by Brook Wilder
Otherwise, Leigh was as good as dead.
Chapter 20
Leigh
I shifted my weight off my left side, wincing as the needles shot through my leg. My entire body was numb from sitting on the cold metal and I wanted nothing more than to stand to shake some feeling back into it.
Unfortunately, the cage wasn’t tall enough for me to do so and with my protruding belly, I couldn’t breathe very well when I bent over.
So, I remained in a seated position, trying not to run my hand over the rough metal. I had already done that once and gotten a few cuts in return. Other than the cuts though, I was pretty much as good as could be expected. The rough ride on the back of the motorcycle had been harrowing and there was a time or two I thought I would fall off, given the way my kidnapper had been driving.
And for a while there, I thought Jonathan would catch up with us. He had been so close, but when his headlight had disappeared, my heart had stilled in my chest.
Now I still didn’t know what had happened to him and I feared the worst. Wouldn’t I know if Jonathan was dead? Wouldn’t I feel like my chest was caving in, like my heart had been ripped out?
I hoped so. I was clinging to the hope that he was still alive and out there searching for me. I knew he wouldn’t give up. No matter how long it took, Jonathan was going to find me.
I had to stay alive until then.
A flutter caught my attention and I realized that the baby inside me had moved for the first time, as if to calm me and remind me that I could get through this. Tears crowded my eyes as I laid my uninjured hand on my stomach. “I feel you, little one,” I said softly. I should be calling Jonathan right now, letting him know that his child had moved for the first time.
Instead, I wasn’t even sure if he was alive or not.
The door opened suddenly, and light flooded the room, causing me to wince and shade my eyes with my hand against the offending light. A shadow moved into the room, crouching down to the level of the cage. “Well, well, well, what do I have here?”
It was my kidnapper. I would recognize that voice anywhere. Lifting my chin, I stared at him defiantly, wanting him to see that I was not scared of him, though inside I was terrified at what he might do.
“You’re a brave one,” he commented, a hint of admiration in his voice. “I will give you that. No wonder Two Tone wants you so badly. I have half a mind to keep you for myself.”
“He’s going to kill you,” I said softly. “And I hope it hurts.”
He chuckled. “Darling, he’s not coming after me. His bike went down hours ago. I doubt he’s even alive.”
I tried to tamp down the sudden panic that was rising in my throat. Of course, he was still alive. I would know if Jonathan was dead. He was invincible, someone that wouldn’t go down like that. “You’re lying.”
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe not. Either way, you and I are gonna spend some time together. I have enjoyed him chasing after me for months, but now I hold the upper hand. Now I will have his head on a platter for his traitorous ways.”
Whatever Jonathan had done, it was likely the right thing to do. This guy was crazy.
He clucked his tongue as he rose to his full height. “The Jesters are falling like a house of cards. They have played into my hands nicely and now I am on the verge of destroying them completely.”
“What are you going to do with me?” I asked, wanting to know what I faced. If for some reason he was telling the truth about Jonathan, I wanted to steel myself for the horrors that were to come.
“Now, I can’t tell you that just yet,” he answered, walking back toward the doorway. “You just sit there like the pretty little bird you are and wait for your fate. Who knows? If you are nice, I might let you stay with me.”
He shut the door before I could respond and I slumped against the bars, hanging my head. There were all kinds of things that he could do to me, none of which were good.
Sighing, I placed my hand back on my stomach, giving myself some comfort in the fact that I wasn’t alone. That was Jonathan’s blood running through our baby’s veins too. We could get through this together.
But as I thought about being strong, I felt the old memories starting to creep through my mind, memories that were eerily similar to this current situation.
I spit out the dirty rag from my mouth, moving myself to a seated position and wincing as the ropes cut into my wrists. My entire face was swollen on one side and my body was constantly being jarred by the van bouncing over the road, but I was alive.
For now, anyway.
Darkness blurred the edges of my mind and I shook it away. I couldn’t pass out now. I had fought so hard not to give in to what Brad had done to me, to survive and one day find a way out.
I had seen something I shouldn’t have, though, and that was the reason I was in this vehicle, being transported to wherever he wanted me to disappear. I had tried to escape from him, tried to run, but he had caught me before I could get to the front door, knocking me out.
A tear slipped down my cheek. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He was supposed to love me, to want to cherish me and love me. I had dreamed of a family with him.
Now he was nothing but a monster.
Another bounce had me back on my side again, my face smacking against the metal floor. Wherever this vehicle was taking me, I was going to fight my way out. I was tired of being the victim, tired of being the weak one.
Brad had tried to break me, but even in this low moment in my life, I was starting to learn that I was far stronger than he had thought me.
I wasn’t weak and it was time that I showed it.
The memory faded and I took in a deep breath, cleansing my thoughts. That had been the moment I knew if I could stay alive, I was going to survive. Some would have thought I would have that realization prior to my life being in danger, but my life had been in danger the moment I met Brad Walker.
I had tried to make that relationship work and wasted so much time in doing so.
This wasn’t Brad, though. Brad was dead. This was something that involved another man in my life, a man that I loved fiercely, and I really, really wanted a chance to tell him. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t pushed Jonathan away because of my fear, we could have been together tonight.
I wouldn’t be sitting in a cage, worried about my future and that of my child’s. I had to fight. I couldn’t let this innocent baby die because I folded myself away and didn’t fight. “Don’t worry, little one,” I whispered, rewarded with another flurry of movement. “We aren’t going to give up that easily. Your father is a fighter and we are going to turn into one as well.”
I wanted the future with Jonathan. I wanted us to raise this child together in a loving household and whatever he decided to do with the club business, I would support him. I hated that my scars, the deep ones, had nearly made me lose him.
If I could get one more chance, I would never let him go.
Jonathan wasn’t dead. He was coming. I could feel it in my bones.
“Please,” I whispered to anyone that might be listening above. I didn’t want my life to end like this. I wanted the happiness I had found with Jonathan. I wanted to feel his arms around me, holding me tight, and know that I had survived just so I could have those stolen moments with him.
There had been many times I had prayed for my life to end with Brad. Now I was praying for another day so that I could live this life I was due with Jonathan.
He had to find me.
Chapter 21
Two Tone
“Let me see the chief.”
The deputy turned the lock in the cell door. “No can do.”
I gripped the bars, wanting to rip them open with my hands. “Please. Tell her. She will want to see me.”
The deputy shook his head. “No one sees the chief unless she wants to see you. Hang tight and don’t cause any trouble, all right?”
“Dammit,” I swore, hitting the bars. I was rewarded
with the sting on my palm. I didn’t know how much time had passed since I had left the clubhouse, but it was far too much. After Alisha had arrested me, they had taken me to an interrogation room and grilled me for hours, wanting to know what happened to Leigh. I had stuck to my story, which wasn’t too far from the truth.
I didn’t know where she was.
One of the detectives had brought up the fact that she was pregnant and that I clearly wasn’t father material, that it might be a reason for me to get rid of her and the baby so that it wouldn’t ruin my career.
I had nearly launched myself across the table at him. He couldn’t be further from the truth. Leigh and that baby were everything to me and the clear reason I was going to leave the club when this was all over with. Even if she wanted me to stay away, which I wouldn’t blame her for, I was done with the club. Its priorities were screwed up and Chains had lost sight of the reason the Jesters existed.
I was done.
Walking over to the bench, I collapsed on it, holding my head in my hands. After I had quit answering the detectives’ questions, they had booked me on suspicion of kidnapping and since I technically had given up my club membership earlier, there was no lawyer to call.
I was on my own, unless I could get Alisha’s attention.
After what felt like hours, the same deputy came back. “You get a phone call,” he announced, opening the door. “You think you can behave, or do I need to cuff you, Jester?”
“I’m good,” I said, holding up my hands. A phone call. I could call Chains and hope that he would be willing to help me out now.
I could call Alisha and hope she listened to me.
Or I could call the one person that would pick up the damn phone, at least, and not hang up when he heard my voice.
After being shown the phone, I dialed a familiar number, waiting for him to pick up on the other end.
“Fuck, who’s in jail now?” Chuckler sounded pissed.
“Just me,” I said. “Two Tone.”
“Damn, man, what have you gotten yourself into?”
“It’s a long story,” I said quickly, knowing they wouldn’t give me long. “Listen, I need a huge favor.”
“It has to do with my wife, don’t it?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “It does.”
“Shit, man. You are gonna screw with my fun time with my wife. Remember that.”
I felt sorry for him, I really did, but he had married the chief of police, not me. “I just need her to come visit me. There’s an innocent woman’s life on the line.”
“The same one that is carrying your kid?”
“The very same.”
“Give me ten minutes.”
***
Fifteen minutes later, the chief of police was at my cell door, her boot tapping on the cement floor. “You have some fucking nerve doing that.”
I rose from the bench. “Sorry. I’m desperate and I knew you wouldn’t take a call from me.”
She arched a brow. “This better not be some bid to get out of this charge, Jonathan. I don’t want to risk my job or my reputation because you screwed up.”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” I said, clenching my teeth together in frustration. “I love Leigh. I want to be in that child’s life. I just want you to look into something.”
Alisha sighed, dropping her arms. “Why do I believe you?”
I flashed her a grin. “Because you like me?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she answered, though there was a gleam of understanding in her eyes. “What do you want me to look into?”
“Nathan,” I said, his name coming out in a near growl. “Look into his phone records. I have reason to believe he’s working with Mac, and that’s who took Leigh.”
Alisha let out a low whistle. “That’s a tall statement there, Jonathan. He seems to care about Leigh.”
“He’s also been present when you have been called out to her house,” I reminded her. “Trust me on this. I bet you will find something.”
“Fine,” she said after a moment. “I’ll make some calls and see what I can find out.”
“Do you think you can get me out of here?” I asked, itching to be on my way so that I could start searching for Leigh myself.
“I’m going to bring him down,” Alisha said instead. “If he confesses to knowing something about this kidnapping, I will let you out.”
“Thanks, Alisha,” I answered, meaning it. She was putting her career on the line for me and I would never be able to repay her for that.
“You know this will put the club on the shit list again,” she said as she moved toward the door.
“I’m done with the club,” I forced out, the bitterness hard to hide in my words.
Her eyes widened. “You told Chains?”
I nodded. “With my fist.”
There was a twinkle in her eye. “Maybe Seth could get involved. He’s driving me crazy.”
“I would appreciate his help,” I replied.
She gave me a nod and exited the room, shutting the door behind her. I pressed my palms to my eyes, willing away the exhaustion that wanted to creep in. This was my only shot. I knew Alisha would do exactly what I asked, her own curiosity piqued, but if Nathan was smarter than he appeared to be and had covered his tracks, I was sunk.
***
The sun was starting to peek through the window when the door finally opened and Nathan was pushed through, Alisha at his back. I rose from the bench as she opened the cell door and forced Nathan through, shutting it behind him. “I’m giving you ten minutes,” she said tiredly. “Seth is outside, waiting for you to be sprung.”
I grinned at Nathan’s pale expression. “And this one?”
“He’s going with you. Turns out, he knows something about Ms. Greene’s disappearance but refuses to give up the name.”
I cracked my knuckles, adrenaline spiking. “I’ll get it out of him.”
“Jonathan,” Alisha said, her expression serious. “If you kill him, you stay in this cell. I pulled a hell of a lot of strings to make this happen. Don’t make me regret this.”
“Got it,” I answered, my eyes on Nathan. “Ten minutes.”
She shut the door and Nathan immediately started to back up against the wall. “Touch me and I will sue the pants off you.”
I braced my hands on either side of his head. “I’m not gonna touch you. Tell me where Mac is, and I will walk out of here.”
“She’s too good for you.”
Chuckling, I flexed my hand, wanting to choke the life out of his scrawny ass. “I know that, but she’s mine and that will not change. Tell me where he is. He will kill her, you know, unless we stop him.”
Nathan’s nostrils flared. “He promised he wouldn’t hurt her.”
“You took his word?” I laughed, kneeing him in the groin. “Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to do that, man.”
Nathan groaned as he slid down the wall, cupping his crotch. “That was touching me.”
“Prove it,” I leered, crouching to his level. “Tell me what he promised you.”
At first, I thought he wasn’t going to talk, but finally he swore. “He promised I would be the hero, that I would rescue her, and she would fall in love with me.”
“There’s your mistake,” I stated, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and lifting him to his feet. “No one tells a woman who to love. Come on.”
“Where are you taking me?” he asked as I walked over to the bars and banged my fist against them.
“You are gonna show me where you were supposed to meet,” I fired back as the door opened and a surprised Alisha stepped through, followed by her husband. “That was fast,” she remarked, reaching for the keys. “I should hire you.”
“I’m looking for a job, you know,” I grinned as she opened the door and I pushed Nathan through. “Even if the pay is shitty.”
“Oh, the pay is shitty, all right,” Alisha laughed, patting her husband on the cheek. “Please don’t get yourself killed
or anyone else.”
Seth leaned over and pressed his lips to her cheek. “I promise not to get anyone else killed. I’ll be back before supper.”
Alisha gave him a small smile before looking at me. “If anything happens to my husband because of this, I will kill you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered, pushing Nathan into a walk. “Thanks, Alisha.”
“You got it.”