Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 52357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
I don’t answer.
Tears blur my vision, but I hold them back. She won’t see me break. She doesn’t get to have power over me.
She takes a step forward. “You moved on so fast, Dia. My son was barely cold and in the ground.”
I choke. “You think this is about moving on?”
She ignores me. “I took what was left of Benji’s life insurance. I paid those men to bring you here. You’ll stay until the baby is born. Then I’ll take him—or her—and leave. Somewhere far from this town. From the Hellions. From all of it.”
My head shakes violently. “No. No, you won’t. You won’t get my son.”
“I will.” She laughs manically.
“You’ll have to kill me first.”
She blinks, like that possibility doesn’t disturb her at all. “I don’t want to hurt you, Dia. I just want to save the last part of my son. But if you make me get violent, I can’t be held responsible for what I do.”
Desperate, I let the words tumble out. “This child might not even be his.”
Ms. Henderson’s lips tremble, but she nods. “I know. But I pray that it is. And even if it isn’t... it’s what’s left of you. And you were his, once. That’s enough. You don’t get to have it all. My son’s love, his last days, and his baby. Not when I’m left empty.”
I back away, heart slamming against my ribs. She wants my son. She wants my baby. I feel my world spinning as my anxiety climbs. I have to think. I have to be smart. I have to buy time until Toon comes. The Hellions will come for me. And she will learn why he has his road-name. Everyone thinks it’s all cartoons and fun around Justin until he flips. And then the joke’s on whoever set him off because he has a mean streak as big as the Nile my brother says. Don’t ever mistake his easy going personality as weakness and don’t ever think he’s a fool or a toon, he’s anything but.
“I will scream until they break down this door.”
“No one will come. They’ve been paid to follow orders. You’ll have food. You’ll have rest. And when the time comes,”
“Don’t,” I snap. “Don’t you finish that sentence.”
She stares at me, emotionless. Then she turns. “Sleep, Dia. Rest. You’ll need your strength.”
The door closes behind her. And I collapse onto the bed, shaking so hard I can barely breathe. I think about Justin. The way the ink covering his body is full of color, full of life. That is what he gives me that no one else can, he colors my world, making our love so vivid and vibrant. I’m not giving up on him, on this baby, and on the future I am going to have with Justin.
Hours Pass
I don’t know what day it is. I don’t know where I am.
But I know one thing.
They’re going to take my baby.
Unless I stop them.
I run scenarios in my head. Over and over.
There’s a vent—too small to climb through, but maybe I can talk through it. Or send something. What though?
The food tray arrives through a slot in the door. Plastic. But maybe there’s a way to wedge it in the vent.
The camera watches everything.
But maybe they’re not always watching.
I have to find a way out.
I have to believe Justin and the Hellions are looking.
I close my eyes and picture him.
His rough hands. His warm eyes. The way he talks to the baby at night, his voice a gravel lullaby. He’ll come for us. Justin will be here.
Later, when I hear one of the men say, “It’s almost time. She’s too far along. Can’t risk transporting after she has the kid.”
At their words, I know my time is running out.
I sit on the edge of the bed, hands curled over my stomach.
I speak to my baby.
“We’re going to get out of here,” I whisper. “Mama’s not giving up.”
Not on you.
Not on us.
SEVENTEEN
TOON
"In the darkest forest, the bear finds its way; trust your instincts." — Unknown
We find her on the third day.
Tripp works every angle, pulling favors, shaking loose a name from one of our old sources in Georgia. BW tracks a burner ping near an abandoned hunting compound two counties down. The place is off-grid, tucked in the woods like it’s hiding from the world.
It all fits.
We ride at dawn. Me, Tripp, BW, Tank, and two more brothers together in a van. Along with six bikes, three trucks. No cuts. Just weapons and war in our eyes.
I don’t say it out loud, but I know something in me might not come back from this. I’ve been running on fumes—too many skipped treatments, too many sleepless nights, and a body that feels more hollow than whole.
But this?
Dia is worth whatever’s left of me. We hit the tree line fast, parking the trucks and creeping in on foot. BW signals—three men, armed, posted outside the cabin.