Back to Life (28 page)

“So,
you have to do dirty work for some fucking bitch that can’t face me herself,
huh? What a bunch of pussies,” I laughed, even though fear was racing through
me. I looked at Marissa and she was sobbing quietly. “Who is the stupid cunt
that got you two assholes to kidnap me and my friend?”

At
that moment, a door opened and closed, and I heard heels clicking toward us. I
felt a mixture of anger and fear as the figure moved closer toward me. “Erica
fucking Darling, you have to be kidding me!” I shouted, trying to remain tough
even though I was scared as hell now. This woman was the reason Mason was
killed, the reason I lost my baby…and now the reason Marissa and I were tied to
chairs in a filthy warehouse and were probably going to be killed. If I could
just reach my phone…

“Hello,
Rory. I would say you are looking well, but it’s hard to find a way to
compliment a piece of trash like you.”

“Why
the hell did you take Marissa? She has nothing to do with this,” I spat at her.

“Oh,
that little bitch got involved in this when she slapped me across the face that
day trying to defend you and that little weasel Mason,” she said, and she
stopped before me. I glared at her and before I could even blink, I felt her
hand slap hard across my cheek.

I
turned my face back to her and spit a loogie at her. It landed on her expensive
looking dress. “You think that hurt? Please, you slap like a fucking pussy.” I
wiggled against my ropes, still trying to get free.

She
turned her toward her two hired goons and nodded at them. They both stood up
and walked over to Marissa, and I felt the bile start to rise in my throat as I
saw Baldy pull his hand back and slap her as hard as he could, causing her to
scream out in pain. “Don’t you fucking touch her again, you fucking asshole!
I’ll kill you, I swear to God, I’ll kill you!” I screamed, and Erica grabbed my
hair and pulled my head to face hers. She looked over to the men again, and I
heard another hard slap and another scream of pain. Tears stared pouring out of
my eyes.

“If
you scream like that again, I’ll let my guys Paul and Doug have a little bit of
fun with her, you got me? I told you that this wasn’t over,” she began, and her
words from that day on the front steps of Liam’s parent’s house came back into
my mind…

‘
You think this is over, little girl, but it’s not.
Just remember that.
’

Her
shrill voice snapped back into the moment. “You humiliated me in front of every
single person in my circle that matters. I haven’t been able to show my face
anywhere for three weeks. I got fired from my job at the firm I helped build because
a bunch of little shitheads came forward and said I sexually harassed them.
It’s all because of what you said about that little shit Mason. You have ruined
my life, Rory, and now, it’s payback time!” she said, before slapping me again.

I
turned back to glare at her and spit out a mouthful of blood. “Don’t you get
it? You’ve
already
ruined my life! You took the man I loved away from me
and the baby I’ll never get to know! My parents disowned me because I broke
down from the grief of everything! What do you gain from this, Erica? Tell me!
You can beat and kill us both, but you will
never
get back what you
lost! Liam and his partner will find out you did this. They have been
investigating Mason’s murder since we came back from the Hamptons, and let me
tell you, they are on to you,” I bluffed, hoping to throw her off her game. I
felt my ropes beginning to loosen. I just needed one free hand… “They know you
were involved. Hell, they are probably on their way to your apartment to pick
you up!”

Her
eyes widened for a moment, and then narrowed. “You’re full of shit. You are
just trying to buy time, but it won’t work.”

“God,
for someone that claims to be smart, you really are fucking stupid. No matter
what happens, you’re going to jail, Erica. Instead of being charged with three
murders, save yourself some jail time and just be charged with one.”

Before
I could say anything else, I felt another hard slap across my face, and I heard
Marissa scream. I looked over to her and one of the men was tearing at her
clothes and trying to take her shirt off. “Don’t touch her!” I screamed. “She
has nothing to do with this, Erica, let her go!” I cried. “Fight, Marissa,
fight back!”

Erica
tugged at my hair again and she craned my head back so far that I thought she
would rip my head clean off. “No one can prove that I had anything to do with
Mason’s death because I didn’t. It was supposed to be just a mugging attempt to
get him to come home with me. I can’t help if it that jack off over there
really pulled the trigger and shot him, and no one even saw me there anyway, so
your little shit boyfriend can’t prove anything.” Suddenly, the room was
spinning and I felt like I was going to be sick. Oh my God…she really
was
responsible for it. She set the whole thing up as a way to seduce him. I was
actually in the same room with the man that took my world away. Suddenly, Erica
made a move and I felt searing pain in my lower back. I screamed out as I felt
her twist the knife and plunge it deeper. “Too bad you won’t be able to blab to
your little boyfriend about this, because you’ll be dead in a minute. The last
thing you will ever hear is the sounds of my guys over there gang fucking your
friend before we kill her too. Don’t cry though,” she said, removing the knife
and sinking it into my lower back again, “you will get to see Mason and your dead
baby again in just a few minutes.” She took the knife out of my back and stood
behind me. She pulled my head back and placed the bloody knife at my throat.

“Rory,
NO! PLEASE DON’T KILL HER! STOP!!!” I heard Marissa scream.

“Goodbye,
you little bitch. Say hello to your little shit of a boyfriend for me,” and she
pressed the knife into my neck.

Before
she sliced my life away, I heard a loud booming sound and someone shouting,
“NYPD! Don’t move! Hands in the air!” Erica jumped back, knocking my chair to
the ground. I was weak and couldn’t struggle against the ropes anymore. I was
beginning to feel sleepy. The last thing I heard before I slipped into
unconsciousness was screaming, gunfire, and the sound of Liam’s voice telling
me to hang on as he untied my ropes. As soon as I was free, I fell slack in his
arms.

“Oh
God, baby, I got here as fast as I could. Just hang on, angel, help is on the
way. Please don’t leave me,” he cried, and suddenly everything was black again.

I
heard voices that sounded far away, like I was hearing them through a tunnel.
“Are you sure she’s going to be okay, doctor?” Liam. He sounded like he had
gravel in his voice. “She lost a lot of blood.” I was still alive…where was
Marissa? I heard gunfire…where were the two men? Where was Erica?

“The
knife lacerated her right kidney, but we were able to stop the bleeding and
there shouldn’t be any permanent damage.”

“Liam,
she’s going to be okay. Dr. Kilpatrick is one of the best surgeons in the state
of New York, and I have complete confidence in him. If he says she’s okay,
she’s okay,” another voice said. Brody. Marissa. Oh god, Marissa! Where was
Marissa? Why won’t my eyes open? Why couldn’t I wake up?

“How
long will she be out? It’s been two days.” Liam asked.

“Sleep
is actually good for her right now, Liam. Her body has been through a trauma,
and she needs time to heal.”

“And
what about…” he trailed off and I slipped back into darkness.

“Liam,
you need to go home and get some rest,” said a female voice. Vivian.

“No,
I’m not leaving her,” he said, and I felt something grip my hand. His hand.
Damn it, why couldn’t I wake up? I needed to let him know I could hear him.
“How’s Marissa doing?” he asked. Marissa! Oh no…what happened to her? I swear
if they touched her…

“Brody
said she’s okay. Thank God you boys got there when you did, before those filthy
men could…God only knows what could have happened to both of them,” Vivian
said, audibly crying. “All Marissa has been asking for is Rory. She’s dying to
get up and see her.”

“I
don’t know why they won’t let her. Hearing her voice might make Rory come out
of this,” he said, and I heard him sniff. “Mom, I swear to God if I’d lost
her…” he said, and I heard him break into full blown sobs. Oh Liam…I’m here…I’m
okay…

My
eyes fluttered, and a bright light was shining in my face. I blinked to adjust
my eyes. I opened my mouth and tried to talk, but my throat hurt. I felt
something heavy on my hand, and I realized it was someone’s forehead. I tried
to talk again. I needed Liam… “L-Liam? Where’s Liam?” I croaked.

The
weight that was on my hand snapped up. I heard several people gasping and a lot
of shuffling around. I blinked my eyes a few more times and suddenly I saw
Liam’s handsome yet tired and careworn face in front of me.

“Rory?
Oh my God, baby,” he said, leaning in and kissing me. “You came back to me.”

“I’ll
go get a doctor,” I heard someone say, and I saw Nick run out of the room.

I
coughed, my throat dry. I needed water. “Liam…Marissa? Is she okay? Did they
hurt her?” I growled.

“She’s
okay, baby. She’s in a room down the hall.”

“They
didn’t…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

“No,
angel, they didn’t. We got there just in time.”

“Erica?
Did you catch her?” I had to know that we were safe from her trying to attack
again. Everything that happened came rushing back to me in that instant. The
screaming…the slapping…Marissa’s screams of pain and terror…Erica admitting she
played a role in Mason’s death…the man who killed Mason attacking Marissa.

Liam
was gently stroking my hair. “Listen, we can talk about all of this later.
Let’s let the doctors check you out first okay? We have all the time in the
world,” he said, a glint of hope in his eyes.

A
doctor and several nurses came in my room and spent the next thirty minutes
poking and prodding me, and asking me a million questions. Once they were done
examining me, they left, and I reached my hand out for Liam. He came right over
to me and gently pressed his lips to mine. A tear ran down his cheek, and I felt
tears stinging in mine. “Babe, don’t cry. I’m here, I’m okay,” I said.

“I
really thought I was going to lose you for a second,” he said, and I ran my
hand over his cheek and wiped the tear away.

“You
should know me by now, baby, I’m a fighter,” I said, cracking a weak smile, and
he chuckled.

“Yes
you are. Marissa said you put up a hell of a fight,” he said, a weak smile on
his face. “I’m proud of you baby.”

“Where
is Marissa, Liam? I need to see her.”

“Soon,
sweetie,” he said softly, and he turned to some other people that I just now
realized were in the room. “Can you guys give us a minute please?” I looked
around and saw Grayson, Vivian, Nick, and Samantha smiling at me.

“Sure,
we’ll let Marissa and Brody know she’s awake,” Grayson said, and they all walked
toward the door. “Welcome back, sweetheart,” he said to me, and with a wink he
followed the group out the door.

I
was starting to get worried. “Liam, why did you need to talk to me alone?
What’s wrong? Did something else happen?” I was starting to panic.

“Shh,
it’s okay baby, calm down,” he said, looking much calmer now. “Nothing
happened, but I have two things to tell you. One thing I think you will be
happy about, and the other, well, I don’t know.”

I
was in complete panic mode. “Liam, just tell me, please,” I begged.

He
sighed. “Well, when they brought you in, they did all kinds of tests to check
to see if you had any internal bleeding or other things wrong, and while you
were in surgery one of the doctors came back with the results. Sweetie, they
found something in your blood work,” he said.

My
mind immediately started to race, and my heart sank. I bet they found out that
Erica caused such internal damage to me that I wouldn’t be able to have
children at all now. I started to tear up. “What is it, Liam? What did they
find? You can tell me, I can take it.”

He
took my hand in his and he kissed it. “Rory, baby, it turns out I was right.
You are pregnant.”

I
blinked a few times, and I felt warm tingles radiating all through my body. The
tears started to flow. “I…I’m pregnant? Are you sure?”

He
nodded and smiled. “Positive,” he said, and he grinned so brightly at me that I
thought the lights in the room would dim.

I
cried even harder. Everything that Erica did to me came rushing back. “Oh God,
is the baby okay? She didn’t take this child away too, did she?” I cried, and I
started to shake.

He
moved up on the bed and wrapped his arms around me. “No, angel, no. The baby is
just fine. They brought in an ultrasound machine while you were in recovery and
did a quick check to make sure the baby was okay, and everything looks perfect.
Do you want to see?” he said.