Chapter 55
Gabriella
“Are you okay?” Vienna whispered to me not five minutes later when we found ourselves in the middle of the bar, holding an emergency meeting.
“Yeah,” I replied, looking at Rachel, who was still shaking, hovering over Hacksaw’s shoulder as he typed away at his laptop. “What is he doing?”
“The kids have tracking devices in every pair of shoes they own. He’s trying to see where they are. He’s also issuing commands to all our other charters to station men at every dock, airport, and major motorway. At least then we can remain certain that the kids stay in the city.”
“And is the tracking device accurate?”
“Pretty damn accurate, yeah. But like anything else, it has its limits. If the shoes come off, the signal drops, or they’re somewhere with poor reception. There are areas where it could fail. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Should we be up front with the rest of them?” I asked, pulling on his hand.
He remained still.
“Vienna, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Gabriella,” he swallowed heavily. “I need to tell you something.”
I drew in a shaky breath. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this.
“Okay?”
“Nico he’s… he’s not safe, Gabby.”
“I know that,” I almost laughed.
“No. Listen to me. Please.”
I had never seen him like this before. He looked almost… panicked?
“The other night we received a tip that there was a body at the park. Our park.”
“Our park?” I frowned.
“The one where we met. We raced over there and… fuck, there’s no easy way for me to say this, but it was Michelle.”
Shock slammed into me with the force of a train.
“My mum?”
Why was I even surprised? We’d left her body behind the night we’d rescued Vienna.
“Yeah, and—”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I interrupted. “Why didn’t you tell me at the time?”
He looked sheepish. “I didn’t want to cause you any unnecessary pain. We cut her body down and brought it back here. It’s with the funeral home at the minute, and they’re doing what they can to make her presentable for you. I will—”
“Then I don’t need to know,” I interrupted again.
“What?” He looked utterly astounded.
“I don’t need to know. You’re a lot of things, Vienna, but you’ve never been cruel. If you kept that information from me, you did so for a reason. I already know he’s violated my mum. I heard and saw what he did to her. I don’t need to know the aftermath.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I whispered, raising onto my tip-toes to kiss his cheek. “I’m not mad, Luke, I promise.”
He expelled a heavy breath and linked my fingers.
“So… Is that all you needed to tell me?”
“He also watched us have sex,” he said in a rush, almost as though the dam had broken and now he needed to get it all out.
I closed my eyes. “When?”
“In the garage. He flew a drone over.”
“That’s why you sent me for a bath?” I demanded.
He flinched. “Yeah.”
“Good,” I said, nodding my head.
“Good?! What do you mean, good?”
“I’m glad he watched. I’m glad he saw what it’s like when I actually want to have sex with someone. I’m glad he saw me with you.”
“You’re not mad?”
“I’m not mad.”
“You don’t feel violated?”
“Everything Nico does is a violation. But no.”
“You don’t want to tear my balls off and make me eat them?”
“Was that Rachel’s suggestion?” I laughed.
“Something along those lines.”
“No, Vienna. I don’t want to hurt you, maim you, or even shout at you. I’m okay. I promise.”
A grin split his lips. “Really?”
“Really, really,” I grinned back, stepping into his arms.
And I was.
Truthfully.
Nothing he had told me was exactly shocking. It hurt, sure. And my heart was breaking at the thought of my mother being left with him. But she wasn’t here anymore. He was exacting revenge on an empty vessel. He couldn’t use her against me anymore.
“So… what’s the protocol here?” I asked, gesturing to the room.
“Usually Church whilst we make a plan. But I’m guessing this is an improvised Church. Where are we at, boss?” he asked, raising his voice.
“The docks are on lockdown. They’re not getting out even if they built their own canoe and tried rowing across the English Channel,” Riley declared.
“Where are we at with the fucking tracking?” Rachel yelled, looking as frantic as I felt.
“It’s coming. They’ve avoided the cities, which is making it a bit harder to trace. He’s gone through every dead zone known to us. I keep losing them and having to find them again.”
Rachel growled and began pacing up and down behind Hacksaw.
“Where was the last location, Hacksaw?” Dante asked, his teeth gritted in his determination to stay calm.
“Moortown,” Hacksaw replied reluctantly.
“Moortown?!” Rachel shrieked, snatching up the laptop to see for herself. “Dante, he’s heading for the woods!”
My mother’s hair.
Leaving her body at the park.
Every dead body addressed to me.
I knew where they were.
This wasn’t about the kids. Not really.
This was about destroying more of my memories.
“He’s not headed to the woods,” I whispered. “Vienna, he’s heading for the reservoir.”
He looked at me then, his face paling.
The reservoir.
Our reservoir.
The place Vienna and I had always called our own.
“He’s just driven past Moortown Golf Club—an ANPR camera picked him up,” Hacksaw announced.
“He’s picking our spots,” I said to Vienna. “He’s trying to destroy my memories, to make me mentally hurt since he can’t hurt me physically.”
“Fuck,” he hissed under his breath and then called out. “Boss?”
“What, Vienna?” Dante said back, seeming to have aged years in the past half hour.
“He’s off to the reservoir,” Vienna called out.
“You certain?”
“Positive,” I replied. “He knows that’s where Vienna and I used to hang out. We used to—”
“I’m leaving,” Rachel announced. “I’m leaving right fucking now and going to get my kids.”
She looked at Dante, and he nodded. “Go. Take every old lady who wants to ride. Greg, Chris, Trent—you’re with Rachel. You stay close to her and don’t let her out of your sight for a second. Either of them. I take it you’re going with her?” he said, looking at me.
“Hell yes, I am,” I replied.
“Where will you be?” Rachel asked, already strapping guns to her waist.
“I’ll be right behind you, darling. Go. I’ll be less than a minute.”
She was out of the door without so much as saying goodbye, the rest of the old ladies following her without question.
I quickly kissed Vienna and went to join them, knowing there was nowhere else I would ever be.
Because there was one thought every single one of us was trying desperately not to think.
Nico would not hesitate to kill those children. Not if he thought it would benefit him.
We were against the clock, and every second mattered.