting for me. Why am I not surprised?
"You need to trust him."
A laugh falls from my lips, but there's no humor in it.
"You're fucking kidding, right? You haven’t trusted him since the day we moved here, and now you're telling me to. Fucking unbelievable."
"What else have we got, Con?"
My teeth grind as I stare at him, but I don't have an answer.
I have trusted him. I've trusted him every second since K disappeared from that fucking hotel room. I've trusted that he's doing the right thing despite the hell she's living through right now. It would fucking help if he could give us some more fucking information. We might know that he's got intel on the fact that Cole killed Charlie, but there’s much more to it than just that.
"Get dressed, we're leaving in fi
fteen." With that, he walks out of my room. It hardly seemed worth him waiting for me just for that.
Rolling my eyes at his retreating back, I swing my door closed behind him and find something to wear. Something that's going to make it easy to throw my fist into that cunt’s face at the first opportunity I get. Fuck letting Dad's men go for Warren. That motherfucker is mine.
Twenty minutes later and we're in my car, music on full blast in an attempt to distract myself from what's about to happen as we fly toward the Heights, hopefully for the last time in a while.
This place might have been my home for almost all my life, but I'm beginning to hate the place more and more.
"Shit," Ace barks from my passenger seat, reaching out to turn my music down as we drive past the graffitied 'Welcome to Sterling Heights' sign.
I look in my rearview mirror to see what he's spotted, to find two cop cars following us. "Fucking hell. Now is not the time for this shit." I slow down a little, but after a minute or two, it seems that they're content on just following us to hell.
"They'd better not follow us all the way or they might get more than they anticipated," Cole mutters from the back seat.
But they do. They follow us the entire way to Joker’s.
Ace and I glance at each other when we pull into the parking lot and the two cop cars do the exact same thing.
"Do you think—" I start but am interrupted by Cole.
"They're to do with James. Yeah, I do."
The three of us watch as the officers get out of their cars, all of them fully armed, as if they're about to walk headfirst into a war zone.
I guess we are.
"So, we’re assuming they’re the backup then?" Ace asks as my grip on the wheel gets so tight my knuckles turn white.
Inhaling a calming breath through my nose, I blow it out past my lips as the image of my fists connecting with Warren's face fills my mind.
That motherfucker has played all of us for too long.
The fact that I once called him my friend has disgust filling my veins.
"Yeah. Let's end this motherfucker."
"Con, James said—"
