His jaw worked back and forth, clearly agitated.
“Or was it you?” I leaned forward a little, breathing into the ear of the man sitting in the passenger seat.
“No,” he answered quickly, not nearly as annoyed or irritated as the burly man.
“Maybe it was this guy?” I asked, pointing my head to the tattooed guy.
My heart was beating recklessly in my chest but not from fear. I was eager, anxious, and excited. I wanted to push these men over the edge. I felt like I had a smidge of control. I was causing a reaction, and when there was time for hasty reactions, there was time for error. If he let his guard down, I’d run like hell. Undercover sting or not, I was done being a piece in their game.
“Will you shut the fuck up?” The driver whipped his head back to me for a brief second, and I jumped with the loudness of his voice.
I didn’t let it deter me, though. I kept poking the bear. If I go down, he’s going down with me.
“Just tell me. Was it you?”
“Goddamnit!” he yelled, craning the wheel over to the right. My head smashed off the window, and the tattooed man’s hand reached out and clamped onto my leg. He quickly removed it when the vehicle came to a stop.
The burly man opened his door and jumped out, slamming it behind him. My stomach dipped with fear, but I kept my guard up, unable to let the fear shade my bravery.
“Now what do we do?” The man in the passenger seat flipped around to stare at the tattooed man and me.
“Fuck,” tattooed man mumbled, looking at me wide-eyed. “Keep him talking about your father. We need him to confirm the kill.”
“W-what?” I stuttered. But before I could get an explanation, my door flew open, and I was dragged out by my arm. The pain radiated down my wrist, and my feet barely touched the loose gravel below my body as the devil himself pushed me up against the side of the Escalade. The door was still open, and I was thankful. At least when this man killed me, I wouldn’t necessarily be alone.
Christian’s face flashed through my head, and it was like I was instantly taken back to that awful night, five years ago, when all I wanted was him. I remembered hiding on the steps, watching a black-hooded man kill my father right in front of my mother in the middle of my living room. When I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the scene, all I could see was Christian. His playful smile, his gray eyes. He was my light in the darkest time of my life, and it was still true today. Christian was my safe place. He had always been my safe place—my person. My heartrate calmed a fraction as Christian’s face continued to flood my brain. His cocky smile, the smoothness of his cheeks, the defined jawline and relaxed muscles when I’d peek at his sleeping face.
A slap across my face had Christian’s face fleeting from my vision. Anger flew to my limbs. “Yes, I fucking killed your pathetic fucking father.” I sucked in a breath as his hand wrapped around my neck. He wasn’t squeezing yet, but the pressure was building, and I was suddenly losing my grip on my courage. “He was a narc and had to be dealt with, and you’re just collateral damage.” His hand squeezed harder, and I began panicking. I couldn’t breathe. He was choking me too hard for me to do anything. I clawed at his hands and kicked my feet against the side of the tire. A venomous laugh escaped him. “Jimmy and I were the ring leaders, and then your father came in and started calling shots left and right and switching up the way we did business. Little did our boss know, your father was working with the feds. I killed your father because I knew he was a rat, and on top of all that, he was stealing money on the side, too. For you. We know all about the little trust fund he made you, and once you accept it, it’ll be ours.” An ugly laugh rested among his lips. “Of course, the money is all Franco cares about, but he gave me free rein to do what I wanted with you. And, pretty girl…you are mine.”
His hand left my neck, and I fell quickly, my bare knees landing in the gravel. I gasped for
air as I held my stomach. After a few heavy breaths, I heard the other two men climb out of the Escalade, but it was no use. Burly Man was still on his high horse. I coughed and sputtered as I tried to regain my breathing, but he pulled me up by my hair. I stared into his dark eyes, and an unyielding amount of fear choked me. His eyes were void. It was like looking into a cold and dark, empty grave. “I killed your father, and I would have killed your mama too if the cops hadn’t shown up.” He pulled my head up higher, and my eyes got blurry, glistening with unshed tears. “And now that you’re mine, I need you to obey and learn how to keep those beautiful lips shut.” He dropped me to the ground again, and before I could protect myself, he kicked me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I heard the footsteps of the other men getting closer, and I hoped that they would save me. It was the first time I’d ever had the thought, and it almost stunned me.
I wanted to be saved. I wanted help.
Then, a hard kick came to my face, and everything went black.
“Come on, Hayley. Wake up.” Something cold landed on my face, and I felt my eyebrows draw together. “That’s it, open your eyes.”
Slowly, one of my eyes peeled open, but the other one seemed to be stuck. My eyelashes fluttered against my skin as I focused on the person talking to me. When I saw who it was, I yelped and tried to scoot away.
His face turned from happy to worried. He threw his hands up. “Relax, you’re safe. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” I continued rubbing my back along the gravel, not caring that it was scratching me. “Hayley,” another voice sounded, and I turned my head. It was the tattooed man. Both he and the man from the passenger seat were crouched down beside me with worried lines on their faces. For some reason, they didn’t look scary anymore. The tattooed man never truly did look scary. He had tattoos, lots of them, but his deep-brown eyes were calming and almost comforting.
“But you…you hurt Pete.” My voice was raspy as I looked at the man closest to me. He was the one who had to deal with Pete when they first took me. “I heard you hitting him.”
He nodded and looked at his friend before bringing his attention back to me. “I did, but he’s fine. I knocked him out once and left him there. I had to, or our cover would’ve been blown.” He chuckled. “Plus, your foster dad is a fucking asshole. He deserved a good knockout.”
True.
I stopped moving my body on the gravel to get away from them, mainly because I was inching closer to the road, and if another vehicle drove down it, I’d be run over.
“Hayley, it’s okay. We’re the good guys.” He smiled down at me. “And you…you were the missing piece we needed all along. You just helped put this guy behind bars for a long, long time, and not to mention, you’ve helped unlock many more doors.” I sliced my eyes over to Burly Man who was crouched down by the car, clearly unconscious, with his hands bound together with what looked to be zip ties. Sirens wailed in the distance, and I hoped they were coming for me.
“You’re a fighter, just like your old man.”
I slowly sat up and tried to get to my feet. Tattoo Man was beside me within a second, grabbing my arm gently and pulling me up.
“I don’t understand,” I finally said after taking several even breaths. It hurt to breathe, but my need for answers far outweighed my injuries.