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“No, she didn’t,” he replied.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked him.
“I’ve looked for you for almost twenty years. It’s time I got to know my daughter. It’s time you came home,” Liam replied.
“You aren’t my home,” I all but shouted.
He had taken me from my home. He had taken me from Blaise.
“Fair enough. But I am your father, and I don’t know what lies you’ve been told, but I loved Etta. Your mother was the only woman I’ve ever loved. You’re all I have left of her. I want to get to know you,” he told me.
There was a sadness in his voice that made his words seem sincere.
A battle waged inside me. I had a real father. One who was telling me a much different story than the one I had heard from Garrett. The little girl inside of me who wanted a father who loved her fought against the woman who already had a man she belonged to.
Twenty-Two
Madeline
I woke up, blinking against the blindfold that I still wore. Keeping still, I didn’t want to alert them that I was awake.
The radio was playing “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Neither Tex nor Brick was talking. The slowing, then speeding up of the vehicle told me we were in a city. No longer on back roads.
A phone started to ring, but it ended quickly.
“Yeah,” I heard Tex whisper. “About an hour out.”
He let out a low chuckle. “She’s fucking gorgeous.”
“Ouch,” he said sharply. “What the fuck, Brick?”
“Don’t talk about her like that,” Brick said in a low voice.
“It’s just Country. He asked me what she looked like. Jesus,” Tex said.
What kind of names were these? Tex, Brick, Country?
“She’s asleep. Yeah,” Tex said softly.
“Mmhmm,” he said, not giving me any information at all.
“See you there.”
“Liam hears you call her fucking gorgeous, and he’ll feed you your balls,” Brick warned him.
“Shit, might be worth it,” he replied.
“Careful,” Brick said, sounding angry.
“It ain’t me you need to be warning. Just wait until Micah sees her,” Tex whispered.
“He’s not that insane,” Brick replied.
“You sure about that?” Tex asked.
They fell silent after that and gave me time to think.
Blaise didn’t know that Liam had found me. He’d have told me if he knew. He didn’t even know where to find Liam. The only way I was going to see him again was if I could convince Liam that I had to go back. Maybe telling him about the fact that I was pregnant would help. If this wasn’t a lie and Liam wanted to get to know me, then I could talk to Blaise. Explain things to him. Perhaps the family and whatever organization Liam was in could make a truce.
Who was I kidding? Liam had taken me. Blaise was going to kill everyone. They needed to know that. My father, or whatever I was supposed to call him, had signed his death certificate. I wasn’t sure even I could save him.
“Does Liam know who Blaise is?” I asked them as I sat up straight in my seat. My hands were still tied up and connected to the seat in front of me. I was careful not to tug on them though. They didn’t hurt, and I didn’t want to make them start hurting.
“Yep,” Brick replied.
“Then, he knows Blaise will kill all of you,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Possibly,” Brick replied. “But highly unlikely. He would have to come on our turf, and that evens the playing field.”
I sighed, wondering if Blaise would know where this turf was.
“How long have we been on the road?” I asked.
“Not telling you that. The less you know, the better,” he told me.
“Your wrists okay?” Tex asked me then. “We’ll be there soon, and you won’t have to deal with them any longer.”
“They’re fine,” I muttered.
What was Blaise doing now? He had to have figured out I was gone. Had he found my phone and purse on the side of that road? He would be terrified. My eyes watered as I thought about how he was feeling. I knew I wasn’t going to die or be raped. There was that at least. He, however, had no idea if I was even alive. My chest ached for him until it hurt to breathe.
“Liam’s looked for you for as long as I’ve known him. He’s a good man,” Tex said in a reassuring voice.
Knowing my real father had wanted to find me would be more comforting if he wasn’t in some drug cartel or whatever.
“I’m sure all cartel members are good men,” I replied sarcastically.
Tex let out a laugh. “Cartel? Who the fuck told you that? Liam isn’t in the fucking cartel. We don’t touch drugs. Not our shit.” He sounded honestly amused.
“So, you’re telling me, you aren’t part of organized crime?” I asked, although I had to admit, the tattoos, piercings, leather vests didn’t look like the wealth I’d seen within the family.
