Thirty
In all honesty, I should’ve seen this coming.
Never underestimate your enemy, and that’s precisely what I did. I didn’t think this would happen. When I got home from Silas’ place, Blaine was waiting for me. The worst part was that he was on my doorstep and wouldn’t leave until I would talk to him. And stupid me invited him in. A part of me was thinking it would be a good idea, perhaps a little peace offering so his mother would get off my back, and the other was hoping he would tell me who was all involved.
None of that happened. What occurred was worse .
“Blaine, I don’t have time for this. You can’t be here.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. I only came for a small chat. Invite me in.” He gives me that disgusting grin.
“Fine, but I want something from you in return.” This is stupid of me; I know better. Blaine can’t be trusted.
I unlock my door and enter before him; when I hear the door close, the lock engages my heart races. I swing around to take Blaine in. He leans against the door and crosses his arms, never taking his eyes off me.
“Do you know why our families hate each other?” He asks.
I back away until I hit the wall. “No, it’s been a mystery.”
“It all started when your father and my mother went to school together. Such a long time to hold a grudge, don’t you think?” He glances at the ceiling.
I nod silently.
“If your father only stayed out of my mother’s business, this would’ve been easier for you. She was never meant to work at a desk writing permits for this shitty town. She was meant to run it. But Caleb ruined it.”
“How?” A shiver ran down my spine when Blaine snapped his head toward me.
“He stumbled upon her father’s drug business and went to the cops, tarnished her name in this town until she met my father. You don’t get where you are in this town without status, and thanks to your father, he took that from her.”
“How is that my fault? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He shrugs. “If Mother didn’t get her life, why should the daughter of the one that took it from her have one.”
Are you kidding me, she’s doing all this because Dad went to the cops on her dad and took her status away. You can’t tell that anything happened to her. She’s still living the high life. I think this is still all a ploy. I can’t trust anything Blaine says.
“Who destroyed my shop?”
“Oh, I can’t tell you that.”
“Then you can leave. I have nothing else to discuss.”
He steps forward. “That’s not going to work for me, you see. I can’t have you walking around town yapping that trap of yours. It’s bad enough that you have a restraining order on Mother, and that looks bad to her. I need you to disappear.”
Panic unfurls in my chest; disappear how? A noise from the kitchen draws my attention. When I turn, I find two other men standing by my island. “What the hell are you doing in my house?” That sounds like a reasonable thing to ask. Deep down, I know why they are here, the exact reason why Blaine won’t move away from the door. I take a long, deep breath and brace myself. Blaine, I can handle, but these two are huge compared to me. I’m not sure I can take them on.
I turn to Blaine and act fast. I knee him in the stomach, making him fall forward; I shove him to the side and reach for the deadbolt. I’m able to unlock it, but a hand grabs my hair before I can open the door. I scream in pain as I’m tossed to the floor. A large boot presses on my stomach until I can’t breathe. I claw at his calf, trying to loosen his pressure, but I fail. A hand with a cloth comes into view, and I wiggle my head out of the way.
“Fuck…you,” I manage to say.
“We were told not to touch you that way, or we would be tag teaming right now,” The big ass stepping on my chest says.
The one holding the cloth drops to his knees and presses it to my nose. I take a deep breath, and the world starts to get cloudy.
“We need to hurry and get her out of the house before anyone sees. Grab her; we can put her in my car,” I faintly hear Blaine speak.
My body is lifted as if it’s floating; my limbs hang. No matter how much I try to move them, nothing works. The asshat with the cloth places it back on my face, and my eyes close, leaving me in a world of darkness.
And so I sit tied to a chair in a dirty, disgusting place while men all around me chat like it’s a boy club. I take the time to look around and plan an escape route. I glare at the two dickheads that placed me in this situation, even though it’s my fault. Wherever Blaine is, he’s on my shit list. Why should I disappear just because your mommy didn’t get her way?
I’m beyond irritated, not even scared that I got kidnapped because it’s Holden, for fuck’s sake. Nothing ever happens here, and I’m not going to be a statistic. Call me jaded, but I’m not going down without a fight. I attempt to wiggle the ropes binding my wrists, but they only dig deeper into my skin, sending sharp fibres that make my toes curl.
I can’t give up; there isn’t anyone coming to my rescue. I rock back and forth, trying to tip the chair. It won’t be the smartest move, but I should at least be able to get my feet free. I’m getting the chair close to being on two legs when it’s jerked forward.
“Not the smartest move, princess. Either you stop, or we can finish the job for good.”
I glare at the one that placed the cloth on my face and mumble in the fabric that’s tied around my face. I yell at him, telling him I hate him and wish he would die.
He leans forward, gets in my face and laughs. “You can say whatever you want, but it won’t work. The boss will be here shortly so I suggest you be on your best behaviour. ”
And I suggest you get out of my face. I jerk my head forward fast and hard, cracking my forehead into his nose. He hollers, holding his bloody nose.
“You cunt.” He slaps me across the face; the pain was so sharp blackness gnawed at the edges of my vision.
He’s at the top of my shit list, then Blaine. The massive shop door rolls open, and I try to get a clear look at who is outside, but from where I’m sitting, the wall blocks my view. The boy club eagerly greets whoever steps out of the car. When the mystery man does step into view, I damn near shit my pants.
Mr. Montgomery himself.
He glances at me, and one of the men whispers something to him. Mr. Montgomery’s eyebrow raises. He heads toward me; I swallow hard when he stops before me. His finger dips under the cloth, gliding along my cheek, pulling it free.
“Miss Moore, what a pleasant surprise.”
“Mayor, can’t say the same.”
He opens his mouth to answer, but chaos erupts. The Mayor whips around and stands behind me as the back door flings open, and Silas and a red-headed guy with a beard. The front has more going on as three guys storm in, including Hercules, an older guy and a bald guy covered in tattoos and an eye patch .
I turn back to Silas and watch him, trying to figure out how he got here. He stares at me in shock.
“Hey, Sunshine.” I smile at Silas because I have no idea what to do in this situation.
Ginger laughs and nudges Silas. “I like her already.”
“Can you not.” He punches Ginger in the arm. “Teagan, I’ll deal with you later.”
“What the fuck is going on here?” Mr. Montgomery calls out, gripping my hair tight until I hiss in pain.
My gaze bounces from guy to guy holding guns. I'm feeling super lost right now. I don't think anybody has a clue about what's happening anymore. With increasing force, Mr. Montgomery yanks on my hair, tilting my chin upwards, causing tears to well up at the corners of my eyes.
“Someone tell me why you assholes decided to barge into my place without introductions?”
“If you want introductions so bad, how about you tell us who you are and why you have a girl tied to a chair?”
I can’t tell who is speaking anymore, but it’s not Silas, Hercules or that Ginger guy. Mr. Montgomery forcefully pulls my head to the side, causing a sharp pain to shoot up my neck. I grit my teeth and breathe sharply through my nose.
“This isn’ t your concern; it’s a family issue,” he spat the words out like poison.
“Fuck your family, you stupid prick,” I bit the words out. I watch his jaw tick.
“Oh, I’m tired of this.” He holds a gun and shoots.
The echo of the gunshot blazes through my ears, sending my senses reeling. As I'm thrown to the floor, the weight of my body landing on my shoulder causes a searing burn. Chaos is erupting all around; I watch from the floor as guys hide behind shelving units, boxes and a car as everyone fires shots. I keep trying to wiggle free from my ropes, but it’s still no use. I kick my feet, trying to loosen the ropes around my ankles.
I’m defeated. I can only hope I don’t get shot in the crossfire. I close my eyes and try to ignore what’s going on, and if something happens, at least I won’t see it coming. And as much as I’m angry at Silas, I can’t see if something happens to him.
A hand lands on my shoulder, and my eyes shoot open. I stare into familiar green eyes. I choke back a sob when Silas cups my cheek.
“Shh, Dimples. I’m here.”
My tough girl act crumbles, and the tears flow freely. Silas backs away and pulls a knife out; he keeps one hand on me and guides it down my side to my ankle. His touch alone soothes me. He tugs on the rope as he slices through. My top leg drops to the floor, and I groan.
“I’m gonna cut your wrist free; it might hurt, so bear with me.”
Silas slides the knife through the rope, and I take a deep breath as the pain hits my stomach, and my fingers tighten in response.
“Fuck.”
“I know. I’m trying to be gentle.”
A gunshot goes off near my head, and I flinch.
“Teagan, you have to stay still.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Your Royal Highness. I’m not used to having assholes shooting their peashooters around my fucking head.” I side-eye him.
“I missed your sarcasm.”
And who’s fault is that? It wasn’t mine; I didn’t do anything to ruin what we had going on. He may be acting like my white knight, but that’s not enough for me to forget what he did. Pressure on my shoulder is relieved when he frees my wrists, and it drops forward. I roll onto my stomach and stay there, trying to find comfort from the cold cement flooring.
Silas places his hand on my back. “Teagan, we need to get you out of here.”
“Si, we need to leave before the cops show up; we lost the husband somewhere. ”
I roll onto my back with a groan and see it’s Hercules. “Hey, big guy.”
“Hey, Sugar. We need to go. Can you walk?”
I move my ankles, and sharp pain radiates up my legs. Nothing compared to my bleeding wrists. “Yeah, I can walk.” I prop myself up on my elbows and attempt to turn my head, but Silas blocks my view.
“You don’t need to see anything, Dimples.”
“Don’t Dimples me when a dead guy is laying over there.” I’m beyond pissed. And so much is running through my mind. How the fuck did he figure out about this place? Is he in on this? Is this a part of his carjacking life?
Hercules grabs me by the armpits, lifting me. Silas tries to reach for me, but I quickly dodge out of his way. “Don’t fucking touch me. You may have saved me, but our relationship ends there. I haven't forgiven you, and we are not friends.”
Hercules looks at Silas, pressing his lips together. “I’ll take her back; you probably should keep your distance for now.”
He wraps his arm around my waist, and I grip his shoulder. He slowly walks as I hobble alongside him; the cold air hits me like a freight train, sending shivers down my body. Hercules pulls me in closer as we near an SUV with a group of guys standing around.
“Buck, what are you doing?” The old man shakes his head.
“We need to get her home; we can’t leave her here, Leroy,” Hercules tells him.
“You ditched the sack of shit, did you?” The baldie asks.
Hercules growls. “Griff shut the fuck up.”
Ginger smacks Griff on the back of the head. “You wonder why you can’t get a woman. That fucking mouth of yours. You can stay behind with Silas and find a car.”
“Weldon, fuck off. I’m not staying with him. He’s on his own.”
Maybe I should find my ride home. These guys act like a group of teenage girls. “Don’t you guys still have to find the mayor?” I remind them.
“Who’s the mayor?” Silas says from behind me.
I look over my shoulder. “Mr. Montgomery. You didn’t know?”
“Are you kidding me? We had a shootout with the goddamn mayor?” I look at Leroy, who is now pacing.
Sirens scream in the distance and Hercules’ hand tightens on my waist. “We need to leave now. In the car, Sugar. ”
Leroy climbs into the driver's seat, and Griff and Weldon climb into the back. Leaving Silas, Hercules, and I standing outside.
“Get the fuck in, we don’t have time for this,” Leroy yells from his window.
Silas runs to the front, and Hercules helps me climb into the back. “What about you?”
“Easy, L, pop the back open.” The back hatch opens, and Hercules grins at me before closing the door. This can’t be happening. I’m a simple bookstore owner, and now I’m caught up in a mess. Take me back to a few days ago when I didn’t know this didn’t exist.