Chapter Seventeen
Melissa
Z EKE HAS BEEN at the house with us every day for the last two weeks. When he’s not at work, doing something for the club, at church, or hanging out with the guys, he’s with us. The kids love having him around and warmed up to him extremely quickly. They love hanging out with him. Especially when he gets down on the floor to play with the two of them. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing as long as he’s paying the kids attention. I always knew Zeke would be an amazing dad but he’s already proven my dreams didn’t even begin to live up to the reality of how hands-on he’d be with them. It’s better than anything we ever talked about on those nights we’d stay up holding one another close and dreaming of our future.
I still haven’t gotten any work projects, but I’m in talks with three authors about working with them. It’s just a matter of hammering out the details and seeing if we’d be a good fit for one another. That’s the most important part of working with someone else in this manner. If our personalities don’t mesh or my writing style isn’t what they’re looking for, there’s no point in moving forward. It’s something I’ve learned working with others in the past. My heart broke the first time an author decided to go in a different direction for her project. However, at the end of the day, I wasn’t a good fit for the project and she realized it before I did. There are no hard feelings between us and I still support her even if we’re not working together.
Marie and I have spent some time together. True to her word, she brought over photo albums of pictures with my mom in them. She had a story to go with each and every single picture she showed me. I enjoy hearing about my mom from someone who wants to remember the time they spent together. The only bad thing I’ve ever heard Marie say about my mom is that she wished she had stayed in contact with her after taking off to be with my father. Knowing what I do now about the man, I’m sure it wasn’t a matter of my mom wanting to stay in contact with Marie, but that she couldn’t. My father more than likely told her to stop talking to her best friend. Especially if he overheard anything he didn’t like. That just seems to be the kind of man he was with everything I learn about him.
Today, we’ve had kind of a lazy day. The kids and I have just been hanging out in the house and playing. I searched for a few more jobs this morning after cleaning the house. Grudge and Zeke are gone on a run and won’t be stopping over to see the kids. I’m honestly bored out of my mind. After lunch I was so bored while the kids took their nap that I baked a cake, brownies, and made cookies. That was after taking everything out of the refrigerator and cleaning it until it shined. In a little while I plan on doing the same thing to the freezer. Not right now though.
Now, the kids and I are going to the park for a while. They’ve been so good and I promised them I’d take them if they hung out while I cleaned and stuff earlier. After getting them changed and grabbing a ball for them to play with, we make our way out to the car. Zeke waits patiently while I get Delilah in her car seat before getting him in his. I place the diaper bag and ball on the floor at my son’s feet before closing his door and getting in the driver’s seat.
When we pull up to the park a few minutes later, I shut the car off and take in the emptiness of the park. It’s rare we ever show up when other parents have their kids playing here. At first I wondered why that is, but it’s nice not to have to share this with a ton of other kids. Even the teenagers in town don’t hang out here. At least not from what I’ve seen. Though, it does seem kind of creepy that I always seem to be the only one here. Right now, I’m not going to complain if it means my kids don’t have to wait for the swings or anything else.
Zeke did mention he doesn’t like me coming here when there’s no one else around. With Mad Dog still out there somewhere he’s worried he’ll get to me when I’m all alone with the twins. His worry is valid and I know he has every right to be concerned, but I can’t keep the kids locked in the house with nothing to do. They would go crazy and in turn I would go insane. I’m very careful when we come here and I don’t let my attention lapse for any reason. My eyes are constantly roaming over the entire playground and surrounding area the entire time we’re here. Plus, we typically don’t stay out here very long. Zeke and Delilah don’t usually last long playing here right now before they’re ready to head home.
Getting the kids out, they both stay by my side as I grab the ball and we make our way to the playground. Zeke heads straight for the swings. My boy loves to swing while Delilah just kind of goes with the flow. She doesn’t care what she does for the most part. But, if I had to choose something she loves to do at the park, it’s going down the slide. The pure joy on her face is so freeing to see. Zeke gets the same look when he’s swinging. They truly enjoy the simple things in life and I hope that never changes for them. That they don’t lose that true innocence only a small child can have.
With the kids in the swings, I stand behind them and push them lightly so they don’t start going too fast or high. Zeke sure wouldn’t care if I pushed him fast and high, but I’m not ready for all of that just yet. He’s too young for me to let him fly the way he wants to. Out of the twins, our boy is going to be a daredevil and love all of those adrenaline fueled things that will give me a heart attack on a daily basis. He gets it from his daddy. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
***
W e’ve been at the park longer than I thought we’d be. After swinging, the twins played on the slide for a while. I’m exhausted after lifting them up repeatedly to the top of the slide before racing around to make sure they didn’t fall going down. Like I said, Zeke is a daredevil and doesn’t always wait for me to get to the front before he lets go and slides down by himself. At least once a week he almost takes a head dive over the side of the small slide and I feel my heart leap out of my chest each time it happens.
After they played on the slide, we kicked the ball around for a while. Well, I kicked it and the twins chased it while laughing. They spent more time falling on the ground than actually getting the ball. As long as they have a good time, that’s all that matters. I’m chasing them around when I get the feeling of being watched. It’s not the first time I’ve felt this way. This time, however, is worse than anything I’ve ever felt in the past.
“Come on kids. I think it’s time to go home,” I say, keeping my voice low so whoever’s watching us doesn’t hear me.
My hope is that we can get to the car and leave before whoever is out there gets to us. I dart my gaze all around as I pick up my children and start to head for the car. The ball is left where it sits because I can always buy a new ball. If something happens to my kids, I’ll never forgive myself because I chose to grab a stupid ball. Before I can get to the car, I see a huge man walking up to me. He’s dressed all in black and has a bandana tied around his face. Other than seeing he has dark brown eyes, I can’t make out a single feature on the man. Every inch of skin is covered blocking out any tattoos, scars, or any other distinguishing marks on his body. I also can’t see if he’s got any hair or what color it is. Instead of wearing a baseball hat, this man has a beanie pulled low on his head.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the man questions me, his voice deep and graveled as if he smokes multiple packs of cigarettes a day.
“I’m going home. Did you need some help with something?” I return, trying to keep my voice even and steady as I keep my eyes on the man while moving steadily toward my car.
“I don’t think so. You’re gonna come with us,” he says, stepping between the car and us.
Turning my head, I don’t take my eyes off the man in front of me while managing to look around for anyone else here with him. If I were alone, it would be so much easier to fight or escape. With the twins in my arms, there’s not really much I can do because I’m not about to risk them getting hurt, or worse, because I didn’t want to go with this strange man.
“You cost a lot of men more than just the money they got for you. It’s time you pay your debt,” the man says as three more men come up behind me.
I’m literally trapped as my heart starts pounding and my breath gets stuck in my chest. Panic fills me at the thought of my kids being put at risk. If they were older, I’d have more options of getting them to safety while I fought off these assholes. Now, there’s not much they can do to protect themselves. I have to protect them and make sure nothing happens to them.
“I didn’t cost anyone a damn thing. Choices were made that I didn’t consent to. That’s not my fault or my problem. I’m guessing you know Mad Dog though or you wouldn’t be here,” I say, trying to feel stronger than I am right now.
If I keep this asshole’s attention on me, he won’t look at my kids or do anything to them. The longer I can keep fighting, the better off the three of us will be. I want to make sure my kids don’t get hurt and no one touches them for any reason. That’s the best I can do in this situation.
“It doesn’t matter if I know Mad Dog or not. Quit fucking stalling and let’s get a move on,” he says, looking around the area to make sure no one’s coming up on us.
I’m walking between the man in front of me and those following behind us. With both kids in my arms I don’t have any choice but to follow the men. I can’t risk trying to run when there’s more of them than me. With the added weight of my twins, there’s no way in hell I’d escape or be able to find somewhere to hide before they got to me. There are no choices here for us.
Looking around, I hope to spot someone driving or walking down the street. If I can just get someone’s attention, maybe they can help me. I should have listened to Zeke and Grudge about bringing someone with me to the park. If I had, this wouldn’t be happening right now. I’m the one to blame for whoever is behind kidnapping us. Mad Dog is one possibility. The man who bought me is also another possible person who’s behind this. I’d say that girl from the clubhouse who wants Zeke could have a hand in it, but she’s not smart enough to do something like this. Not on her own. She’s too obsessed with Zeke to think of ways to get me out of the way with the exception of her threats and lies.
No one’s on the street or coming this way. I’m fucked and not in the good way.
“Get in the fucking van,” the first man says, opening the door to reveal no seats or anything. About the only thing in the back of the van are hooks embedded in the floor, a railing along the driver’s side of the van with handcuffs already hanging there for use.
My eyes dart to the back door looking for a way out. The second the van comes to a stop, I can open the door and get the fuck out of it. Or get out before we even leave the park. As long as I can get the kids out, I’ll be okay staying here and letting these men take me to whoever sent them for me in the first place. Someone from the club will more than likely find my kids and make sure they get to Zeke. He’ll take care of them, raise them, and make sure they’re safe, happy, and healthy. It doesn’t matter if I’m okay or not as long as they are. Unfortunately, the door handle has been removed meaning those doors can only be opened from the outside. That’s not going to help me get out and away from these douche canoes.
For the first time in a horrible situation, I’m not panicking. I don’t know if it’s because my kids are here with me and I’m trying to be strong for them. Setting my kids down on the floor, I move them back as far as I can. The farther away from the fuckers they are, the better I’ll feel. Getting in behind them, I turn so the kids are against my back and I can keep an eye on the men filling the opening of the van.
Two men climb in and sit with their backs against the front seats. They stare at me, waiting for me to flinch or make any kind of move. My eyes move back to the only man whose spoken to me since this all started. He’s glaring in my direction as I press further in against my kids.
“You’re gonna be a fucking handful, I can already tell. So, we’re gonna get a little peace and quiet for a bit,” he says, confusing the hell out of me for about two seconds.
Before I can move or anything, the man’s hand flies out in front of him. He lands a punch straight against my temple. The pain registers for a second before everything fades away. The blackness pulls me under as fear for my kids fills my mind. They could do anything to them while I’m knocked out and I wouldn’t have the first clue about it or be able to defend them against these stupid fucks.