by April Lust
“That’s not true,” I said. “Eli’s nothing like him. He might have admired him once, a long time ago, but when he got older and wiser he understood the sort of man Axel was. He didn’t want to be anything like him.”
He appeared to think this over, his eyes narrowing the way they did when he considering my words. “Yes, I suppose that’s why he didn’t kill me when he had the chance. He could have, you know. Easily. But he didn’t. I always wondered why he didn’t when he knew how dangerous I was to him and all his little friends.”
I had never heard anything of that story, but I thought it best not to ask too many additional questions. He’d grown more agitated over the course of his story, and I didn’t want to catch him when his blood was up.
“You thought it was Eli who did that?” Vitaly laughed. “No, he’s not that sort of man. You’re right about him. He wasn’t like Axel at all. But that’s neither here nor there now. I still want him to pay.”
“Pay for what? I don’t understand. He didn’t hurt your Nina, Axel did. You killed Axel. Eli didn’t kill you when he had the chance. What else is there?”
“I’ll never stop until I make him feel the pain I felt. When I found out you were pregnant, I thought, now there’s a way to make him pay. Once he knows he’s a father, he’ll understand how it feels to watch a dead child pulled from the river. He’ll know how it feels to wish he was the one in the river, not his only baby.”
He’d lost his mind, totally.
“I can see wanting to make Eli pay for hurting your business, but this had nothing to do with him. I’d be willing to bet that he had no idea what Axel had done. He might not even have met Nina. This isn’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fair. I want him to know how it feels, and I want him to see the thing he loves most die because of him and his club. Just as my girl died because of his club. I want it to all end. I want him to crumble, to be unable to go on. I want the club to fall apart around him, and I want to burn what’s left to the ground. My daughter calls out from the grave, telling me this is what I have to do.”
Oh, yes, he was crazy. Legitimately insane. I didn’t know what to do. Eli had no idea any of this was happening, either. He didn’t know the danger he’d been in all along. Vitaly had never gone away. He’d watched and waited.
“You have no idea how excited I was when I watched you walk into my office via my security feed,” he said, chuckling. “The opportunity I needed, right in front of me. I knew that somehow I could make you suffer, and make him suffer as a result.”
I had walked right into it, literally. How was I to know?
A light started blinking on the dashboard—I could see it from my spot in the back seat. Low gas! My heart soared. It was just what I’d been hoping for. There had to be a way for us to stop, for me to get a message to Eli. He would stop. He had to stop somewhere. He had to know somehow where I was going. I needed to believe it.
“Shit,” Vitaly muttered. He saw the light, then.
“I just saw a sign for a rest stop a few miles down the road,” I said. “I think it’s the next exit.”
“Don’t get excited,” he muttered.
“About what?”
“Thinking you’ll get away.” He glanced at me. I put on an innocent act.
“I just have to pee,” I said, shrugging. “That’s it.”
“Right. Like I would let you go into the bathroom alone.” Great, so that wouldn’t work.
“You can’t keep me like a prisoner, here in this car. I’ll make it so everyone notices me. Or we can be nice to each other and work together. I don’t have to raise hell, and you don’t have to be nasty to me. Right?”
He shook his head. “You think you’re so clever,” he murmured, but I thought I heard a little bit of appreciation in his voice.
“You’re the one who said I was smart.” I shrugged. “I just have to use the restroom, that’s all. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.”
“You’re right. It’s not.”
“I mean, we need gas for wherever we’re going, too. Right?”
“Yeah, we can’t make it to Barnegat on fumes.” Barnegat! I rejoiced. At least I knew where we were going. Then, he added, “And I need gas for the boat.”
My stomach dropped. Boat? We were going to a harbor, then, or a marina. In Barnegat. I had to get the message out somehow. Soon, too. We’d been driving for over an hour, so it would only be a matter of time before we reached our destination. Oh, Eli, hurry up. Where did he plan to take me once we got on the boat?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tori
When we pulled in at the rest stop, my head buzzed with frantic energy. It was all I could do to keep myself calm, to make it seem as though I didn’t care one way or another what happened. But I did care. I cared very much. This was my only chance to tell Eli where I was going, and when, and how to get to me. Oh, please, God. Help me. Show me the way here. I need you. I had never been much of a praying person, but it was funny what happened in situations like that. Suddenly, I had faith in something higher than myself. I needed to. It was all I could hold onto.
We pulled in at one of the many gas pumps. I immediately unbuckled my belt. “And what do you think you’re doing?” Vitaly asked, beady eyes glaring at me.
“I thought we talked about this. I need to use the restroom. If you would like to come in with me, make sure there’s nobody lurking about for me to talk to, you go right ahead. Or maybe you can get one of your lackeys to do it for you.” And there they were, pulling up beside us at another pump. I took the chance the moment Vitaly flipped the locks, opening the door and stepping out of the car.
“Boss! What is she doing?” One of them pointed at me, raising his voice. Well, if Vitaly hadn’t wanted a scene…
“Shut up, you idiot! Why don’t you tell the entire world why she’s with us?” If we’d been in private, I thought Vitaly might have smacked his assistant. “I don’t want any trouble here, all right? Let’s conduct ourselves in a reasonable manner.”
“You could learn a thing or two from your boss, boys,” I smirked. “He’s a gentleman. Such a gentleman, in fact, that he’ll let me wear his jacket when I go inside. I’m going to freeze to death, and somebody’s bound to wonder why I’m walking around like this in such weather.” It had to be around forty degrees, and I was hardly dressed. “Come on. Please. Empty the pockets, I don’t care, but I need to wear something.” I decided to take my chances and appeal to his paternal side. If his daughter could wrap him around her finger, I might be able to do the same to a lesser extent. It was my only hope. I needed to make him like me. He already knew plenty about me, so there was a connection, if only a tenuous one. I could exploit it if I had to.
He shook his head, smirking. “The balls,” he muttered, checking the pockets to be sure there was nothing inside of use to me. Then he peeled off the leather jacket with its wool lining. It was heavy and warm, and I was grateful for it.
“Thank you. See?” I looked at the two thugs who had killed Daniel. “A gentleman.”
“Whatever.” One of them turned to fill up his bike, while the other glared at me like I had just shown him up somehow.
“Can I please go in and use the restroom?”
“Chuck, you go in with her,” Vitaly said, nodding toward the doors of the rest stop. I looked at it like my salvation. It was my only chance.
“I’m not going into some ladies’ restroom,” Chuck said, shaking his head.
“I didn’t say you had to go into the restroom with her, for God’s sake. Just go inside and wait by the door for her. Get me something to drink, too. Iced tea.”
“Can I have something, too?” I asked.
“Don’t push your luck,” Vitaly warned. I shrugged, then walked toward the squat, brick building. It looked as though there was a fast food restaurant inside, a newsstand, and the restrooms. Who could I talk to?
“Hurry up in there,” Chuck warned. “Don’t make me go in after you.”
&
nbsp; “Right,” I said, walking into the foul bathroom. There was nobody else in there. Damn it. I used the toilet, then waited around for as long as I dared. Damn that Chuck—he was so tall, burly, scary looking that even if a woman had to use the facilities, he probably scared her away.
After a few minutes, I heard him bang on the door. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. As much as I didn’t mind the idea of causing a scene—it would make it more likely that somebody would remember me—I didn’t want to leave myself solely in his hands. If Vitaly were there, I might trust him to keep Chuck from flying off the handle. It didn’t seem like he could stop himself once he got going…hence the way he’d hit Daniel. I wished there was a weapon I could take out with me, but I didn’t see a thing.
I stepped out. “Sorry. I had to look around for toilet paper.”
“I don’t need to hear about your life.” I walked over to the newsstand with him, staying silent all the way, while he pulled a bottle of iced tea out of a refrigerator case. I looked around. There was a nice looking older man standing by the magazines, flipping through. He seemed rather leisurely, like he was in no hurry to be anywhere in particular. I thought he might be my only shot, if only he were willing to stick around for a little while.
“What are you standing around for?” Chuck asked. He couldn’t keep his voice down if he tried—the old man looked up, startled. I caught his eye when he did.
“Nothing,” I said. “My legs got cramped up in the car, is all. Especially when I was in the trunk.” I glanced at the old man again, my eyes wide.
“Shut up about that,” Chuck hissed.
“Why? Nobody’s listening. The old man can’t hear.” But he could hear, and I saw him looking at me from over the top of a magazine. I nodded ever so slightly, just enough so he could notice. He looked alarmed.
“Vitaly said we’re going to a marina or harbor in Barnegat. Is that right? Are we going on a boat? Because if we are, I need something for motion sickness.”
“Yeah, right.” I glanced at the old man again, making sure he’d heard me. His eyes were glued to me.
“I mean it,” I said, distracting Chuck with talk of motion sickness. “If we get on a boat in Barnegat, I’m going to throw up. How would you like to deal with that?”
“I wouldn’t,” he growled.
“Then, please. Dramamine. It would be a lifesaver.” The old man watched but tried to make it look like he wasn’t watching. Chuck bought the iced tea, and a travel pack of Dramamine. I made a big deal of thanking him for it.
“Do you think the Vipers know that Vitaly has a boat in Barnegat?” I asked.
“I don’t know. How would I know?”
“I was just wondering how Eli and the Vipers would be able to find me in Barnegat.”
“They won’t.” He didn’t look down at me, only taking my arm to pull me out of the building. The old man looked like he was writing something down. Oh, please, please, please, let Eli come here. There was little to no chance that we would be stopping anywhere else. I’d just used up my last shot at him finding me.
“Come on. Hurry up, damn it.” He pulled me by the arm, and I made a show of fighting him off.
“Don’t touch me!” I wasn’t playing, either. I wanted to kill him for what he’d done. I only thanked my lucky stars that George hadn’t come out. Oh, my sweet baby. What was he thinking at that time? Was he scared? Of course he was. I tried, baby. I really tried. Now we have to see if Daddy will find me.
Daddy. I wished I had at least told George that Eli was his father. It would have been a blessing to him, knowing he had a father to love him in case I never saw him again. I promised myself that if Eli found me, I wouldn’t waste any time. My son and his father would know each other better, and we would be a family. That was the way it was meant to be. I had to make that happen. I wouldn’t let myself regret a missed opportunity again.
“She wanted me to buy her Dramamine,” Chuck explained when Vitaly looked for his change.
“Oh, you’re very smart,” my captor sneered. “Always thinking. The wheels are always turning.”
“I don’t know what you mean. All I know is, you said the word ‘boat’, and I get terrible motion sickness.” I narrowed my eyes, mimicking his patented move. “Unless you didn’t plan on taking me with you on the boat. Unless you had planned on getting rid of me before then.”
He grinned. “Why would I do that, when you’re so entertaining?” He opened the car door, pushing me inside. “Let’s go. We don’t have all the time in the world.” I buckled in, hoping against hope that I’d stalled long enough to give Eli time to find me. I hoped he hadn’t wasted any time in looking for me. Otherwise, we would be on our way to the open sea before he met up with my friend at the rest stop.
The day was passing, the light already turning warm and amber. It was still winter, so night still came on early in the day. What would happen once the night came and we were on a boat, disappearing in the darkness? Who would see us? Who would find us? Who would know?
Please hurry, Eli. Please, hurry.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Eli
We stopped at four rest stops along the way south, asking questions at each one. We were getting nowhere.
“Damn it!” I wanted to hurt somebody out of sheer frustration and growing panic. “We’re not making any progress here, guys. If anybody has an idea, I’m happy to hear it.”
“Let’s just keep going. We’ve gotta find them sometime. They had to stop, right?” Ralph looked around, looking for agreement. He didn’t get very much. We were all losing hope.
“No, you’re right. Come on. The next stop is twenty miles down the road. We can be there in fifteen minutes if we haul ass.” I didn’t care about getting stopped anymore. I had to find her. I would lead the fucking police to her if I had to, if that was what it took. Anything to get her back, to get Vitaly out of the picture. I would even do that if it meant making sure she was safe.
As I rode, I thought about the day we met. Our first kiss. Our first time. Our wedding. What it was like being married. God, had we ever been that young? We were kids, but we thought we were so grown-up. We loved each other and were serious about making our marriage work, but in the end, we were practically babies. We had no idea what it meant to be married, to commit to each other through everything. We would have learned over time if we’d had the chance.
Vitaly had taken that away, the son of a bitch. I would take his fucking life away if I had to. I wanted to. I almost hoped he would push me to that point. All I needed was an excuse to end his miserable existence.
It didn’t take long to get to the next stop, even though it felt like forever. The entire horrible process felt like forever. We took the exit, riding in pairs, and made the slow ride to the short brick building that served as a rest stop. It was worth a try, anyway.
An old man came out of the building, heading straight for me. The second old man of the day, I thought, wondering if this one would have good news for me like the last one had.
He did. “Are you looking for a girl? Are you the Vipers?”
“Yes!” We all waited to hear what he had to say.
“They were here, maybe thirty minutes ago. A girl, and a tall man with his hand on her arm. I remembered thinking before she said anything that it seemed strange. She was too pretty a girl to be with him, and she seemed scared.”
“Did she say anything? Did he?” I didn’t know who the tall man was, since Vitaly wasn’t tall. One of the guys who hurt Daniel, I guessed.
“She kept talking about going to Barnegat. Here, I wrote it down in case I forgot.” He handed me a scrap of paper he’d written on.
“A boat in Barnegat? That’s what she said?”
“Yeah, she kept talking about getting seasick, and she kept looking at me. See, she mentioned the club, too.” I looked down. Sure enough, the word “Viper” was scrawled on the paper. I shook the man’s hand.
“Thank you so much,” I said. �
��You might have just saved her life.”
“Hurry!” The man pointed down the road. “Barnegat’s not far from here!” He had a point—they might have made it there already, or they would soon. It was time to ride, and ride hard.
We pulled out of the rest stop, and for the second time, I felt a surge of hope. We might have a chance. If we got there in time, we might have a chance. I hoped Vitaly had followed the speed limit—if I could push it fast enough, I might be able to catch up to him at whatever harbor or marina he’d gone to.
But which one? I thought about it along the way. I could ask, I guess. Maybe Vitaly had a boat in his name at one of them. It was a chance. Besides, how many of them would be open at that time of year? It would have been more difficult during the summer, with tourists everywhere.
