Chapter Eleven
Mia
Poppy had only been awake for an hour when I heard the front door creak open, my heart lurching in my chest. Jackson had gone out to run errands, leaving me and Poppy alone in the house. He never entered so quietly. A chill ran down my spine as I held our sleeping daughter close, my mind racing with fear.
“Who’s there?” I called out, my voice trembling. The silence following my inquiry hung heavy with unspoken threats. Each passing moment felt like an eternity. The tension thickened to the point of being suffocating. The floor in the hallway creaked, letting me know I definitely wasn’t alone.
I clutched Poppy to my chest, praying I was wrong and it was only my husband returning. If it wasn’t…
“Who’s there?” I called out once more. I could hear the fear lacing my voice, and trembled as I held my small daughter. The silence mocked my unease with cruel stillness.
Footsteps drew nearer, slow and deliberate. Whoever was out there wanted to scare me. I knew whoever it was, they would most likely try to hurt us. My heart hammered in my chest, the sound thundering in my ears. My mouth went dry, and I scanned the room, wishing for a way to escape. Even if I did manage to get out the window, they’d catch up to me before I could get very far.
The door to the bedroom burst open, revealing two shadowy figures. They lunged toward me, one of them grabbing Poppy from my arms while the other restrained me.
“Let go of her!” I screamed, desperate to protect my precious girl. But nothing could prepare me for the shock of recognizing my parents’ faces, twisted with malice, as they held us captive. Why were they here? No, why were they together? I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my mom. What was going on right now?
“Keep your mouth shut,” my father snarled. “You’re coming with us.”
“Please, don’t hurt her,” I begged through gritted teeth, tears streaming down my cheeks. Their grip tightened on me and Poppy, and I knew we were in grave danger. I had no way of alerting Jackson to what was happening, nothing I could drop to leave a hint as to who had taken us.
I fought every step of the way, kicking over an end table. The lamp shattered as it hit the floor, and I knew Jackson would see it and realize we’d been abducted. But would he get back in time to find us? How far would my parents travel with us before he even discovered we were missing?
“Stop it!” My father released me long enough to smack me across the face. Heat bloomed across my cheek and made my eyes water. “Look here, you little bitch. Keep it up, and I’ll make sure you suffer twice as much.”
As they dragged us out of the house, I overheard their hushed conversation, their words searing into my memory.
“That woman Lily said she’d be here, all vulnerable and alone. She was right. We’ll take her back home and make sure this little family never sees each other again,” my mom said. “The baby should fetch a high price.”
Oh, God! They were going to sell my child? What did that mean for me? I could only imagine… Had my mother already promised me to one of the pimps she’d worked with? Was that the entire reason they were both here? She wouldn’t have been able to do this on her own, which meant she’d most likely offered to cut my father in on the deal. But why? No, I knew exactly why… she hadn’t kept in touch with me in all these years, so she’d needed my father in order to find me. At least, I had to assume that’s how they’d come together again. Or maybe my father had been the one they approached? It would make sense. Actually, none of this did. Why couldn’t they just leave us alone? Jackson had made it clear he didn’t want them. Why did they have to try and ruin our happiness?
My heart broke at the thought of never seeing Jackson again, never watching our daughter grow up together. And the knowledge that Lily had betrayed us added another layer of pain. I couldn’t understand why she would do such a thing. Why had she been so jealous? Jackson said he’d never been hers. I didn’t know how someone could be so cruel.
They forced me out to a waiting car, I swore to myself that I would do everything in my power to protect Poppy and reunite us with Jackson. He was our only hope, and I prayed he would find us before it was too late.
My parents shoved a cloth into my mouth, then put tape over it before binding my hands. They shoved me into the trunk and slammed it shut. Since my mother still had Poppy, I couldn’t do anything. If I made them angry again, or tried to escape, my daughter could be in even more danger.
And here I’d thought the only person I had to be leery of was Carter. Instead, he’d disappeared after he’d caused all that trouble before. Once Cooper laid him out, he’d caused trouble once more, then given us a wide berth. In fact, I’d often thought it was odd how quiet he’d been. He couldn’t be part of this too, could he? Wait. What if he’d been around and Jackson hadn’t told me? Would he have kept something like that from me?
The darkness felt suffocating. I felt every bump in the road, and every turn slammed me into one side or another. I had no sense of time and wondered if we’d only been on the road a few minutes or longer. I could hear Poppy crying in the car, and my mother’s angry voice as she yelled at her to shut up. Tears pricked my eyes, and I hated being so helpless. All those self-defense classes, and my junkie parents had gotten the best of me. I felt worse than useless.
“Where are you, Jackson?” I whispered to myself. “Please find us.”
Every second that passed took us farther away from him. I didn’t know how Lily had found my parents, or why. Think, Mia!
I couldn’t remember if any neighbors had been out when my parents snatched us. Had anyone been watching from a window? Maybe sitting on their porch, unnoticed by my parents? If they had been, maybe the police had already been called.
I hadn’t seen Lily or Anna in Las Vegas at nationals. They must have been there, but how had they known about Poppy? I doubted Jackson had told them. They’d made him so angry he’d avoided them. Somehow, my parents had been prepared for Poppy.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts. I knew I had to be strong, and I had to trust in myself. I had to find a way to survive and save my daughter. As the car sped down the road, I clung to the hope that we would be reunited with Jackson soon. I knew that the future was uncertain, but I was willing to fight for it -- for us.
I prayed for strength, knowing I couldn’t fall apart right now. Poppy needed me to be calm. We had to survive this. If we did, we’d be stronger for all we’d suffered. One way or another, I’d escape this nightmare and take Poppy with me.
* * *
By the time we stopped, I felt like my bladder would burst. I also ached from head to toe. My dad opened the trunk and hauled me out. I blinked to adjust my vision and saw we were at a rundown motel. The kind where people wouldn’t ask questions. My parents probably felt right at home here. Thanks to Jackson, this place made my skin crawl now. I’d been living a life so different from what I’d known before meeting him. He’d spoiled me.
Dad dragged me into a room and shoved me inside. Once he took the gag off, I cried at the pain from the tape being torn off.
“Shut up!” He punched me and I saw stars. Not only did pain spread through my face, but I staggered and fell into the wall. He untied my hands and pointed to the bathroom. “Go piss if you need to. Then sit your ass in the corner and don’t fucking move.”
I did as he said. When I went to wash my hands, the water came out brown and I cringed. I caught sight of my reflection in the cracked mirror and noticed I already had a bruise blooming across my cheek and down into my jaw. My dad pointed to the corner again and I wedged myself between the wall and dresser.
“Why won’t this kid shut up?” Mom demanded as she glared at Poppy.
“She’s probably hungry.” My voice came out as a croak. “Her formula was at the house, as well as her diapers. She’ll need both.”
The motel room door opened and both Lily and Anna walked in. My eyes went wide as I stared at them. Lily smirked at me, and I knew she’d been the mastermind behind my kidnapping. How could they be so evil? Why did they want to destroy our lives? Did they not care about Jackson at all? I didn’t understand how they could think he’d be happy with his wife and daughter missing. He had to be going out of his mind, assuming he’d already found the mess I’d made in the living room and realized we weren’t home.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Anna asked, sounding uncertain as she glanced at me.
“Of course, it will,” Lily snapped back. “We just need to keep them apart long enough for Jackson to see what a mistake he made by choosing Mia over us.”
“Besides,” my mother chimed in, her words dripping with disdain, “once we get that little brat away from her, she’ll be as good as useless to him. Didn’t you say they only got married because she was pregnant? No baby, no reason to keep her.”
My blood boiled at their callous disregard for my daughter’s safety, but all I could do was watch her, and hope she’d make it through his. I’d failed to protect her from the evil in the world. How sad was it that my parents were the type of scum who’d sell their own flesh and blood?
“Remember, ladies,” my father warned them, “if anything goes wrong, we’re all in this together. There’s no turning back now.”
Yeah, sounded about right. My dad wouldn’t go down alone. No way in hell. He’d drag them all down with him. I didn’t know how he’d found the courage to pull off something like this. Now that I’d been apart from him for so long, I realized he was rather spineless. If Jackson were here, my dad would have run instead of trying to stay and fight. It was just the type of person he was. How had I been afraid of him for so long?
“Fine,” Anna muttered, before adding defiantly, “but if this doesn’t work, it’s on your heads. You’ll have to pay back every penny.”
Wait. What? Did they seriously give my parents money to kidnap us? How had they even known how to find them? I had a feeling someone smarter, and possibly wealthier, was behind all this. I just couldn’t figure out who, or why. I narrowed my eyes at Anna, and hoped she’d rot in hell. With any luck, someone would send her there soon.
A shiver ran down my spine as the weight of their conspiracy pressed down on me. Jackson, I need you more than ever.
As the hours ticked by and the darkness seemed to grow even thicker, I couldn’t help but fear that our time was running out. And so, with each beat of my racing heart, I prayed that Jackson would find us before it was too late -- not just for me, but for our precious daughter who deserved so much more than the horror she’d been born into. If she’d had a better mother, none of this would have happened.
* * *
Jackson
Hours had passed since Mia and Poppy were taken, and rage bubbled within me. Staring at the barren crib and rumpled sheets, determination surged -- I would bring them home. Even if it meant calling my parents. I’d tried to let the law handle it, but so far they hadn’t done a fucking thing.
A neighbor had thankfully seen a man and woman taking Mia and Poppy from the house, and she’d taken note of the color and make of the car, and even had caught part of the license plate number. Despite having that much information, the idiots hadn’t made any headway. I’d finally asked them to leave, in the hopes they’d actually do their fucking jobs if they weren’t in my house. Clearly whoever had taken them didn’t plan to ask for a ransom. Which meant this was most likely personal.
I took a breath and called Wire. Before he even had a chance to say hello, I blurted out, “Mia and Poppy were kidnapped. I need help.”
“Shit,” Wire muttered. “Give me everything you’ve got.”
I passed along the information the neighbor collected, as well as the time of the abduction. I heard Wire’s fingers flying across the keys of his computer. It didn’t take long before he grunted and gave me at least something.
“Caught them on a traffic cam on their way out of town. Looks like they’re heading southeast.”
“Any way to follow them farther?” I asked.
“I think they got on the interstate. After that last clip of them turning, there’s nothing. I checked every camera in the area, including some of the shops.”
“Fuck!” I wanted to throw my phone and barely managed to stop myself.
“You still haven’t told your parents, have you?” he asked.
“No, I fucking haven’t. Is this really the time, Wire? My wife and daughter are gone. I have no idea who took them or why. They could be out of my reach by now.”
“I’ve got an image of the man behind the wheel. I’ll run it through a facial recognition program and see what I get. Might take a while, though. If they haven’t left the state, then I can reach out to the Savage Knights. They’re in your area. I’d already clued them in to your presence, even though you aren’t technically part of the club. It wasn’t like you needed permission to be in their territory, but I wanted a connection there in case I needed help fast. Like now.”
“I appreciate it. Even if I don’t sound like it.”
Wire sighed. “This is going to take me a while. I’ll get Lavender to help. We’ll locate cameras near all exits in both directions and see if we can get lucky. But don’t expect a call back anytime soon. Probably not even tonight.”
I didn’t know what the hell to do in the meantime. The cops didn’t seem to have a clue where to even start, or else they were just keeping me in the dark. Hell, if they figured out I had a connection to a motorcycle club, they’d likely put me at the top of the suspect list. Then again, if the movies and shows were even slightly accurate, the husband was usually the first person of interest.
In all honesty, I knew I wasn’t being fair. I’d met my share of good officers and deputies. But the club had also taken down some rotten, corrupt bastards. Like any job, there were bad mixed in with the good. I just felt impatient because I had no idea if my girls were hurt, scared, or even still alive. What the hell did those people want with them?
“Just do what you can. Please. I have to get them back, Wire.” I swallowed hard. “I love them, and I don’t think I can live without them.”
“Hey! Knock that shit off right fucking now. If your dad heard that bullshit come out of your mouth, he’d knock you on your ass.”
I snorted. “Really? You think Cowboy would lay a hand on any of his kids, regardless of our ages?”
“You’re right. He wouldn’t,” Wire admitted.