“Just hold tight. Once, we know what direction they’re headed, we’re going after them,” Maverick answered.
I paced back and forth, glancing periodically over at the pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Each time I saw it, the more infuriated I became.
“Stitch,” Maverick warned.
“I know,” I growled. He just didn’t get it. He had no fucking idea. He had a family – Henley, Gavin, and for most of his life, he had parents that gave a shit. I’d only had Emerson, and now, for the first time, I had a chance for more. I had a chance to know what love really was, to truly feel it and give it back in return. I couldn’t lose it. Not now, not when I was so close. Wren was mine, and I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.
“They’re out on 101 headed towards Clearwater. About an hour out,” Q’ announced.
“Want me to call Gonzalez? See if he can help us out?” Maverick offered.
“I’ll call him,” I told him as I walked out the front door and headed towards my bike. Before I started my engine, I dialed Gonzalez’s number. The Caballero’s were our allies, and Gonzalez owed me more favors than I could count. It was time for him to pay up.
“Yell-o?” Gonzalez answered.
“Need your help,” I told him. “Blue 2007 Toyota is coming through your area. Need you to stall him.”
“Got an ETA?” Gonzalez asked.
“Any minute. Be ready. Coming in on 101 headed to Clearwater. Slow him down,” I demanded.
“On it brother.”
“Good. I’m on my way,” I told him as I hung up my phone and started up my bike.
Chapter 19
Wren
?
Everything hurt. An excruciating, throbbing pain pulsed through my head, making it difficult to make a clear thought. I had no idea where I was, but my head was in such a deep fog that I couldn’t even make myself try. It was hard to breathe, my lungs burned with every single breath like someone was sitting on my chest. I just wanted to lie there, wait for the pain to go away, but something was gnawing at me. I needed to wake up. I had to wake up, but it was just too hard. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. I had no idea what was going on with me.
Breathe.
Slow… steady.
Damn. Why was it so hard to breathe? I inhaled through my nose, trying to keep my breaths short and shallow, so it wouldn’t hurt so much. It didn’t help. Nothing helped, and the darkness was pulling at me. I was about to just give into it, when it came to me. The one thing that could pull me out of my haze… Wyatt. My chest tightened with panic, making my lungs burn even more. When I tried to move, a pain shot to my side, reminding me of the time that Michael had broken my ribs during one of his meltdowns. I stilled myself and tried to call out to Wyatt, but only muffled cries echoed around me. When I tried to move, I realized that my arms were bound behind me. I called out again, but something was covering my mouth. Duct tape was sealed across my lips, another reason it was so hard to breathe. I could feel my heartbeat pound against my chest as panic washed over me. I was losing it. I needed to focus.
Breathe.
Slow… steady.
I couldn’t fall apart. Not now, not when Wyatt needed me. I twisted my wrists back and forth, trying to loosen the ties around my hands. Ignoring the pain, I rocked my body from side to side and quickly realized that I was confined in some kind of box or maybe the trunk of a car. Not only was I bound and gagged, I was locked away, all alone.
Alone.
I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I couldn’t stop the panic from setting in as the memories came rushing back. My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest as I thought back to the night Michael had locked me away in that damn closet. It was just once, but it made a lasting impression on me. I’d told him I was going to a movie with a friend. When I headed towards the door, he slapped me… hard. Before I had time to react, he pushed me into the closet and kicked me in the side with his boot when I tried to fight back. Seconds later the door slammed shut, and not only did he lock it, he propped a chair against the doorknob to ensure that I couldn’t get out. He had a thousand reasons why he’d gone to such an extreme, but that night I’d seen the light. There were no limits to Michael’s abuse, and the thought of my son being alone with him scared me to death. I had to get to Wyatt before Michael hurt him. Nothing else mattered. I fought against my restraints again, determined to get my hands free, but it only made it harder for me to breathe with that damn tape across my mouth.
Breathe.