by Evelyn Glass
***
Scott pulled into a service station, weary but still only half way into the ten-hour drive. He had finally navigated his way back to the interstate, but he had lost valuable time on backroads. He swiped his card in the pump to start the gas flowing and then, as the truck filled, he dashed into the attached mini-mart to empty his bladder. On the way back to the truck he grabbed a Gatorade and a nasty-looking sandwich from the cooler. He wasn’t hungry but he still had a long way to go and eating would help keep him awake. Items paid for, he hurried to the truck, hung up the nozzle, and turned back toward the interstate, the truck roaring up the onramp at full throttle.
***
Jess started awake as the SUV rocked and bumped as it turned onto a gravel drive. It took her a moment to wake up enough to realize where they were: Val’s farm. She yawned and stretched, trying to work the kinks out. As the truck eased to a stop, her mother stepped out of the house into a pool of light cast by one of the floods mounted on the house.
“Val! What the hell are you doing?” Kat snapped.
“Good to see you, too, Kat,” Val deadpanned as Jess climbed out of the truck.
“Jessica! Are you okay? Val! How could you? You kidnapped your own niece? What’s the matter with you? Are you fucking stupid? You want the cops crawling all over this place?”
“Just shut the fuck up,” Val snarled at his sister. “I’m in no mood for your shit. She never should have run off in the first place. All I did was bring her home.”
Kat glanced between her brother and her daughter. “Val, for god’s sake! She’s a grown woman! You can’t just kidnap her!”
Val waved a dismissive hand at Kat and stomped away toward his house as Kat turned toward Jess. “Jess…I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I’m fine, but I’m not staying here,” Jess said. She would have said more but Jake took her by the arm and started her walking toward the house.
“Come on. You two can have your reunion after we get some sleep.”
“Where are you taking her?” Kat demanded.
“Don’t worry about it, Kat. Nobody is going to hurt her. She’s going to have the basement all to herself.”
“No! Let her say at my place! Please! I’ll make sure she stays there. Come on, Jake, you know you can trust me!”
“Can’t do it, Kat. Val’s orders. She is to stay here until he says otherwise. Go home, Kat, and get some sleep. You look like shit and I feel like shit. She’ll be fine until tomorrow.”
Kat fumed, but she knew this was a battle she couldn’t win, not tonight. “Okay, fine. But I’ll be back later this morning, and if she has so much as a scratch on her…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know…” Jake said not even slowing.
***
“’lo…Jess?” Ron Nebbles’ sleepy voice came from Jess’s phone.
“Mr. Nebbles, this is Scott Murphy. I met you about a month ago, with Jess. Remember me?”
“What? Yeah…hang on a minute while I get myself together.”
Scott heard some muttering and movement, but he couldn’t tell if it was Ron’s voice or someone else. He waited impatiently for Ron to come back on the line as the lights of Detroit approached.
“Do you know what time it is?” Ron’s annoyed voice came back.
“Yes, I know, almost four. I’m sorry for waking you, but Jess is in trouble. Val took her yesterday. I’m almost to Detroit and I need a place to crash for a few hours.”
There was a long silence. “Did you say that Val took Jess? What do you mean took her? As in kidnapped her?”
“Yeah.”
“Son of a bitch…Yeah, okay. You know how to get here?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. Coffee will be waiting.”
***
In his exhausted state, Scott took several wrong turns in the dark, but he finally found a landmark he recognized, and pulled into Ron’s driveway just as the clock ticked over to 4:45. He parked behind the battered Toyota and crawled out of the truck. As much as he wanted to start the search for Jess immediately, he had been up almost twenty hours and knew he was in no shape to help anyone.
Ron opened the door as Scott approached. “Did you drive all night? You look like hell,” he asked, handing him a mug of strong, aromatic coffee.
“Yeah,” Scott said, taking the cup and nodding in appreciation as he stepped into Ron’s kitchen. “I’m sorry to wake you like this, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
“No, I’m glad you did. Are you sure Val took her?” Scott pulled Jess’s phone from his pocket and played the recording for Ron. “That rat-bastard son-of-a-bitch,” Ron growled. “We need to call the cops.”
“No. No cops.”
“Why?”
“Because, despite the recording, there is no solid proof of who performed the kidnapping, nor any indication of where she might be. The cops will show up, ask around, and Val will deny everything. We don’t know where they’ve taken her, and if they show up with a warrant, and she isn’t there, then we’ve tipped our hand. No…better that I find her first and then go to the cops if we have to. At least then we can point them in the right direction.”
“Yeah, but this is what—” Ron began.
“Ron, look, I’ve been thinking about this for over ten hours. This is the best way; trust me. Let me find her, so when the cops come busting in, they will actually find her and not give Val a chance to move her someplace else. If I can’t track her down in a couple of days, then we may have to go to the cops, but let’s give my idea a try first. I don’t want to give Val any excuse to hurt her. Hell, she may not even be in Michigan for all I know.”
“She said Detroit,” Ron pointed out.
“I know. But did she know that or did she just assume that since it was Val that was taking her? See the problem? We don’t have enough information yet. Just give me a chance, Ron. Please.”
Ron licked his lips. “Fuck! What can I do?”
“Give me a place to crash for a few days. We’re pretty strapped for cash at the moment, after the move, and if I don’t have to stay at a—”
“Done,” Ron interrupted. “What else?”
“Nothing for the moment. I just need to catch a few hours’ sleep, then I’m heading to Val’s.”
“You think she’s there?”
“I have no idea. On the one hand, it’s out in the boonies, which is good for stashing someone. But on the other hand, that will be the first place someone would look. I have to start somewhere and that seems as good a place as any. I just need to pick up a whiff of her somewhere, and go from there.”
Ron stared at Scott a moment. “If you get her out of this, you end it, once and for all.”
Scott extended his hand, and Ron took it. “You have my word.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jess blinked herself awake, slightly disoriented by her unfamiliar surroundings. Jake had escorted her into the basement and left her there seven hours ago. After he left, she tried the door at the top of the stairs. There was no lock, but when she eased it open she saw the Grim Angel sitting just outside in a chair, facing the door. When he smiled at her, she closed the door again without comment.
The room was comfortable enough. There was an oversized couch that was perfect for sleeping, an antique Coke machine filled with beer and a bathroom, so she would be comfortable enough. There was also a large screen television, pool table, sauna, plenty of video games, and an antique pinball machine to keep herself entertained. What she really wanted, but didn’t have, was a phone, another door, or a window to wriggle out of.
After helping herself to a beer to help calm her nerves, she had explored the room, but quickly realized that with Thomas on guard outside the only door, she might as well have been in a maximum security prison.
With a yawn, Jess stretched and scratched herself awake, and then crept to the top of the stairs again where she opened the door slowly and peeked out. Thomas was go
ne, but now an alert looking Casey was sitting in the chair.
“You need something?” Casey asked.
“To use the bathroom.”
Casey gave her a condescending look. “Nice try. Use the one in the basement.”
“There’s one down here? Can you come show me?”
“I think you can find it. Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Jess.”
“Casey, please let me go. You know what Val is doing isn’t right. Please!”
“I can’t do it, Jess. The orders came straight from Val.”
“You can’t keep me locked in the basement forever!”
“I don’t have to. My shift ends when they bring you breakfast.”
“Asshole!”
Casey grinned at her. “Be nice. You shouldn’t have run off with that redneck. Val just wants what’s best for you, and if you would just stop and think about it for minute, you would realize that. Now, go back down there and be good. Your breakfast should be here soon.”
“I hope you choke on yours!”
“Would you give me mouth to mouth if I do?”
Jess slammed the door, cutting off Casey’s chuckle.
***
Jess was sitting on the couch, watching the news, hoping to see an item about a massive manhunt for a missing woman, when she heard the clomping of feet coming down the stairs. Kat appeared around the corner with a tray and a paper bag. Jess said nothing as her mother sat the wooden tray in the seat of the matching leather chair.
“Here’s your breakfast,” Kat said solemnly. “I brought you some clothes.” Kat held the bag up then sat it in the floor. “Are you okay?”
“Why do you care?” Jess asked.
“Jess…I never wanted this. I didn’t ask Val to do this. I wanted you to come home, sure. And I think you made a big mistake by leaving…but kidnapping? No, that’s too much.”
“Then help me!”
Kat picked up the tray and handed it to Jess before sitting down beside her. “I’ve tried. Val and I had a fifteen-minute screaming match a few minutes ago. He’s not going to let you go until you agree to stay here in Detroit and Scott is out of the picture.”
Jess looked at her mother. Kat looked like warmed over death and reeked of wine and cigarettes. “So he’s going to keep me locked in the basement for the rest of my life?”
“No, but I don’t know what his plans are. He isn’t thinking beyond tomorrow. I think he really believes you will realize you made a mistake and agree to stay.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him he didn’t know you as well as he thought he did.”
Jess looked at her plate of scrambled eggs with crisp bacon on the side. She didn’t want to eat it, just to spite her mother, but it smelled so damn good she finally picked up the fork and started eating. “And you still think I made a mistake in running away?” she asked around a mouth full of eggs.
“I did,” Kat replied. “But now? Maybe not. I don’t know anymore. I can’t believe Val is doing this.”
“Then help me! Help me get out of here!”
“I can’t! Jess, you don’t understand. The club has fractured over this. Half the members think Val is wrong, and he is shutting them out. Only those loyal to him are here. If I cross him, he will shut me out, too.”
“Then call Scott and tell him where I am! You can do that, can’t you?”
Kat wrung her hands and leaned forward onto her knees. “I can’t. You’re the only thing I have left. If Val were to prevent me from seeing you...I can’t bear to lose you, too. Just give me some time, Jess. I’ll make him see.”
Jess dropped her fork on the plate in disgust. “Just like the last time you said you would make him see?”
“What do you want from me, Jess? He’s the fucking President of the Grim Angels! He gets what he wants, and he doesn’t give a shit about anything else! I’m doing the best I can.”
“Well that’s not fucking good enough! What if I’m actually pregnant?” Jess stared at her mother, hoping beyond hope that she could use the leverage of her late period to her advantage.
Kat’s head snapped up and she looked at Jess. “You’re pregnant?” she hissed.
“I’m late.”
“Have you checked?”
“No, not yet. I’m only a few days late.”
Kat stared at Jess for a long moment. “Oh, baby, we have to know! How could this happen? Weren’t you being careful? Is it Scott’s?”
“Goddamnit, Mother! How can you ask something like that? Of course it’s Scott’s, and yes, we were being careful!” Jess complained, selling the idea for all she was worth.
“No mistakes?”
“No!” Jess cried, but then paused to let the tension build. “Well, not after the first time,” she amended and looked away as if in shame.
“Holy shit, Jess,” Kat said standing up. “This changes everything! I’m leaving right now to get a pregnancy test. We have to know!”
“If I’m pregnant, will you help me?”
Kat looked at her daughter. “Let’s find out first, and then worry about what happens.”
***
“But what if she is?” Kat asked, showing Val the test strip again. “I know it shows negative, but she said she was only a couple of days late. She may not be far enough along for a positive test. Val, this is so wrong! You can’t do this to her.”
“Yeah, or she could be lying her ass off. But if she is knocked up, more than ever, she needs to be here. There is no fucking way she is getting back into the life, not if she is really pregnant.”
“Val, it’s Scott’s baby she’s carrying if she is! Would you deny her baby a father? How can you be so cruel?”
“I’ll not have her hooked up with a Grim Angel, especially if she is pregnant, so just fucking forget it. This discussion is closed!”
When he moved to turn his back on her, Kat grabbed him by the arm and spun him back to face her. “She is my goddamn daughter, and you’re not keeping her locked up here, do you hear me?” she screamed. “I’ll call the fucking cops myself!”
Val had Kat pinned to his office wall by her throat so fast that she didn’t even have time to react. “I don’t care if you are my fucking sister, don’t you ever threaten me!” he hissed, his face only inches from hers. “Do I make myself clear?”
Kat couldn’t speak, both her hands around Val’s wrist as she struggled to break his grasp. She was a big, strong, woman, but she was no match for Val’s sheer size and power.
“I said, do I make myself clear?” he growled, leaning into the hold.
Kat began to kick, desperate to get free before he crushed her windpipe. She tried to nod, hoping she could move her head enough for him to see. He let her go and she sagged, coughing and gagging as she held her throat. “You bastard,” she croaked as she bent over, struggling to not vomit.
“If I so much as smell a cop, I’ll kill her, Kat. I’ll fucking kill her and feed her to the pigs. Just remember that.”
“You’d kill your own niece?” she wheezed, her voice a shadow of its normal strength.
Val looked at Kat, sick at what he had done. Jess was fucking everything up. His club was coming apart, his own sister was turning against him, and all because she had a case of the hots for Scott fucking Murphy. He stared at Kat a moment then made his mind up. Once he took care of that little prick, everything would start getting back to normal. With no more Scott, Jess wouldn’t have a reason to leave. She could put the baby up for adoption, abort it, or find her a nice guy to settle down with, and the kid would be too young to know the difference. But it all starts with getting that fucking redneck out of the picture.
“Only if you do something stupid, like call the cops or start telling everyone she’s pregnant,” he snarled as he turned, but then turned back. “You want to keep her alive, you keep your fucking mouth shut! I fucking mean it, Kat. Not a fucking word, to anybody, that she’s here or that she’s pregnant. That stays between you and me, you g
ot me? I’m taking Jodi and the kids to her parents for a couple of days for her mother’s birthday, like I promised her. When I get back, we’ll get this shit sorted out, so don’t do something stupid while I’m gone.” He waited until Kat nodded then he turned away again. I’m not going to kill Jess, but her boyfriend? Val smiled as he contemplated his revenge.
