Fighting for Chloe

by Eva Jones

  Now is the perfect time.

  ‘Can we speak for a moment?’ Not really giving a choice, I extend my arm towards my room and she takes the hint.

  Entering, I turn and close the door. No way I want them to hear.

  ‘I know this isn’t normal—’

  I cut her off. ‘I just have one question for you.’ Her eyes plead, but I ignore it. ‘Do you have some sort of mental impairment?’

  ‘Um, no.’ She looks confused, which affirms to me how young she really is.

  ‘Do you think it’s okay for you to be with a man in his fifties?’

  ‘Well... well...’

  ‘Let me try to put this in a way that you’d understand.’ I pinch the bridge of my nose, I can feel a migraine coming on. ‘You loved your father at one point, right? Probably still do even after all this.’ She nods her head. ‘How would you feel if he started having sex with one of your high school friends?’

  ‘Eww, that’s nasty. None of my friends would ever go for him though because he’s always been so mean to them.’ I can’t help the loud huff of a laugh that pops out of my mouth. I’m now realizing that this is absolutely pointless. I thought it may be but was hoping it wasn’t.

  ‘Okay Charity, I see that I’m not really getting through to you. So, let’s just drop it.’ My hand reaches for the silver knob of the door when I realise she’s not following behind me. The expression on her face surprises me when I turn to her.

  ‘Listen, Chloe. I know you don’t think much of me and I know it’s hard for you to believe that Mike and I truly love each other, but we do.’ My hand falls from the door knob and I turn to give her my full attention. ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Have you ever heard that saying that age is nothing but a number when it comes to love? Well that applies here. Even if me and him weren’t thrown together under the circumstances we were, I still would have fallen for him. He’s my soulmate and I’m his.’ Her hand reaches out to rest on my shoulder, but she thinks twice and it falls halfway. ‘You may think I don’t understand where you’re coming from, but I do. I just hope one day we can work past this.’ Her face drops, unexpectedly my heart goes out to her. ‘You scare me and make me nervous, Chloe, because I know that your dad respects you and one word from you and I’d be gone. He loves you that much, whether you know it or not. He’s a great man and I’d do anything to remain in his life.’ I’m left speechless as she turns and makes her way out of the room. Wow did that really just happen? I’ll give her one thing, she sure has some lady balls on her. I can’t deny that some of the things she said truly hit home.

  Dom

  AS WE LEAVE the house I look back at Chloe and Charity standing on the porch. The look on Chloe’s face is a picture and for a second I wonder if it’s sensible to leave them alone together. I look across at Mike—who was adamant he come along even though Andre said he wasn’t leaving the van in his physical state—I find him also looking back at them both, no doubt worried we will come back to a cat fight. I decide to give him an out.

  ‘Hey, Mike you sure you’re feeling up to doing this?’

  ‘What the fuck does that mean? I’ve told you already I’m going.’

  I lower my voice ‘I’m just not sure it’s wise leaving them together.’ I throw him a look telling him what I mean. He gets it. And then he slows his pace.

  ‘You know what Andre I think it’s probably best if I stay behind.’ He calls out to Andre who’s leading the way.

  ‘I couldn’t agree more, you need the rest.’ Andre nods.

  ‘Somehow I don’t see me getting any rest with those two.’ He indicates their way discreetly. Andre chuckles and we wait while he heads back and I wave at Chloe while Charity throws her arms around Mike. I shudder at what Chloe must be thinking right now. As we get into Andre’s van he laughs out loud as he starts the van.

  ‘Glad I’m not the one dealing with that shit show,’ he says as we pull out of the drive.

  ‘I thought Chloe was going to lose her shit at dinner, the atmosphere was fucking awful,’ I agree.

  ‘I know! Why’d you think I ate at the breakfast bar.’ He grins. ‘I’m sure it will all work out for the best.’

  ‘Does Charity even know what we’re doing here?’ I ask.

  ‘She knows.’ He nods as we pull out of the small winding road.

  ‘And she’s okay with that? You know us killing her dad?’ I reiterate.

  ‘Look, all I know is he’s a bad motherfucker who tried to sell her like a possession.’

  ‘I guess, yeah… I can see why she’d be okay with it when you put it like that. So how sure are you that he’s there?’

  ‘I’m positive he was there earlier, whether he’s still there now? Not so sure, but I have eyes on the place and somewhere like that isn’t easy to get out of without being seen. I’m hoping we can put this shit to bed tonight.’

  ‘Here’s hoping.’

  ‘You okay with it?’

  ‘Killing Patrick?’ He nods. ‘Fuck no, I’m not, but I know it’s the only way so I’ve made my peace with it. I don’t know if this is your usual line of work but I’d be lying if I said the mere thought of ending another life doesn’t make me feel sick.’

  ‘It gets easier,’ he reassures me. But it doesn’t make me feel better about what I did or what we’re about to do. Its fucking hard, I see that man take his last breath every time I close my eyes. It’s not fun, and I truly hope that it does get easier. I try to change the subject.

  ‘How’s your husband?’

  He side glances at me. ‘He’s fine.’

  ‘What’s his name?’

  ‘Greg.’ He looks at me again like he’s mildly amused at my line of questioning.

  ‘Cool, you been married long?’

  ‘Two years’

  ‘Who asked who?’

  ‘Are you nervous?’

  ‘Just trying to lighten the mood and make things easier, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.’

  ‘I asked him, in Paris on the Passerelle des Arts bridge we’d just put our padlock on there and as he threw the key into the river I got down on one knee.’

  I smile. ‘That’s real romantic, I wouldn’t have guessed you’d be the romantic type.’

  ‘Yeah I’m not just a bodyguard and personal hit man.’

  ‘Definitely more than a pretty face, huh.’ We both laugh. As we near the spot he’d chosen for us to watch from he gets quiet and I’m glad because as we pull to a stop I swallow and try to get in my own headspace. Mentally prepare for what I hope ends tonight.

  ***

  Chloe

  I stand in the doorway and watch the love of my life pull away down the drive. Not knowing what will happen is killing me. Him being with Andre makes me feel a little better, but hell, look what happened to my dad. Some things are just avoidable.

  My heart sits painfully in my stomach. I turn as they disappear from sight and come face to face with Charity in my father’s arms. Quickly walking past, them, I try to make my way through the doorway only to be stopped by Dad’s hand on my shoulder.

  ‘Please don’t run, Chloe.’ His eyes plead with mine.

  ‘I just can’t right now, Dad. I’m sorry.’ My tears begin to fall as soon as the bedroom door closes behind me. Never in a million years did I ever expect to be in this type of situation. Never in a million years did I expect to fall in love with a stranger. Yes, we’ aren’t strangers anymore, but I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t loved him from the beginning. My Colton in shining armour. My saviour. My love.

  Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I suck it up and start gathering my clothes to shower and get ready for bed. Granted, I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep, but I have to try in case Dom needs me when he returns. I pull some pyjama pants out of the drawer and am reaching for a tee when I spot Dom’s shirt laying on the dresser in a crumpled-up mess. I grab it and head across the hall to the bathroom.

  ‘Chloe wait. Can we please talk, hone
y?’ My dad catches me just as I get one foot into the bathroom.

  ‘I’m about to shower, can it wait?’

  ‘Can you meet me in the living room when you’re done?’ Wetness pools in his eyes and the softie inside of me relents.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Okay. Good. Great. I’ll see you in a little bit. I can see if I can find some hot cocoa in the cupboards. It can be like old times.’ Old times… Pish posh, not in this lifetime, but I will hear him out, again.

  My shower is longer than I expected. The house is quiet and it’s starting to get dark outside by the time I emerge. The hairs on the back on my neck stick up and my ears go on alert. I know my dad wouldn’t go to bed before talking to me. Not with the look he’d on his face before walking away. I take the steps down slowly, trying to be as quiet as I can. I could be overreacting, but the feeling in my stomach tells me different. When I get to the hallway, I turn cautiously to the right, towards the kitchen. Just as I’m turning, a dirty, stinky hand comes across my mouth and pulls my hands behind me. From that smell alone, I know exactly who it is.

  ‘I’m going to take my hand off of your mouth. Don’t try screaming or you’ll regret it.’ He moves his hand from my mouth but keeps a tight grip on my arms.

  ‘We’re in the middle of nowhere. Who do you expect to hear me scream? And after all these times you’ve already kidnapped me, have I screamed even once?’

  ‘Just shut up. All this hiding and running I’ve been doing isn’t allowing me to think clearly. And you know how I get when I can’t think clearly.’ Patrick runs the tips of his fingers down my cheek and then caresses my neck. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I sure as hell don’t like the direction it’s going. All my time spent with him and he’s never attempted to get this close. He really must be scattered. All the sudden I hear someone struggling in the corner of the kitchen I try and glance over, only to see Dad on the floor.

  ‘Dad.’ I yell over to him and Patrick clamps his hand back over my mouth.

  ‘Now now, little missy, I thought I said no yelling.’ That’s when it hits me. He really is a vile man. He’s going to molest me in front of my father as some form of payback. Is he going to rape me? I struggle against his grip and my knees give out under me. He releases my mouth and both hands grab me under the arms.

  ‘Where’s Charity? Did you take her?’

  ‘Don’t worry where the fuck my daughter is. At this point, sweetheart, I think you need to worry about yourself.’ His foul whisky breath hits my nostrils as he bellows in my face.

  ‘Get off me!’ I yell back at him. A loud bang echoes and I see my dad hit his head on the bottom cabinet in the kitchen. His eyes close as if he’s knocked himself out from struggling so hard. ‘Come on, Patrick, you know you’ve never gone this far before. My dad is unconscious, there’s no one to get back at right now. You have Charity. Please just stop.’

  ‘Oh no, sweet pea. I’ve already started. And believe me, I always finish the things I start.’ He tosses me up against the breakfast bar and pushes my head down towards the surface. My pyjama pants are yanked down and he grinds his hard-on against my ass. Bile rises in my throat and I turn my head to try to bring in air. Oh my God is this really going to happen? After all this time, I thought this was all coming to an end. When I hear his zipper going down, I try and struggle back against him, but immediately halt as I realize it’s turning him on more.

  Please Dad, come to. I need you right now more than I ever have!

  Dom

  WE SIT IN the van for well over an hour before we see any kind of movement. Cars start leaving in a procession. But we don’t see Patrick in any of them. Andre is still confident he’s inside so we sit tight. He sends some men after the procession just in case. I have a bad feeling about all this, which I’m sure is just nerves. But something just doesn’t feel right. I don’t know how to explain this feeling to Andre so I don’t say shit, he’s the expert. I’m here just because of circumstance. But I’ll be damned if Patrick’s going to hurt anyone I love again.

  I close my eyes against the thought of losing Chloe or my nan, and who I’ve already lost because of that bastard. Nah that’s not happening again while I can draw breath. I’ve made my peace with killing him, Chloe not so much but she knows it has to happen. And if it means choosing between living without looking over our shoulders, or a life on the run, fearing everyday might be our last, there isn’t a choice. Even if Chloe doesn’t want me after what I have to do, she’ll be safe. My nan will be safe. That’s my priority and the driving force fuelling my mind-set.

  He has to die.

  And, I’m prepared to do that at a moment’s notice.

  Andre glances at me as the last car leaves and then with his binoculars he checks the passengers. He shakes his head. Patrick motherfucking Smith is still inside. We make our way up toward the entrance we’ve been watching. Andre radios his men and has them in position in minutes. We haven’t heard anything from the others who followed the procession. No news is good news, right? We go into the building pretty much like we did the house the last time. We creep through the floor space which looks like it has been set up as a casino. The place is deserted though as if everyone just upped and left in an emergency. Money and chips still line the tables. I look around and that uneasy feeling comes back with a vengeance. I glance to Andre who looks just as worried as I feel.

  ‘Fuck,’ he says, as his men come into sight at the other side of the enormous room. ‘We need to move he could be anywhere.’

  ‘But why leave all this?’ I motion around.

  ‘Because he fucking knew we were here.’

  ‘Fucking hell’ I growl pissed off at our stupidity. ‘We need to find them, have your guys still got eyes on them?’

  Andre grabs his radio, his usual cool slipping ‘Have you still got eyes?’ he shouts. The radio crackles and my heart hammers in my chest as we wait on an answer.

  ‘Affirmative’

  Andre nods his head to me ‘Time to move.’ His guys are on their tail giving us their coordinates, we jump in the van and follow at speed, we have a lot of distance to make up.

  ‘Do not fucking lose them,’ is the last thing Andre growls into his radio. He floors the accelerator and we drive through country lanes like boy racers. I check my seatbelt twice bracing myself for an impact at any second as all four wheels come off the road at a dip, but Andre keeps the van under control and we speed around corners that shouldn’t be taken at more than thirty miles per hour. I send up a little prayer that we don’t die before we catch that motherfucker. But Andre is skilled at driving at speed and before we know it, the procession of cars is in the distance. We don’t get too close so he can’t make us out. But we stay within a safe distance and follow until they turn off onto what looks like a farmland road.

  Andre turns off the headlights as we pass our guys on the side road getting out of their vehicles and moving forward on foot. Parking up in front we wait for them to catch up. As two of them stand at Andre’s window they pass on their feedback. They tell us one vehicle turned off about ten miles back. Andre’s man Cody is in pursuit. Andre nods thinking about that for a minute.

  ‘Do you think it’s likely to be him?’ I ask impatiently.

  ‘What’s their direction?’ The guy shrugs a little perplexed.

  Andre gets on his radio. ‘Cody where are you?’

  ‘Boss it looks like we could be heading to somewhere near the safe house.’

  ‘How close?’ he asks urgently.

  My fucking heart is in my mouth and I can’t speak. The fear of Patrick being where Chloe is, after everything, is beyond comprehensible right now. I start to run back to the van. Andre is torn I can tell, it could be a trap to lead us away, but they could fucking know where the safe house is. I rev the van up and look to Andre giving him a last chance to jump in. He doesn’t and I spray the road with dirt as I try to turn the vehicle around in the small ass space. As I pass him he waves me to a stop and comes t
o the driver’s door.

  ‘I’ll drive, get out.’ I don’t argue and climb across the gear stick and strap in.

  As we take off down the road and make our way to the safe house, Andre calls on the radio. ‘Cody come in… Cody?’ He’s met with silence. ‘Cody check in? CODY!’ ‘Fuuuuuck’ he hits the steering wheel. I didn’t honestly think we could go any faster but surprisingly we do, and I’m not complaining. As we pull down the drive nothing seems out of place, but we turn off the headlights and drive as quietly as possible toward the house. I’m jumping out of the van before we’ve even pulled to a stop. I hear Andre call me back but I’m not in the right frame of mind to listen to orders. I just want to see Chloe safe. I’m desperate as I fling open the front door.

  ‘CHLOE?’

  ***

  Chloe

  ‘How do we get back in to get Mike?’ Charity cries as we hunch behind the shed in the back of the cabin. After Patrick had yanked my pyjama bottoms off, my struggling ceased and I thought maybe that that would get him to stop. No man wants no response from a woman, no matter the situation. But no, next thing I knew, his fingers found their way into my panties and he tried to work my clit into submission, but my lady parts weren’t up for playing. Me being bone dry pissed him off even more because he couldn’t the reaction or satisfaction that he thought he would. With one more hard thrust of his disgusting finger inside me, he released me and went over to my father, looking as if he was trying to rouse him. I jumped out of my skin as Charity grabbed my arm and whispered, ‘Let’s go’. We snuck around the corner just as Patrick kicked my dad in the ribs. I had to hold Charity back from running to him. Dragging her out the back door as quietly as I could, we made our way back here behind the shed, not wanting to go too far so that we could go back for my dad.