Amy turns back to me her eyes wide. “Can I go introduce Casey to my friends?” this little girl has me wrapped around her damn finger, I know there is no way I can tell her no.
I look over at Ryan and he gives me a nod. “Go, but stay in this room where we can see you okay?”
They run off to a corner where there are about ten other girls, all in huge dresses.
“So how is everything going with the guy who’s messing with Emma?” Ryan and I haven’t had much time to talk about everything. Hell I haven’t had much time for anything but the situation going on with Emma.
“I don’t know man.” I look over at Amy who is doing some little dance and has all the girls copying her. “This guy keeps getting in somehow. We have looked over security cameras, dusted the shit he leaves for prints, Dom has been wracking his fucking brain and we can’t figure it out.”
“Shit is crazy, I don’t know how you’re handling it without losing your damn mind.” I’m not.
My phone rings and I look down to see Dom’s name. “Speak of the devil” I say as I answer it.
“I think I have something, if I do it could be fucking bad.” His words come out quick and my muscles tense. “The truck that followed the girls, that woman it’s tied to. I found an article that mentioned a husband and daughter, Anthony and Lily. It says the fire was suspicious but the cops couldn’t prove anything. I tried looking up the guy and the daughter but it’s like they fucking disappeared into thin air. Thing is when I was researching it the guys face looked so familiar to me. So I started reviewing footage again, this guy is a parent at the school.”
“You’re fucking kidding me right?” I start looking around for the girls but suddenly the room seems like its three times as crowded. “Ryan go find the girls.”
He takes off without asking another question.
I look around frantically for any sight of them. “We are at a damn school event right now. Send me a picture of this guy and then any information you can find.”
Ryan comes walking up with a crying Casey in his arms. “I found her in the bathroom, she said that some guy was talking to Amy and then she got locked in the stall and couldn’t get out.”
No.
Chapter Fifteen
Emma
My phone beeps and when I pull it out my entire world freezes. It’s a picture of Amy in a trunk. The message says:
Go to the back of the building in two minutes without calling for help or she’s dead
Ditch your phone
I immediately stand up trying to think of an excuse, or a plan. I need Amy safe but I also know someone needs to know where we are. I grab a napkin quick and jot a note down to Ana then slip it under her phone. Standing up I head toward the hallway and no one questions me. When I walk out of the back door I notice a fence like the one in the front. I pull on it hard enough and make just enough space to slip through. The wire cuts my side and I wince, as I feel blood drip down my skin. After a few seconds a pair of headlights comes into view. When the truck pulls up I gasp at who is behind the wall.
Anthony, he is one of the parents from school.
Why would he be doing something like this?
Lily, his daughter, is sitting in the backseat and she looks scared.
The door gets pushed open and he tells me to get in. I climb into the truck and he immediately starts running his hands over my shorts. I try to move away from him but I barely have any room.
“Good girl, you listened.” He pulls away from the club.
I didn’t listen though. My phone is wedged under my bra in the center so it isn’t noticeable. “What are you doing Anthony?”
“I’m taking you home. You’ve been gone for too long Cheryl.”
Who the hell is Cheryl?
His hand grabs my thigh, “you can’t ever leave us like that again. I won’t stand for it.” I don’t know what to say to him. His voice is calm but edgy at the same time. Even when he looks over at me I don’t think he is really seeing me. “I can’t believe you thought I’d stand for you letting that biker trash touch you. I warned you that first night that you’d be mine.”
Bile rises in my throat as his hand moves closer to my core. It takes everything in me not to push him away but with him driving I know it’s not the best idea right now. The country road we are on is really dark and most of the turns have been pretty sharp.
“Why didn’t you just talk to me?” I try to distract him hoping at this point that Ana has found my note.
“I did!” he screams his one hand hitting the wheel as the other one tightens on my thigh. “I asked you out, you said you didn’t date parents.”
That’s when the memory comes back. It was when he and Lily first enrolled and the encounter was so brief I completely forgot about it. “I—I’m sorry”
I don’t know what else to say to him. I look into the backseat and Lily has her feet pulled up to her chest. She hasn’t said a word. “Anthony why don’t we stop the car and get Amy out? Let her sit with Lily in the backseat.”
“No.”
I wait for more of an answer but it’s all I get.
“She’s probably getting scared and I know that’s not what you want.” I’m hoping if I play along I can get all of us out of this in one piece.
“You’re right, I don’t want her scared.” He turns to face me. “I want her gone.”
My heart stops at his admission.
“She isn’t part of the family Cheryl. We were a family of three not four. It needs to be like it was.”
I rack my brain thinking of something, anything I might be able to say to him to change his mind. “Four people in a family is just more love.”
“No!” he screams and the car swerves. Lily yells in the backseat. “I will not share you. You tried that once with your boyfriend and I showed you. You never saw it coming!”
He’s almost manic as he’s screaming and I decide I need to drop this and pray we pull over soon so I can try to save Amy.
The car start’s to slow down.
“This is it Cheryl. This is where I caught you with him. Where you told me you were taking my family from me.” He starts to shift into the other lane where there are a few trees and some benches then a lookout spot over the mountains. “This is also where we will all leave to be a family together.”
The car revs as Anthony pushes on the gas.
I scream as we go hurdling toward the cliff.
Please God no.
Chapter Sixteen
Cain
I run to the car picking up my phone to call Emma. It rings but eventually goes to voicemail. We searched the entire building but there was no trace of Amy. I get into the truck, heading to the clubhouse to see what else Dom can tell me because I need to find Amy right now.
I try and call Emma again but there is no answer.
I try Ana hoping they are hanging out together. I almost give up but she finally answers.
“Hey Cain you—what the hell?”
“Ana? What is it?” I press the gas knowing from the tone of her voice something is wrong.
“I picked up my phone and there was a note under it. I think it’s from Emma. I thought she went to bed but—“ her voice trails off.
“But what? What is it Ana?’ the clubhouse comes into sight. She doesn’t answer me and I hear some rustling in the background.
“Logan!” Ana’s voice yells and then I hear chaos erupt in the background.
I hang up the phone as I pull up to the fence. As soon as I stop the car I’m out and running into the main room.
Logan and Jimmy are standing with Ana and they have Emma’s computer open.
“What the fuck is going on?” I walk over to them to see they have a gps open.
“I picked up my phone and there was this note.” Ana hands the napkin to me and I recognize Emma’s handwriting.
Amy taken
Need to leave
Computer password is unicornamy
Track my phone
“Fuck.” I pick up the bar stool next to me, slamming it to the ground as it splinters apart. “I’m going, someone call me and update me on where she is.”
“We are following,” Logan says as he waves to Jimmy.
I nod and run out to my bike as my phone rings. “Talk to me Dom.”
“Start heading north, stay on Noble Rd.”
Noble road? Where the hell are they going?
I stick my Bluetooth headphones in and the pull away so I can get any updates he has for me. Logan and Jimmy follow behind me.
Noble road is a bitch at night with all the turns and there isn’t really much on it.
My heart is racing and I can’t believe that this is where the night took me. This is my fault. I was supposed to be watching Amy and I let this psycho get a hold of her. Now he’s got Emma too and if anything happens to them I have no idea what I’ll do.
“Cain?” Dom’s voice sound in my ears.”
“Yea?”
“The car stopped moving. Problem is I don’t know why. There are no houses where they are stopped. I pulled it up on google earth and it looks like it’s just a pull off to look out at the valley.”
What the fuck is going on?
“Got it, we are heading up the road now. How far away do you think I am?”
“Probably about fifteen minutes.”
I push the bike harder hoping to cut that time down.
“You’ll be there in a couple minutes. It’s a place to pull off on your left.”
Turning a corner I see exactly what he’s talking about. Once I get closer everything inside of me turns to ice. The guardrail is broken and there are tire tracks leading right off of the edge. I pull over and hop off the bike with Logan and Jimmy right behind me. Looking down I don’t see anything, but it’s dark as hell out here. I pull out my phone clicking the flashlight on and immediately the old truck comes into sight. The same beat up one that was following the girls that day. It’s about thirty feet down, I can’t see anyone though.
I turn to Logan “Call for help.” The dirt crumbles under my feet as I start my way down the hill and towards the truck. I lose my footing for a minute and grab onto a rock to steady myself. I don’t stop though I need to get to her. I look behind me and see Jimmy following as Logan waits up top.
Once we get down to the car I move to the passenger side and see Emma. She has blood on her face and her eyes are closed. I pull on the door handle but it’s locked and I can’t get it to open. Looking in the backseat I see a little girl but it isn’t Amy. She must not have been buckled because she’s lying on the floor of the backseat. Jimmy see if you can get the trunk open, Amy could be in there. I start to bang on the window hoping to wake Emma up and have her help me get the door open.
“Emma! Emma wake up!” For a minute I think I see her move. I still waiting for any response from her. “Come on babe, open your eyes. I’m right here.”
That’s when I see her eyes open for a second and she looks at me.
“Cain!” Jimmy’s voice calls, “need your help.”
Emma’s eyes are closed again so I walk to the back of the truck. “What’s up?”
Jimmy has a stick lodged under a part of the truck. “I’m pretty sure Amy is in there. We need to pry it open and I need you to help.” I nod grabbing the handle of the trunk while Jimmy gets the end of the stick. “On three, 1…2…3”
We both put pressure on the trunk and after about five seconds it springs open. Amy is laying there her wrists tied together. I pick her up feeling for a pulse and once I do I let out a breath of relief. “Think you can get her up to Logan?” Jimmy nods taking Amy from me as I go back toward the front of the car.
When I look in I see the bastard in the front seat with a gun in his hand and pointed right at me. I duck just as the gun fires, glass from the window shattering.
“You can’t have her!” he screams and I wish now I would have grabbed my gun before I left the clubhouse. I didn’t have it at the dance with me and with everything going on, it completely slipped my mind. I look back at the hill and see Jimmy coming back down. I mouth the word gun to him and he reaches back into his waistband. I try to see what’s going on through the side mirror but it’s not at the right angle. Jimmy gets to the end of the truck and I signal him to go around the other side. As far as I know this asshole thinks I’m alone. I slowly start to rise needing to get eyes on what is going on. Anthony is holding Emma against him, his gun aimed at her forehead. She seems like she isn’t fully conscious. I’m not even sure she is really aware of what is going on.
“Put the gun down.” I half plead and half demand.
“Fuck you, biker trash. You should have left us alone. We would have been fine.” He leans in placing a kiss on Emma’s forehead. “I love you and I’ll see you soon Cheryl.”
Just then a shot sounds and blood sprays all over the inside of the car. Anthony falls forward flopping onto Emma’s seat. A second shot rings out and Emma screams. I can’t completely see what’s going on through the shattered glass. Using my elbow I knock out most of it and reach in opening the door. Emma is bleeding from her shoulder. “What the fuck Jimmy?”
“It wasn’t me I fired once and my shit doesn’t miss. His must have gone off when he dropped it.”
“Cain,” her voice comes out in a groan as I try to see what other injuries she might have, her right arm is limp and probably broken the way to door seemed to be bent in. I’m almost positive she has a concussion. I unbuckle the seatbelt and move to lift her out.
The sirens sound from the ambulance and I look over at Jimmy. “How hard was it to get Amy up there?”
“Too fucking hard.” I look up and follow his gaze. “You try to walk up that shit with Emma you’ll both end up even further down.”
I hold her in my arms waiting for the EMTs to send a gurney down to us.
“We talking when we get up there?” Jimmy looks over at me.
Normally my answer to that would be, fuck no. This time we don’t have anything to hide though so we should be fine. “Yea, but as little as possible.”
Emma groans in my arms. Her eyes open a bit, “Amy?”
“She’s okay, babe. You both are.” I hold her close to me as the gurney finally starts to get lowered. One of the EMT’s makes her way down to us.
“My name is Meredith. I am going to need you to put her down on the gurney and then we can treat her and get her to the hospital.”
I lay Emma down and she gets strapped in. I start to climb to the top then I remember the other little girl I saw, Dom said her name was Lily. The one in the backseat. I run over to the car and she’s still there. I unlock the doors, reach into the car and pick her up. “I’m going to start up, follow behind me in case I slip on something with her in my arms?”
“Shit, yea I’m here” Jimmy says.
Once we get up to where the bikes are I see Amy sitting up in the ambulance. “Cain!” she tries to run toward me but is stopped by the guy checking her out. I walk Lily over to the truck and put her on the bed.
He turns to Lily and starts examining her while I walk over to Amy. “Hey princess, how you doing?”
“Is mommy okay?” her eyes are wide as she looks around.
“She is, she’ll be up here any minute and she was asking me for you.”
Amy wraps her arms around me. “Thanks for saving us.”
“Always.” It’s all I say as I hold her.
Chapter Seventeen
Emma
The steady beeping sounds as I try to open my eyes. My body hurts like I’ve been hit by a truck and my eyes feel heavy. I try to think back to what happened but most of it blurry. I remember Cain and Amy leaving for the dance.
Amy.
He had her.
Is she okay?
I force my eyes open realizing I’m in a hospital bed and Cain is sitting in my room. I squeeze his hand that is holding mine and his head shoots up from where it was resting on the bed.
“Emma? You�
�re awake, thank God” he stands up running for the door and yells for the nurse. When he comes back to stand next to my bed he cups my face in his hands. “I was so damn scared I was going to lose you.”
I try to speak and ask about Amy but all that comes out is a squeak. My throat hurts and I wince.
“Good morning Miss Sanders.” A nurse walks in with a big smile.
“There’s something wrong. She tried to talk and she couldn’t.” Cain’s voice is rushed and panicked.
Walking over to me and listening to my heart she replies, “that’s normal. You can grab her some ice water and it should help.” Cain walks away as she continues to listen to my chest. “You sound good. You’ll be sore for a while. Your left arm was broken and the shoulder was dislocated. You had a few broken ribs from the seatbelt and some minor burns from the airbag. You also have a mild concussion.” Cain hands me some water and I move to take it but halfway there my arm falls back down to the bed. “Weakness is normal since you’ve just woken up”
“Here babe,” he says as he brings the cup to my lips and I drink.
The cool water feels amazing on my raw throat. I pull my head back once I think I can try to talk again, “amy.” It’s a whisper but I get it out.
Cain tucks my hair behind my ear. “She’s fine, barely a scratch on her.”
I smile, I knew he’d come for us.
The nurse checks off a few things on the clipboard. “You seem like you’re doing great considering. Mr. Russell, I need to talk to you about—“
“Yea, one minute and I’ll come out.” Cain cuts her off and I’m not sure what exactly it’s about. Once she walks out he turns towards me. “So listen this is up to you and I will stand by any decision you make. Anthony’s daughter, Lily, she is here too. He’s gone and he was the only family she had. I asked Dom to dig and at best she may have a few cousins she’s never met. I haven’t filled out her information for the hospital yet because if I say that she’ll get put into the system and I really don’t want to do that to that little girl.”
Cain (Deathstalkers 2nd Generation Book 1) Page 7
