Chapter 10
Mylah
How can one man take so much punishment? Blood drips from his lip onto the floor beneath his head. His eyes are closed, and I’m shivering. It’s so cold here. I wish Tide would open his eyes but he hasn’t. He lies there, lifeless, and I pray to God that isn’t the case. He has to wake up.
I lie here, shivering and shaking, when he finally groans.
“Tide?”
“Mylah? You okay?” he asks. His body is trembling much the same as mine when he finally pries his eyes open to look at me.
“I’m okay. Are you?”
“I’ll live. Shit, it’s cold in here.”
“It’s freezing.”
“Can you scoot over here?” He asks. I know he isn’t in any shape to move, and we aren’t tied to anything, so I do it. I scoot across the floor with my hands still behind my back.
“What am I doing?” I ask as I get closer.
“Press your back to my front, darlin’. It’ll give you a little heat.” I shift and scoot a little more before rolling to my side and sliding up against him. My fingers latch onto his belt loop, and that’s where they stay.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know. We just need to stay calm,” he tells me. How the hell do I stay calm when I’m tied up and locked in a freezing warehouse? My lips tremble as I think about my situation. This can’t be happening.
“I’m scared, Tide.”
“I know you are. It’s gonna be okay. The guys will find us.” He sounds so sure of that when no one knows where the hell we are. We were taken, kidnapped. The thought causes my stomach to turn, and I tighten my fingers around his belt loop.
“You don’t know that. They don’t know we’re here,” I whisper as tears slowly fall down my cheeks. I’m thankful they removed the gag before leaving us here, so at least I can talk to him.
“They’ll find us. You just have to stay calm.”
“I’m freezing, Tide.”
“I know. Just stay as close to me as you can,” he tells me. I scoot a little more, pressing my body against his as much as I can. I can feel his warmth seeping into me, and I sigh.
“Talk to me, Mylah.”
“About what?”
“How’s Rebel doin’?”
“He’s doing well. He’s almost ready to go home with you.”
“Is that right? I can’t wait to get him. Where was Riley?” He asks. I wish Riley had been home with me, but he was at the kennel with Bella today.
“With Bella. I should have brought him home.”
“It’s okay. Who knows what they would have done to him? He’s better off there.”
“He’s a trained protection dog.”
“That wouldn’t stand a chance against a bullet. He’s better off,” he tells me. He’s right. He wouldn’t have made it if one of those assholes had shot him.
“Tell me more.”
“About what?”
“Your family. What are they like?”
“They live towards Atlanta. I don’t see them as much as I’d like, but they’re great. They always supported me in what I wanted to do. I have one brother.”
“What’s he like?” I laugh a little.
“Overprotective. He hated Christian when they first met. Said he wasn’t the man for me,” I tell him.
“He’s right. He isn’t the man for you. I am.”
“Can we not talk about that right now?” I can’t do that. I can’t talk about what we did and how I hurt Christian. Not now.
“We’ll have to talk about it one day,” he says. I nod my head and press my body closer to his.
“I know. Just not like this,” I tell him.
“Okay. Tell me more. Tell me about your life growin’ up.”
“I was a brat. I used to sneak out of the house. I would disobey my parents. I would sneak out and drink. I was a bad kid,” I laugh a little.
“Nah, you were just growin’ up. We all do shit when we’re younger.”
“What about your parents?”
“They died when I was younger. Didn’t have them around much when I was an adult. I miss them, though.”
“And Beth?”
“What about her?”
“What happened with her?”
“She didn’t like livin’ my lifestyle or the fact that I couldn’t keep my ass out of prison for longer than a few months at a time.
Took a toll on her. But leavin’ Christian?
That was the last straw. She should have been a mother to him but she wasn’t.
She left us to fend for ourselves,” he tells me.
I didn’t realize that it was just the two of them for most of Christian’s life.
“How’d you do it? Raise him?”
“Mainly the club girls. I don’t know, maybe that’s why he turned out the way he did.”
“You did the best you could, Tide.”
“Given the situation, I thought so too, but I’m not much of a father, and I’ve accepted that.”
“Did you want more kids?”
“Not with her,” he says quickly. “Besides, I was in the pen more than I was out.”
“And now?”
“You tryin’ to tell me you want kids, Mylah?”
“I’ve thought about it. I wouldn’t mind having one or two.”
“I can make that happen.”
“What about Christian?”
“What about him? He’s a grown man, I told you. He can handle himself.”
“I can’t have kids with you, Tide.”
“Why not?”
“I refuse to raise them alone. I want my children to have both parents around.” He goes silent for a long minute before I hear him take a deep breath.
“I fucked up with my son. I wouldn’t do that again, Mylah.”
“You should fix things with him.”
“How do I do that? I’m fuckin’ his girlfriend,” he chuckles a little.
“You could stop.”
“That’s not gonna happen. I thought about it, though,” he tells me and something in my chest clenches.
“About what?”
“Lettin’ you go. Lettin’ him have you. It made sense.”
“And now?”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why should I give up somethin’ I want? I could beat myself up over it, or I could keep you. It’s as simple as that,” he tells me.
“Why do you want me, Tide?” it comes out as almost a whisper.
“You’re beautiful. Inside and out. You love others, you love animals. You’re smart, observant. There’s a list of reasons, Mylah.”
“I don’t know what to say.” And I don’t. I have no words for what he just said to me.
“Don’t say anything, I hear them comin’ back.”
And with those words, my stomach drops.