Keeping Hope (Broken Girl Series) (8 page)

Dropping my head before him, I freeze, kneeling on the floor, not lifting my head to meet his eye.

“You are here on borrowed time, bitch. As soon as my child is developed enough, I will remove it and feed you to the fucking dogs,” he growls, every word annunciated in his evil voice.

I glance to the side, seeing the long knife I found in the closet a right after I was brought back. It’s tucked under the bed. I slowly work my hand under the bed sheet, grabbing hold of the handle. I grasp it as tightly as my weak body will allow.

He glances over to Hope and I see my chance. I yank out the knife, holding it in my right hand. I bring my arm up with enough force to plunge it down and through his foot.

The knife slices through his bare foot and into the wooden floor. The sound of flesh ripping causes me to shudder.

He lets out a screech and I rush past him, desperately grabbing Hope’s hand. We’re out of there so fast. I pull the door closed behind me, using the key still in the keyhole to lock the door.

Shit! We need to get out of here and quick. I sweep the hall, looking for anyone who might try and stop us.

We race over to the bathroom. I look in and see it’s empty. The window slightly ajar.

“Quick, Hope, we have to get out of here and fast. I need you to listen to me carefully and trust me, okay?”

I see the fear and horror in this little girl’s face. I rub my hand down her cheek. “I promise I will never ever hurt you, princess, but we can’t stay here. These people aren’t nice people.”

“I know,” her voice is barely a whisper.

“Quick then, help me get this in front of the door.” I speak in hushed whispers, pointing to the freestanding white vanity. I close the door and we push the heavy bathroom cabinet against the door, wedging the door handle.

I open the window all the way and look outside. I know this building like the back of my hand. The flat roof below will allow us to climb out safely. I hop out, holding Hope’s hand tightly. My legs are so weak but my adrenaline takes over, and I somehow find the strength.

I know we have to get out. I know we have to survive. This is our chance, our only chance.

I see the drain pipe running down the side of the house and pull on it, testing its strength. I kneel down and whisper to Hope, “Get on my back and hold on tight, okay?”

She nods, swallowing hard.

She mounts my back and I grab on as tightly as I can to the drain pipe. We shimmy down the wall, falling as we get closer to the ground.

I check to make sure that Hope isn’t hurt from the fall. “I’m sorry, Hope. Are you okay?” I ask breathlessly.

“I’m okay,” she replies, brushing herself off.

I grab her hand. “Come on, we’ve got to go. We need to run into the woodland rather than the road. I know for a fact they’ll send cars out soon and the only way we will get away is if we remain unseen.”

“Are we going in the woods, Kennedy?”

I nod

“But it’s so dark!”

“It’s the only way, Hope!” I exclaim.

Cole

We’re collected from Joey’s early this morning. Too fucking early, but I know I have to do this.

I didn’t bother telling mom where I was going. She would only freak and try to talk me out of it.

I’m on the back of Chuck’s huge Harley Davidson and Pete is on with Archer.

These guys don’t mess about. They are all carrying guns and it scares the fuck out of me.

I’m not quite sure what I’ve got myself into.

We’ve been riding for hours and make a couple of stops along the way. With dusk settling in, it’s getting difficult to make out everything, but I’m beginning recognize some of our surroundings. It can’t be much further from here until we arrive at where we were run off the road. When I see the tire marks on the grass, I tap Chuck’s arm and we pull over to decide where to go next.

The other three motorcycles follow suit and we jump off, removing our helmets.

“Where should we go from here?” I ask not really knowing what our next move would be.

“Okay, so this road continues for a few more miles and then forks off. One direction will take us in the woods.” Chuck pauses, thinking for a moment. “Come to think of it, isn’t there some sort of community that lives down there?” Chuck turns, asking one of the other guys.

“Yeah, I remember checking it out when we were looking for Sara. Weird fucking place if you ask me.”

“Worth a try,” I say enthusiastically.

“Then let’s go,” he orders.

We jump back on, replacing our helmets. In that moment, I realize that even out of good intentions, this bike trip is a stupid idea. Kennedy could be anywhere. Arizona is huge, the world is gigantic, and she would be anywhere on it. I shake my head as we set back off, holding on tightly as the bikes rev and roar back into motion.

Kennedy

We keep walking. The road is just within sight, but we are camouflaged by the dense woodland encompassing the roadside. I haven’t heard any traffic the whole time we’ve been walking. Maybe they don’t realize we are gone yet if Master is still locked up.

“I’m tired. I need to stop,” cries Hope.

“I know, sweetie, but we have to keep going. We don’t want them to catch up with us. The more we walk, the more chance we have of getting away safely.”

She throws me a sad smile.

It is so dark. The cloudy, late evening night isn’t providing us with much light.

“It will be worth it, I swear.” I give her a genuine smile, trying to ease her fear.

I hear the noise of an approaching vehicle. I tug on Hope’s hand, pulling her down to a kneeling position. I listen carefully and recognize the noise as a motorcycle approaching. My heart starts to beat frantically. I quickly decide that I need to get to the side of the road.

The commune did not allow motorcycles, so there’s no chance it is them. I grab Hope’s hand, get to my feet as quickly as I can, and run toward the side of the country road. As we approach the edge of the pavement, I instruct Hope to wait there, hiding in the long grass. I walk closer to the noise, constantly checking back over my shoulder. I know this could be a risky mistake, but I have to at least try.

I reach the road side, getting there slower than I had anticipated, and notice that the bike has already passed. I push forward, making myself visible to the next bike I see approaching. The headlights cause me to shield my eyes.

I stand there at the side of the road, completely exposed, as I hear the roar of an engine getting louder and closer. I glance behind me at Hope. I have to make sure she’s nowhere near me, staying hidden in the overgrowth.

I start waving my hands, desperately trying to catch the approaching biker’s attention. I throw my arm across my eyes as I’m dazzled by the headlight. I blink repeatedly, trying to rid my eyes of the dots. As I do, I watch the motorcycle skid to a stop. Two riders are on the bike and the second one dismounts at rapid speed.

My heart begins to beat out of control. I have to be prepared to run like hell if this goes sour. I begin to turn, anticipating needing to flee, when I feel Hope wrap her arms around my legs, clutching tight. I put a hand on her, holding Hope protectively against me. My hands shake as I try to intensify my hold on her. I stand rigid, waiting for the biker to remove his helmet.

Everything feels like it is happening in slow motion. Although it only takes seconds for him to remove his helmet, it feels like minutes.

Could this be it?

Our chance to be rescued.

My mouth drops open at the sight of him standing in front of me.

I feel sick at the realization. My legs buckle as they begin to feel weak and heavy. I crash to the ground holding my head in my hands.

“Kennedy? Fuck, Kennedy, is that really you?” the deep and sullen voice cries.

I wail loudly.

Tears stream involuntarily down my face.

This cannot be happening.

He rushes over and grabs me, pulling me up by the elbow. I slowly lift my head to meet his eyes. As soon as he pulls me to my feet, I wrap my arms around him as tightly as my weak and frail body will allow.

“Thank you, Pete,” I state, not really sure what else to say.

“Jesus Christ, Ken, what are you doing out here? I can’t believe it’s really you. I can’t believe we managed to find you. I thought we’d lost you forever.” He pulls me toward him, embracing me in a bear tight hug, as we sway a little from side to side. I pull back and we lock eyes. My heart rate quickens almost instantly as I gaze into his caramel brown eyes.

“I don’t know, Pete. It’s all a haze. We got out though. I can’t believe you found us. Is Cole with you? Is he okay? Please tell me he’s alright.” My voice trembles. My words roll out, barely making sense.

For a second I had forgotten about Hope. The realization hits me as I turn to see she if she’s okay. She has a slight smile across her face.

“Hope, this is my good friend, Pete. Pete, this is Hope. She’s been a good friend to me for the past few days. I couldn’t have gotten through it without this little ray of sunshine.”

She smiles fondly at me, before sidling up to get as close as possible. Hope buries her head in my hip.

Pete holds out his hand, as a peace offering to the child. Hope moves her head from side to side, not wanting to accept. Her tiny body quivers against my leg.

“So, Cole. Is he with you?”

“He was just in front of us. I should call him. He’ll be wondering where we are. Come stand with us.” He points across the road where three motorcycles are now parked. I was so lost in conversation I hadn’t even realized they’d joined us. Pete removes his jacket and wraps it around me. A very large, scary guy hands me another jacket and I wrap it around Hope.

Pete pulls out his cell phone, dials, and hands it to me. I look at him confused and he winks.

I hear the dial tone ring out.

Then I hear his voice.

My heart is in my throat; it beats so ferociously. Every part of my body tingles at the raw sound of his voice.

“Pete, where the fuck are you? Did you lose us?”

“CccCole,” I stutter, “its Kennedy. I’m with Pete.”

“Kennedy, is that really you?” His voice now a different tone, mellow and quiet.

I start to blubber into the phone as raw emotion washes over me. Pete is beside me in seconds, taking the phone out of my hands and pulling me into a hug.

“Cole, its Pete.” There is a pause and I hear Cole mildly through the speaker. “Yeah, I know, man. Fucking unbelievable.”

“Language,” I half laugh, knowing that he isn’t thinking about our younger guest.

“Oh yeah. Sorry, Hope,” he apologizes. I look at her as she lets out a little huff.

Pete winks at her and she giggles the sweetest giggle I’ve ever heard.

“Hope is Kennedy’s little friend,” I hear Pete inform Cole. Pete releases me as he continues explaining to Cole where we are. He walks a short distance in front of me, pacing a little as he chats quietly with Cole.

I watch him intently, his eyes flitting to me and away again.

“Okay, guys, we are going to meet Cole and Chuck outside The Half Mile Motel. You both need to get cleaned up and fed by the looks of things. That okay with you, princess?” he addresses Hope.

She sticks her finger in her mouth, smiling coyly at Pete. “Okay, mister, whatever you say.” She shoots him a tooth revealing smile.

It surprises me just how good Pete is with Hope, and although quite reserved, I can tell Hope is sweet on Pete. He holds out his hand and Hope glances at me. I nod with approval. She takes his hand and he leads little Hope over to one of the bikes.

“Okay, so hope you are going to ride with Archer.”

“But I want to ride with you. I’d much rather ride with you,” she interrupts.

“As much as I’d love that too, sweetie, I can’t drive a motorcycle, but you know what?”

“What?”

“I’ll be behind you the whole way, making sure you’re okay. And Andy,” – he throws a little nod to the guy he rode with – “he’s the best out of the bunch, but don’t tell the other guys I said that,” Pete whispers.

Hope puts her scrunched up hands over here mouth and lets out a tiny laugh.

It’s so good to see her smiling and laughing, just as all little girls should.

Hope signals for Pete to move closer. He drops down onto one knee in front of her, tilting his head toward her as she speaks. “So, I’ll ride with this guy, Archer, as long as you promise to watch me and not leave me; okay?”

“Of course I won’t leave you. I’m coming with, you silly billy.” He starts to tickle her before picking her up and placing her on the huge black bike. He places her hands on the bar in front. “This is where you need to hold on. Don’t let go, okay?”

“I won’t,” she replies boldly.

The big guy I’m left riding with passes me a helmet and pats to the rear of the seat. I jump on, barely being able to get my leg over the huge bike.