by Moore, Lila
Her mouth fell open. I wasn’t going to stick around and let her get the last word in. I was determined to walk out of her house and out of her life forever.
I was halfway down the stairs when I realized something was wrong. I took a step. The stairs creaked loudly beneath my feet. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The sound of footsteps behind me caught me off guard.
I turned, expecting to see Mia behind me. It had been a mistake to turn my back on her. What if she decided to push me down the stairs? She was crazy.
A man’s hand slid around my face, covering my mouth. I tried to scream only to have my voice muffled by his firm grip. He wrapped an arm around my chest and led me down the stairs quickly.
I kicked and fought, but the man was too strong for me. He shoved me inside an open hallway closet then closed the door behind us.
“Liv, it’s me,” he whispered in my ear. Nate. “You have to be quiet.”
I nodded my head, though I wasn’t sure I’d be able to contain my excitement. I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck. He held me gently. I was so big he couldn’t get his arms around me.
I opened my mouth to speak only to have my questions silenced with a kiss. We held each other in the dark, kissing for a time. The strangeness of our surroundings didn’t hit me until we broke apart.
“Stay here,” he whispered. “Don’t make a sound.”
I didn’t want to let him go, but I did as he said.
Nate slipped out of the closet, quietly closing the door behind him. I pressed my face against the door and tried to see out. The top of the door had loose wooden grates I could just barely see through. From my vantage point, I could see the foot of the stairs and part of the living room.
Nate glanced upstairs before moving down the hall and slipping out of view.
I shuffled my feet; my chest felt tight. The closet was claustrophobic. How long was I supposed to stay in here?
A shadow moved across the living room then disappeared. It happened so quickly, I wasn’t sure it was real. Had Nate slipped into the living room, or was it someone else?
I heard the baby cry upstairs. Mia’s footsteps echoed across the floorboard. I followed the sound as she moved across the second floor of the house, then down the stairs. When she appeared before me, I held my breath. I was convinced she’d find me hiding in the closet. Then what? I wasn’t sure, but this whole situation made me nervous. Why was Nate hiding in his own home? Why did he want me to hide?
“Are you done yet, babe?”
A small sound escaped from deep inside me. I covered my mouth; my blood ran cold. It was Jackson. He was back. Had they let him go? The man at the black ops site said that if he cooperated he’d be ‘put to work.’ Whatever that meant. Maybe Jackson had kept his side of the bargain, so they let him go? Or worse, maybe he’d escaped.
“Did you hear something?” Jackson asked.
“What? No,” Mia responded. “I can’t hear anything over this screaming brat.”
“Give him to me.” The baby stopped crying. “There’s my boy. Are you making your mother crazy? You’re a chip off the old block.”
“You can say that again.”
“You let her get away.” Jackson sounded serious now.
“What was I supposed to do? I was trying to deal with the baby. Besides, she caught me off guard. I had no idea that little bitch would show up here. Where were you, anyway? You could have grabbed her.”
“I was outside, checking the perimeter. I saw her talking to you through the window. By the time I came inside she was gone. Don’t worry about it. We’ll stick to the plan. I’ll grab her later tonight while she’s sleeping. She’ll be much easier to handle that way.”
I could barely process what they were saying, but it was clear they were talking about kidnapping me. I wanted to run out of the house before I was discovered, but that wasn’t an option. In my condition, I wouldn’t get far. Jackson could easily overpower me. Besides, they were standing a few feet away. They’d see me leave and know I’d overheard their plans to kidnap me.
“Why were you checking the perimeter? Is something wrong?” Mia asked.
“No. I just got spooked.”
“By what? I thought you reached an agreement with the agency?”
“I did,” he responded quickly.
“They gave you full immunity for cooperating, right?”
“We’ve been over this a hundred times; yes. Babe, we’re good. They won’t bother us as long as I play ball.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
The baby started to fuss again.
“Nothing,” Jackson sighed.
“We had an agreement. No secrets. If we’re going to be a family, then you have to tell me everything.”
“They don’t exactly know I’m here, which is why we need to move quickly. Finish packing so we can get out of here. I’ll put junior down for a nap.”
Jackson passed by me and moved up the stairs. I heard Mia walk into the living room. Now was my chance. If I was going to sneak out of the house on my own, I needed to make a move. I started to push the door open, then stopped. Nate wanted me to stay where I was. He had to know more about what was going on than I did. I had to trust him to get me out of this.
I stepped back and waited for Nate to make his move.
12
I sat down on the floor in my cramped closet and listened. Mia wandered around the house, putting items into boxes. Jackson emerged after spending quite a while upstairs. For a second, I thought Nate had quietly taken care of him, but my hopes were quickly dashed when I heard him stomping down the stairs.
“Christ, babe. We’re not bringing everything. Just the essentials. We’ll buy new shit when we get settled.”
“Please,” Mia said. I could imagine her rolling her eyes. She sounded beyond irritated. “Do you have any idea how hard it will be to find nice things in that shit-hole country? If we want luxury we’re going to have to bring it with us.”
I choked back laughter. Mia’s life was far from luxurious. Though I wasn’t surprised to learn she thought of herself as high class. If their plan was to return to the UAE then I wasn’t sure what she was complaining about. From what I’d seen of it, it looked just as nice, if not nicer, than our hometown. Mia’s prejudices about foreign countries were clouding her judgment. Then again, Mia’s sense of judgment had always been questionable.
There was a loud knock at the door.
“Who the fuck is that?” Jackson asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe that little bitch came back. Get ready to grab her.”
“Let me find a place to hide.”
There was a moment of silence before Mia walked to the door and opened it.
“Mia!” my mother said.
My heart sank. What was my mother doing here?
“I have been looking everywhere for Olivia. Have you seen her? She said she was going for a walk, but she’s normally home by now. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but she’s pregnant. In fact, she’s almost due. Anyway, I saw a light on in your house and thought maybe she’d somehow ended up here?”
“No,” Mia said in her sweetest, fakest voice. “I haven’t seen her.” Suddenly, her voice changed. A weak, pathetic affectation filled her words. “I’m not sure if you’ve spoken to Nathan,” she said.
“No,” my mother replied. There was a distinctly annoyed edge to her words. “Where is he? Is he here?”
“No. Nathan won’t be coming back.”
“What? Did something happen?”
“Yes. You see I lost the baby. It was stillborn. Nathan was devastated to lose his son. He couldn’t handle it. The last I saw him, he was getting drunk with some guys he served with. He told me to leave him. He blamed himself for the death of our baby. He said I was too good for him and that I should start over with someone else.”
My mother gasped. “I don’t believe it…”
“I know. I told him he was crazy. I could never do better than him
. He’s the greatest guy I’ve ever known, but he wouldn’t listen to me. One day I woke up to find him gone. He left a note saying that I was the love of his life and the only way he knew to make me happy was to let me go.”
Mia’s voice cracked as if she was fighting back tears. It took every fiber of my being not to bust out of the closet and call Mia out on all her lies. The way she could fabricate ridiculous stories so quickly was frightening. The woman was certifiable. The only thing that stopped me from exposing her was the fact that Jackson was lying in wait. I didn’t want my mother in the middle of this. I was their target, not her. I didn’t want her to get hurt.
“Are you leaving?” my mother asked.
“Yes. There are too many painful memories in this house. I can’t live here without Nathan. I’m moving back in with my mother until I can find the strength to continue on without him.”
“Take care of yourself, dear. If you ever need anything…”
“I won’t hesitate to ask,” Mia said with a laugh.
“Goodbye,” my mother said strangely.
The whole scene was bizarre. My mother must have suspected something. Hopefully, she’d leave. I didn’t want her anywhere near this house. The door slammed shut.
“It was Nate’s stepmother,” Mia called to Jackson.
“Yeah, no shit?”
“Why didn’t you grab her?”
“Why would I do something like that? She’s not a part of this.”
“She could become a problem.”
“She’s a concerned mother. Leave her out of it.”
“Don’t raise your voice to me,” Mia said.
“I wouldn’t have to raise my voice if you would think with your head for once. I’m not in the business of leaving a trail of bodies behind everywhere I go. It’s going to be hard enough to keep the heat off of us after we get rid of Olivia. Besides, Nate’s stepmom was always good to me when I was a kid. That might not mean much to you, but it means a lot to me.”
“Fine. Whatever. The packing is finished. Load it up into your truck so we can move on with our plans.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jackson said sarcastically.
In the past, Jackson was infatuated with Mia. Now, that the fantasy of living with her every day had become a reality their relationship was strained. With the stress of a new baby added into the mix, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were on the verge of killing each other. The fact that they were unhappy put a smile on my face. Even if they managed to escape, neither of them would get the happy ending they thought they were entitled to.
I watched as Jackson carried two boxes past my closet. I heard the sound of the door opening, then a soft thud.
“Babe?” Mia called. “Is everything alright?”
She was met with silence. Mia opened a drawer and removed a gun. I held my breath as she moved past me and followed the path Jackson had taken.
“Christ, Mia!” Jackson shouted. “What are you doing with that gun?”
I jumped, hitting the wall.
“Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Mia said.
“No. I was outside loading the truck just as you ordered.”
“I heard a noise and you didn’t answer when I called you so naturally I thought something was wrong.”
“Well, I’m fine. So why don’t you give me the gun.”
“I think I’ll hold onto it. Did you hear something?”
“I told you, no. I was outside. I bumped into the trashcans on the way out that’s probably what you heard.”
“No. I mean just now. I thought I heard something in the hallway.”
“I think you’re being paranoid.”
Soft footsteps moved closer as Mia attempted to sneak up the hallway towards me. I put my hand over my mouth and tried to stifle the urge to scream. She had a gun and they were planning on kidnapping me. If I was discovered, this would not end well.
What happened next happened quickly. There was a loud thump followed by a crash and a gunshot. A bullet shot through the door of the closet, passing within an inch of my head. This time I was unable to conceal my screams.
I opened the closet door and froze. Mia stood at the far end of the hallway. Between us, Jackson and Nate fought on the floor. Mia was pointing the gun at Nate, but she wasn’t firing. A strained look twisted her face. She was either unable to get a clear shot of Nate because of the way the men were fighting, or she couldn’t shoot him because she still had feelings for him.
When she saw me emerge from the closet the look of conflict disappeared from her face. In its place was a look of anger and determination. She pointed the gun at me. Apparently, Mia did not suffer from any sort of dilemma when it came to my life.
I ran for the front door. A bullet passed by my head. I turned and ran for the living room instead. I heard Mia yell with frustration. Nate was holding her arm and trying to wrestle the gun away from her. Jackson was punching him.
“Olivia, run!” Nate shouted.
I turned around and headed for the front door. I ran as fast as I could, crashing straight into my mother.
“Olivia! What’s going on? I’ve been looking all over for you. Did you hear that popping sound? It sounded like-”
A gunshot sounded form inside the house. The bullet passed through the window and shattered the pot of a hanging plant to my left.
“Get down!” I yelled.
My mother was way ahead of me. We grabbed each other at the same time and dove into the bushes.
“What’s going on?” she shouted. “Is someone attacking Mia?”
“Mia’s the one shooting! Nate’s in there with her. We have to do something before they kill him.”
“They?”
“Jackson’s in there too.”
“Stay here.”
My mother stood quickly and marched off to the front door.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” I screamed.
“Stay down,” she said sternly.
I crouched behind the bushes, unsure of what to do. My mother opened the front door and shouted: “Jackson!”
I peeked around the bushes to watch. Jackson and Mia froze with a look of shock on their faces. Nate took the opportunity to twist Mia’s arm around her back and take the gun from her. He pointed it straight at Jackson.
I rose from my hiding spot and joined my mother at the door.
“Nate, don’t kill him. I’m calling the police,” my mother said.
“Leave,” Nate said. “Go home.”
“I’m calling the po-”
“No, you’re not. I will handle this.”
“Nate, be sensible. You are not going to kill Jackson. Think about what you’re doing. The two of you are like brothers. Besides, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison.”
I could see the indecision in Nate’s eyes. There was a time when no two people in the world were closer than Nate and Jackson.
“We were brothers,” Nate said. “Not anymore.”
He lowered the gun and shot Jackson in the knee. Jackson screamed. I grabbed my mother’s arm. She pushed me behind her protectively. Mia started punching Nate in the shoulder; the baby was screaming upstairs. I wanted to run into the house, but my mother was holding me back.
Nate pushed Mia back. She fell to her knees and cradled Jackson’s head in her lap. Nate pulled out a cell phone from his pocket.
“The subject is down,” he said and hung up.
Tires squealed and screeched behind me. I turned to find two SUVs stopped in front of the house. Men quickly exited the vehicles and walked up to us. My mother held me back and out of the way. They barely glanced at us as they walked inside.
“The subject is still alive,” one of the men said with distaste. I recognized his voice as the man who’d spoken to me at the black ops site.
“This is not what it looks like,” Jackson said. He sounded like a man who’d just been caught cheating by his wife. “I can fix this.”
The men ignored him.
“Take
him into custody.”
“Wait!” Jackson protested. “I can make this right. I was only trying to clean up loose ends. This is all her fault.” He looked at Mia accusingly. “She insisted on getting rid of the girl before-”
One of the men put a gag around Jackson’s mouth then secured his hands with cuffs.
“You knew the deal and you violated our agreement anyway. Why? For some girl?”
The man laughed then motioned to his partner to take Jackson away. He led him out of the house, limping and swearing even through his gag. His eyes fell on me wildly. At first I thought he would try and attack me, then I realized the look in his eye wasn’t anger, it was fear.
“Wait!” I heard Nate say. One of the men had taken Mia into custody. “Are you going to honor our agreement?”
“Yes,” the man said, sounding unhappy. “Along with her child she will be relocated.”
“Good.”
A wave of nausea rocked me back on my heels. I clutched my stomach and sat down on porch swing. Everything was happening so fast. I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Olivia, what’s wrong?” my mother asked. She was trying to stay calm, but I could hear the fear in her voice. “Your water broke,” she said.
I looked down to see that this was in fact the case. A wave of pain cut through me. Suddenly Nate was there lifting me up into his arms. The sudden movement gave me vertigo. I had trouble thinking clearly. A blood trail led out of the house to one of the SUVs. I stared at the blood drops as Nate raced me to one of the waiting vehicles.
Red colors swirled in front of me; my vision narrowed. In my confusion, I started to fight Nate. I became convinced he would take me away along with Mia.
“You’re going to the hospital, sweetheart,” he said calmly.
I didn’t understand, or believe him. My confusion deepened.
“Something’s not right,” Nate said. It was the last thing I remember before blacking out.
13