by Erin Osborne
We walk out with Gage to his bike, and he hands my daughter back to me as he throws his leg over and gets ready to head back home. Yes, Dander Falls has become my home and I want to go back. This situation with Nicolette needs to be handled so that I can go back and start my life with Gage and Shelby. She’s trying to get back to Gage and I’m holding her tight so that she can’t get out of my arms. He leans over and places a kiss on the top of her head before pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arms around us. I swear that I hear him murmur the word ‘mine’ before he lets me go enough to place a kiss on my lips, but I can’t be sure.
“I’ll see you soon,” he says with his voice full of promise. “As soon as we get back I’ll call you and let you know. Shadow is stickin’ with you.”
I nod my head because I can’t do much more with the tears spilling over my lashes and rolling down my face. Shelby is crying and burying her head into my shoulder as the three bikes roar to life and I back up as the man I’ve come to lean on and care about rides away. Shelby and I go back inside and straight to the room Butcher gave me. I lay on the bed and cuddle my daughter while we both cry at the loss we’re currently feeling. I’ve never felt so alone in my life, but I can’t risk going back just yet.
Chapter Ten
Riley
I’VE BEEN IN WHITNEY GLEN FOR THREE weeks now. Gage is always on my mind and Shelby is even missing him now too. She’s cranky and no matter what I do, she never settles down for very long. Carrie has been to check her out and she doesn’t seem to be sick or teething. The only other thing I can think of is that she’s missing the man that neither one of can seem to get out of our minds.
“Riley, Gage is on the phone. Said you weren’t answerin’ yours,” Butcher calls out, heading down the hallway.
I open the door and get the phone from his hands and murmur a thank you. He turns and walks away from me while I take the phone and place it on speaker. Shelby will hear his voice and start babbling away. “Hey Gage. Sorry I didn’t answer my phone,” I tell him, sitting on the bed while Shelby is scooting closer to the bed I’m sitting down on.
“Beautiful, you had me fuckin’ worried,” he tells me, letting the anger lace his voice. “With that bitch still on the loose I thought she took you again. Especially when no one was answerin’ at the clubhouse the first few minutes either.”
“Sorry, I was getting Shelby ready to go out,” I tell him, suddenly feeling dizzy and sick to my stomach. Taking deep breaths that I know Gage can hear, I try to swallow the feeling down and take a seat on the floor by the bed so my daughter doesn’t roll off and get hurt.
“What’s the matter Riley?” he asks, concern lacing his already anxious voice.
“I’m o-okay,” I murmur out, the feeling starting to finally go away.
“No, you’re not,” he replies, wanting to know what is going on. I know he’s not going to let this go until I answer him.
“I just got a little dizzy and didn’t feel very good for a minute or two there,” I answer, slowly standing back up and sitting on the bed.
“Why? What’s wrong with you?” he asks, the concern overtaking every part of him.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just stressed and worn out. Shelby hasn’t been sleeping very well,” I tell him, letting him know what’s going on.
“So, come home. Let me take care of my girls and we’ll protect you,” he tells me, pleading once again with me.
“I will be coming home soon. Just let me figure a few things out and I’ll let you know when I leave,” I answer, knowing that it’s time to leave here and go back to Dander Falls.
“You’re leavin’ today?” he asks, happiness filling his voice now as I hear shuffling around in the background.
“I don’t know. Let me talk to Shadow and Butcher. Maybe see Carrie before I get on the road to make sure I’m okay,” I tell him, knowing that he’ll accept this answer from me.
“Okay. Call me when you’re ready to head out. I’ll talk to Shadow before you leave,” Gage tells me, getting ready to get off the phone already so that he can call Shadow and make sure that he’s ready to leave when I am. Plus, I’m sure that he’ll read him the riot act about protecting my daughter and me.
“Sounds good. I’m going to call Carrie now. I’ll see you soon,” I tell him, hanging up and picking Shelby up to put her in the pack ‘n play before I make my call to Carrie.
We’ve spent some together since I’ve been here, and I’ve found another friend. She doesn’t have the shitty past that I do, but she has some history with Butcher. I don’t know all the details, but I know that she’s loved him for as long as she can remember. To him, she feels that she was just a one-night stand that resulted in her being pregnant. Now, he’s pursuing her, but she doesn’t want to give in just because of the baby she’s carrying.
“Hello?” Carrie asks, answering the phone a little out of breath.
“Am I interrupting something?” I ask, not sure what she’s in the middle of right now.
“I was cleaning the house. What’s up?” she asks, some more noise in the background until it finally goes quiet.
“I was wondering if I could see you for a few minutes. Gage just called and I got really dizzy and felt sick to my stomach all of a sudden. The feeling went away, but I want to make sure it’s not anything that will stop me from going home,” I tell her, thinking of everything that could be wrong right now.
“Sure. Do you want to come over?” she asks.
“Yeah. I’ll get Shelby ready and we’ll be over,” I answer, getting back up and packing a diaper bag as we stay on the phone for a few minutes.
As soon as I’m done packing the diaper bag, I change the baby and put a little dress on her. We head out to the common room and I see Butcher and Shadow sitting at the bar talking. I don’t want to interrupt, so I let them know I’ll be back in a little bit. Shadow goes to follow me out the door, but I hold my hand up and tell him that he can stay here. I’m just going to Carrie’s house two blocks over, so I don’t need him right now.
The SUV is still sitting in the front of the parking lot, behind the bikes of course. I’m thankful it’s not in the back forty here again. That’s a hike and a half to walk over behind the garage that the guys use to work on their bikes. Shelby goes right into her car seat without a fuss and I climb in the front, and start the SUV. It doesn’t take me long to make the short drive to Carrie’s house as I park behind her car and grab my daughter from the back seat.
“Hey guys!” Carrie calls out, standing in the open door as we make our way toward her.
“Hey! How are you feeling?” I ask, knowing that she’s been getting to the point that she’s uncomfortable most of the time.
“Miserable and like a fat cow. Nothing new there though,” she replies, laughing a little bit at herself.
“You’re not a fat cow, but we always have this argument, so I’ll drop it for now,” I reply, laughing at the silliness of our conversation. My nerves amp up at the fact that something could be wrong with me and in don’t know what it is.
“Now, you said you got an upset stomach when you got dizzy?” Carrie asks, getting to the business at hand.
“Yeah. I answered the phone and when I set it down on the bed, it all crashed down over me at once. The last three weeks haven’t been easy with Shelby being so fussy and not really sleeping, could that be the cause?” I ask, still thinking of possibilities.
“It could be. Have you had your period on time?” she asks, making me stop in my tracks to think if I have had my monthly.
“I don’t remember if I had it or not,” I tell her, a whole new set of possibilities coming to mind now. “So much has been going on and I’ve been under a lot of stress.”
“Okay. Well, I have a few tests here that you can take. We’ll rule that out first,” she says, a sympathetic smile showing up on her face.
I follow her to the bathroom and she takes Shelby from me so I can go in and do my thing. As soon as I take care
of business, I lay the test on toilet paper I laid over the box. There’s a weight on my shoulders at the thought that Gage and I are going to have a baby. I still don’t feel like I’m good enough for him and now we’ll be tied to one another for the rest of our lives. Hell, after losing Ryan, I don’t even know if he wants to have kids. We haven’t had that conversation because I’ve been so busy fighting my attraction to him to realize that he’s not going to run from me or leave me for all the bullshit I have going on right now.
Carrie knocking on the door brings me out of my head and I look in the direction that I laid the test that has the ability to change our lives. Looking at the screen I see that I am in fact pregnant. My heart starts racing and I can’t believe that one of the few times we have been together has resulted in creating a new life. Tears are streaming down my face as I open the door after picking the test up. As soon as she sees the results, Carrie leads me back into the living room and sits me down on the couch. Shelby sits between us and I look down at her not knowing how to feel right now. Panic is one of the main emotions I feel. There’s so much uncertainty about how Gage will respond, if I’m going to be a good mom to Shelby and now another new life, if someone is going to try to take this baby from me, the list goes on and on.
“Okay, we can handle this,” Carrie says, placing her hand on my shoulder to comfort me.
“I don’t know what to do. Gage and I have never talked about kids, I spend more time trying to push him away than anything else. What if this isn’t what he wants?” I ask, looking up at her for the first time since coming out of the bathroom.
“Gage will be over the moon with happiness. I don’t know the full story of you two, but I can plainly see the love that man has for you and your daughter written all over his face. Now, I know with everything you’ve been through, there’s going to be doubts, panic, and a whole shit ton of other emotions going through you right now. Don’t let them take away the happiness of this moment,” Carrie tells me. “I’m sure that what happened this morning was just your body’s way of letting you know that something was going on. Make an appointment with your doctor as soon as you can so that you can have further testing done to be safe. Are you going to be okay?”
I nod my head as I let it sink in that I’m going to have another baby. A smile plasters my face at the thought that no one is going to come after me this time and take my baby away from me. Even if things don’t work out between Gage and I, he won’t take my baby from me. Not after everything he did to make sure that Shelby came home to me to begin with. I have my daughter back because of him and his ability to get things done. From now on, I’m going to think positive about this and everything else.
“Thank you for everything, Carrie. I better get back so Shadow and I can get ready to head home. We’re leaving tonight,” I tell her, picking Shelby up and heading toward the door followed by my friend.
“You’re welcome babe. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me. Maybe I’ll make the trip to you next time,” she says, this has become a running joke between us because of the circumstances that seem to keep bringing me back to Whitney Glen. None of it seems to be good, other than getting my daughter back.
I walk out and strap Shelby into the car seat before going to get in the driver’s side. Before I can get in and close the door, someone grabs me from behind and I feel a sharp pinch in my neck. The last thing I see before my world goes black is Nicolette.
Waking up, my head is killing me and my entire body hurts. At first I don’t remember anything that happened until Shelby’s screams finally pull me out of the haze that I’ve been under. Panic seizes me until I see my daughter in a crib a few feet from me. Her diaper bag is thrown under it and the contents are spilled out all over the place. I don’t even have enough strength to stand up and walk over to her. So, I crawl over to the crib and pull myself up by the bars.
“It’s okay,” I murmur to her, wishing that it were true. “Mommy’s here for you.”
Shelby stops crying long enough to reach her little arms up to me. I pick her up and quickly slide down to the floor, not trusting that I’ll be able to hold her and myself up right now. I lay her down and notice that her diaper is more than full. She needs a bath and a fresh change of clothing. Looking around the room, I see a few other doors. Making my way over to the closest one, I find it locked. That must be the way out of this room.
For the first time since waking up, I take a closer inspection of the room. The wall paper is pealing in most spots, the curtains are covered in a thick layer of dust, and the window is partially boarded up. There’s no way I’m getting out that way then. The bed is nothing more than a dirty mattress on the floor with no sheets or blankets. At the least the crib looks to be clean which is a relief. That’s one less thing I have to worry about. I’m sure that with one swift kick, the door would go flying off the hinges, but I don’t have the energy to even try it. Especially with not knowing where Nicolette is in this place. Or even where in the hell we are.
I don’t know what the hell she gave me to knock me out, but I don’t seem to be gaining any strength back. Fuck! What is this drug doing to the baby that I’m carrying now? I have to protect this little one the same that I would Shelby. So, I crawl over to one of the other doors and find that it’s a closet with nothing in it. I’m looking for anything I could use as a weapon at this point in time. With no luck, I head over to the other door in the room praying that it’s a bathroom. Opening the door, I find a bathroom that has definitely seen better days. But, I’m not going to complain when my daughter needs to get cleaned and I am going to need a shower at some point I’m sure. I can’t believe this bitch kidnapped me two fucking times!
Stripping Shelby down to nothing, I place her in her car seat so that I can push her into the bathroom. I’m finally starting to get a little feeling back in my body, but I don’t trust that I won’t fall or something. Running the water to a good temperature for my daughter, I feel the tub a little bit and pick her up over the side and place her gently in the water. She sits up and starts looking at me because this is some place new to her and she’s unsure of it. Especially with the fact that I’m having a hard time moving around.
“It’s okay baby. Let’s get you cleaned up so we can get dressed again,” I tell her, trying to remain as calm as I can so that she won’t get fussier than she already is.
I wash my daughter up and make sure that she’s as clean as I can get her with the limited supplies I have. Since I didn’t pack the bag for a trip, I only have the travel size containers of baby wash with me. Looking around I see that there is only one towel in here so I scoop Shelby up and don’t even think about the water that’s soaking my clothes. I’ll take a shower when I can, but I don’t see it happening any time soon. Not with a psycho on the loose in the house.
Before I can get Shelby dressed, I hear a key turning in the lock on the door and it slams against the wall. Nicolette is standing in the doorway, a look of disgust on her face. Shelby starts immediately crying and I cuddle her close so that this bitch can’t get her hands on my baby girl.
“Can’t you shut her the fuck up?” she screams at me, taking a few steps closer.
“She’s scared, fussy, and I’m sure that she’s hungry by now. How long have we been here?” I ask, trying to find out some sort of time frame through the fog clouding my brain.
“It’s been two days. I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to wake up and I was going to have to get rid of the little brat. It’s a shame too because I want to keep the last link to Sam with me. I don’t know if that’s going to be possible with the way she fusses and shrieks at the top of her lungs,” Nicolette tells me, a nasty look covering her face and making me back up even farther.
“What are you going to do with us?” I ask, trying to keep her talking to find out as much information as I can. I don’t know if I still have my phone, but it was in the diaper bag on silent, so I didn’t get interrupted by Gage when I was with Car
rie.
“Well, I have a few buyers for you. I’m not sure if I’m going to sell you or if I’m just going to kill you. If this little thing you call a daughter continues to screech and scream the way she is, I may just kill you both,” she tells me, letting an evil laugh escape her that terrifies me even more.
“What did I ever do to make you do this to me? To my innocent daughter?” I question her, wanting to know more and more information.
“You led Sam to the people that killed him. If he wasn’t following you to get Keegan, the no-good skank, then he would still be alive, and we’d be in love. I’d probably be his wife by now,” she answers, leaning against the wall like we’re having a normal conversation.
“You know that he already knew where Keegan was, don’t you? Sam had already tracked her to Clifton Falls and was trying to get her before I even saw him,” I let her in on the truth of what happened.
“That’s a fucking lie! You led him there and then you let him die!” Nicolette screams out, coming even closer to me.
Shelby starts screaming and I place her in her car seat behind me, barely taking my eyes of the psycho bitch in front of me. By the time I turn my full attention back to her, her fist is flying at my face and she lets loose a rage I haven’t ever seen from her in the short time I’ve known her before. On top of punching me in the face, she kicks and hits me anywhere that she can get contact. I’m trying to protect myself by covering my stomach and roll as far away from my daughter as I possibly can. She cannot be touched by this madness. It’s bad enough that she’s in the same room as it when I’m getting my ass handed to me. I just don’t have the strength to fight back.
“I’m out of here,” she finally screams after what seems like hours of her using me as a human punching bag.
Nicolette slams the door closed and I hear the key turn in the lock. I was hoping that with her being so pissed off, she wouldn’t remember to do that. My hopes of escaping are dashed once again, and I can’t believe that we’re stuck in this house. I don’t have anything to feed Shelby and it doesn’t look like we’re going to be getting food any time soon. What the fuck am I supposed to feed her so that my angel can eat?