Grace Anne

chapter 20



Grace hurt. She’d been shot twice now. Verrie had shot her the first time in the arm and Thomas had shot her the next time. She glanced down at her thigh and was glad to see that it had stopped bleeding again. She wasn’t sure how much blood a body had in it, but she was reasonably sure her dipstick was nearing the end. A manic giggle escaped her mouth.

The car was still moving. She’d been moving in and out of consciousness since she’d been tossed inside. She’d hit her head on something and wasn’t sure what it was until she’d seen the cell phone shattered on the seat next to her. She had cried then, knowing that Michael would be worried if he couldn’t get to her.

“Yes. I had to. There was no other way to get them to back off,” Verrie said from the front. The next voice, though the same, was slightly different, just enough so that Grace knew that one of the others was speaking to Verrie.

“You had to throw him out of a moving vehicle going eighty miles an hour? Yeah, that didn’t draw attention to us.”

Grace might have laughed if she wasn’t afraid that Verrie or one of the others might hurt her again.

“He shot her again without my permission. What the f*ck did you expect me to do? Let him just pop her full of holes before I could get things set up at the house? We have to be as far away as we can before they figure out where she is,” Verrie’s voice said.

“Yeah. I guess we’re not going to get to live in the big house.” Grace knew instantly that was her mother. She’d recognize that whiny tone anywhere. “And all that money. Even after we blow them all up at the funeral we can’t come back and get it.”

Grace tensed. She knew that Thomas was dead. He’d been killed right after he’d shot her. She shuddered when she thought about what he’d been doing to her when she’d awakened. She didn’t want to think about what he would have done if she hadn’t stopped him before he’d raped her. And what he’d said…he was as insane as her mother.

“You have to let me take you, Grace, before she kills you. It’s only fair. You put out for Michael and he’s nothing but a bastard. Just let me f*ck you this once and then she can kill you and I can tell Michael that I had a piece of you before you died.”

She could only stare at him for several seconds. It wasn’t until he tried to take her panties off again that she started fighting him. She managed to knee him in the nuts before he hit her with his fist. Then she’d hit him with the heel of her hand in his nose and he’d bled on her. Before she could scramble away from him he’d pulled the gun from the floor and shot her in the leg.

“Now,” he’d said. “Lay still until I get you naked. Then you can—”

The car swerved and she fell to the floor. Verrie was screaming at them. Then the loud pop of another gun and Thomas fell atop her, blood everywhere. When Verrie had grabbed him by the hair and ordered her to help her put him in the front seat, she’d done so even when the pain was nearly too much. What Verrie had done with his body made Grace throw up on the floor and the back of the seat.

She’d reached over and opened the passenger door and kicked him out into the street. Grace looked behind them when she heard the squeal of tires and horns blaring just in time to see his body being tossed around from the hood of several cars before he was pulled under a semi. She watched in horror as the truck started to swerve and, finally, it tipped over onto its side. Grace laid her head back on the seat and wept for the way he’d died. No one should have to go like Thomas had. She felt the tears run down her face. Poor Michael. He didn’t deserve this, not his brother being murdered and everything else. She tried to move her leg a little and felt the blood seep from it. When the car stopped, she closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she didn’t want Verrie or the others to figure out she was awake.

“Take her inside the house. If she tries to get away, shoot her. And for f*ck sake, don’t hit her again. There’s been a change of plans.” Verrie again. “There’s a little room in the basement; put her in there and lock the door. She gets away and I’m going to f*cking kill you.”

“I know what you want me to do,” a man’s voice said. “Why do you have to treat me like I’m a kid? I got a brain.”

Grace wanted to laugh, but didn’t. He’s got a brain? Then why the f*ck wasn’t he using it? She moaned before she could stop it and he cuffed her head on the side of the limo. Pain radiated through her body and she saw stars. When she felt the man throw her over his shoulder, she opened her eyes and took a look around.

Nothing, actually less than nothing. No houses, no poles to indicate there was electricity, and the driveway she was being carried up was overgrown with weeds and grass. Just making out the mailbox at the end, it was so faded that she knew that she’d never be able to lead anyone to her even if she could find a way to contact anyone. She wondered how on earth anyone would ever find her when she heard a small voice behind her.

“I can’t help you much. I’m holding her from killing you, but you have to be careful. She’s…they’re draining me.” Guinnie patted her on the arm as she walked by and just like that, she was Ginny. “Do we know what we’re doing here or are we flying by the seat of our pants? I f*cking hate this, Verrie. I thought we had a plan and we were going to stick to it.”

“We did until that f*cking bastard you befriended decided to have the girl. What the f*ck was he thinking shooting her in a moving car? And the f*cking idiot nearly shot me when she kicked him in the family jewels. I could care less that he’d shot her; it was the fact that he scared me when he had. F*cking idiot.” Verrie faded away as she was lead into a dark stairway.

Grace wasn’t afraid of the dark; it was the things in the dark that terrified her. She’d been homeless for a while and had spent a lot of her time hiding under awnings and other overhangs. Once, when it was raining really hard, she’d gone to the shelter. When the lights had gone out the crazies had started roaming around. She’d left the place at first light and had never gone back. She felt safer on the streets.

He tossed her on the floor. She supposed that the little cover on the floor was where he was aiming, but he’d missed it enough that she’d banged her head again. Dizziness swamped her and she moaned again. She heard the door close and counted to fifty before she opened her eyes.

The space was small. She was reminded of the coal bin in the building she’d bought. There was a shoot at the rear that had long since been bricked up. She tried to sit up, but she simply didn’t have the strength. Crying softly, she pulled out the broken cell phone that she’d managed to put into her pocket before she’d been shot by Thomas.

She thought about all the television shows she’d seen where the phone acted like a GPS thing and someone was always finding the victim with it. She didn’t know if it was true or not, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She was terrified of dying and she was going to take every opportunity she could find.

She must have slept. She refused to think that she’d been so weak that she’d slipped away. She nearly screamed when she saw someone sitting in a kitchen chair across from her. She glanced around and didn’t see the man, but she didn’t know which one she had in front of her either.

“You always were an ungrateful child. Why we had to have you and the others is still a mystery to me. My Roscoe said that you were going to be the most difficult to handle. I suppose he was right.”

Her mother. Grace sat up a little and leaned back against the wall before she spoke. This conversation was too long in coming and if she was f*cking going to die then she’d have her peace. “You have no right to call me ungrateful. You’re the one who f*cked us all up. You were so stuck up your husband’s ass that you failed to see us for who we were. So, Mother dear, you can f*ck the hell off.” When Guinevere stood up suddenly and slapped her across the face Grace laughed. “You think that is supposed to make me hurt? Not likely. I washed my hands of you over ten years ago. You’re nothing to me.”

“You bitch. You should…I should just let her kill you and say f*ck the money. But we need it now more than ever. You’re going to make it so that we can leave the country and get a new start.” Guinevere sat back down in the chair as she continued. “She thought that I could talk some sense into you. Though why she’d think that, I have no idea. You never did do what you were told.”

“Say whatever it is you want then get the f*ck out. And just so you know, I’ll do whatever it takes to see that you spend the rest of your miserable excuse for an existence in a mental institution.”

~~~

Joey watched her son. She knew he was hurting, but there was very little she could do about it. She was in pain as well, but it was more a guilty kind of pain than the kind he was going through. Thomas had never been a good son.

She’d tried so hard to like him. She didn’t feel guilty for not loving him. That would have been impossible. Thomas hadn’t made it easy on anyone after she and Lucas had been married. He resented her and he hated Michael. She’d seen it and was powerless to figure out how to make the stepbrothers get along.

Then when Michael had joined the service it had gotten a little better. With Michael gone and no longer there to remind him of whatever demons he had he actually could go for several days being pleasant. Of course, when he heard anyone mention her son’s name he would go into a rage that would scare even his sisters. Even the threat of putting him back in the hospital hadn’t worked. He would simply hide for several days, sometimes weeks, before he would show himself again and things would be better. She looked over at Alyssa when she sat beside her.

“When are you due?” she asked the pretty young woman. At her expression Joey thought maybe she’d been keeping her secret close. “I could see the way you looked at dinner. Like you weren’t sure if you wanted to toss your cookies over it or cry. I did that a lot with Michael.”

“I just found out yesterday. I haven’t told anyone yet. We had so much trouble conceiving the first time that I thought for sure I would this time as well.” She looked over at her husband. “Cain is going to be so happy. He loves having a big family.”

“It was just Michael and I for so long. He was about Trace’s age when I married Lucas. We dated for some time before I said yes.” She smiled at the memory. “Michael was so happy when I finally said yes. He loves Lucas so much.”

“I wouldn’t have known they weren’t blood if Trace hadn’t told me.” They both looked over at the little boy who was reading a story to all the children. “He’s a wonderful kid. If Grace and Michael weren’t already getting married, I might have kept him for myself. Connor just loves him.”

Joey watched Trace. She could see the sadness there too. He kept looking up at his father every time the phone rang and she knew he was feeling guilty for not watching Grace. She wanted him to talk to his dad, but he said he’d wait until Grace was home. He said his dad had enough on his mind.

Joey turned to Alyssa. “They’ll move here, won’t they? Grace and Michael, I mean. He seems to love it here and Trace really enjoys having family too.” She felt panicky for reasons she didn’t want to think about. Growing old and being alone were scary thoughts. “And I’d forgotten how close Payton and Michael had been. They went to the same college then, when Payton went on to get his police commission, Michael went into the service.”

“There’s no reason why you can’t live here too, or just come to stay as long as you need,” Alyssa said softly. “There’s plenty of room in this house and there is always the hotels. I can have you and your family a special suite set up so that it’s always here for you.”

She looked at Alyssa then back at her son. “He’s all I have. All I have that is all mine. I love Lucas and his daughters, but…”

Joey looked at her again when she handed her a box of tissues. “I understand. I have…my mother was killed awhile back. My other brother killed her and…well, it was horrible to say the least. I didn’t get along with her.” She laughed. “Actually, I couldn’t stand her. Nathan and I have gotten really close since her death and I’m so happy for that.”

Joey had read about it in the paper. Billionaire’s Mother Murdered by Brother. And when his trial had ended in a guilty verdict, the entire household had rejoiced. Justice had been served as far as they were concerned. She decided that she really liked Alyssa Waite and the others. She smiled for the first time in days.

“Lucas and I have talked about moving out of the city. And Michael could do his business anywhere. He just needs Internet service, a phone, and an airport.” She grinned again at Alyssa. “And having a designer, an author, and a billionaire in the family wouldn’t be all that bad either, would it?”

“No, not so much. And we get a great discount on all the clothes and books we want too.” Before Joey could comment Payton came into the room. He looked tense.

“The limo stopped about twenty minutes ago. We’re going there now. You all should stay here until we can—”

“I’m coming with you. Either you take me or I take you,” Michael said as he pulled out his gun. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, buddy, but if you don’t help me get to Grace I will shoot you in the nuts first.”

“Why is it that men always go for the jewels? Do you have any idea how much the woman has to suffer when you do shit like that? Christ, put that thing away before I have to disarm you in front of your kid.” Sin tapped her foot until he did it.

Joey was relieved.

“Now, let’s play nice or you’re going to piss me off and, trust me, you don’t want to piss me off today.”

Joey burst out laughing and turned to Alyssa again. “And then there is all the free entertainment.”