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“Nick,” he says. “You have my eyes and my hair.” His offhand comment throws me. It’s true, I do, but that doesn’t make me his daughter. I’d never want a man capable of this to be related to me.
“Did you know about me when you left?” I ask quietly.
He stands and I can’t help but flinch. He says he won’t hurt me, but a man who could write such horrible letters to his own daughter and then kidnap her and threaten those she loves… I don’t trust him for one second.
But instead of walking toward me, he goes to a small fridge and pulls out a cheap beer. “I was in the military. Me and Lorri met in a bar in Michigan right before I shipped off to the Persian Gulf. I didn’t know about you until a friend of mine told me.”
“And you didn’t try to see me?”
He takes a long drink from his beer. “Not at first. It was hard to get in touch with your mom back then. Eventually I came to Michigan. You were four. You don’t remember but I met you. Lorri and I had a big fight and she told me to never come back.”
“So, you just gave up?”
“I was young and stupid. I had shit going on.”
“And now you want money from me? You hardly even tried to be in my life,” my chest heaves. I start to feel daring, even though I really shouldn’t, “You just lucked out that I got famous. Now you want a piece of the pie. This has nothing to do with me being your kid.”
He huffs a dark laugh. “You don’t know anything, kid. I think you know the time for a relationship has long since passed. I’ll get what I’m owed, your sister too, then we’ll be out of your hair. As long as you keep paying up of course.”
“You’re sick.”
He shakes his head. “I’ve been called worse.”
His phone chimes and Nick grabs it from his pocket. Without saying a word, he exits into what I think is an office, closing the door behind him. I pull my hands and legs against the bindings that hold me, testing their strength. He’s tied them pretty tight, tight enough that I’m starting to lose feeling in my fingers a bit. I look to the ceiling and pray that Liam or someone finds me soon.
After a minute or so goes by, Nick returns, his booted feet clunking on the concrete as he approaches me. I notice he keeps his hand on his gun as if to scare me.
When he stops about a foot away, he slides his phone back in his pocket and says, “It’s showtime, kid. Get ready for your best performance yet.”
thirty-three
Liam
Ifeellikemyblood is boiling beneath my skin as I pace the floor of the distillery. Hammer is talking to the police, telling them everything that went down and how he found the note.
Eric and Gia have also arrived. They’re off to the side, Gia on the phone speaking wildly to the press making statements while Eric is working to postpone tonight’s show. Birdie is going to be so upset she couldn’t perform for her fans.
Every time I close my eyes, I see her face right before I leave her standing alone at the gazebo. I’ll never forgive myself for doing that. Never. Every second since she went missing, I’ve had to keep horrible thoughts from my head.
My phone buzzes, giving me a short distraction. When I pull it from my pocket, I feel disappointed that it's not Birdie. But when I see who’s calling, I’m not surprised to see it’s Lorri Wilder. We’d only just talked this morning.
My gut churns when I think of what I learned from her. I felt guilty the entire ride to Hammer’s not telling Birdie what I knew, but I planned to tell her tonight after dinner. That plan obviously failed. I run a hand through my hair. Lorri Wilder confirmed what I knew after seeing that man’s face on Shea’s profile. The moment I mentioned the name Nick Squires, Lorri went into shock, nearly hanging up on me.
But eventually she told me the truth. Nick is Birdie’s dad. She asked if I would keep it a secret for her, but I’d refused. I couldn’t depend on Lorri to tell her. Now I see that I should have told Birdie right away. I’ll live with that mistake forever. The only solace I take now is that I have a connection of mine looking into Nick Squires. I hope he finds something soon. Something that will lead us to Birdie.
I have a feeling he’s the one who kidnapped her. I’ve already told the police my theory, but they can’t find him in any records in Nashville. For once I wish Shea were here so I could get information from her, but she’s yet to show her face. Which leads me to think I’m correct in all my assumptions.
When my phone continues to ring, I know I need to answer it. “Hello?”
“LIAM! Jesus, Liam!” Lorri yells through the phone. “Tell me what I saw on the news isn’t true!”
“I’m sorry, Lorri. I wish I had better news.”
She sobs through the phone and my heart breaks again. I’ve let Birdie down bigtime, and now I’m fucking standing here waiting for this asshole's phone call.
“Liam, you have to go find her.”
My fist clenches around the phone. “Lorri, do you have any information about Nick that you haven’t shared with me? Does he have connections in Nashville?”
