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“Drew, I need help. I don’t feel well.” I managed to climb out of bed and hobble to the door, then bang to get his attention. I had been locked inside the room and the old windows had been nailed from the outside. When I heard the lock opening, I stepped back because I wasn’t sure who would come through the door.
Thank god it was Drew. I couldn’t take his brother Randy slapping me again. He hit me hard and I fell on my stomach on the old rigid mattress. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not feeling well. I’m dizzy. Randy hit me hard, and that could be the reason. You said you would protect me,” I said with my voice sounding weak.
“I know, but Randy is a hard man, and I couldn’t risk going against him yet. He’s smarter than me and he would have hurt you to make a point, because he knows how I feel about you.”
Well, I’ve put myself in another situation with men. Why is this my lot in life? My fortune of misfortune, I thought.
I offered Drew a small smile and a reassuring one that said I understood what he was trying to do, but frankly, I didn’t have a clue how we could get away from Randy, and I could run from Drew.
“I didn’t sleep well and I need to use the restroom. Can you take me there. I’ve been holding it for a long time.”
“I told you to tell me when you needed to go,” Drew said, taking my hand. I pulled back and hesitated when I reached the door frame.
“Is Randy?”
“No. He went to work to give himself an alibi. He said he didn’t want anyone to get suspicious.” We made it to the small bathroom. “I cleaned it for you, Alex.” Drew stood looking at me as if he was a student, and I was a teacher expecting me to say good job.
“Thank you, Drew, but I need time to myself.”
“I understand, even if Randy said for me not to let you go anywhere alone.”
I closed the door and he stood outside the flimsy door to the bathroom. I searched around for a way to get out and a weapon if I had to use it. Not on Drew. Heavens no, not on Drew, but self-preservation was the law of nature, so if it came to that, Drew would be a casualty. I learned that law the hard way.
“I need to take a shower,” I said, opening the door.
“There are clean towels—”
“Hand me my satchel and there are some in it.” I knew I wasn’t going to a hotel because of the nature of the men I’d have to deal with, therefore, I came prepared. I left everything they would see as a threat, because I thought they would search me, and Drew did, but not as thoroughly as I expected.
He had been distracted by his thoughts of us being together, and I didn’t do anything to dissuade his advances. In fact, I used it to survive. I needed his captivated behavior for me to work against that brother of his. At first I felt he could protect me from him, but I might have been overly optimistic.
“I have to take you with me to the store,” Drew said, opening the door and placing the bag in and closing the door immediately, “...and I will need to handcuff you. I don’t think you know this area and you won’t need something over your eyes, even if Randy said for me to cover them and have you lie down.”
When I opened my bag, it was in disarray because Randy had searched it. I didn’t know how much longer I’d have to pretend to be okay with Drew looking and treating me as if I was the last woman on earth. I showered in the grimy tub and managed to dress in the small confinement called a bathroom.
“Wow, you look great,” Drew said, opening the door, looking at me with hungry eyes. “Your eye is dark where Randy hit you. He must have had on that ring. Don’t worry, I’ll never let him touch you again,” Drew vowed, but I didn’t think he could keep his promise.
“I got you a burrito for breakfast at the corner store. It’s good,” he assured me, and bit into the second one, however, it was my stomach that needed reassurance.
The moment the smell hit my nose, my stomach retched, and I headed for the bathroom. Falling to my knees and not worrying about the soiled dirty toilet, lid up, I leaned over and spilled everything I’d eaten for two days, which wasn’t much.
When I stood with Drew’s help, I buckled at the knees. Never had I felt this weak before. “I can’t eat this, Drew,” I said, pointing to my breakfast.
“What do you want? I’ll go back and get something. Or maybe I can cook something for you.”
“I want to be in my bed,” I said, my voice pleading and feeble. I knew since Randy had slapped me around I didn’t feel like myself. I knew if Jonas and Max failed to deal with Randy, I vowed to deal with him myself. How, I didn’t know that just yet. Something had changed in my personality. I’d heard that people did change and maybe they changed their nature because of the circumstances that occurred in the environment.
It had been knowing that meeting and marrying Christian had changed me for the worse, and realizing my son Maxim wouldn’t be the same happy trusting young man that frightened me the most. I wanted my beautiful trusting young son back, but I was afraid that would be wishful thinking.
Watching Drew’s mouth as he talked, I fell out of my regrets and into the reality of my situation.
“You can’t go back to your bed, Alex. I’ll get you something to eat. What do you want?” He led me to the living room, and I crossed my arms and sat ruefully on the couch. Then he strode to the small kitchen and opened the fridge. “There must be something here I can cook for you.” He raised an egg, I shook my head. He went on and on in the fridge, and cupboard. There was nothing there, not even ice cream to settle my stomach.
“Take me back to the room because all I want to do is lie down. When can I go home?” I tried standing, my head spun, my eyes blinked and I didn’t complain. Drew strode away and threw the burrito in the garbage. He totally ignored me for the moment, and I knew then what his intentions were. I wasn’t going home, not now, or maybe never if Drew had anything to do with it.
When Drew took my arm to help me into the bedroom, the door swung open in the front room of the small wooden shack, and Randy tramped inside.
“What the fuck are you doing with her? Why don’t you pick her up and carry her over the threshold, because you look like her boyfriend and not someone who just kidnapped a bitch. Do you know what kind of time you can get for just having her here and pregnant? Why the fuck don’t you think for once?”
Randy pushed his opened palm against Drew’s forehead, grabbed my hand, and towed me into the bedroom, then slammed me against the wall, before reaching for my hair and dragging me to the bed, and throwing me on my stomach on the hard mattress. I didn’t know what he would do to me next, so I lay still like an opossum playing dead.
Drew marched behind Randy. “What are you going to do to Alex, Randy?” Randy turned on his heels scuffing the wooden floor. Randy’s voice deepened and the sound of his voice was angry and unforgiving.
“You told her my name, now what do you think I plan on doing?”
“You can’t.”
“If you want her, you’ll have to take her with you. I’m going to get the money from her husband, you take your half and I’m leaving—”
“You’re leaving me?”
“What the fuck do you expect? You’ve let a woman come between us. I could have married and left your ass behind years ago, but I never did.”
Randy was playing on Drew’s heart strings and I knew where that was leading. Someone would have to get rid of me. At this point I wondered if Drew would allow Randy to kill me. I didn’t think Drew was the type who could do something like that, but I didn’t know Drew, and I didn’t understand the connection that had run deep among brothers.”
“You can go, Randy, I’m staying here with Alex. Just come back long enough to drop off my money.”
“It’s your coffin,” he said, and strode out pushing Drew to the side. I wondered whether Jonas had arranged for the drop. Jonas must have known once Randy got the money and I wasn’t present, he would never see me again. I just hoped he wasn’t too emotionally invested in me to hand over the money too soon. But what the fuck was I thinking? Jonas had been emotionally involved from the day we met. Now we had gone to a different level since I’d been pregnant.
When Drew walked behind Randy, I didn’t know what they were saying. All I knew was I’d been feeling awful, with not eating enough, and being tossed about by Randy. I glanced up waiting to breathe, and Drew was standing over me.
“How are you feeling?”
“Not well,” I answered, my voice hardly audible. Drew had to sit on the corner of the bed, and lean in to hear me. He placed his palm over my hair and caressed it. I managed to turn over and meet his gaze.
“Do you feel well enough to travel?”
“Where am I going?”
“With me. We’re going to take only half of the money Randy gave me earlier and leave. I don’t want the rest of it. I don’t want to risk him coming here with that money. It’s not worth it to me because I know what he’ll do to you. I know when he gets the other money, he’ll come back, and I don’t think I can stop him for what he’s planning.”
“To kill me?”
“Yes. He rented a small backhoe loader to dig and bags of cement.” Drew didn’t have to say more. The picture had been painted and we both understood the central theme of the painting—someone was going to die soon, and be buried in the yard.
“Did you tell him I’m pregnant?”
“He doesn’t care. Let me help you up. Can you dress yourself?” I didn’t know if this was a good thing, but it had to be better than the alternative. This was another episode in the life of Alexander Blackstone. I was being kidnapped by a man who had fallen in love with me. I guessed it beat marrying a psychopath, or a kidnapper who used hypnotism to hold me captive.
“I’m not feeling too good,” I confessed. Can you take me to a hospital?” I wasn’t feeling well, but I wondered if Drew would get me help, and then I could get away from him.
“We have to leave, Alex, before Randy gets back. Get on the road and go somewhere,” Drew said, tossing one of his plaid shirts over my jogging pants and top. I purposefully packed these because I thought if I got the chance I would have to run and these clothes would make it tolerable.
“Will your car takes us far?”
“Not far enough. But I can buy one along the way, and we can take you to a doctor once we’re miles from here. There should be some along the way, but we have to leave and get to a city where Randy can’t find us. I’m thinking we can head to Arizona away from him, because Randy always talked about going to New York and then flying to Europe. I think he will head east with all that extra money. I’m betting he’ll do just that.”
After dressing and making sure I had my jacket near me with the tracker I’d sewn inside the pocket, I climbed into an old beat up truck. When the door closed, I turned to Drew when he started up the truck. “Will this even get us out of this place?” I questioned, looking and seeing the road which appeared far from a highway with tall trees surrounding the property.
Then it occurred to me why the tracker hadn’t worked. There wasn’t a signal that could get through. We finally reached I-10 heading west, and I was relieved because I had chance to get home. Jonas would be able to locate me before long. When I glanced over at Drew he wore a pleasing restful smile as if he had been freed, and now he was ready to live his life.
However, he didn’t realize what was waiting for him. Two brothers who would turn over the earth to find me, and destroy anyone who dared kidnap me and his child.