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“Every lesson,” she confirmed with a resolute nod.
“All right then. Let’s get this done.”
* * *
Cheyanne
Nerves were makingme shake so hard my bones were rattling as I drove my car along the abandoned gravel lane toward the building.
I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d been so scared, but I couldn’t let it control me. This plan would work. I just knew it. Trent had come up with it, and if there was anyone who could get Renee and me out of here safely, it was him.
Blowing out a tremulous sigh, I spoke into the empty car.
“Can you guys hear me?” I asked.
A second later, Trent’s disembodied voice filled my ear from the microscopic earpiece he’d given me back at my house. “Loud and clear, baby. Got visual from the button cam as well. I’m right here with you. Just remember the plan. Keep him talking so I can get in and grab Renee.”
“Got it.” That wouldn’t be hard. If there was one thing I knew for certain about Graham, it was that the man loved the sound of his own voice. He was a narcissist through and through. That, combined with the fact he was a total sociopath, made for an extremely dangerous person. He really was the perfect politician.
“Once I get her clear, I’m coming for you. You have my word. If things go sideways, Dalton’s got your back.”
“Roger that,” Dalton confirmed in my earpiece. “Got eyes on you right now, sweetheart. You’re all good.”
I was putting my complete faith in one man I hardly knew and another who had been lying to me the entire time we’d known each other. And for some weird reason I couldn’t even begin to comprehend, I felt like that was the smartest decision I could ever make.
Trent’s voice returned. “Cheyanne,” he said in that strong, husky tone that sent shivers down my spine. “This ends today, baby. From here on out, Graham Knightly will be nothing more than a memory. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” I whispered as I pulled to a stop outside the building.
“Good. I love you, sweetheart.” I swallowed past the lump that had filled my throat, desperate to return those words, but unable to speak. “See you on the other side.”
I shut off the engine and climbed out, my knees knocking violently as the door to the warehouse creaked open, revealing the man who had haunted my every living moment all these years.
The slick, oily smile that made my skin crawl stretched across his face. “Ah, if it isn’t my lovely wife. Please, come in. I’ve been eagerly awaiting our reunion.”
He stepped aside and extended his arm like he was welcoming me to a dinner party and not a rusted-out, abandoned building crawling with tetanus and God only knew what kind of rodents. The dilapidated relic of a warehouse was the stuff of nightmares. Fitting, considering who was currently setting up shop inside.
“Where is she?” I demanded, coming to a stop in the middle of the cavernous space. The main area was one long, open room with a few doors equally spaced along the left side of the building that led to what I assumed had been offices back in the day. There were only two exits, both in plain view. The one I’d come through, and the other at the very back of the building just ahead of me.
The ceiling was two stories high, the first twelve feet from the ground up was solid, the whole right side of the warehouse covered in rusted steel siding that was riddled with holes, while the upper level of the building was wrapped on all sides by dingy windows, most of which had been busted out from time, weather, and if I had to guess, kids with nothing better to do.
There were lewd drawings and graffiti made with spray paint covering the walls. I wasn’t sure what this warehouse had been used for back in the day, but now it screamedsetting for a gruesome horror movie. I hated the fact that my daughter had been in here for more than three hours now, and I was desperate to get us both out.
“Don’t worry, she’s safe,” Graham said, circling around to come stand in front of me, his back to the rear exit. His hired guns came to stand behind him, a few feet back, one to his right and the other to his left. The three of them formed a perfect triangle, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d rehearsed it. It was like something out of a cheesy, poorly scripted action movie.
The goon on his left was short and compact, his frame covered in ridiculous muscles so big they swallowed up his neck. He was the one who’d taken Renee. The one on his right was the complete juxtaposition. Tall and lanky, his dark hair slicked back with so much product it shimmered under the muted sunlight that filtered through the dirty windows. Clearly, these men had seen one too many mafia flicks.
I narrowed my eyes, every ounce of hate I felt for this man seeping from my pores. “You’ll have to excuse me if I’m not willing to take you at your word. I want to see her.”
He laughed, that smarmy, kissing-babies, shaking-hands, politician laugh that I’d always hated. “I’m not so sure you’re in the position to be making demands, seeing as you really were stupid enough to come here with no backup.” He let out a sigh, like he was dealing with an insufferable child. “But I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I’m a generous enough man to allow you one last look before you take your last breath.”
He waved his hand lazily at the goon on his left, a silent order to let me see my daughter.
I locked my knees to stay on my feet as my heart pounded in my ears. I’d always known this was Graham’s end game. He wasn’t just going to take me back, force me into pretending I was the long-missing wife he’d pined for all this time, finally come home at last. Oh no, he planned to dispose of the problem.
No Neck yanked open the last door on the left, and the sound of my daughter’s screams filled the whole warehouse as he disappeared inside. A moment later, he stepped back out, holding her like a sack of potatoes as she screamed and cried uncontrollably.
“You’re scaring her!” I shouted, taking a step forward, ready to lunge.
