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Thankfully, the sound of footsteps, the voices of my friends calling my name, finally broke me free. Distracted, Hallow’s control loosened just enough for me to slip away, back into the safety of the crowd, back to the light and noise and life of the party.
Rejoining my friends, their concern and questions enveloped me. I came close to letting the past overshadow the present. If I spoke up, our evening would be over. Memphis would tell Kingpin right away. So, I didn’t let Hallow ruin my fun. I acted like nothing was wrong, but the encounter with him was a bleak reminder of the roads I’d not taken, of the life I’d left behind.
The night at Bootsie’s, meant to be a celebration, had taken an unexpected turn, but it hadn’t been derailed. If anything, it made the laughter, the music, and the camaraderie of my friends all the more precious. Seeing Hallow, I couldn’t wait to marry Kingpin tomorrow, no matter what happened at his bachelor party.
But then I saw my ex lurking around again and had to step out for some air. I didn’t want to run into Hallow or have the girls see him, either. That’s when everything faded to black.
I woke up in the dark, my head aching.
At first, I assumed Hallow had taken me. I felt my head and discovered the pain was from the inside. Locked away in a blurred, damp room that felt more like a tomb than a place of living, I found myself face to face with none other than Sky.
“You hit me on the head?”
“Good morning to you, too. Not me. They drugged you,” Sky explained.
“Who?”
“Look around. They took me too. We’re locked in some cellar. There’s no use looking for a bruise unless you got one from hitting the ground.”
“You didn’t do this?” I didn’t sound too sure.
The air between us crackled with bitterness, a tangible manifestation of the years of animosity that had built up. Today was supposed to be my wedding day, a fact that Sky knew and didn’t let me forget.
“So, getting cold feet again, Eve?” Sky’s voice dripped with venom, her words a sharp jab at my current predicament and the past I thought I’d left behind.
I shot back, anger flaring. “This isn’t about cold feet, Sky. It’s about being kidnapped on what should have been the happiest day of my life.”
Our exchange devolved real quick, each barb more cutting than the last. But then, amidst the anger and the fear, a moment of clarity washed over me.
“This is stupid,” I sighed, the fight draining out of me. “I know about your baby with Hallow, Sky. That you two are married. Why would you still hate me after all that?”
Sky’s face, a mask of bitterness and pain in the near dark, softened for a moment. “I lost that baby,” she whispered, a confession that seemed to pull her even further into herself. “And being away from my mom… it’s not been easy. And now someone has Caden.”
“Do what now?” I was confused.
“We renamed Bo.”
“Oh, that’s plumb awful.” They had her child? Whoever they were. Lordalmighty. Did they have my kids too?
Sky’s admission cracked something open in me. It was hard to fully get over the fact Sky had worked with the mob, a decision that had far-reaching consequences for all of us. Despite our history, despite the bad blood, I could sympathize. My heart broke for her as I worried about my own babies.
“I was leaving Hallow when they kidnapped me,” she admitted.
I gasped. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Why not?”
Our tense truce was shattered by the arrival of our captor. I recognized him immediately. Noah Fond, a pencil thin old geezer whose reputation preceded him, stood at the door. This sinister figure seemed to revel in the power he wielded over us. He had a gun pointed our way, so we couldn’t tackle him. Otherwise, I could take him.
“I wasn’t sure which one of you would hurt Kingpin the most,” he mused aloud, as if we were pieces on a chessboard rather than living, breathing beings.
“What’s this all about?” I asked. Then I instantly wracked my brain. “Does this have anything to do with that bitch, Viv, getting shanked in the joint?”
“You mean, my little sis, yes. She died in prison, and Kingpin put her there and now I plan to kill one of y’all. Make sense now, missy?”
Fuck. I hadn’t known they were related. His words hung in the air, a death sentence waiting to be carried out.
Without hesitation, I spoke up. “It’s me. The one who will hurt Kingpin. You need to let Sky go.” The decision was instinctive, borne not only out of a desire to protect but also to make right what had gone so terribly wrong. “And where’s her child?”
