Chapter 28
Vienna
Temper Tantrums & A Lucky Rock
“You’re a bad man.” Ellis is sitting next to me on the couch, holding my hand but beyond irritated as Cole paces the room in front of us.
The man who was driving the SUV is outside of the cabin keeping watch, and all I’ve been able to think about is how long it might be before someone realizes we’re missing.
Cole’s minion took my phone and smashed it to the ground before he sped down the street and toward the mountains that surround Blossom Peak.
For a couple of months, those mountains felt like a safety net, but right now, they feel like a death trap.
Don’t think like that, Vienna. Cole may have a gun, but he probably doesn’t know how to use it. Lord knows you’ve never seen him fire one.
Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing at this moment.
Cole leans closer to Ellis, glaring at her. “Yeah, well you’re probably a rotten child.”
“Don’t talk to her like that!”
White light fills my vision as the butt of Cole’s gun slams into my temple. “Don’t fucking talk at all, you whore!”
It takes me a few seconds to process what happened, and when I do, I’m looking up at Cole from the floor.
“Keep your hands to yourself!” Ellis yells at him.
“Shut the fuck up!”
My hand lands on the knot forming on the side of my head, but I try to refocus and keep my eyes on Ellis. I swear, if anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself—and I know that Rhonan will never forgive me either.
This is my fault.
I had a feeling Cole wouldn’t take being served the divorce papers well. I just never imagined he was capable of something like this.
Yeah, well, I think we’ve established you didn’t know your husband very well already, haven’t we, Vienna?
Ellis drops to the ground beside me. “Ms. Vienna…”
“I’m okay, sweetie,” I manage to croak out as my eyes continue to water. But then I look up at Cole. “So what’s your plan here, Cole? Just hit me since you never got the chance to while we were married?”
He pulls me up from the floor by my hair, making me shriek.
“Did you honestly think that I would let you leave me? That I wouldn’t have you followed?
You left your phone at home, but I have money and connections, Vienna.
I’ve known where you were for a while. I have to hand it to you though…
the new identity was a nice touch.” He yanks on my head.
“I always wondered what you’d look like as a blonde. ”
“Fuck you.” I spit in his face.
He tosses me back onto the couch as Ellis climbs up beside me. Pain is radiating all over my head, but I have to stay strong for her. Plus, I have no idea how much longer Cole’s temper tantrum might last, and I need to save my strength in case we get the chance to run.
This poor girl will never forget this, but I want her to remember that I was strong—for both of us.
Cole laughs. “Seems you were too busy fucking some other guy to worry about my needs.”
“I told you I was done. We don’t belong together.”
He reaches forward and grips my chin hard. “No, Vienna. You will always belong to me. You promised me til death do us part, and that’s what you’ll get.” When he pushes me back, he presses the gun to the center of my forehead.
Ellis screams. “No!”
“Shut up, kid!”
“My daddy has a gun. He’ll shoot you!”
“Yeah, well, your daddy isn’t here, now is he?” Cole cocks the gun and then leans down slightly so our eyes meet. “You went and got yourself a family here, didn’t you, Vienna? Just like you fucking wanted but wouldn’t give me.”
I want to scream at him that he’s not necessarily demonstrating his fatherly abilities right now, but I refrain. He has a gun resting against my head. The last thing I should be doing is making him angrier. “This isn’t going to fix anything, Cole,” I grate out instead.
“I’m Cole Cassidy. You thinking you could leave me is laughable, but at least you got to whore it around for a while before I take you back where you belong.”
“Let Ellis go and I’ll go home with you,” I say through gritted teeth. “She doesn’t deserve this. She’s five, Cole.”
“I don’t give a shit how old she is. What am I gonna do? Release her into the fucking woods?”
“Have your minion take her back to her house. As long as she’s safe, I don’t care what you do with me.”
Noise outside pulls his attention to the window, and for one split second, I debate reaching for the gun and attempting to take it from him, but I also don’t want to risk him firing a shot and hurting the little girl that I love more than life itself.
Cole turns back to me, his eyes wide, yet dilated. “Stay put! Both of you. One wrong move, and I’ll shoot you both.” He heads toward the front door and steps outside, and as soon as the gun isn’t pointing at me anymore, I let out the breath I was holding.
“It’s okay, Ellis.” I pull her into my side. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I want my daddy.” Tears fall from her eyes as she squeezes me.
“I know. You’ll be back with him soon, okay?”
There’s a soft creak behind us and then the sound of a pebble bouncing across the floor draws our attention to the side.
But it’s not just any pebble—it’s a rock, one that Ellis and I both recognize instantly.
Ellis leaps from the couch to grab it. “It’s Daddy’s lucky rock!”
“What the fuck?” Cole calls out from the front of the house as he walks back through the front door far too quickly.
I turn my eyes back to him just in time to see him raise the gun and point it in Ellis’s direction.
And I don’t even think as I jump from the couch and leap in front of her.
Shots ring out, but I don’t care.
Pain slices through my shoulder, screams echo around me, and I land on the floor with a thud before everything goes black.
And then, I see a rainbow.