Eye for an Eye (Take a Chance Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  I grab his wrist when he goes to get up from the damp ground. “What about Andrew?”

  “He’ll never come between us again. He doesn’t exist for us.”

  I nod, letting him leave. I need to wrap my mind around it all. I never blamed Wyatt for the things he said to me. They were warranted for my deceit. But can I truly believe he has forgiven me and can look past Andrew being my dad? I don’t know. And losing him again is something I know I won’t cope with.

  “Are you okay?” Rebecca asks, taking a seat on the ground beside me.

  “I’m not sure,” I admit.

  “If it’s any consolation, I believe him. They all love you, Evie.”

  “But is it real?” I ask, tears gathering in my eyes.

  “As much as I hate him for what he did to you, I can’t lie to you. I do think it’s real and that he’s being sincere.”

  My mind drifts as I stare down at the hole my mother’s coffin was lowered into. “He wants me to go to him within the hour. They’re going to The Ginn Inn.”

  “Are you going to go?”

  Tilting my head, I gauge her reaction. “What would you do?”

  “Honestly? If you hadn’t been how you were for the past two weeks, I’d have said no. But that’s me. I’m a stubborn bitch and would make him work harder. But for two weeks I’ve watched you wither away. I’ve been worried sick that I wouldn’t be able to pull you out. Really worried. Within minutes of being around him, there’s a spark back in you. I want you to keep having that.”

  “What happened to not needing a man to make you happy?” I lightly tease, trying to crack a smile. I’m just not there yet.

  “You don’t need Wyatt to make you happy. But you aren’t going to be happy until you talk to him.”

  “When he ended things, a part of my heart left with him,” I tell her, my gaze drifting into the distance. “Then Mum died, taking the other. I feel hollow inside, Becca, empty, and I don’t know how to fix what’s broken.”

  “I do,” she whispers, taking my hand in hers.

  “How?”

  “Go to him.”

  For a few moments we sit in silence, finding solace in the peace and tranquillity.

  “Why don’t we get out of here?” she asks.

  “I’m going to stay awhile longer. I’ll meet you at The Ginn Inn in just under an hour.”

  Her brows crease. “I can wait with you. I don’t think you should—”

  Squeezing her hand, I force out a smile. I can see the worry and stress I put her through. I hate myself for putting her through it. She looks tired and doesn’t need the stress, not with the pregnancy and morning sickness.

  “I’m not going to do anything. I promise. I’m not going to lie and tell you I feel better because I don’t. But you were right on the bridge.” I console myself, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “I never thanked you for saving my life and I’m sorry. You’ve been a true friend, a sister, and I’m so grateful I have you in my life. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me.

  “Thank you.”

  Loud sobs break through and she pulls me into her arms, shoving her face into my neck. “I love you. Please don’t ever scare me like that again.”

  “I’m sorry I made you worry about me. I was stuck in my own head and it was selfish.”

  “You were grieving,” she scolds. “I’ll always worry about you. You’re more than my best friend. Never forget that.”

  I pull away, wiping at my own tears. “I’ll try to be better, to get better.”

  “One day at a time. That’s all you can do. I think today snapped you back to the present.”

  She shivers as a spot of rain lands on her cheek.

  “Go. I promise to catch up with you in a bit. I just want some time alone.”

  She nods, getting up from the ground and dusting off her knees. “So, you’re going to The Ginn Inn?”

  “Yes. I’m not sure if I can trust this will be real or if he’ll ever be able to forget who my father is, but he still deserves to be heard.”

  “And what if you think he can’t move past it?”

  “Then I’ll get closure.” The words taste bitter on my tongue. “I love him so much that I have to try. I have to know.”

  She bends down, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “I’m proud of you. Things will get better.”

  “I love you,” I whisper.

  “I love you too,” she whispers back, her eyes misty. “I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll pop home and get changed first.”

  I give her a nod before turning back to Mum’s grave. The wind picks up, swirling my hair around my face. I pull my coat tighter around me, feeling another drop of rain on my hand.

  For a while, I say and do nothing. I just stare at the grave, thinking of all me and Mum had been through, and wondering what she would do or say if she was here.

  “What should I do, Mum? I woke up today not thinking about tomorrow. I didn’t think I’d get through the day. Will I be setting myself up for more pain? Please answer me,” I softly cry out.

  The wind picks up as light raindrops fall. I won’t be able to stay much longer. The grey clouds are darkening, letting me know it’s about to pour.

  Today still feels like a dream, foggy in my mind. Wyatt turning up with his entire family has shaken me to my core, but it also gave me the warmth I have been lacking for weeks. They will never know what it means to me that they came.

  Focusing back on my mum, I tuck my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my knees.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, for not fighting harder. He will pay for what he did. I promise.

  “I’m going to miss you every day, and I want you to know that I’ll be okay. I’m going to be okay. I love you, and I promise I’ll be here all the time.”

  My stiff back protests when I get up from the ground. “Goodbye, Mum.”

  Turning to leave, I nearly trip over my own feet when I see three men in front of me.

  Everything inside of me hardens, and all the emotions I have felt since that dreadful day come bubbling to the surface. I scream, running towards the man who destroyed my world, my life.

  Before I can reach him, I’m grabbed around the waist by one of the men at his side. “I hate you,” I scream, trying to reach him. “I’m going to kill you!”

  He steps forward, bringing his hands out of his black coat. His expression hardens as he swings his hand out, catching me on my mouth and jaw.

  I lift my head, panting as the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.

  “You should have listened to me,” he warns, before looking to the man with his arms wrapped around me. “Take her.”

  “What? No! Let me go,” I scream, trying to fight him off.

  “Stop,” the guy growls in my ear, roughly squeezing me.

  “I’ll see you at the meeting place,” he tells them, before giving me his back.

  “Let me go,” I yell, before biting the wrist holding me.

  “Bitch,” he hisses, squeezing me so roughly that it sucks the air out of my lungs. “Cover her mouth.”

  “I’ll do one better,” the other guy mumbles, stabbing something sharp into my neck.

  The world around me begins to blur and my eyelids droop. The last thing I see before I succumb to the darkness is Andrew getting into a black Escalade.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  WYATT

  The clock above the bar echoes in my ears with each second it ticks. The noise of the bar is drowned out by the sound, leaving me in my own personal nightmare.

  She will come.

  Another minute goes by, and I’m beginning to lose hope she will show. Ten more minutes and I’ll have my answer.

  She will come.

  I have to believe that. I’ve made bad decisions in my time, but never had regrets. I’m a firm believer in learning by your mistakes. Now I have regrets. Regret that I let Black get to me, regret that I reacted the way I did, and my biggest regr
et… letting her get in that car and drive away.

  If I could go back in time, I would have handled the entire situation better. My pride caused me to lose the love of my life and with such a high cost. What happened wasn’t small, it was huge, and the ripple effect nearly cost us her life.

  I know we can never get back what we had, but I have hope that we can build something better. I just need her to give me another chance.

  “She’ll come,” Eli assures me as he takes a seat on the bar stool beside me.

  The others have taken the table near the window because it has the most seats. I couldn’t sit there and pretend everything was okay for a second longer, so I moved to the bar to find solitude. I’m not one to bitch or rant about my feelings, so for weeks I have bottled it all in, not wanting to let the others know just how much I was missing her. I guess I failed at that too.

  “I don’t think she will. And can you blame her?”

  “Wyatt, no one but Black is to blame for that day. Yeah, you and Evie could have done things differently, but you were both scared and under pressure. You were both protecting your family and your hearts.”

  “I said some messed up shit,” I tell him, before taking a swig of my fresh pint. I lick the foam off my lip, gazing up at the clock.

  Five minutes.

  “You did, and now you want to make it right.”

  I groan, ducking my head. “She’s not coming.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” he tells me, and I glance up at his tone. “Is it me or does Rebecca look sick?”

  I’m not looking at Rebecca. I’m too busy gazing over her shoulder to see where Evie is. When there’s no sign of her, I sag back against the bar, my gut turning.

  “She’s not coming, is she?” I ask when Rebecca gets close enough to hear me.

  She jerks, stopping to scan the bar. “She’s not here?”

  “What? No. She was here?” I rush out, then turn to Eli. “She hasn’t been here, right?”

  “No,” he murmurs, watching as Rebecca pulls out her phone, her face pale. She lifts it to her ear, holding her finger up when I open my mouth to speak.

  Her voice trembles when she says, “She’s not answering.”

  Eli slides off his stool. “She wouldn’t have—”

  “No!” Rebecca and I yell.

  “Oh God. I left her,” Rebecca whimpers.

  From the corner of my eye, I catch the doors to the pub fly open, and a sick feeling in my stomach takes root when I see Jaxon’s ashen face. He scans the seats where the others are sitting before moving on. His gaze lands on us, and he storms over.

  He left to go home with Lily from the graveyard. Lily has panic attacks in crowded places and doesn’t like being around drunk people. Him turning up only means one thing.

  Something has happened.

  “What?” I ask, sliding off my chair.

  “I’m sorry, Wyatt. It’s Evie.”

  “Oh God,” Rebecca cries, and Eli grabs her, pulling her into his arms. I only take a second to register the familiarity between the two, seeing the way he gently kisses her head, before turning back to Jaxon.

  “What’s happened?”

  The rest of the family turn their attention to us, coming to stand behind Jaxon.

  “He’s taken her,” he rushes out, stepping back and pushing his fingers through his hair. “He wants the copy of the memory card.”

  He hands me his phone and I open the message. The blood rushes from my face when I see the attached picture. Evie is out cold, lying on a damp concrete floor, and silver tape is covering her mouth. Mascara stains her cheeks and blood has dried on her chin.

  Unknown: If you want to see Evelyn again, I want that memory card back. Message me when you’re ready to exchange. The card for Evelyn.

  “He’s going to hurt her,” Rebecca cries.

  Fear slams through me. I hand Jaxon his phone before turning back to the bar, gripping the edge and panting heavily.

  He has her.

  “Wyatt,” Eli calls out, stepping closer.

  He has her.

  I swipe the pint off the bar, letting it smash to the floor on the other side, and scream out with rage. Jim gives me a stern look before grabbing the dustpan and brush off the side, used to the routine.

  “We need to find her,” I demand, pushing away from the bar. I swipe my keys and phone off the counter, turning to leave. “He isn’t going to fucking touch her again.”

  “We’ve got no clue where she is,” Jaxon warns, stopping me.

  “Then we’ll fucking find her,” I roar.

  Rebecca grips my jacket, pulling me back. “Why don’t you just agree to the exchange? Please.”

  Jaxon and I share a look. It’s his decision. We might all be equal partners, but it’s Jaxon who practically runs it, who keeps us in line.

  “Why are you even hesitating?” Rebecca snaps. “This is Evie, and despite what you think she did, she’s a good person and needs to be away from him.”

  “I’d hand it over now,” I tell her sharply. “It’s not up to me though.”

  Jaxon shrugs. “I don’t give a fuck. It has nothing we can use, and what we could has already been used to its limit. Plus, nothing is worth letting an innocent get hurt.” He pulls out his phone, replying to the text. When he looks up, his expression is blank. “Now we wait.”

  “I can’t—” I begin, when I’m cut off by Jaxon’s phone beeping with a message.

  He levels us with a glowering stare. “He said to meet him at this address in twenty minutes. Only two of us can go or he’ll hurt her.”

  “Let’s go,” I demand, shouldering my way through the crowd.

  “We need to get the memory stick.”

  Rain spills down in sheets when I step outside. Footsteps sound behind me, splashing in the puddles forming on the ground.

  “Wait. I’m coming with you.”

  I spin around to face Rebecca, ignoring the others who followed. “You can’t. He said two people. And no offence, but if it’s a trap, I’d rather have my brother by my side than someone who can’t do anything. I’ll get her back, Rebecca, I swear it.”

  “Then we’ll wait near the location. I can’t just stay here,” she cries out. “She will need me.”

  Jaxon shrugs, letting me decide. I sigh, then rattle off the address. “Eli, don’t get too close to the location. The picture Jaxon received was of Evie in a warehouse of some kind, and if I remember correctly, the place they want to meet is now an empty lot. The building was torn down last year. If they see you it could put Evie in danger.”

  “Wait ten minutes before leaving,” Jaxon warns.

  I rush over to Jaxon’s car, pulling the door open. Once inside, he turns to me. “There are no cameras around that area.”

  “You want to show him what we normally do to people who fuck us over?”

  Jaxon grins. “The second Evie is safe, and in the car, the fucker is going to beg for death.”

  Isn’t that the truth.

  I crack my knuckles. “And hopefully he has his friends there too.”

  *** *** ***

  The chain to the gate hangs broken, swinging side to side in the wind. It has already been pushed open, so it doesn’t slow us down as we drive through.

  I wipe at the condensation on the window, trying to scan the area outside for any signs of them. This place was used as a walk trail at one time but was closed down when too many accidents happened. The ground moved, causing dips and the rocky paths to collapse in on themselves in places.

  Up ahead is a carpark which overlooks a lake and a foundation base from where the building that rented bikes and fishing gear once stood.

  “Are there any other exits?” I muse as we turn on another bend. An idea is forming, and I want all the facts.

  “Only this one and the exit,” he informs me, pointing to the blue arrow.

  I forgot it was a one-way system. One way in, one way out. Meaning there is another route into the place. “Hopefully that�
��s the only other entrance. They clearly used this one to get in,” I explain. “They’ll be blocked in if they try to do anything.”

  “Are you thinking he will take the memory stick and still hurt Evie?”

  “I wouldn’t put anything past him. I’m just saying, if he’s going to do something, I’d rather be prepared. I’ve texted Eli to wait at the gate once I text him to confirm Black is already here.”

  “What if the other exit is open?” he asks, his voice trailing off when we reach the carpark.

  He breaks sharply at the sight of a blue van on the other side, along with a black Escalade.

  Black stands next to his car, holding his umbrella in one hand while his other is shoved into his pocket.

  I will never understand how a man can stand so aloof and be so emotionless towards his own daughter. He stands there like a man would wait for a bus, not a man who is waiting to exchange his daughter for a memory stick.

  He makes me sick, and if I thought I’d get away with it, I’d drown him in the large pond to the left of us.

  Jaxon shuts the car off and I quickly text Eli to cover the entrance. We both push open the door, sliding out of the car.

  My leather shoes sink into the mud, which will become a nuisance when the fight begins. The clothes I have on are already going to make it a struggle since my trousers are from my grandma’s funeral a few years ago. They’re tight around the groin and the jacket pulls around my shoulders.

  “I knew you’d be foolish enough to come,” Black calls out, stepping away from his car with a smile on his face.

  I eye the two men leaning against the back of the van before turning back to Black. “And you’re foolish if you think they can stop me from getting to you.”

  He gives them a chin lift, and like they are trained, they move to the back of the van. I still when they pull the doors open, revealing an unconscious Evie lying on the floor of the van, her hands tied and her mouth covered in tape.