AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yonkers stood to her side and nodded, “If I have to,” he said.
“Well, good luck with that,” Joe grumbled. He shot Yonkers; the bullet hitting him just above his chest, below his shoulder. If she was right, he had gotten lucky and the bullet went straight through, not hitting anything major. Yonkers cursed as he fell backward, landing on the pavement.
“Let’s go Rose, or I’ll finish him,” Joe shouted, holding out his free hand to her. She didn’t take it, but walked toward her ex, knowing that he was good at keeping his promises. He said that he’d find her and Sadie if she left him, and he had.
“I’m so sorry, Yonkers,” she sobbed as she turned back to look at him.
“We’ll find you, Rose,” Yonkers promised. The mean look on his face showed his determination, and she knew that he’d make good on his promise too. The guys finding her was the only hope that she had that she and Sadie would get out of this mess alive.
* * *
They drove well past nightfall and Sadie fell asleep in her car seat. Rose was thankful that her daughter seemed to calm down after she got into the truck with her and Joe. She looked fine, but until she got a chance to carefully check her out, Rose worried that Joe had done something awful to their daughter.
“Did you hurt her?” she whispered, trying not to wake Sadie.
“No,” he breathed, “you think so little of me, don’t you, Rose? You never even gave me a chance. You destroyed us before we even had a chance to be a real family. That was all I ever wanted.”
“We both know that isn’t true,” she insisted. “You were the one who destroyed our family,” she said. “You were the abusive ass who beat me up every time I so much as stepped a toe out of line. You were the one who destroyed us, Joe, not me.” She knew that standing up for herself would only end up pissing him off, but she honestly couldn’t sit there and listen to any more of his lies. He only saw things the way that he wanted to—never the truth.
“I’m going to let that lie go, Rose,” he said. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately and I think that your cousin and his gang of misfit bikers has brainwashed you into believing the worst of me. You just need to remember how things really were between us.”
“Oh, there is nothing wrong with my memory, Joe. I remember everything that you did to me and what you threatened to do to Sadie if I ever tried to leave you. No one has brainwashed me, and I don’t need to be reminded of anything about my past with you. That’s exactly where our relationship belongs—in the past,” she said.
“Have it your way,” Joe said. “I just thought that you’d like the chance to be a family with Sadie and me, but I guess I was wrong. Our daughter and I will be just fine without you.” The thought of Joe raising Sadie without her scared the hell out of Rose. She couldn’t back track now. Joe would see straight through her. The only thing she could do now was hope that Savage and Thorne would find her. Joe made one critical error when he doubled back to town to take her—he gave the guys his exact location and more time to catch up to them.
“How exactly did you find me?” she asked. “We changed hotels and everything.”
His smile was mean, “I never really left once I took Sadie. I followed you and your new biker friends, and when I saw you walking around the outside of the hotel, I felt like my luck was finally changing. I didn’t want to leave Sadie in the truck alone to come in and get you.”
“You’re such a good father,” she sarcastically drawled.
“I know that you don’t mean it, but I’m going to take it as a compliment anyway. I am a good father, and any judge would see that,” he insisted.
“Sure, and after Yonkers testifies that you shot him while kidnapping me, the judge will surly award you custody of our daughter,” she drawled.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Rose,” he shouted, startling Sadie from her sleep. The toddler started to cry, and Joe’s frustrated growl filled the truck. “Why do you always have to question me and put me down?” She hated it when he got this way. Joe was a grown man throwing a fit like a child. She already had to deal with one toddler, she didn’t need another. Why did he think that his tantrums would make her see things his way? They had the opposite effect on her, not that she was about to tell him that now. It would only serve to make him angrier.
She soothed Sadie, promising her that everything was going to be all right, even though that might not be a promise she’d be able to keep. “So, what’s the plan here, Joe?” she asked. “You thinking about getting rid of me and keeping our daughter?” she asked. She really didn’t want to give him any ideas, but she also wanted to keep him distracted and talking, to give the guys some time to find them.
Rose had pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Savage. It was the only saved number in the phone and although she couldn’t tell if her call had gone through, she had nothing else to hope for—she just prayed that it did.
“I’m thinking about it. I mean, with all these woods around here, I’m betting no one would find your body for some time,” Joe proudly said. He was boasting about disposing of her body and all she could do was hope that Savage and Thorne were listening in too.
“Where are we going? Where are you taking us?” she asked.
“That’s nothing you need to worry about,” Joe said. “Just sit back and enjoy your last ride. We’ll get there soon enough.” She looked back to find Sadie sound asleep again and was actually relieved that if he did decide to kill her and dump her in the woods, her daughter wouldn’t have to witness it.
“Why did you have to go and leave?” he almost whispered his question.
“I left because I didn’t want to have to deal with your abuse anymore. You threatened to hurt Sadie, and I couldn’t let that happen. You left me no choice but to leave you, Joe,” she said.
“I’d never hurt Sadie,” he assured. “She’s a part of me. Unfortunately, she has a part of you in her too, but she’ll forget all about you once you’re out of her life. Don’t worry, I’ll never tell her about you, Rose. I wouldn’t want to ever disappoint my daughter.”
“She’s my daughter,” Rose spat. “You’ve never even changed a diaper.”
“A nanny could change her diapers. I don’t need you to do that anymore,” Joe insisted.
“Sadie has been potty trained for two months now,” she said. “As her father, you should know that.”
