by Sophia Gray
“A few chores—” I started, but he cut me off.
“You treated her like a slave. You only cared about your stupid restaurant. What was adopting Sage to you? A way to get sympathy from other people? Is that it?”
“What?” I reeled back as much as I could, feeling like I had been slapped. This was a far worse way to attack me than physically. “No! I—”
“I mean, seriously. She’s nineteen, and you still keep her on as a dishwasher.” He sneered. “What’s up with that? You were—are—fucking demeaning to her.”
My cheeks flushed. They had to be bright red. “I was trying to teach—”
“You and Grant are both the same.” He turned his head to the side and spat. I winced. So disgusting. I didn’t see his point, but figured he would elaborate, and boy, did he. “Cut from the same cloth. You two deserve each other. No wonder he’s so stuck on you. He’s just as much a judgmental asshole as you are.”
I opened my mouth to counter.
Trenton held up a hand. “Don’t deny it. I can see it in your eyes. You’re looking down on me.”
“I would never,” I said quietly, truthfully. “Life’s a bitch. I—”
“Don’t give me that shit!” He glanced at Sage’s sleeping form and hung his head, but while his tone lowered, his rage didn’t disappear. “You’re the owner of a fucking restaurant—”
“My mom died years ago, and I had to either make it in the world or die,” I said hotly. “I chose to live. I chose to fight. I chose to make something out of my life. What did you choose, Trenton? The easy way. And where did it get you?” I made a show of looking around as much as I could, given that I was still tied up to the chair. “Not a whole lot to show for it, huh.”
He staggered back as if I had hit him. If he wanted a war with words, he would get one. Trenton’s face went white, and he pointed to Sage. “I did it all for her.”
“Doesn’t make your choices any less crappy.” I winced inwardly. I really shouldn’t have been provoking him, but damn it all, if he didn’t bring out the mama bear in me.
If he couldn’t see his own mistakes and admit to them, he would never change. If he continued to make excuses, he would never change. If he had the chance to continue down this path, he wouldn’t just not change; he would wind up dead.
If he hadn’t been able to change for Sage, the supposed love of his life, then I had my doubts that he would ever change. Didn’t they say that the road to Hell was paved with good intentions? He might’ve taken the drug dealing job for Sage in order to provide for her, but it would’ve served him, and her, if he would’ve found a real job instead, not one that could get his ass locked up for a long time.
“I did make crappy choices,” he muttered, “and you’re right: life’s a bitch.”
His harsh expression melted away, back to that look of remembrance. “I sold some drugs and did decent enough that he gave me a shit ton more to sell. Only…” He inhaled deeply and sank into himself as he sat there on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. “The drugs I was supposed to sell were stolen.”
Hence the need for ransom. I stiffened as a sudden thought occurred to me. If I hadn’t come along, if he hadn’t been able to find me alone and away from Grant, would Trenton have still resorted to kidnapping, but with Sage as the victim and target instead of me? Would he have called me and demanded ransom for her? But he professed to love her. As long as he thought she loved him, she was safe, right?
I swallowed hard. He had been complaining about her crying a lot before I got here. And with his mood swings, he just might’ve called me up soon. While I wasn’t happy about being tied up, I was happy Sage wasn’t here alone with him anymore. I’d suffer abuse for her sake. I wasn’t concerned about my own safety—only hers.
“He, the drug lord, is demanding payment. Threatened me. Threatened…” Trenton lowered his hands and glanced at Sage.
I inhaled sharply. That fucker! Did you mean to tell me that even if we got away, that we would still have to look over our shoulders? That some big time drug dealer was gonna come after us potentially if he didn’t get his money from Trenton? Would this nightmare ever end? It must’ve been about four hours that I’d been here. Maybe Grant wasn’t coming. Maybe I really should try to get the gun.
Trenton met my gaze and nodded. “I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t have the money, and it wasn’t like I could go after the guys who stole the drugs. They had probably already sold it anyhow. I had to run. I had to. Sage came along because she loves me.” He sighed, staring at her with a look of longing that would make any woman swoon.
As long as he doesn’t learn that Sage’s seen the light. That just might be our saving grace.
I leaned forward as much as my restraints would allow. “True love will find a way.”
Which I did believe. Love always made things better. It had taken until now for me to risk opening up to someone, and yeah, maybe it was sad that it took tragedy for that to happen, but now that I had found Grant, I didn’t want to let him go. Maybe time would prove that our love wasn’t the kind to last for years, but I desperately wanted to find that out. I wanted to find out what his favorite meals were, what he liked to do in his spare time. Hell, maybe he could teach me how to ride a motorcycle. I wanted to see what life could hold for us together, and even if we didn’t work out, I wanted to put myself out there again. I wanted love, the kind from fairytales.
“Love doesn’t equal money,” he said, scowling.
“No, but I do have some money, like I said before. Let me help you.”
He shook his head. “Not enough.”
“But—”
“I have to do this. I have to.” His gun made a reappearance, and he gripped the handle so tightly his knuckles turned white. “You better hope Grant comes through with the money.”
“Or else?” I asked, trying to play it cool.
“This is loaded,” he said quietly.
My blood turned to ice in my veins.
Chapter 19
Grant
The drive back to my base took far longer than I would’ve liked. To send out some guys to get some heavier hitting ammo and guns took far longer than I would’ve liked. For us to get all squared away and ready for a showdown took far longer than I would’ve liked.
But eventually we were all armed to the teeth, and we rolled out. Two large vans of us. As much as I wanted to be one of the drivers, I elected not to. My hands were shaking—I was hopped up on too much adrenaline. I was more of a liability than anything else at this point.
We had to reach Victoria and Sage in order to save them, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to drive us there safely. It had been over three hours since Trenton had made the ransom call, and it was eating away at me that my prep work—all necessary—had taken so long.
“Drive faster,” I urged Bob.
“Any faster and she’d have to have wings,” Bob called back, sounded way too chipper.
Grumbling, swallowing a curse, I sat back in my seat. I was the passenger, a position I wasn’t comfortable with.
Behind me, the guys were going on and on about random stupid shit, and I did my best to ignore it until something inside of me snapped. I jerked around and leveled them such a glower that I didn’t have to say anything and they all still shut up immediately anyhow.
How had things come to this—for Trenton to hold women for ransom? How had I failed him? Maybe I had been too hard on him. Maybe I should’ve insisted he see a shrink and get real help.
Or maybe this had nothing to do with me.
Like fuck it didn’t. For him to realize how much Victoria meant to me had to mean he’d been keeping tabs on me despite his “running away.” Which meant it was personal. To some degree. All he wanted was money. Money was as impersonal as you could get.
“Fuck me,” I mumbled to myself.
Bob glanced over. “You all right, boss?”
“Just fine,” I grumbled, not wanting to get into it.
/> “Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Bob sang under his breath.
“Grow the fuck up.” I slammed my fist onto the dashboard.
Bob jerked. “Sorry,” he said, sounding more sincere than he had since, well, ever.
“Don’t worry about it.” I really didn’t want to talk.
“Don’t you worry,” he said. “We’ll get him back.”
“What the fuck? Don’t you know what’s going on?”
“Yeah. Tuner’s got his head up his ass again, and he’s playin’ with us, and he has your girl up for ransom.”
“First up, I don’t think he’s playin’,” I growled. “And second, I don’t have a girl.”
Bob glanced at me real quick before focusing on the road. “You took her to your place, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“You fucked her?”
I was silent. I had fucked a lot of women, but the word fucking didn’t fit with what Victoria and I had shared. She wasn’t my girl. She wasn’t even really mine. We hadn’t known each other for long. We didn’t really know each other at all.
Not yet.
“He really fucked up this time, hasn’t he?” Bob asked, his tone low.
“You got that right.”
“Drugs again?”
“Yep.”
“Using or…”
“Selling. He fucked that up, too. Had it stolen.” I hadn’t given the guys all of the details, figuring they would ask if they wanted to know. They weren’t sheep, blindly following me, but I think it was something in my tone, my attitude, or maybe my eyes that made them fall in line without question.
“Jesus.” Bob’s foot pressed down on the pedal, and the van sped up even faster with a jerk.
We were silent for a time, and I watched the scenery roll on by, the colors blurring together.
Bob cleared his throat. “Is all of this firepower necessary?” he asked quietly.
I wasn’t used to this side of him. He normally clowned around. Maybe a few jokes were what I needed, but I also kinda appreciated that he was being more levelheaded at the moment. “I hope it isn’t,” I said honestly.
Could I pull the trigger on Trenton? I sure as hell didn’t want to find out. It sure as fuck better not come to that. He had to see the light before it reached that point.
“But we gotta be prepared,” I continued. “For any shit that might hit the fan. I mean, if we were able to track him down, it’s possible the drug lord he owes money to would be able to, too, and if they show up…”
“They’ll be packin’, too.” Bob nodded. After a moment, he pursed his lips. “This fucking sucks, though.”
“Believe me. I know.”
Another silence. Fuck it all, Trenton. You just had to go and deal. Why the fuck would you do that? After drugs wrecked your childhood. There were a thousand different ways to make money. A thousand different ways that wouldn’t require you to be bullied into holding women for ransom.
If he hurt Victoria or Sage…
Was he a victim, too? In a way, but fuck it, I did not feel compassion toward him right now. When I took him under my wing, I knew he was fucked up in the head. I thought I had helped. Maybe I had some, but obviously it hadn’t been enough.
Sage, if you are in on this… I squirmed in my seat. I didn’t know her except for what Victoria had told me, but somehow I doubted she would be into the drug scene. Not after everything with her mom. Which meant this whole fucked up situation should hopefully open her eyes and make her end things with Trenton for good. Even if Trenton survived this and got the help he needed and started to walk the straight and narrow, I still didn’t think the two of them should get back together. Trenton would need to move forward with his life and not look backward, and Sage probably would need that, too.
Victoria…There was so much I wanted to tell her. So many things I wanted to do with her. So many things I wanted to do to her. I’ll find you. I’ll save you. Just hang on. Be strong. Don’t break. And don’t piss Trenton off. Who knows what the fuck he’s capable of right now. He probably feels like a caged rat right about now.
A slight smile came to my lips as I recalled how Victoria had been when we first met. Her sharp tongue, her biting words, her fierce protectiveness of her daughter…I’d been drawn to her right from the start, but if she wanted to be able to snap witty retorts to me, she would need to hold her tongue around Trenton. There was a chance that the pressure might get to him, that he might start using again, and if he did, the probability of someone getting shot would go sky high.
Victoria might be impulsive—like when she went to the bar even though we’d agreed she wouldn’t—but she was also reasonable and smart. She would do everything she could to keep herself and Sage alive. She wouldn’t provoke Trenton.
But if Trenton was using, he might not need something to set him off.
Fuck, we could not get there fast enough.
Chapter 20
Victoria
Sage was still sleeping, but I couldn’t focus on her. I kept eyeing Trenton and his gun. Was it better or worse that he had taken it out? Probably worse. At least he seemed to have calm down a little since he announced that the gun was loaded. Maybe he felt like he was more in charge now. I didn’t know.
But it was time for me to try to make a play, for better or for worse. “I have to go to the bathroom,” I announced.
He had been staring at his gun, but now he lifted his gaze to me. “Go ahead and piss yourself.”
“Seriously?” I snapped. “You really think Sage’s gonna be happy with you letting her mom wet herself?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“You let me go earlier!”
“And you should be good. Wasn’t that long ago you went.”
I glowered at him. Did he suspect? Maybe I was telegraphing my plans by looking at the gun too much. Damn it! Time to change tactics slightly. “Do you really want to smell my urine until Grant arrives with the money?”
He glowered right back at me. “The smell would dissipate.”
Damn him! Fuck. My plan to get free had been thwarted. I just didn’t see how I could get my hands on his gun while tied up, and if he refused to untie me so I could pee, then how else could I convince? I doubted there was a way. Shit! If only he would leave the motel room. I wanted to talk to Sage alone again. “Fine,” I bit out. “I guess I’ll do my best to hold it, but don’t you dare complain if the room starts to smell.”
He actually cracked a small smile. “I won’t complain.”
I rolled my eyes, but at least he tucked his gun inside the back of his jeans. If I couldn’t get it away from him, it at least made me feel better to not have it in his hands.
Just then, my phone went off. Throughout our conversation, someone or someones had been trying to get ahold of me, calling every few minutes.
Trenton’s face turned purple. He was starting to get majorly agitated about it as he once again rejected the call. Maybe he should just turn it off already and be done with it.
“What the hell?” he grumbled a little loudly. “Did they put up a new tower or something now that you’re getting good reception?”
I had no illusions that it was Grant calling. He would’ve started calling a long time ago, hours ago. Maybe it was someone from the restaurant. Maybe a problem had come up. The mystery was too much for me, so I couldn’t help asking, “Who’s calling?”
Trenton’s gaze slid to Sage. She was stirring. “Corinne. Why the fuck is she calling you?”
“Oh.” My racing heartbeat slowed. A part of me had hoped it was Grant calling. Where the hell was he? He was coming for us, right? I wasn’t sure how long Trenton had held us captive, but it sure felt like forever. He kept the curtains pulled tight, so I couldn’t tell if it was night or day, and he also unplugged the alarm clock. He’d mumbled something about having a migraine. Guessed the bright light from the numbers didn’t help.
“Why the fuck is she calling you?” Trenton repeated. “I’m n
ot gonna ask you again.”
“I called her a few times to see if she knew where Sage was,” I said calmly. “We got to talking some about her and her boyfriend, and I gave her some advice. She probably wants more.”
Sage stretched and sat up. She snorted and rolled her eyes. “No one wants dating advice from you, Victoria.”
I winced. Sage had gotten so deep into her role of being on Trenton’s side that she was back to talking down to me. Hell, she was so convincing that when she ganged up with him against me, it was almost impossible for me to not take it personally.
And it was even worse to hear her call me by my first name again after she’d called me Mom so many times after I found her. We haven’t been alone in forever—Trenton won’t leave the room and hadn’t had any more phone conversations, and he hadn’t even close the door to the bathroom when he showered so we couldn’t even talk then since he took the world’s quickest showers—so we were stuck using the plan from before with her trying to keep Trenton calm.
