Chapter 38 Kat
Ababy…
I might be in shock.
Vince keeps looking at me in the rearview. I can see the concern in his eyes, but I haven’t said anything yet.
Who do I tell?
Whose baby is it? I don’t care, but will they?
Crap. What if they're mad? What if they don’t want a baby?
The thought lasts only a moment before I realize how silly it is.
Nathan has made no effort to hide how much he would love to get me pregnant, going so far as to steal my birth control.
And while the others haven’t exactly commented on it, they haven’t said anything against it when it was brought up.
Addy is going to have a brother or sister!
“Mommy, are you okay?” A smile pulls at my lips as I look down at her big blue eyes that shine with concern for me. She’s going to be such a great big sister.
“Yes, I’m wonderful, Addy.” I smile down at her and see the tension visibly drain from her.
She’d hung out with Vince while I was at the doctor; they went and got ice cream, and she excitedly tells me all about it.
Originally, I’d planned to take her with me, but I’d been feeling sick and just off overall.
I was waking up at odd hours, having a hard time falling asleep, and everything smelled so strong.
Now it made sense.
I’m also beyond grateful that Vince insisted on keeping her with him.
The paperwork from today's visit is tucked under my left leg, opposite the side Addy’s on, and it feels like it’s burning a hole in my leg.
Panic turns to excitement, and suddenly I wish we were headed home instead of out for the evening.
This time, when I look up and meet Vince’s gaze, the smile I give him is genuine, and while he still seems concerned, he gives me a small smile in return.
I should tell them all together. I want us to all do this together, as a family.
I hug Addy to me and press my free hand to my stomach as I try to remember the last time I had my period.
My period has never been trackable. Sometimes I have one, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s three days long; other times it’s ten.
The doctor thinks I’m a little further along than most when they realize and ordered me to go for an ultrasound to be sure.
Despite how sudden this all is, I realize I’m happy, like, really happy.
“Fuck.” Vince hisses, and before I can ask what the problem is, the world explodes around us.
Tires scratch and squeal; the sound of shattering glass and the crushing sound of metal on metal fill my ears, but even worse, Addy’s scream grips my heart.
I grab her and clutch her close, unsure what else to do. I hope that I’m enough to keep her safe, even if at my own expense.
The world spins too fast but also in slow motion before we come to a sudden stop, jerking me to the side, taking Addy with me. I’ve got her tight against my chest, and while she’s not screaming anymore, I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.
I can’t stop the groan that falls from my lips when I attempt to lift my head. I don’t know which way is up or down, and the pain in my head isn’t helping. My vision swims, and I’m suddenly drained, but despite that, I know Addy needs me.
“Addy?” My voice sounds hoarse and strained, but at least it’s working, so I'll take it.
She doesn’t answer, and panic grips me for a moment before I feel her chest rise and fall against my own.
She’s alive.
Thank God.
“Vi—” I start to call for him but cut myself off when I hear voices outside of the car.
“Help!” I do my best to yell, hoping they hear me. Addy might be breathing, but she needs to be seen by a medical professional to ensure she’s actually okay.
The voices get louder, and I try to yell out for them again but stop myself when I hear the door open…above me?
That’s not right.
Did the car roll?
It doesn’t matter; all that matters right now is getting Addy out of here, and I’d really like to know that Vince is okay, too.
“All this for a brat?” I hear a male voice sneer before a head pops into view; a young man with tanned skin and a face tattoo looks down at me. It takes all my strength to keep my eyes open, but something in my gut tells me I need to.
“Who’s the bitch?”
“Who the fuck cares? Grab the girl and let's go.” Someone I can’t see tells the guy staring down at me.
He groans but moves to climb through the door, reaching towards us.
“No.” I kick out, and I’m shocked when I not only have enough energy to move but also when my foot makes contact.
He jerks his hand back, and he curls his lips at me with a hiss of pain. “Watch it, bitch, or I’ll put a bullet in your head. Just give me the girl, and you can find a new job.”
“No!” I shout again as he once again reaches for her, but this time I’m not so lucky, and I can’t lift my leg high enough to fend him off.
He manages to grab her ankle, pulling on it with no regard for her or her possible injuries.
“Let her go!” I yell as panic threatens to choke me.
I can’t let them take her; I’d rather die.
“Mommy?” I look down to find Addy looking up at me. There’s a small gash on her head that’s bleeding, but it’s the fear in her eyes that really turns my stomach.
It’s my job to protect her.
“Mommy?” Face tattoo guy pauses in his attempt to grab Addy, turning his attention back to his partner, who I can’t see.
“The boss didn’t say shit about a mother.” He sounds concerned but also curious.
“It’s okay, honey, Mommy’s here,” I tell her, trying to offer a smile, but her eyes have already fallen closed again.
As much as I might want to comfort her, my words were really for these assholes who are trying to take her from me.
“Grab 'em both.”
No, that’s not much better.
Before he can reach for her again, I roll us so that Addy is mostly beneath me, my back to the door and the asshole reaching for her.
A sharp pain bites into my arm, and I look down to find it littered with shards of glass. I don’t get a moment to worry about how to handle them before my head is yanked back by my hair.
A scream is ripped from my throat as he yanks hard enough that I scramble to push myself up. I have no doubt he intends to pull me from the car by it.
“If you want to save her so bad, you can come first,” he growls in my ear. Reaching out, he grips my glass-filled arm and drags me out the door, seeming unfazed that he probably just got a few cuts himself.
He shoves me off the side of the car onto the pavement below, and I look up to find the vehicle on its side in the middle of the road.
My first instinct is to look around for help, but it doesn’t take long to realize there isn’t any. This area isn’t rural by any means, but it’s richer, the houses are further apart, the yards are bigger, and with the cold, nobody is outside.
Vince!
Everything hurts, but I know Vince is our best chance, Addy’s best chance.
“Who the fuck is this?” The faceless voice isn’t faceless anymore as he looms over me.
His skin is darker than mine, and his slight accent makes me wonder if he’s from here as I stare up into his dark eyes and face with a scattering of tattoos: a knife, a teardrop, a star, and some words I can’t read.
However, I’m unsure if that’s because of the hit to my head or they just aren’t English, not that it matters right now.
He’s dressed in dark jeans and a black T-shirt, and I’m pretty sure there’s a gun tucked into the front of his pants.
I look back at the man to find that they don’t look that different, though the guy who pulled me from the car definitely looks younger, and both of them have the same knife tattoo under their left eye.
Everything about them screams dangerous, and despite my current situation, all I can do is hope they don’t go back for Addison, that I can just keep them distracted.
Like the other guy, this guy grabs my hair, stopping me in my very slow tracks.
“Lee, let’s go. The driver is waking up, and the boss said he shoots first and asks questions later. She’ll have to be enough.”
I let out a sigh of relief knowing they aren’t going to take Addy.
Whatever it is they have planned, I’d much rather they have me than her. I just hope she’s okay.
But they said Vince is waking up, and I know he’ll make sure she’s okay.
“Kat!” Vince calls out, gruff and full of pain but alive.
Knowing she’s going to be okay is such a relief that my body seems to burn through the last of its adrenaline, and I black out as I’m dragged away.