by Lake, Rae B.
"I don’t know if he’s going to stay, but I know he will come see you if he leaves whenever you want ok. We are still a family, and your father loves you very much."
"And little MC too."
I turn my head to the side, who the hell was little MC? "MC? Who is that baby?"
Lily raises up to her knees and kisses me gently on my stomach, "Little MC." She rubs the bump before she lowers herself back down to the floor to continue coloring. I press a hand to my mouth, trying to keep my sobs at bay. It was the sweetest thing Lily had done while I’ve been pregnant. I hadn’t even stopped to think how she would feel about the baby inside of me. We’d never talked about it, seems to me that she is happy to have a little one join us.
I let out a yawn and so does she. I had tried to wait up for Dillon to get back, but a small nap may just be what the both of us need. This Nevada heat is stifling, and I don’t think he will be back for a few hours yet.
"Momma, you want to watch Little Mermaid with me?"
I smile at the way my daughter always seems to be able to read my mind. We would go in my room, turn Little Mermaid on, and we would both be sleeping within fifteen minutes. It was our favorite movie that we were never able to get through.
"Yeah, baby. Let's go watch it before Daddy gets home."
She giggles and helps me off the couch, "Can you imagine Daddy watching Little Mermaid with us?"
"Not without his brain dribbling out of his ears." I poke her in the side, and she giggles as we make our way to the bedroom.
The movie does the trick. We were out before Triton even realized that Ariel was going up to the surface to look at the humans. My dreams are brightly colored with beautiful fishes and deep blue ocean waters—serene and peaceful.
I wake up with the typical urge to pee. Being this far along into pregnancy it seemed as if I had to pee all the time. I get up and walk into the bathroom, and notice that Dillon still wasn't back. He’s been gone a while, but he did need quite a few things. If I knew him though he was probably out trying to buy Lily some more toys that she didn't need. His way of making up for the mess that he had created.
While I'm in the bathroom I hear the back door open, finally he's home. We've been all over each other the past few days, but it feels like I can never get enough. A bright smile crosses my face and when I look up in the mirror it's the first time in a long time that I can honestly say that I've been happy. Even through all the shit, he can still make me happy.
"Momma! Momma!" Lily screams louder than I have ever heard her scream in my entire life. I turn and slip on the floor mat as I try to get out of the bathroom and to her. When I open the door there is a man that I don't know standing there with a gun straight to my face.
"Fuck! Get him the fuck off!" I hear a man scream out and when I look out the door, I see Max growling and biting on one of the intruders. He's not going to let him go.
He jumps up and brings the large man down to the ground still keeping a firm grip on him before lunging for his neck. Blood spews everywhere.
"Motherfuck!" The man lets out a gurgled scream.
"No!" I try to push through as I see another of the men walk up behind them and shoots Max twice. There isn’t a sound, the gun must have a silencer. Max still doesn't let go of the man, but I can tell that Max is hurt.
He whines and whimpers as the other man kicks him off his friend—his dead friend.
Max drags himself on his belly trying to get closer to me.
"What do you want? Just take whatever you want!" I scream at the man, but he doesn't say anything else to me. "Lily! Lily!" I scream for her, but I don't hear her anymore. "Where the fuck is my daughter? Where is she?" The more that I scream at him the more it seems he just ignores at me.
I try to get to the light switch to signal Fly, but the second that I do, he pulls his gun back and swings it down on my forehead. I hear the audible crack before I fall backwards and even before my back touches the floor, I can see the blood pooling in my eye. He must have split me open. My head swims, but I fight with everything I have to stay conscious.
"Bedroom." Another of the men says as they walk by the one that has me captive in the bathroom.
What the hell are they going to do to me in the bathroom? I open my mouth to scream again, but the man takes a step in my direction.
"If you so much as open your mouth again I'm going to put a bullet in your head and then have my way with your daughter. Shut the fuck up!"
I instantly snap my mouth shut and just pray that they have already put Lily in the bedroom where they’re trying to take me. The man picks me up, but as much as I try my legs don't seem to want to stay under me. I wobble all over the place before I lean to the side and vomit right there in the middle of the hallway. My head hurts so bad.
"Ugh, you nasty bitch." The man tugs me harder, and I do my best to comply. All the while I observe him and try to remember as much about him as I can. He is about my height with dark brown hair, a scar down his nose, and his eyebrows are so thick they connect. His hair is short on the sides, but longer on the top. He seems to have an accent, but I can't place it.
"Did you leave the tape?" Another man asks. "Yeah, it's on the table. He'll find it."
I look around the room and finally I see Lily. She is crying and tied up, but besides that she looks okay. "It's ok baby. It'll all be over soon." I try to soothe her, but even as I do part of me knows that it won't be. I don't know who they are or what they want, but they aren't looking for any of my jewels. They are not here to rob and there are too many of them to just want to kill. They want something else, to send a message.
"I don't think so." A different man says as he pulls me back towards the bed.
"Please, don't do this." I whisper as he tries to push me back onto the mattress. I've survived this once, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to survive it again. If he raped me now, that was it for me.
He pushes me down and pulls out a thick zip tie, the ones normally used for industrial packing. He pulls my hand up towards the headboard, but I manage to slip it away.
"No get off! Stop!" I scream loud and this time instead of being hit with a gun this man pulls his fist back. He punches me repeatedly, in the head, the stomach, the sides, wherever he could reach without getting off of me. Darkness surrounds me as I felt myself losing consciousness. He pulls my arm up and easily fastens it tightly to the headboard before he does the same to my other side.
My vision comes back slightly, and I see Lily being picked up by one of the men. She is tied up with her feet and hands bound behind her back, her mouth is covered with duct tape. I see her squirming back and forth, but she can't get out. I barely hear her loud squealing screams through the tape.
"Lily. Please." It feels like someone is inside my head beating against my skull like a drum. "Give me my daughter." My voice slurs out.
"No, you won't be getting this one back. You should tell your husband to mind his own fucking business next time. What we did to his sisters happened a long time ago, but now he's killed an asset of ours. He wasn't very important, but it's the principal of the matter, you understand." The man with the scar across his nose and the unibrow leans down to rub some of my hair out of my blood caked face.
I watch as they stuff Lily into a large blue duffle bag and zip it up. They were taking her with them, that is what they were here for. To teach Dillon a lesson.
"No!" I scream again, but even the force of me yelling out is enough to cause me to throw up again. Some of it gets stuck in my mouth and I can feel myself starting to suffocate. I cough it up and some of it lands on the man that is hovering over me.
"Shame, maybe we should have taken you instead." He runs his hands down my body and hovers over the baby bump. "Unfortunately, our clients usually like a younger and purer product. I'm afraid you wouldn't sell very well. Lily though, I doubt she'll be on the market very long."
"Let her go! You have to let her go!" My voice is raw, and my throat is burning. Someone from
the side pulls out some more duct tape and puts it over my mouth.
"Tell Wire I said hi." He gets up and shoots me a wink before they walk out of my bedroom with my daughter.
I try to scream, but every time I blink it seems like such a long time until I open my eyes again. I don't know how long I've been laying here, but I can barely keep my eyes open the pain is so intense. I don't hear Lily anymore and my heart feels as if it has exploded into a million pieces.
Not my Lily. I try to scream again, but just as before the force of me screaming forces bile and chunks to rush up to my mouth. This time though I can't turn my head and let it come out of my mouth. I end up having to try and swallow it back down, but some of it finds its way towards my wing pipe. I cough, but there’s nowhere for it to go. Some of it comes out of my nose, but it’s not enough to clear my air passage. My body is fighting for air and I pull hard on the restraints only to feel the tough plastic material bite into my skin. Blood drips down onto my pillows and near my head. I whip my face back and forth, desperate now for breath. I press my face to the side near my shoulder. The very edge of the tape gets caught on my skin and I manage to pull a bit off my face. I force the vomit out the small open hole and fight to get more of the tape off. The motion of my head moving back and forth is excruciating, but I don't have a choice. I can't let myself pass out again. I continue to rub on my shoulder trying to get the tape off. Finally, I manage to pull it halfway off and spit up the remainder of what is in my mouth before I scream with every fiber of my being.
"Fly! Fly help! Fly!" I pray that he's home. "Fly!"
Pain slingshots from my back to the center of my stomach and I have to bring my legs up to brace myself for the pain.
"No, not now. God, not now." I bear down with all I have as the pain intensifies. "Fly!" I scream again. Only my voice squeaks, so much weaker than it was before as I tremble in fear. I need to get to Lily. Every second that she is gone it feels like more and more of my soul is dying. Those men had said they were going to sell her. They were going to give her to some sick fuck who likes to touch little children. Not my Lily. I would die before something like that happens. I take in a huge breath, my ribs protesting at the extra volume in my lungs, and scream as loud as I can, "Fly!"
The lights flicker twice right away.
Oh God, he hears me.
"Fly now! Come now. Hurry! Please hurry!" I cry and try to scream at the same time, but I don't know what he can hear.
The lights flicker again, this time straight to four times. He's on his way. Within seconds I hear the front door being kicked open.
"Oh shit! Fuck. Max?"
I call out for Fly again, but even I know that he can't hear me. My voice is so raw that nothing comes out besides a squeak.
"Keeley! Lily!" Fly screams out again, I hear him rushing around the house looking for us. I see the barrel of the gun before I see Fly.
"Fly help me." I croak out.
He turns quickly into the room and his face turns a pale white as he catches a glimpse of me.
"Oh fuck, Keeley. What the fuck happened? What happened?" He runs to the bed and tries with his hands for a second to get me untied.
"Hurry! Hurry! They have Lily. Hurry!" I say.
"What?" He freezes and looks down at me.
"They took Lily, get me out. I need to go for her. I have to save her. God please!"
"Hold on." Fly says as he hops off the bed and runs to the kitchen I assume, because when he gets back he has a knife in his hands. He cuts the tight plastic off one arm and I try to crawl off the bed while my other arm is still tethered. "Keeley, shit, wait."
"No, Lily." I keep tugging and straining to get free. When he is able to finally cut me loose, I am pulling so much that my momentum flings me forward. I land on the ground with a thud, as I try to get up the world tips dangerously and I end up falling back down.
"Keeley, you have to stop. Fuck, listen to me you're hurt. Stop." Fly tries to hold me down, but I just push against him.
"Lily. We have to get her." I push him away and wipe my eyes, trying to clear some of the blood. I use the wall to help myself back up. Only with every step it feels like I'm walking on a ship, the floor seems to swing left and right. I lean my head back and bile rushes up my throat at that simple motion. Along with the bile, the pain in my stomach is becoming more intense. After every step I have to stop and catch my breath.
"Keeley, fucking stop!" Fly puts his hand on the wall to keep me from moving any further. I push again against him, but this time he doesn't budge and the force of me pushing causes a strong contraction to cripple me. A gush of liquid pours from between my legs.
"Oh shit. No, what the fuck is happening." Fly stares down at the ground. When I do the same, I can see that my water has broken, but instead of clear liquid it's bright red—all blood. I struggle to breathe as I try to take another step to get Lily my knees buckle, and I fall. Fly catches me and just lays me down on the ground. I hear him pick up my house phone, I think he is dialing for emergency services, it doesn't matter. All I want is for them to get Lily, I don’t care if I live or die, she's all that matters.
Dillon
I stand in the toy store with an arm full of toys for Lily. Over the past few days, she has really started opening back up to me. Even though I know I shouldn't try and buy her forgiveness; it doesn't mean I won't try. Besides, it's been months since I've had the opportunity to spoil her a bit.
"That'll be $276.87, sir." The woman looks up at me through her lashes.
I pull out my wallet and peel off 280 dollars.
"This for your little girl?" She asks obviously trying to prolong the transaction so she can speak with me.
"Yeah, one half of my entire fucking world." I pick up one of the many bags that she’d laid down in front of me.
"One half?"
"Yeah sweetheart, my wife is the other half." I give her a smile when her face drops down and I can see her cheeks turn a bright red.
"Lucky lady, have a nice day." She hands me my change and pushes the bags toward me.
When I walk out of the store with all of the millions of bags, my phone rings. It's Roth.
"Speak."
"Yeah, Wire, are you still at Keeley's house?"
"Not at the moment, but I'm still in the area why what's up?"
"I just saw something strange on the phone we got from the good doctor." His voice is measured, but he didn't seem too concerned.
"You still nearby? I'm in the mall right now getting a few things for Lily."
"Yeah, which one?"
I rattle off the address and Roth tells me that he is actually only about twenty minutes away at the hotel. I wait for him in the small pavilion area. It's a good thing too, because I don't know how the fuck, I was going to get all these damn bags home on my bike. I love my Harley, but sometimes it was a bit impractical. I walk out of the mall and towards the McDonalds. I order a hamburger and fries and sit at one of the outside tables. Roth spots me immediately and walks over to where I am. He takes a seat and pulls out the doctor's phone.
There was no preamble straight to business.
"I was looking deeper into the people that Dr. Strand was working for, I found out a bit of information, but what really struck me as odd was this." He shows me the call log on the man’s phone and one call that he is pointing to is about seventeen minutes long.
"Ok, what does that have to do with me?"
Roth then pulls out his phone and shows me another from him to me. It was about a minute before the one on Dr. Strand's phone. "He made that call the same time that we cornered him or right before. Has anyone tried to contact you? Reached out like they knew we were the ones to kill him?"
Fuck, I finally understood what Roth was going on about. He thinks that the doctor might have put out a distress call and now we are going to have to worry about who is coming to avenge him. It didn't matter to me. I would fight everyone if it meant that I could do some right by my sister. She didn't deserve
that life, was shoved into hell just because they could. The whole operation, every one of those motherfuckers, deserve a slow and painful death.
"No, nothing. I'm sure we will hear from them eventually."
"Yeah, don't I know it." Roth leans back and lets out a sigh.
"You seemed worried"
"It's a huge production. Underground adoption, even the ones that don't involve kidnapping babies is a huge business. I know some of the people that he was hooked up with, but not all. I'll have to do more digging." He shrugs and goes to get up. "You just watch your back. If you need anything just let me know."
"Actually, you have someplace to be right now?" I'd hoped that he would help me back to the house before he took off on his wanderings.
"No, I never have anywhere to be. Forever a nomad." He smirks at me.
I know I'm a nomad, but to think that I would be one forever is a bit depressing. "I fucked up and bought all this shit for Lily." I point down to the bags on the chair and down by my feet.
He has the nerve to laugh, "Did you leave any toys for anyone else?"
"I hope not. Either way I'm not going to be able to get these all home on my bike, I was going to have to leave some here and come back for it."
"Nah, I got you. I'll follow you back and then from there head back to the east coast."
"You going back to Vexx?"
"Yeah, I miss her." He looks away like I didn't already know that shit.
"Thanks man, I appreciate it." I pick up a few of the bags throw the rest of my hamburger in the trash and walk over to his car to put them in the back seat. He picks up the rest and does the same. I hop on my bike and ride off with Roth close behind me. Usually, I would be thinking about the next chore on my to do list, when I would need to check back in with Clean, or who I needed to pay a visit too, but now all I cared about was how much I wanted to get home to my wife and kid. This shit felt as domestic as it comes. The only thing missing was a fucking minivan. I don't think I would ever get one of those, but I'm thinking a nice family truck could do us good. I let the wind whip over me as I daydream about the type of truck Keeley would be most comfortable in. This is the life.