Chapter 25
25
Jade
W hen I wake up, all I notice is the cold. It seeps into my bones, biting and unforgiving. My skin prickles against the chill of the hard floor beneath me. Then I feel the ache in my arms. They’re pulled behind me at an angle that feels unnatural, stiff and sore. I try to move, but all I can feel is the coarse bite of rope against my skin. I hiss against the pain and drop them into a slightly more comfortable position.
My head pounds like a drum, the sharp, rhythmic throbbing making it hard to think. I blink a few times, but my vision is blurry, the dim light around me swimming in and out of focus. It takes me a moment to piece together where I am. It’s much easier to figure out where I’m not. I’m not in my cabin, that much is obvious. The smell is different. It’s damp and musty, like concrete and sawdust. It’s somewhat familiar, but I can’t place it with the way my head is pounding and my vision is blurring.
I turn my head slightly, trying to get my bearings, when I hear a faint, shallow breath close by. My muscles tense, every instinct screaming at me to stay still. Maybe if my attacker thinks I’m still unconscious, they’ll leave me alone. But my curiosity gets the better of me. I twist as much as I can manage, ignoring the burn in my shoulders, and that’s when I see a sight that turns my stomach.
Tawny is slumped on the ground a few feet away, her blonde hair falling loose over her face. She’s still wearing her work uniform. Her hands are tied behind her too, and there’s a faint bruise blooming across her cheek.
She shouldn’t be here, and I suddenly realize that she only is because of me. I called her, I sent her that email. I marked her as a target when all I wanted to do was leave her out of it and make sure she’d be safe. How could I be so stupid? My eyes fill with unshed tears that I can’t wipe away.
She notices me staring and her head snaps up, her wide eyes locking onto mine. Relief floods her face, but she shakes her head, motioning for me to stay quiet.
I nod weakly, my throat too dry to speak anyway.
She scoots closer, her movements slow and deliberate, like she’s trying not to draw attention to herself. When she’s close enough, she leans in, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Don’t make any noise,” she warns, her tone deadly serious. “They might hear us.”
I swallow hard, my mouth dry as sandpaper. “I’m so sorry, Tawny,” my voice cracks and I clear my throat, trying again. “This is all my fault. I never wanted you involved in this. This is my mess, not yours.”
The tears fall freely now and I let them. I try to keep my sobs muffled, though, not wanting to bring any attention from our kidnappers. It’s the last thing we need.
Tawny’s face darkens, and she glances toward the stairs at the far end of the room.
“It’s going to be okay,” she whispers. “We’ll get out of this together.”
I can only shake my head and try to swallow back my gasps of fear.
“Why are you here?” I manage, keeping my voice as quiet as possible.
“I came to the hardware store looking for you,” she explains. “After you called me so freaked out, I thought maybe you’d be there. But then this guy showed up.” Her voice wavers slightly, but she takes a steadying breath. “He said he was looking for you. He knew my name, he told me he was a friend of yours, but I immediately didn’t trust him, especially after what you told me. I swear to God, I didn’t tell them anything!” Her voice breaks, and she looks down, her hands clenching into fists behind her.
“I know you didn’t,” I say as soothingly as I can manage. “This isn’t your mess.”
“I’m sorry, Jade. I didn’t know they’d find you anyway. I didn’t know—”
I shake my head quickly, my own fear momentarily eclipsed by hers.
“It’s not your fault,” I cut her off firmly, though my voice still trembles. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She sniffs, blinking back tears, and when she looks at me again, there’s a fierce fire burning in her eyes, a determination that is just so her.
“We’re going to get through this,” she says fiercely. “No matter what. They wouldn’t have kept us alive if they didn’t need something.”
Her words are meant to be reassuring, but they only make the dread in my stomach worse. They’re going to kill me, I’m sure of that. But what will they do to her? She’s not part of this, she’s just collateral damage. They’ve probably brought her here to hurt me. If something happens to her, it will be my fault.
I shift slightly, wincing as the rope digs into my wrists.
“Where are we?” I whisper, my voice hoarse, trying to change the subject.
Tawny glances around, her brow furrowing. “I think we’re in the basement of the hardware store. I woke up a little while ago and recognized the smell. Ron uses it as a workshop sometimes.”
Ron. My heart sinks as I wonder what they’ve done to him. If they’ve hurt him, that’s my fault too. He’s been nothing but kind to me since the moment I stepped into this town. He gave me a place to live and a job. He’s been fatherly and protective of me. If he’s hurt or dead, I’ll never forgive myself.
“Do you think he’s okay?” I ask quietly.
Tawny hesitates, her lips pressing into a thin line. “I don’t know,” she admits finally. “I didn’t see him when I got to the store. I don’t know if they did anything to him.”
My stomach churns at the very idea that they might have hurt him or worse. I say a silent prayer that he’s okay, that they just knocked him out and left him alone.
Tawny shifts closer, her voice dropping even lower. “Who are these people? Why are they after you, Jade? Do you know?”
Her question hits me like a punch to the gut. She didn’t read the email. I’ve been avoiding this conversation for so long, burying the truth beneath layers of denial and secrecy. I thought that if I told Tawny, or anyone, about what happened in LA, they’d somehow find me. For two years, I’ve avoided getting close to anyone because I didn’t want anyone else to suffer for the sins of my past. Look where that’s gotten me.
“These men,” my voice falters, and I take a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “They’re from LA. They’re the reason I left. Ran away, really.”
Tawny doesn’t say anything, just waits, her gaze steady and patient. It’s the same look she gives me when she knows I’m holding back, when she’s determined to get the truth out of me no matter what.
“There was a murder,” I say finally, the words feeling foreign and heavy in my mouth. “I saw it happen. I was coming home from work one night. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I saw something I wasn’t supposed to see. The man who did it, Fabian Ramirez, he runs a gang there. He’s probably the most dangerous man in the entire state. He found me and threatened my family if I went to the cops. I didn’t want anything to happen to my family, and there wasn’t anyone who could protect me. So I ran.”
Tawny’s eyes widen slightly, but she doesn’t interrupt.
“I thought I would be safe here,” I continue, my voice barely above a whisper. “I thought I’d put enough distance between them and me. And it’s been two years. I figured by now they would give up, would realize that I wasn’t going to tell anyone about what I saw. And I stupidly hoped that all of this would be behind me for good.”
I break again, tears falling from my eyes as the reality of our situation hits me one more time. This is truly all my fault and the people I care about most are paying for it. I should never have stopped running, should have never thought I could start my life over again comfortably.
Tawny takes a deep breath, her jaw tightening. “We’re going to get through this,” she says again, her voice firm. “No matter what. You hear me, Jade? We’re not giving up. Don’t you dare give up. You’ve got a little one to fight for now, remember?”
I nod, my stomach clenching again. She’s right. I can’t give up. I have to fight for her, for me, and for the life I’m carrying. I have to fight for us to make it back to Declan and hope that maybe, we can start a happy little family. If I die here tonight, he might never know there was a little version of something we created inside me.
The sound of footsteps echoes above us, the heavy thud of boots on wooden floorboards. Both of us freeze and our eyes snap toward the stairs. The footsteps grow louder, and then the door at the top of the stairs creaks open, flooding the basement with a harsh, fluorescent light.
Several men descend the stairs, their shadows stretching long and ominously across the concrete floor. The first man is the one who threatened me at the store. His expression is cold, his eyes sharp and calculating. The rest are a blur of expensive-looking suits and sharp, cold expressions.
But it’s the last man walking down the stairs who makes my blood run cold.
Fabian Ramirez.
I’d recognize him anywhere, the sharp angles of his face, the dark, predatory glint in his eyes. He’s older now, with a few streaks of gray in his hair, but there’s no mistaking him. He’s the man who shattered my life, the reason I’ve been running for so long.
He sees me and smiles, a slow, chilling grin that sends a shiver down my spine. “Jade Moreno,” he says smoothly, his voice dripping with false warmth. “It’s been a long time.”
I can’t speak. My throat feels like it’s closing, my breath coming in shallow gasps as panic claws at my chest. He’s my nightmares come to life, standing over me in the flesh. I try to force myself to stay calm, to breathe, but it’s no use.
“You’ve been very hard to find,” he continues, his tone almost conversational. “My nephew and I have been looking for you for quite a while.”
Nephew. My eyes dart to the first man, the one who threatened me at the store. Of course. The resemblance is there, subtle but undeniable. The same sharp features, the same cold eyes. A pang of nausea rips through me and I feel like I’ll vomit.
Fabian crouches in front of me, his smile widening as he takes in my fear. “You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble, you know,” he says softly, caressing the side of my face in a way that makes me jolt.
“I’ve kept my word. I’ve never said a thing about that day,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “Still, you’re a loose end and loose ends make me nervous. I don’t like being nervous. So I’m here to make sure you can never cause me any trouble ever again.”