“No, you don’t understand,” Nina said shaking her head as she smiled. “This is my husband. I know him. We were separated. Not separated, but when stuff got wrong, we got split up.”
My nostrils flared as I drew in a breath. “No. You don’t understand. This is the asshole that kidnapped us.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of Tom. If he made any sudden movements, I was sure I’d pull the trigger. There was a large part of me that wanted to just pull the trigger to get revenge for what he’d done. If it hadn’t been for Tom, Jamie wouldn’t have been shot.
It was true, Jamie probably wouldn’t have survived whatever poison had been inside of him, but that was irrelevant. Tom didn’t know anything about that.
“I didn’t kidnap you,” Tom said. “I rescued you.”
“Taking someone against their will is not rescuing,” I said through my teeth.
“There must be some misunderstanding,” Nina said. “Tom was helping people.”
I chuckled. “He sure didn’t help Jamie. Danny and I were lucky to escape with our lives.”
The more I thought about everything, the more I wanted to pull the trigger.
“I think you should go,” Nick said after seeing the look in my eyes.
“I… I… I don’t think I can let him go,” I said.
Bronx took a step closer, his eyes mostly on the gun. I ignored him and took another step toward Tom.
I’d made up my mind about what I was going to do. I was going to make him pay for what he’d done.
“Gwen,” Bronx said from behind me.
“Shhhh!” I said, but I wasn’t sure I was talking to Bronx or the voice in my head telling me to pull the trigger.
I didn’t get a chance to figure it out. I hadn’t heard the guest door open, but when Milo ran past me, I had to blink hard to regain my focus.
“Daddy!” Milo said nearly flying through the air. Nick caught him and pulled him back before he got too close.
Nina took Milo’s hand and pulled him back. She whispered something, and Milo nodded but smiled brightly at Tom.
“Daddy! You found us!” Milo said.
“I did,” Tom said smiling at the boy. There was joy in his eyes even though I was looking at him with hate in mine.
Milo glanced in my direction and frowned. “What is she doing Mommy?”
“She didn’t know it was your daddy. Gwen thought it was a bad man,” Nina said looking into my eyes. “But she was wrong.”
My head shook back and forth slightly. I opened my mouth, but there wasn’t anything I could do or say with Milo’s round eyes on me.
I reluctantly lowered the gun. Bronx placed his hand on my shoulder and eased the gun from my tight grip.
“Daddy, can you stay?” Milo said trying to take a step closer to him.
“No, he can’t,” I said.
Milo’s eyes filled with wetness as he looked at me. “Why not?”
“Um… because he’s got that stuff on his shoes,” I said. It was the first thing that came to mind.
“Oh! He can take them off,” Milo said. “Easy peasy, right Mommy?”
“Right, Milo,” Nina said looking at Nick. She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “He’s not armed. Tom’s a good man.”
Nick ran his fingers through his hair. When he looked down into Milo’s hopeful eyes, I knew there wasn’t much of anything I would be able to do.
“Excuse me,” I said, my voice softer than a whisper as I turned, bumping Bronx’s shoulder as I left the room.
“I didn’t mean to cause any problems,” I heard Tom say as I walked up the stairs.
My feet were moving so fast down the hall to my grandma’s room I felt like I was flying. When I sat down on my grandma’s bed, my stomach swirled so fast it felt like the room was spinning.
The floorboards creaked as someone approached. I couldn’t move my head because if I did, I’d lose the contents of my stomach.
“What do you want me to do, Gwen?” Nick asked. I could tell he’d stopped in the doorway. “I don’t know everything that happened, but I know what Bronx told me.”
“Where is he now?” The words left a sour taste at the back of my throat.
“Banished to the guest room. He’s not allowed to leave,” Nick said. “Bronx has the gun.”
I shook my head. “That asshole is contaminating all us with that black gunk.”
“Made him strip. His clothes are being washed as we speak.”
“Let’s make my kidnapper as comfortable as possible,” I said harshly.
Nick glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “What am I supposed to do? He’s Milo’s dad. I can’t send that kid and his mom out there.”
“They probably knew what was going on inside Tom’s stupid camp. They were probably in on it.”
“He’s just a kid. Milo wasn’t in on anything,” Nick said. He drew in a slow breath. “If you want me to send him away, I will, but you have to know that Nina and Milo will no doubt go with him. Whatever you want I’ll do it.”
“Don’t put this all on me,” I said raising my hand.
Nick groaned. “I’m not trying to. It’s just that I don’t know what to do. None of us will blame you or think any less of you if you want them gone.”
I was angry with myself, but there wasn’t anything more that I wanted than for Tom to get out of my grandma’s house. Truthfully, I wanted the man dead, but I couldn’t make Milo suffer like that. After all, I knew what it was like to lose a parent. I couldn’t be the one to do that to him. Milo was a good kid.
“I’ll just stay up here and pray for rain,” I said biting my cheek, so I didn’t lose it. “Once it’s clear for them to leave, they’re out of here.”
Nick nodded and looked down at the floor. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but I need to know what happened. Everything. If I only know bits and pieces, it makes it harder to know—”
“I’ll tell you,” I said gesturing at the door. “Close it please.”
I told Nick everything that had happened. Everything. The only thing I left out of the story was that Jamie and I had slept together. But I made sure to tell him that Jamie and I had gotten closer and I was pretty sure he knew what I was implying.
Nick didn’t ask questions. He didn’t say much of anything. I could see the anger in his eyes, but somehow, he was keeping it all inside.
And when I started crying, tears filled up his eyes, but he swallowed them back down. It was the first time in years Nick was one hundred percent there for me.
After I finished, my voice was sore from the crying and the talking. Nick leaned forward and pressed his hand over his mouth.
“It’s okay,” he said letting out a small breath as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Nick took another breath before pulling me in for a hug. “It’s going to be okay, I promise you.”
I couldn’t recall the last time Nick, and I had hugged. Maybe never. Maybe when I was three. I didn’t know.
It couldn’t erase what had happened between us, but it was a start. We were family. We had each other.
“I don’t know how I’m going to survive this,” I said with a sharp gasp. The tears had stopped, most likely because I didn’t have any more to shed.
“You’ve survived so much,” Nick said in a feather quiet voice. “This is just a bump. A bump I’m going to smooth out.”
“How?” I said shaking my head.
Nick’s jaw tensed. “I don’t know when or how, but I’m going to kill that mother fucker for what he did.”
Chapter 22
Before Nick left the room, he explained that we’d keep watch and an eye on Tom twenty-four seven. He didn’t want me downstairs, but I insisted that I could help with the shifts.
I told him it would be far easier for me to pull the trigger than anyone else in the household. My finger was itching to pull the trigger.
Nick said that Blair would deliver them food. He’d also make sure that they all understood that the only ones that cou
ld leave the room were Nina and Milo.
I didn’t tell Nick, but it had made me uncomfortable that he would allow Tom’s loved ones free range of the house. Nick trusted them far more than I could because he’d known them longer. But all I could see was a devoted wife and a son who loved and missed their loved one.
I couldn’t trust them. Not that I ever really had trusted Nina. The only reason I’d been okay with her was because Nick had been.
We’d agreed that after one more rainstorm they’d be gone. Nick would send them packing with a few supplies, but until then, we’d do what we could for Milo. It wasn’t the boy's fault that his father was an asshole that liked to kidnap people.
I couldn’t help but feel like Rapunzel up in her tower. My door was locked, and Nick wanted it kept that way as much as possible. He wanted to keep Tom and I separated, and he had a very good reason for wanting that.
The first part of the night I had spent alone inside my grandma’s bedroom sitting at the window praying for rain. The second part, Bronx had brought up food and sat with me.
He waited at the window while encouraging me to get some sleep. When he saw it wasn’t working, he begged me not to take my shift keeping watch. Or at the very least not to do it alone.
Darkness had swallowed the house making the world outside disappear. The only light was from the candles inside the silent house.
“Nick’s taking the first watch, then Blair. You should really just get some sleep,” Bronx said. “We can manage tonight. Just take the night off.”
“They’re tired too. We all need rest,” I said clasping my cold hands together. “What if there is another attack? We all need to be rested, so we’re ready for whatever is next.”
“It’s just one night.” Bronx turned and looked into my eyes. “No one expects you to take a shift.”
I looked away from his intensely concerned gaze. “I need to do this. There is no way I’m going to let Tom think I’m weak.”
“No, you don’t,” Bronx said stomping as he made his way closer to me. He crouched down in front of me and took my hands into his. “I can’t lose you again. It was too hard.”
“Like I told Nick, nothing is going to happen to me. It’s Tom you all need to worry about,” I said feeling the muscles in my face tighten.
“No one is even a little bit worried about him.”
I shook my head. “I wish that were true, but both Nina and Milo are. They are his family.”
“Gwen,” Bronx said locking his eyes with mine. “I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“What could he possibly do? He’s unarmed, and I’m not going to let that shotgun out of my grasp. Not even for a second.” I clenched my teeth together, and when my temples ached, I relaxed my jaw. “I’ll be looking for any excuse to use it.”
“You won’t—”
“I will. I most definitely will,” I said with a harsh, nearly maniacal laugh.
Bronx stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. “No, Gwen, you won’t. Not as long as Milo is in the house.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.”
“Sorry, but I’m certain.”
“I… I….” Dammit. He was absolutely right.
I looked down at his hands wrapped around mine. The warmth radiating out from him suddenly felt too hot.
I pulled my hands back and stood up. My feet moved quickly as I paced the floor in front of the door.
“Please, Gwen,” Bronx said. “Just take one night off, and then I won’t say another word about it. I won’t try to stop you.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but when I saw the look in his eyes, I pressed my lips together. There was no doubt in my mind that he was truly worried. I could see how scared he was that something might go wrong… the fear was wrapped around him like the pink robe he was no longer wearing.
“When did you get your clothes?” I asked.
“A while ago. They dried.”
“That was quick.”
Bronx forced a smile as he looked down at his clothing. “Thankfully. This outfit suits me much better, right?”
His hand glided down his shirt as he straightened a few wrinkles. I knew what his perfect stomach looked like underneath that shirt and it was strange how I was thinking about it at that moment.
My eyes moved up to his lips, and I could remember how they had felt against mine. I could remember exactly how I had felt inside my apartment when Bronx and I had shared our intimate moment. I’d felt safe… warm… protected. I ached to feel that way again.
Bronx stepped up in front of me. He was so close, it was hard to draw in a breath of air even though I was desperate for the oxygen.
“So,” Bronx said his deep voice vibrating through my veins. “Do we have a deal?”
“A deal?” My voice was practically non-existent as I gazed into his captivating dark eyes.
“You refrain from taking watch for the night,” Bronx said. “Just take a day to clear your head.”
I sighed. “He shouldn’t be here. You don’t realize how badly I want that asshole out of this house.”
“Oh, I have a pretty good guess,” Bronx said. “He shouldn’t be here, I couldn’t agree more, but Milo makes everything a bit more difficult.”
I nodded as my throat dried.
“So, do we have a deal? If it makes you feel better, I’ll take your shift.”
“Why would that make me feel better?” I asked wrapping my arms around myself as if I had gotten a sudden chill. The temperature hadn’t changed, but the idea of being alone in the bedroom was enough to ice my bones.
I didn’t want to admit it, but I wasn’t ready.
Bronx shrugged. “Because I would do whatever I had to do if it meant keeping you safe.”
There was a deep thud in my chest.
“Fine,” I said not giving myself any longer to think about it. Milo should get a chance to catch up with his father, and Bronx was right. I did need to organize my thoughts. Process. “I just wish that bastard wasn’t inside this house. He cannot be trusted.”
“None of us want him here. The only ones that do are Nina and Milo.” Bronx looked at me again. It was such an intense gaze that it made me feel as though nothing else existed. It was an overwhelming feeling that I couldn’t handle at that moment. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
I opened my mouth, ready to tell him he had no control over what happened to any of us, but he placed his fingertips over my lips. His mouth curled up slightly at the ends. He looked at me as if he had read my mind.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Bronx said.
His finger slowly slid down off of my lip. I swallowed hard and blinked as heat surged through my veins.
“I don’t either,” I said when I found my voice.
My shoulders tightened, and I took a step back desperately hoping to fill my lungs with fresh oxygen. Sharing the air with Bronx was making it hard to think clearly.
“Okay,” Bronx said touching his lower lip with the tip of his thumb. The slight smile on his face faded. “Stay up here. I’m going to tell Nick you agreed.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go on and tell him he wins.” I crossed my arms.
Bronx walked over to the door pausing just as he was about to turn the knob. “I begged him not to allow you to take a turn. He said it was your call. Either way, I’m taking what I can get for now. Hopefully tomorrow I can convince you to wait another day.”
With that Bronx left the room. The click from the door echoed inside the large empty bedroom.
And again, I shivered.
Chapter 23
The next morning when I woke up my stomach grumbled. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until it felt as though my stomach was trying to devour itself.
Bronx was in a deep sleep, and I didn’t want to wake him. Based on the light coming in through the window, there were probably a couple more hours of darkness before the sky changed to a slightly lighter shade of gray.
The clouds were da
rk and thick, but the sun didn’t give up trying to poke through them.
I wished I had the gun, but I’d be fast. Each step I took, I carefully placed to make as little noise as possible.
The floorboard near the door creaked, and I turned to see if I had woken Bronx, but he hadn’t even stirred a little. I stepped out of the room and moved down the hall as if I was a ninja.
I knew each spot to place my foot on the stairs as I made my way down. Blair was at the window resting her head on her hand. I’d been so quiet she hadn’t even turned to look in my direction.
I slipped down the hall, grinding my teeth and clutching my fists as I walked past the guest room. All was silent inside. I wondered if Tom was sleeping or keeping his own watch.
The answer to that question was revealed when I stepped into the kitchen. Tom was reaching into the cabinet helping himself to our food.
He turned quickly and held up his hand. “Please! Forgive me! I’m starving!”
When he saw it was me standing there gawking at him with my mouth hanging open, his lips curled into a smile.
“I haven’t eaten anything in days,” he said, the tone of his voice had changed. Tom talked to me as if we’d been old friends that had reconnected after several years.
“You’re not to leave the guest room,” I said between my pursed lips.
“I didn’t want to wake my wife. She was sleeping so peacefully,” Tom said. His eyes were bright in the darkness of the kitchen. “Milo too.”
My hands were so tight my fingers started to feel numb. “You should have waited.”
I wanted to look over my shoulder and call for Nick, but something stopped me. How had Tom gotten past Blair?
Tom was holding several bars and a bottle of water as he moved toward the hallway. He paused when he was about a foot away from me.
“You know, I really was trying to do the right thing,” Tom said leaning toward me.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I had to hold my arms stiff, so I didn’t throw my fist into his jaw. I opened my eyes wide and stared directly into his.
“But it wasn’t the right thing,” I said my voice shaking. “I want you to pay.”
The Red Sky Series Box Set Page 42