Vow of Sacrifice

by Emma Renshaw

  “What if you paint the Austin skyline with paddle boarders in Lady Bird Lake in the foreground? It’s eclectic and totally Austin style.”

  “We could do that, but I don’t know if I should be the one painting it. I’m not that great. I just do it for fun.”

  “That’s not what Callan says.” Savannah bumps her shoulder into mine and grins. My heart soars knowing Callan talks about me and believes in me. Since karaoke, I feel like I’ve become a new person, someone who is in control and ready to take on the world. I owe it Callan, but I also owe to myself for digging myself out of the grave Pierce made.

  I lick my lips. Every time I hear Callan’s name, my heart trips over itself. I haven’t known him for very long, and he’s the first person who’s even caught my eye since my debacle with Pierce, but I think I’m totally falling in love with him.

  The work in front of me is mostly forgotten as I play with Avery and think about my silly heart beating too fast every time Callan’s name is mentioned. Savannah is sipping on a glass of wine and watching the two of us with a smile. Liam is sitting on Savannah’s other side with his laptop in front of him and a pair of black framed glasses perched on the end of his nose. Every little while, he leans over to kiss one or both of his girls and each time my heart melts into a puddle of goo.

  “Callan may be a little biased,” I say. “I bet we could find an artist though. Someone local who can really capture the vibe we’re going for. What do you think, Avery?”

  She gurgles, laughing, and tries to chew on the paint chip. I take it from her hands. I don’t think her mother would want her to swallow paper.

  My phone chimes. I pick it up from Savannah’s walnut table.

  * * *

  Callan: Be home soon?

  * * *

  I grin. It hasn’t gotten old hearing—or reading—that word from him. Home.

  * * *

  Me: Yep. I’m about to pack up and leave, getting in a few more baby snuggles.

  Callan: See you soon, birdie.

  * * *

  “I am loving you and Callan together.” My head pops up. Savannah has a broad grin on her face. “It’s too cute. You’re all smiley every time your phone goes off. And seeing him with you? Oh my gosh!”

  I smile and my cheeks turn crimson under her scrutiny.

  “He’s great,” I say.

  “He is,” Savannah agrees. “How is everything else? Have y’all had any more trouble with your ex?”

  I sigh. “No, we haven’t. He hasn’t shown up or done anything in weeks. Callan is still on edge and guards me like I’m an opponent in a sports game. I think maybe he just wanted to scare me. He liked doing that,” I finish softly.

  Savannah’s hand captures mine. “I get it, babe. Totally get it.”

  Liam leans over, kissing the side of Savannah’s head. I know she had trouble in the past, but I don’t know the full story. Seeing her with Liam and their baby, inside their beautiful house on the lake, gives me hope that my past won’t define me, that I’ll be able to move on.

  “You know I’m here anytime you want to talk.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I kiss the side of Avery’s face. “As much as I’d love to stay, I need to get going. I think we’re off to a great start on concepts though. I’ll draw up a few different avenues we could take with the website design, and we can go from there.”

  “Sounds great.” Savannah plucks Avery from my lap and stands. I pack up my laptop, sketchbook, paint chips, and other essentials I brought over. Liam and Savannah walk me to the door and stand in their doorway waving as I pull out of their driveway.

  I turn on my brights. They live outside the city, so on nights like tonight, when the moon is hiding behind the clouds, it’s really dark.

  I’m jamming along with the radio, a smile on my face because I get to go home to two of my favorite people. The love song playing on the radio fills my heart and makes me think of Callan.

  Something shatters my windshield, and a scream rips its way up my throat. Glass flies around me. I jerk my steering wheel to the right, careening into a ditch. I slam on my brakes and jerk the steering wheel back to the left, but it’s too late. I’m headed for the tree on the edge of the ditch. Another scream tears out of me. My face is stinging even before the airbag explodes in my face.

  The last thing I see before my eyes close is a brick in my passenger seat.

  Chapter 31

  Callan

  Brae is sitting at the table doing her homework. The end of her pen is between her teeth as she chews it absentmindedly and stares at the page in front of her. There are only a couple weeks of school left, and she’s been studying like mad for finals.

  Iris and Brae have already planned girly shit to do this summer, and I can’t wipe the grin from my face thinking about what the future holds. My life used to consist of living from day to day—I never looked forward and I didn’t look back. It was all about surviving the moment and hoping I would still be breathing the next day. Now? Well, now I’m envisioning a future and making plans to put a ring on Iris’s finger and a baby in her belly.

  Now I want it to be official. I want her clothes in my closet, her insane number of leggings in the drawer, and all of her lotions crowding the bathroom sink. I want us to search for a home together.

  Tonight. Tonight I’ll broach the topic of her moving in permanently with us.

  I dump the jar of tomato sauce into the saucepan and stir it. The pasta is set to boil in the pot next to it. I can’t cook like Iris or Carmen, but there are a few things I can do. I had to learn to survive. It was either learn to cook something or starve to death. Mom wasn’t going to feed me or Brae.

  It’s been about an hour since Iris said she was ready to pack up and leave. She should’ve been back by now. I dial her number, but it rings and goes to voicemail.

  I grin when someone knocks on the door. Iris has a key and has been letting herself in, since she’s basically been living here, but there’ve been times when her hands were full and she knocked on the door with her elbow or foot until someone opened it for her.

  I swing open the door with a smile on my face, ready to take whatever is in her hands, but I freeze. Luca Mancini is on my doorstep. He’s been quiet since the hospital, staying out of our way. I thought he understood—help wasn’t going to come from us.

  I look over my shoulder. Brae’s head is still down, so I shut the door behind me, getting into his space, shoving him back. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “Need something from you.”

  “Don’t have shit for you. Get the fuck out of here.”

  “You’re alive because of me and I know where your woman is.” I don’t show any emotion on my face, but my fingers twitch with the need to reach into my pocket and call Iris to make sure she’s okay. I won’t him the concern, it will only play into his hand. Luca picks a piece of lint from his suit. His casual demeanor only serves to piss me off further.

  “You shot me.”

  “I’d have shot you between the eyes if I wanted you dead.” Luca rolls his eyes.

  I look around the breezeway and down the stairs.

  “I’m alone,” he says. Luca hasn’t traveled alone, not even to the grocery store, since he was born. He’s always had men on him. As the son of a mafia boss, he’s gained an enemy or two. When he was younger he was followed by bodyguards; now that he’s older, they’re his fucking minions. But now that I think about it, he was alone the night of Brae’s prom.

  I cock an eyebrow. I wish I had a gun tucked into a holster on the back of my pants. I know Luca is armed. Luca is always armed, and I’m not going to forget that he shot me. Twice. “What do you want?”

  He purses his lips and rubs a hand along his jaw. “I want out. You and James got out. I need out. I don’t give a fuck how it happens and when I tell you where your woman is, you’re going to help me.”

  “Why are you bring up Iris? No. I’m done with that life. There’s people in Chicago that can hel
p.”

  “They all work for my father or know who I am. I want out. I need out. There’s someone relying on me now, I can’t let her be in that life.” Luca looks like he’s about to fall to his knees begging, but I don’t know if I can trust that. Who is relying on him?

  I stare at him until my ringing phone breaks the silence.

  Liam.

  “Hey,” I say. “Did Savannah and Iris get too drunk on wine while working? Do I need to pick her up?” I laugh thinking about the loopy smile Iris sports when she’s had anything more than one glass.

  “She’s not with you? Fuck. Fuck.”

  My heart finds its way to my throat, and my stomach drops like an anchor. Fear coats my skin, and my voice sounds hollow. I know it’s my worst nightmare before I even ask the question. “What do you mean?”

  “I went to the store after Iris left. Her car is in a ditch and the windshield is smashed in, but she’s not in it.”

  My phone clatters to the ground and I rush Luca pinning him to the wall with my hand around his throat. “Where the fuck is Iris? What did you do to her?”

  He smirks and his voice comes out gravelly due to the pressure from my hand. “We’re finally getting somewhere. I didn’t do anything to her. Can’t say the same for her ex though.”

  I tighten my hold on his neck and slam his head against the wall. “Tell me,” I growl.

  My body is vibrating and emotions are swelling in my faster than I can identify them, but I only have one need. Getting to Iris before anything happens to her. Pierce has taken enough from her, I won’t let him take anymore.

  “I help you and your indebted to me, no matter what I want,” he husks.

  I once thought that nothing could drag me back into Luca’s clutches, but I was wrong. I don’t even think about it. I’d spend the rest of my life doing his bidding if it meant Iris was safe. I’d sacrifice myself on any stake to keep a smile on her face. “Done.”

  Chapter 32

  Iris

  Ow.

  A pulsing pain radiates through my skull. My face stings and every part of me hurts. My limbs feel like they’re made of lead, and my eyes feel glued shut. My mind is groggy and confused, unable to register anything but the pain. I lift my hand to touch my face, but my hand doesn’t make it there.

  I work my eyelids open, but even that small task is a fight.

  Cream sheets. They’re soft, a high thread count. My brows furrow. They smell clean. My eyes follow the line from my arm to my hand; both wrists are in wool-lined cuffs. I raise my head; my legs are bound, too.

  It’s a struggle to keep my eyes open, and everything feels confusing. And hard. I look around; the chains from the cuffs go to mahogany bedposts.

  Wait a minute.

  I blink and open my eyes again and focus. I squint staring at the posts. The bedposts are tall, with bulbous bases, and thin out near the top. Deeply carved lines are etched all the way down the poles.

  I turn my head to the side. Heavy chocolate-brown curtains hang from the ceilings. The drapes are closed, blocking out all but a sliver of light peeking through.

  Without turning on my side, I know there’s a beige rug on the floor. If I moved the nightstand to my left, I’d find a drop of my own blood. A spot I couldn’t get out after Pierce beat me and left me lying in a puddle of my own blood. I had to turn the rug to hide that corner.

  Blinding terror takes over. I bite down hard on my tongue to keep myself from screaming. I’m in my old bed, at my old house, outfitted in my old clothes.

  Memories and nightmares rock me. Beating after beating, punch after punch, and each time he took me dry after beating me bloody. Every memory rips apart my soul. I shake my head back and forth, letting silent tears flow but keeping my lips tight.

  The brick.

  A brick came sailing through my windshield. It must’ve been Pierce and he grabbed me after I wrecked my car.

  Oh my god.

  Callan.

  Brae.

  Oh, god.

  Tears pool in my eyes and I tremble. I yank on the cuffs and try to curl my hands to squeeze them through, but they’re too tight. I want to scream, but I can’t. Nothing is sealing my mouth shut, but I know.

  He’s here. He has to be here. If he knows I’m awake he’ll come through that door and pick up my torture where he left off two years ago. If he comes through that door, I won’t make it out of here alive. My heart will stop beating before Callan even has a chance I’m missing.

  Oh, god.

  I turn my face into the pillow trying to muffle my sob, but I gag when I smell Pierce’s cologne. If I could wipe the smell of sandal wood from the earth, I would.

  I lift my head again, looking around the room. It’s exactly the way it was when I left it, except for the wooden crate in the corner. It’s the type of crate I saw him ship guns in. This one is empty and somehow I know it’s for me.

  I force my eyes away and spot a framed photo from our Vegas wedding is sitting on the nightstand. My smile is so wide, it looks like my cheeks are about to break. Pierce is staring at the camera with a smirk on his face. It’s only now that I can look at that picture and see the evil hidden behind his eyes. I gag staring sat it.

  I’ll kill you, I promise the photograph.

  I pull on the cuffs again, and my eye catches on my hand. Bile rises in my throat. My wedding ring set is on my left hand. I didn’t leave it behind. I threw it in Lady Bird Lake. How did it get it? Did he have it recreated?

  I’m in the same green dress I wore the night I decided I had to find a way out. Does he know that’s the night I started to play the game differently? Does he know that I decided to leave that night?

  I’ve lived for two years without bruises covering my body. I’ve lived for two years without the constant fear of a man ripping me apart, wondering if tonight would be the night he lands the punch that kills me. I won’t go through that again. I tug on the chains. I’ll find a way to break apart this solid wood bed.

  The chains rattle. I stop and listen. I don’t hear anything. Nothing. There’s no creaking floorboard or steps walking toward me. I pull the chains again with all the strength I can muster. My arms are quivering from the exertion.

  I close my eyes and Callan floats into my mind. His turquoise eyes capture me. It’s the same look he had the first time we made love and he claimed me as his. All I want to do right now is be his.

  Will he ever find me?

  Will I be alive when he finds me?

  This is going to end with either me or Pierce alive. I just hope it’s me that’s still breathing.

  If he can’t have me, he’ll want me dead. I want to live. I want a life with Callan. I refuse to live a life with Pierce—death would be sweeter than this hell.

  The creak of the third stair bounces off the walls in the cavernous house. Every little noise echoes. Footsteps approach the door. I freeze and prepare to face the man who intends to destroy me.

  Pierce swings open the door, tucking his hands into his pockets, and a sinister grin crosses his face as he steps over the threshold to our room.

  “Welcome home, Rissy.”

  Chapter 33

  Callan

  I pop open the door to the apartment. “Brae,” I yell. “Turn off the stove, get your phone and come here now.”

  Brae runs to the door with arched eyebrows. I walk across the breezeway, ignoring Luca. He’s standing there watching me. I pound on Carmen’s door and turn back to Brae.

  “You’re staying with Carmen. Neither one of you can leave her apartment until I give the all clear, okay?”

  “What’s going on?” Brae asks, wrapping her arms around her middle and shifts closer to me.

  “Iris needs help,” I answer honestly.

  Carmen answers the door after I keep pounding on it with the side of my fist. “What on earth?” she asks as she opens the door. “Why are you knocking like a deranged caveman?”

  “Iris is in trouble. Keep Brae here. Don’t leave.”
/>   Carmen doesn’t question me or make me wait to explain more, she grabs Brae and pulls her inside. “I’ve got your girl. Go get our Iris.”

  I run down the steps with Luca hot on my heels. “We’ll take my car.”

  I slide into Luca’s passenger seat. “Drive,” I roar as soon as he starts the car. Luca peels out of the parking lot and it hits me like a high-speed train straight through my sternum that Iris is alone with Pierce.

  Hang on, birdie, I’m coming.

  I’m not a praying man. I’ve known since I was young that if Heaven and Hell exist, I have a one-way ticket straight to Hell. But, in this moment, I have nothing to lose and I’ll bargain life away to trade places with Iris, to take her fear, and every possible hurt. I’ve already indebted myself to the man who may kill me before this is all said and done. I close my eyes and pray.

  “How do you know where she is?” I ask without opening my eyes or stopping the prayers repeating in my head.

  “I’ve been following her. Thought we should have a little chat and see if I could persuade her into helping me convince you and James to help me.”

  I don’t give a fuck what he needs help with right now. I only care that he was following her and knows where she is but didn’t do a damn thing to stop it. I will repay my debt, but after that if Luca comes near me again, I will end his life.

  “What happened?”

  “I was following at a distance by the time I got to her crashed car, she was being stuffed into another car. He didn’t even notice me driving up, I followed him to a house then came to you.”

  “How much farther?”