Chapter 35 Parker
PARKER
“Hello, Parker.”
Every cell in my body was frozen, my fight-or-flight instincts nowhere to be found as even my heart seemed to stop beating. Disbelief washed over me as I did nothing but stare at the man before me.
“H-how are you here?”
The only reason I recognized him was because of the vertical knife tattoo on his neck.
I’d seen my uncle in a picture before, one my parents hadn’t wanted me to see.
I’d been in their closet, sticking my nose where it didn’t belong as I tried to find an extra pair of my mom’s shoes so I could play dress-up.
No luck with the shoes—I came to find she only owned one pair—but instead I stumbled upon an old photo album.
My dad burned the album that night.
From what I’d briefly gathered from my cousin Axel about his father, my dad had been right to.
When I met Axel for the first time, he’d explained that I was the first extended family member his daughter had ever met. She never knew who her grandfather was, and he planned to keep it that way.
My uncle took a step, moving out from behind the counter to expose the gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans.
He had a build similar to my father, but it was apparent he was vastly younger than his brother.
His brown hair flaring out from under a ball cap was layered with gray, but he had few wrinkles on his face, giving the impression that the man likely didn’t smile much.
“It took a lot of trial and error to finally figure it out. But when your life is on social media”—he shrugged—“anyone can find out anything. Plus, we’re family.” His toothy smile was unsettling. “Why wouldn’t you want to meet your uncle?”
“I don’t even know your name.” My hand slowly felt for my pocket, and I silently cursed myself for not grabbing my phone.
“My brother never told you?” He quirked his head to the side, inspecting me.
I shook my head.
“Or my son?”
“How do you know I talked to—”
“Because I’m not stupid.” His smile fell, replaced with a look of disdain. “All that time traveling the country and you expect me to think you didn’t try to find any family? Your father kept you and your mother away from us.”
“Because you’re dangerous.”
His laugh could’ve rattled the windows. “Dangerous?”
“Axel told me you went to prison for murder.” My voice had quieted, like that might keep me from setting the man off.
“It was for a good cause.” That haughty smile was back, causing my limbs to begin to shake.
I fisted my hands, debating whether it was worth it to try to run to the bedroom to grab my phone and call for help. But he had a gun, and I had nothing to defend myself with, aside from a wooden door—if I made it that far.
“Rob.” He moved toward me, and despite the hostility of the situation, he walked with nauseating smoothness. He held out a scarred hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Parker.”
The way he said my name sent shivers up my spine.
I stared at the offering, bile rising up my throat. “Why are you here?”
He waited a few seconds longer before dropping his hand to his side with a sigh. “Right to the nitty gritty, huh? Just like your father. Before he kicked me out of his life, that is.”
I simply kept staring, scared to trigger him and unwilling to make conversation.
With another sigh, he went on, “I’m here to get that inheritance.”
My brows instantly pulled together in confusion. “What inheritance?”
“From your father’s passing.”
I tried to remember if any money had ever come up, but the assisted living facility he’d been staying in before he passed had sucked his bank account dry. Anything that was left went toward the funeral expenses. “He didn’t have anything to give.”
Rob scoffed. “Bullshit. The man was loaded.”
I shook my head. “He rarely worked. We…” I trailed off, not wanting to tell him even the tiniest bit about my childhood. But it was also too much to explain. “There’s no inheritance.”
His eyes dropped to my stomach as he took a step forward, and I instinctively moved back a step.
He stopped and held his hands up in mock surrender. “Woah, now. I don’t want to hurt you.”
For obvious reasons, I failed to believe that. “There’s no money here for you. So please leave.”
He clucked his tongue, his head cocking to the side eerily. “Parker, Parker, Parker. I’m not a fool. I’ve been to prison, and you come to learn a lot of tells there.” He moved into my space again, and I forced myself not to flinch. “You’re lying.”
“My boyfriend will be back soon,” I blurted, hoping that would scare him off. I feared if I kept denying the money aspect, it’d only make him angry.
“Roads are icy. He’ll be gone for a while.”
I swallowed the panic building in my stomach. I was alone, pregnant, with no weapon or phone. Rob wasn’t just here to grab some money and go. He’d brought a gun for a reason.
My hands covered my stomach, fearing the worst. But I’d never let anyone hurt my baby, no matter how hard they tried. His motivations might be strong, but my instinct to protect this baby was unsurpassable.
Rob seemed to think hard on something as he narrowed his eyes on me, then he shrugged and spun around, surveying the space. “You’ll be coming with me then.”
My heart nearly fell to the floor. “What?”
He swiveled back toward me, and this time, when he faced me, he held the gun in his hand. He gestured the tip of the barrel at my bare feet. “Put some shoes on.”
“I—” I blinked. Shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“If you’re claiming there’s no inheritance, then I’ll just get money from the state for your baby.” He made a fake pouty face. “Poor Parker died in childbirth, and her only remaining family has to raise the baby. The state will throw money at me like it’s fucking raining.”
I didn’t bring up the fact that if that were to happen, Beckham would likely raise my son.
Or if it really worked in the sense that my child went to family, Axel would get him before any felon did.
But I didn’t know the logistics, and I wasn’t about to waste time trying to figure that out—because it wouldn’t be happening.
My head shook back and forth. “No. That will never happen.”
His eyes snapped to mine a moment before his gun followed suit. “I said put some shoes on. Otherwise, you’re going barefoot, and the snow is about six inches deep right about now. Probably deeper where we’re going.”
I had to force my breathing to calm as I tried to think of a way out of this. But with the gun, and his adamance…I was stuck.
The longer we stared each other down, the more tempted he looked to pull the trigger and settle for robbing the place.
Finally, I snapped. “Okay.” My hands flexed, fingers stiff with anxiety. “Okay. I’ll go with you. But my boots are down the hall.” I stepped back in that direction, and he followed my movements.
“Don’t even think of trying anything,” he warned.
I didn’t dare turn my back on him as I moved down the hallway. I went into Beckham’s room first, pretending to search the floor for my snow boots. But I knew they were in the guest room.
I scanned the ground for my pants, knowing my phone was in the pocket. Rob stood in the doorway, gun still aimed at me. I bent, reaching for my leggings, and quickly swiped the device and slid it in the front pocket of my sweatshirt.
“That’s not fucking boots,” Rob sneered before something hit me in the back and I went toppling forward.
I rolled to prevent hurting my stomach, but the pain in my back had me sucking in a breath. I looked up to find his foot outstretched. He’d fucking kicked me.
His crazed eyes darted around my figure until he settled on my stomach. Right as he lunged, I screamed, trying to kick at him, but he was stronger, and he shoved between my legs with little less than a fight.
I shoved at him as his hand slid into my pocket and grabbed my phone, pulling it free. My body froze as he sat back and crouched before me.
He shook the device back and forth in my face, tsking me. “Calling anyone will only succeed in promising their death. Is that what you want?”
I swallowed, too scared to even scoot back an inch. “No.”
As if that answer satisfied him, he stood and pocketed the phone. Despite losing it on my person, the sight of him keeping it and not tossing it aside sent a glimmer of hope flickering to life beneath the fear enveloping me.
Beckham had asked me to turn my location on for him after I’d told him about the comments and messages, and thankfully, I’d done it. Wherever that phone was, he’d find it. Find me.
Rob stood, towering over me with the gun aimed at my forehead. “Last chance to get your fucking shoes or you’re losing your goddamn toes to frostbite.”
His words hit me with the realization that he didn’t want me dead or injured. If he hurt me, I could lose the baby, and that would only result in him getting no money from the state for whatever fucked-up childcare scheme he was conjuring in his head.
He needed me alive.
I could use that to my advantage and possibly get away from him somewhere outside. I had more chances of hiding somewhere out there, in the dark during a snowstorm, than I did in here.
“Okay.” I carefully pushed to a stand, using more effort than usual due to the ache in my back. “I think they’re in the other room.”
He nudged the gun in the direction of the door, and I moved, making no other pit stops as I went into the guest room and tugged on a pair of wool socks and my snow boots.
Once they were laced, he grabbed me by my upper arm and yanked me toward the hall.
The water still running in the bath assured me that at least Beckham would know something bad had happened—that I hadn’t simply left.
“You’re taking your sweet time, aren’t you?” Rob gritted out, practically spitting the words in my ear.
I said nothing because he was right.
He grunted like he knew as much. “Try any more stunts and I’ll have to put a shiny little bullet right between your boyfriend’s eyes.”
Bile rose in my throat again, the sick feeling combining with the urge to fight and do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.
Once outside, he led me around the house and out into the field. I was thankful we weren’t on the side where Tex’s pasture was, and that no harm would come to him.
The frosty bite from the storm had my limbs shaking instantly, my sweatshirt and leggings doing nothing to keep out the cold as snow fell around us in a thick sheet of white, sticking to my hair and exposed skin.
Minutes passed, and I had begun to wonder if his brilliant plan was to walk somewhere when a cluster of metal began taking form a few feet away. Visibility was so poor, I didn’t realize it was an ATV until we were basically right on top of it.
Rob searched our surroundings—what little he could see of them—and shoved me toward the vehicle. “Get on.”
I covered my hands with the sleeves of my sweatshirt and shoved off the few inches of snow that had accumulated on the seat. Of all the nights to be kidnapped by a crazed uncle, it just had to be during the worst fucking blizzard this season.
Stiff from the cold, I managed to swing my leg over and perch on the very back of the seat. I didn’t want to touch this man in any capacity, but I didn’t have a choice on this small of an ATV.
He tucked the gun into the waistband of his pants before climbing on in front of me with ease. The silence of the snow was interrupted by the engine and a distant whinny. He took off, heading away from the house.
The tires slid with each turn, and I wondered if he even knew where he was going. But when the pines started getting thicker and closer together, and the snow got progressively deeper, I knew he was heading for the mountains.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, forcing my voice louder than the engine. I had to squint my eyes against the snow battering my face, and by this point, my clothes were soaked through and freezing me worse than before.
He ignored me, pushing the ATV faster.
“I’ll get hypothermia,” I shouted, curling in on myself more, like maybe I could keep my baby warm even if I froze.
“Can’t you see I’m busy?” he yelled over his shoulder, going harder on the throttle.
I snapped my mouth shut, not wanting to waste my energy while also not wanting to anger him further for the fear he’d push the vehicle too much and it’d sputter out—or worse, we’d crash.
By the time we finally came to a stop, I was frozen through. I could barely lift my leg to get off the ATV, and my hands were stuck to my elbows in an attempt to hold in any body heat I could. When I moved too slow, Rob grabbed my arm, tugging me behind him.
“Rob, please. I can get you money. I can—”
“Don’t try to plead with me now, Parker. Didn’t your dad ever teach you that begging only makes you look pathetic?”
We stopped before a wooden door, snow clinging to every surface possible. I arched my neck back, snowflakes falling into my eyes as I realized he’d brought us to a cabin.
He used a key to remove a padlock then moved inside, not looking back to see if I followed. He didn’t have to—I had nowhere else to go. The cabin was the only place to get out of the snow, and if I tried to run now, I’d freeze to death.
Hell, even if I didn’t run, I’d likely suffer the same fate.
My fingers were completely numb, my lips surely blue, and when I tried to sniffle, it hurt. The only dry spot on the lower half of my body was my feet, thanks to my boots, but even my toes were cold. So long as I could still walk, though, I had to have hope.
“I’m going to get a fire started,” Rob muttered, more to himself than to me. He moved a few things around, mumbling under his breath, and then slammed the front door behind him as he presumably went to find firewood.
With the amount of snow outside, his luck was minimal—which meant mine was, too.
I only hoped he’d succumb to the elements before I did.
Or else I’d be truly, utterly fucked. As if I weren’t already.