Chapter 38
Delaney
Three hours later, I’m sitting against the wall on the floor, staring at Kidd.
He fell asleep an hour ago, which is probably for the best. I can’t imagine being awake with what must be an astronomical amount of pain radiating through his body.
Ice is outside partying with his men. Other than a completely unpleasant encounter with his ol’ lady, I’ve been left alone.
The woman was a stone-cold bitch though, and I don’t quite understand why she hates me, but she didn’t bother to hide it.
Perhaps it has to do with my mom and Ice’s unhealthy obsession, but I can’t control the psycho’s behavior any more than I could fight off the bitch who glared holes through me.
She may be a foot shorter and soft in a lot of places but the hardness behind her eyes spoke volumes as to her abilities.
Luckily, Ice told her to knock it off and they’ve been outside ever since.
No one has said anything about my phone which I assume is because either they think they’ve cowed me enough not to snitch, they don’t care, or there’s no reason to bother when there’s no fucking cell service way out here.
So much for my plan to call the fucking cops.
How could I be so dumb?
Meanwhile, I’ve been considering what Ice said but I have no idea who Castro is and it’s entirely possible that he’s wrong.
Based on my mom’s behavior, I can’t help but wonder if Ice really is my father which is why I’ve been cataloguing everything about the man I believe to be my brother while he sleeps.
Is his upper lip a tiny bit wider like my mom’s? We don’t share the same eye color but perhaps the blue-gray hue is a mixture of my parent’s?
When he frowns, I look away, biting back the tears that have been simmering since I got here.
Did she leave Kidd when she got pregnant with me? What a horrible notion to consider.
I guess Joker was dead wrong on that one, but it brings me no joy because I may not live long enough to point it out.
Eventually I tire of my thoughts and doze, waking when I hear a scratching noise nearby.
Sitting up, I meet Kidd’s wide-eyed stare. He tries to speak through the gag, but I can’t understand him and after glancing around to confirm we’re still alone, I crawl across the concrete.
With a wince, I peel the tape back, but Kidd is immune as he hisses, “You have to let her go.”
Shit. Let who go?
With a sinking sensation in my stomach, I whisper, “Who?”
“Dray! Get her out of here!”
Draven? Holy shit. So, she is here?
“Where is she?” I ask and Kidd tilts his head back.
“Behind the building. There’s a shack. She’s inside. Pretend you gotta piss or something.”
“What about you?”
Someone cackles outside and I turn, staring at the flames through the window. That’s one hell of a fire they’ve got going out there.
“Don’t worry about me,” he rasps. “Take her and go.”
While I appreciate his passionate need to save Draven, how the fuck are we supposed to get out of here?
Walk? The asshole took my keys.
Waving my hand at the window, I ask, “Go where? They’re not going to just let us leave.”
“I’ll distract them.”
“How?”
I mean it in the nicest of ways, but he’s been beaten so badly I don’t know if he can even stand.
“There’s a knife in my boot,” he says, ignoring my question.
Eyeing him with a frown, I tiptoe back to the window and glance outside.
To my right, Ice and his bitchy woman sit in lawn chairs, facing the men who roam around the fire, passing a bottle of liquor between them.
“Assholes,” I mutter before crawling back to Kidd where I pull the knife from his sweaty boot and proceed to saw at the tape on his feet.
“Fuck,” he groans, and I pause, looking over my shoulder.
When nothing stirs, I hiss, “Shut the fuck up!”
This earns me a dirty glare which I ignore while I finish off the tape around his legs and move on to his hands.
With every second that passes, fear slides down my back in icy trickles of sweat.
I can’t imagine what will happen if we’re caught but I know it won’t be good.
Once he’s free, I sit back while he deals with the mother of all pins and needles.
When he finally looks up, his eyes blazing, I meet his gaze as he says, “Help me sit up.”
He’s heavy and uncoordinated and I wince and jump at every groan but eventually he leans against the booth and nods to a backpack sitting nearby.
“Bring me the bag.”
Ugh.
Tiptoeing over, I grab the bag, only to freeze when a sound that’s way too close for comfort comes from outside.
My heavy breaths are loud in the silence as I stare at the door. When no one emerges, I race back to Kidd and shove the bag in his hands.
He roots around for a minute before producing a handgun. When he goes back for more, I tip my head to peer inside as he pulls out a second gun.
After checking it over, pulling out the bottom and slamming it closed, he pulls a lever back and hands it to me by the butt.
“Take this,” he says.
Gingerly I grab it from his hand while he points to the back of the building and says, “Go. Loop around back to the front. Here.”
When he hands me a set of keys, I drop to my knees and touch his hand. What will Ice do when he finds out that Kidd helped us?
I don’t understand why he would but I have to show him my gratitude somehow.
“Why?” I whisper and he bows his head, a trickle of sweat sliding down his temple.
After inhaling sharply, he meets my gaze and says, “You got out. Let’s keep it that way. Go.”
I don’t know what to say or if I could past the lump in my throat, so I just nod and turn to the back door.
Maybe he does know about me, but it’s a hollow truth because I’m leaving him behind with a monster…again.
With every step I take, I’m expecting someone to bust through the front and I shudder when the back door squeals as I push it open, before peeking outside.
In the darkness, I can just make out a small, withered shack ten feet or so from the building.
I don’t see any men, but it would be stupid to leave Draven alone, right?
Except they didn’t think I was a threat either.
Before I can decide what to do about any-fucking-thing, Kidd hisses, “Go.”
Jumping into action, I slip out the door. I’m grateful for the darkness as I pick my way through the weeds and slip and slide in the slushy grass.
With just a sliver of light to see by, I freeze when a man steps from the trees, his hands pausing on the button of his pants.
When I meet his gaze, his eyes widen before they narrow and I say, “I need to pee.”
He slowly nods and I veer toward the trees with my heart in my throat, keeping the shack as close as possible.
My hopeful escape is thwarted though when the man says, “That’s far enough.”
“Privacy,” I mumble, and he chuckles.
“Right there, baby.”
Okay, I don’t have to pee and even if I did, I’d rather die than pull down my pants in front of this creep.
Sensing my unease, he approaches, and I slide my hand with the gun to the back of my thigh when he says, “Maybe you need help?”
“No,” I rasp before swallowing.
What am I going to do? I know Kidd gave me the gun but if I shoot it, every other fucker will come running.
Besides, am I prepared to kill someone?
My slick fingers slip on the gun, and I tighten my grasp as the asshole says, “Don’t worry, baby. There’ll be plenty to go around when I’m done.”
Of course, the douche grabs for my arm and I wrench away. Unfortunately, my shoes slide in the snow and my ankle twists the wrong direction which only ratchets my unease when he tugs me closer.
I have to get out of this without alerting the others, but how?
“Stop,” I hiss, and he chuckles.
“Or what? It’s time to have fun, bitch.”
What the heck? Do I have ‘victim’ written on my forehead?
“No,” I blurt. “Stop. My-My uncle will be mad.”
This is probably the only instance in my life where admitting I’m related to the fucker is a good thing and I pray this works when the skeevy asshole cocks his head.
His beady eyes stare at me in the moonlight and I cringe away when he says, “Darlin’ I don’t give a fuck about your uncle.”
I’m so fucking scared that I have to lock my knees, but I summon my most bitchy tone and huff, “Really? Well, I’ll be sure to let Ice know.”
He drops my arm so quickly that I sway as he says, “Prez is your uncle?”
“Yep.”
Mustering an arrogant smile, I back away while he scratches his head.
This isn’t over but at least I’ve avoided being led back to Ice or so I thought until he steps forward, and I fall back, landing on my ass this time.
My throat burns when he chuckles and leans over me but I bite back the scream trembling on my tongue and bark, “Leave me the fuck alone.”
Absently, I note the sweat beading in my armpits, despite the chill seeping into my ass and a shiver overtakes me.
It’s fucking cold and if I’m not mistaken, bound to snow again too, all of which my newfound admirer ignores while his squirrely eyes drop to my chest and he says, “Nope, I don't think so. Ice’ll have my ass if I don’t bring you back.”
Fuck. Shit. Damn.
My only option is to use the weapon but once I do, I’m alerting every other dick and that’s not an option.
Thankfully the darkness conceals it, still pressed against my thigh and in a last-ditch effort to get away without causing a scene, I turn and push to my feet.
I only manage a few steps before he hits me in the back and I fall to my face, groaning into the wet soil.
My spine aches as a result but more importantly, I just ate fucking dirt.
Gah.
Spitting it out, I press my palms into the ground and push up. Where did the gun go?
Peeking through my lashes, I glance around. I’m surrounded by trees, and I can hear the sounds of the party behind me but beyond the slice of moon this fucker is currently blocking, I can’t see anything but snow and slushy dirt.
“You’re a pretty little thing,” the asshole grunts, grabbing my leg.
“Stop,” I mutter, and he drops to my back, pressing the air from my lungs in a whoosh.
“You been fucked, yet?” he asks, his acrid breath assaulting my nose.