Chapter 39 Our Daughter
OUR DAUGHTER
PAIGE
“Drink some water.”
Derek’s voice cut through my panic. His suit jacket was draped over my shoulders and it felt warm with his scent. But I didn’t deserve it when my daughter was out there somewhere, scared and alone.
I took the water bottle from him with trembling hands. My eyes were swollen from crying and every blink hurt, every breath hurt.
Everything hurt.
It had been an hour since Jack had broken into our penthouse, fought Sarah and Richard and taken my baby girl with a gun.
Sarah had a scratch across her cheek where Jack had shoved her aside. Richard had fallen trying to stop him, hit his head on the coffee table, which resulted in a minor concussion. But he had really tried.
We watched the security cameras. Jack had stormed in with wild eyes and that gun and took Lily away. The baby monitor had captured her cries that would haunt me forever as he had snatched her from her crib.
My baby, my little girl, cried for me while a man with a gun carried her away.
I didn’t know where she was and didn’t know if she was safe, if she was scared, if she was still crying for me. The not knowing was eating me alive from the inside out.
Derek’s hand squeezed my shoulder, and I looked up at him through swollen eyes. “I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she’s safe, Paige. I promise you.”
The penthouse was crawling with police officers. Sean and Chelsea were here. Cillian and Emma too. Sean and Cillian talked to the officers in low, urgent tones while Emma paced with her phone pressed to her ear, presumably talking to Caleb about tracking Jack’s car.
“Maybe he just wants money,” I said desperately, clutching the water bottle. “I’ll give him all my savings. The alimony. Whatever he wants—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Derek said firmly.
“But—”
“Derek’s right,” Cillian said, his voice calm. “He hasn’t asked for ransom and didn’t leave any note or make any demands. That means this isn’t about money.”
I stood up so fast Derek’s jacket slipped from my shoulders. “What? We just wait for the cops to do something? I can’t sit here alone and—”
Derek caught my arms, his touch gentle. “You don’t have to do anything. I’ll figure it out. I’ll find her, Paige. I swear to you, I’ll bring our daughter home.”
Our daughter.
“Cillian,” Emma called and whispered something in his ear. I watched Cillian’s jaw clench, his entire body going rigid.
“What is it?” I demanded. “What did she say?”
Cillian met my eyes and said, “We found him.”
Derek
I wasn’t letting Cillian and the cops go alone. Not a chance in hell.
We had found Jack hiding at his old house. The one he inherited from his grandmother, the one he used to talk about selling but never did. The drive felt endless and every second was another second Lily was with that lunatic. Another second she might be scared or hurt or worse.
The plan was simple. I would distract Jack while the cops got into position to extract Lily and arrest him. Let him focus on me, on his hatred for me, while they got my daughter to safety.
The house was exactly as I remembered the one time I had been there. It was old and rusty, with an overgrown yard. The kind of place that looked haunted in the dark.
Lily. I have to save her.
I approached the front door alone, aware of the officers positioned around the perimeter, of Cillian watching from his position by the trees.
I knocked.
Once. Twice. Thr—
The door flew open, and Jack’s hand shot out, grabbing my shirt and yanking me inside. I felt cold metal pressed against my temple before I even caught my balance.
There was a gun pressed against my head.
“Are you here alone?” Jack’s voice was maniacal. He smelled like whiskey and sweat. He looked older, with an unkept beard.
“Of course, dumbass,” I said, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was hammering. “Did you really think I’d bring the cavalry?”
His fist connected with my jaw before I saw it coming as pain exploded across my face, and I tasted copper.
Fuck.
“Stop being a smartass,” Jack growled, dragging me further into the house.
I coughed, spitting blood, and looked around desperately. The living room was dark, but there was no sign of Lily. No crying or sounds from deeper in the house.
“Where’s Lily?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.
Jack ignored me, shoving me into a chair. He pulled out the rope and started binding my wrists.
Shit. He knew I’d come to save her.
“Where’s Lily?” I asked again, louder this time.
Nothing. Just the sound of his heavy breathing.
“Jack, where the fuck is she?”
He jerked the rope tight enough to make me wince. My hands were secured behind the chair now, leaving me helpless and vulnerable.
Exactly where he wanted me.
“You know,” I said, forcing my voice to stay calm. “If you had asked me for money, I would have given it to you.”
Jack laughed. “Not for free.”
“Of course not. But I would have. Whatever you wanted. If it meant you’d stay far away from Paige and Lily.”
The punch came harder this time, snapping my head to the side. Stars burst across my vision, and I felt blood drip from my split lip.
“You know what I always fucking hated about you?” Jack asked, not waiting for my answer.
“How rich you were and how girls flocked to you or how everyone wanted to be your friend.” His eyes were gleaming with malice.
“Until you introduced me to her. Your pretty little friend. The one who looked at me after that stupid party like I hung the moon for her.”
My blood went cold. The party where I kissed Paige. In the room where she was blindfolded and—
She thought it was Jack.
“I didn’t even like her at first, you know?” Jack continued, his voice full of amusement. “I was just toying with her. Until I found someone I actually fell in love with.”
“You didn’t love Paige?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
I heard Cillian’s voice whispering in the tiny earpiece he’d given me. “Keep him engaged. We are close. The backyard is clear. Entering the house.” They had searched the backyard and were climbing upstairs.
“How could I? She was just... there. Convenient. A means to an end.”
“Then why marry her? Why—”
“Because of you.” Jack leaned in close, his breath hot on my face.
“I loved how jealous you got. I loved the look in your eyes whenever I touched her, held her hand, kissed her in front of you.” I could smell the alcohol on his breath, feel the mists of his spit on my cheek when he snarled next to my ear, “And you couldn’t do a damn thing about it because she was mine. ”
“Where is Lily?”
I was angry and furious as rage burned through my veins, but I didn’t want to show him that it affected me.
“The look on your face when I proposed—” Jack cackled. “Fuck, that was priceless. Especially when she said yes—”
“Where the fuck is Lily?!”
Jack stepped back, and I saw his expression change.
“And now you can have her,” he said softly. “Have Paige, take her and marry her. Play house with her new baby.” His smile was cruel. “I’d like to see if you can make her happy without her daughter.”
“What did you do?” My voice came out deadly quiet. “Jack. What the fuck did you do with Lily?”