He reaches up, grasping my pants as blood paints his lips. I don’t hesitate to meet his request, dropping to my knees beside him. There’s no concern or care that I’m covered in his blood. My fingers lace with his as sorrow and regret spill down my face.
His eyes, the same shade as mine, are wide and fearful. “P-oppy,” he rasps with struggling breaths. “I-I’m—”
“Shh,” I brush back his auburn hair. It’s soaked with sweat and grime, making my heart clench at the condition he allowed himself to get to.
And I wonder…
Maybe his abandonment was a kindness. Protection from witnessing his grief or from becoming him.
Or try to because Phoebe has tumbled down a dark path despite him.
“I-I need you…” He coughs a harsh, gurgling sound. “S-sorr…Love y…” He coughs again, harder this time.
I squeeze his icy fingers. A river runs down my cheeks, dripping from my face, mixing with the one that flows from his eyes. “It’s okay, Daddy,” I whisper, leaning over him. “It’s o—”
Pain rips through my scalp as I’m lifted from my feet. A cry peels past my lips, not in pain or anger but grief. The thought of leaving my dad to suffer his last moments alone shreds my heart.
“So sweet, but I’ve had enough of this bullshit.” He points his gun at my dad again and pulls the trigger.
The light leaves my dad’s eyes the moment the bullet enters his forehead. Sobs heave my shoulders. Wretched wails spillfrom my mouth. I kick and fight against this asshole’s hold until all the fight leaves my body.
He uncuffs my ankle from whatever I’m bound to, then I’m pulled away, over to a corner across the room, then tossed onto the floor. “Why the hell are you crying? He’s the one who had me take you.”
I have no words. Anything I say would only sound like an excuse, so I say nothing. “Get comfortable. We’ve got a while until your boyfriend meets with us.”
“It won’t matter,” I whimper. “He can’t get that kind of money that fast. No one can.”
“You better hope he does or I’ll kill you next.” His salacious gaze rakes over me. My skin crawls with disgust. “After I get done using you, that is.”
He stomps off, and I take a moment, trying to get a new grasp on my surroundings now that I’m no longer bound. There’s a side door across from me, but there are two guys sitting at the table next to it, playing cards. I watched a few other men go up the stairs to the right of me earlier. One more door is to my left, but that’s the way my captor just went. My stomach knots when I realize there’s no exit. Not one that I can get through unnoticed.
I lean back against the wall and pull my knees to my chest. There’s nothing I can do. I’m truly captive, and when Jagger comes, they’ll kill him, too.Ifhe comes.
I hope he doesn’t.
A piece of broken glass glistens under the light. I reach across the ground and pick it up, cutting my thumb on the jagged edge. It’s only about three inches long, but that’s more than enough.
There’s only one way this will end.
And that’s on my terms.
My head pounds from…Stress? Dehydration from tears? Grief? All of it? Loud music blaring from a stereo system doesn’t help. Time blurs. Song after song plays until the throbbing becomes blinding. But I keep my eyes open. Remain vigilant.
Movement catches my attention. Goosebumps erupt over my entire body with awareness I can’t place. My brows dip when the two guys at the table slump over for no reason. Before I can search for the cause, I’m yanked to my feet, a thick arm wrapped around my neck.
“Make a sound, and I will kill your boyfriend the second he steps out.” My heart thunders against my ribs at the threat.
It’s not Jagger.
He wouldn’t try something this foolish. This reckless. Would he?
Except I know, unequivocally, he would. He will doanythingto protect the people he loves. Even if it means risking his own life.
Seconds tick by. My eyes dart from side to side, searching. Panic grips my lungs, seizing my lifeline, when I spot my dad’s body, his head in the lap of a stranger. A woman dressed just like me, with red hair spilling over her shoulders.
Jagger steps around an old car. Despite the threat, my mouth opens, a warning blistering my tongue. A heavy hand silences me. I scream behind the grimy palm, but my muffled alarm is drowned out by the blasting music.
Terror clutches my heart in its fist, squeezing tighter with each move he makes.
