New Title 6 (25 page)

 Then
Deanna added, “You can’t expect me to sit on my ass while my best friend is out
there having God-knows-what done to her by that fucker David. I’m not sitting
here manning the fuckin’ phones when you can get some of ya boys to do it.”

 “I
agree. You need me, Talon. We don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but
this, we work together on.”

 “Fuck,
woman. I don’t need this shit. I gotta go.”

 “Then
we’re coming with you,” Violet said.

 “Shit
yeah,” Deanna added.

 “Jesus,
whatever. Griz?”

 “Jeremy’s
up; he’ll call others to scout and man the fuckin’ phone. Let’s roll.”

 A
curt nod and we left.

 Not
fuckin’ before I saw Travis—the biggest pimp of Melbourne—pull my sister aside,
kiss her, and tell her something to have her eyes warm and nod.

 Fuck,
something to worry about when I got my family back.

 Now
it was time to fight for them.

A
ll I knew was that we drove for a very long time. Long enough that
the kids fell asleep in my arms, leaning their heavy weight upon me, and it was
long enough for me to doze off and on for quite some time.

 I
think my relaxed state showed the children not to worry, and in return they
weren’t, so they could sleep knowing that I’d be there to protect them.

 Why
I was relaxed, I think, had many added contributions; for one: alcohol still
flowed through my body. For two: I knew Talon would go to great lengths to find
us, and three: I was stronger in mind, body, and spirit to deal with an asshat
like David.

 The
only thing that had me worried, but I didn’t let show, was how all this was
going to be played out. What was David going to do to? At least I was sure he
would never harm a child. I—on the other hand—was a different story altogether.
Though, I wasn’t worried for myself, only and always for the children.

 So
to keep my relaxed state for the kids, I thought of Talon.

 His
eyes and how they grew soft for me.

 His
mouth when he smiled at me.

 His
hands and body, and how he always sorted me out in a room.

 Him.

 The
perfect, dominating, alpha-bossy biker, who was a hard-scary-assed, beautifully
hot, delicious man.

 Sometimes,
I had to focus, because my mind kept supplying me with other freaked-out
thoughts of
Mattie, Julian, Mattie, Julian. Hope they’re okay. I have to be
good. I cannot rip into these guys like a momma T-Rex because…Mattie, Julian,
Mattie, Julian.

 However
many seconds, minutes, or hours later, the car came to a stop. The kids were
roused from their sleep, and again, I reassured them that things were going to
be okay.

 “Keep
the masks on,” one of them ordered. The doors opened, we were pulled out onto a
gravel road, I took a hand of Cody and Maya's, and our feet crunched the gravel
as we stumbled blindly along. A door was opened; thankfully, there were no
steps or I would have fallen flat on my face, bringing the children down with
me.

 “It’s
going to be okay,” I said for the umpteenth time, and received a hand squeeze
from both.

 We
were placed in a room in front of—what I guessed—a couch, which I felt at the
back of my calves.

 “Sit,”
one kidnapper said. We sat, where I cradled the children close to me. The door
opened again; someone walked in, and I heard a chair being slid back, the sound
of that someone sitting in it. I knew who it was straight away. I could never
misplace his strong, stinking cologne.

 “Remove,”
David said, with a smile upon his mouth. I’d been around him enough to know
when he was smiling.

 Our
head-covers were whipped off. I blinked a couple of times to bring focus back.
The kids rubbed at their eyes. I looked up and found David sitting behind a
desk, his hands folded on top of it; his eyes gleamed with a ‘gotcha’ look, and
his mouth was smirking at me. He looked the same as he had six years ago. The
same ocean blue eyes that had sucked me in, the same slim, tall form. The only
difference was that his sandy hair had receded more on top.

 “Hello,
my dear Zara
Edgingway
.” he gleamed.

 “David.”

 “What,
that’s it? That’s all you have to say to your husband? After all these years,”
he spat, disgusted. “Get the kids out of here. I want to talk to my wife.”

 “What?
No, no, David. Please let them stay with me,” I begged. I didn’t trust the men
standing behind the couch. Especially the one looking eagerly at my daughter.

 David
chuckled. “I doubt they’d want to hear what we have to talk about, darling.”

 “You
leave her alone,” Cody yelled, as he stood from the couch.

 “Cody,”
I said, pulling him back beside me. “It’s okay, hun.” I kissed the top of his
head and looked to David again. “David, do you at least have someone who could
be trusted with them? Please.”

 He
did a full belly laugh. “Of course I do.” He picked up the phone, pushed a
button, and said into it, “Bring them in.”

 Moments
later, the door opened; a guy in jeans and a long-sleeved black tee walked in.
But I was more interested in the voice I heard in the hall.

 “Are
you bastards ever going to let us go? You know I’ve missed my tit appointment; not
that I’d really want to get them squished into a vice, but it has to be done
with a woman my age. Plus, my kids must be worried by now.”

 A
sigh. “Nancy.” And I knew that person would be shaking his head.

 “Mum?”
I called, shocked.

 I
stood as an older version of me walked into the room wearing black pants and a
red woolen jumper. Behind her was a brooding form of an older version of
Mattie, only he was taller, with dark grey hair and warm, green eyes. Both of
them looked a little worse for wear, a bruise on Mum’s cheek and Dad had a
black eye.

 I
felt sick.

 David
was going to pay.

 “Dad?”

 “Oh,
my baby,” Mum cried, and she ran at me.

 “Mum,
oh God, Mum, Dad,” I sobbed.

 “Sweetheart,”
Dad said, with tears in his eyes. They both wrapped me up in their arms.

 “Oh,
oh, is this my little angel, Maya?” Mum pulled away, picked Maya up, and hugged
her to her chest.

 “And
who do we have here?” Dad asked. “Hey, buddy. I’m Richard, Zara’s dad; and that
loud lady is Nancy, Zara’s crazy mum.”

 “I
heard that, Richard, and I’m not crazy.”

 “It’s
so great to see you both,” I cried. “A-and this is Cody. Talon’s son.”

 “Really,
and who’s Talon?” Mum asked.

 “He’s
my mum’s man, Nanny,” Maya informed.

 “My
dad’s the one who’s gonna come here and kick his ass,” Cody whispered to my
parents. I pulled him into a hug.

 “Well,
we look forward to meeting him.”

 David
cleared his throat. “As do I. Now, isn’t this reunion grand? But it ends now.”

 “No,”
I said. “Please, I just got them back. Oh, God, Mum, Dad. Mattie said you were
dead, killed in a car accident.”

 “Yes,
well. That’s what the idiot over there told us too. But it was his way of
trying to get you to show; he thought you’d turn up at our funeral, and then
he’d nab you there.”

 “Enough.
Take them and the children out. I’ll deal with them later.”

 Nancy
placed Maya's feet back on the floor and tugged Maya behind her body. Dad did
the same with Cody.

 “Mummy,”
Maya wailed. “I’m not leaving my Mummy,” Maya said, stomping her foot on the
floor.

 “Ha!
I’m afraid so, daughter of mine.”

 “You’re
not my daddy, Talon is,” she stated.

 David’s
upper lip raised. “Get them out of here. Now!”

 “I’ll
see you soon; it’s going to be fine.” How many times had I said that? I could
only hope it was true. The great part was that I knew my parents would do
anything to protect Maya and Cody, and they knew that I would understand that.

 “Be
smart and safe, sweetheart,” Dad said.

 Oh, God. Just like Mattie.

 Snot a block—Mattie and Julian.

 I
nodded, tears threatening again. “Be good kids for your grandparents.” I kissed
Maya and Cody on their temple. “I love you both,” I said, and it was then I saw
for the first time, tears in Cody’s eyes.

 “Love
you too, Mummy.” Maya smiled. Cody gave me a chin lift…just like his father.

 Mum
hugged me close and whispered, “Don’t give in.”

 “I
never will.” Not when I had Talon.

 She
picked up Maya. Dad placed his arm around Cody’s shoulders, and they walked
silently from the room with two guards, the one that came in with them, and one
of Rocko’s men. Thankfully, the one who eyed Maya stayed behind.

 I
slumped back onto the couch.

 “No,
no, Zara. Come and sit in this chair.” David gestured with his hand to the
chair Pervy Guy placed a foot in front of David’s desk.

 I
rolled my eyes, hopped up, walked over, and sank into the wooden chair. Pervy
Guy came to stand behind me. Hairs on the back of my neck raised; I looked over
my shoulder at him, and he grinned down at me.

 “What’s
your name?” I couldn’t keep calling him Pervy Guy, and I needed a name to seek
my vengeance on.

 “Call
me, Jeff.”

 I
doubted that was his real name.

 David
stood, walked around the table, and stopped in front of me. My heart rate
accelerated as
Jeff
grabbed both my arms and pulled then roughly behind
the chair, holding them in place.

 “Why
all the fuss for me, David?”

 He
laughed. “I never like to let anything go, Zara, you knew this.”

 Whack.
He slapped me across my already
sore face.

 “Obviously,
I hired the wrong people to find you, for it to take this long. Wasn’t it lucky
these men contacted me and said they’d found my wife? You really should have
turned up at the funeral, Zara. I might not have been as mad as I am now,” he
said, leaning over with his hands on the armrests of the chair, our noses
nearly touching. “But then again, you have really pissed me off.” He leaned
back.

 Whack.
A hit to the other side of my
face forced my head around.

 At
least he was being kind enough to not hit me in the same spot.

 I
licked my lip and tasted blood.

 I don’t know if I’m going to get out of this.

 “Six
years, Zara. You left me for six long years, and if you hadn’t, I would have
been fine. My plan would have been over by now, and I would be a rich man. But
it didn’t, all because of you.”

 Whack.
I slumped in the chair and
winced, not just from David hitting me, but from being held in place, my
shoulders and arms protested against the angle Jeff had them in.