Out of the Ashes (42 page)

“Said she fell down the stairs.” A voice penetrated my foggy mind. “She’s almost nine months,” the voice continued in disgust. “How someone could do that to a kid, a pregnant kid no less—” It petered off.

I quickly opened my eyes. Two people were standing by my bed, glancing at a chart and peering down at me. Everything hurt. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I struggled to remember what got me here, where I was. My thoughts moved to my belly and fear replaced everything. My belly, the thing that had kept me going for the last four months, the thing I loved more than anything was gone. I was empty. I knew it. Hatred, hotter that I’d ever felt, burned through my veins…hatred for Sid. My eyes opened properly this time and I clutched the hand of a surprised doctor.

“My baby,” I croaked in despair. “Where is she?”

The woman’s hand covered mine, her face soft. “Your baby is in the NICU. She needs some special attention, but she’s going to be fine.” She paused. “You just focus on getting yourself better.” Her voice sounded like a dismissal but I wouldn’t let go.

“My husband?” I continued, hating the fact I was tied to him through marriage. “Does he know? Does he know she’s okay?” I asked with desperation.

The doctor jolted slightly and gave me a searching look. “No, we were on our way to inform him of you and your daughter’s condition now.” Her voice had turned hard, and I knew she knew he did this.

“Don’t,” I pleaded. “Don’t tell him she’s alive.”

Her face turned carefully blank and she moved closer to me. “Miss Gregory, I’m obligated by law to let your husband know of his child’s condition.”

I battled to keep my eyes clear, steady. “That is
not
his child,” I declared passionately. “She isn’t his. No father would beat the mother of his child for months while a helpless baby tried to grow. No
human being
would do that. Only a monster,” I spoke quickly, quietly. “Please, you have to help me,” I wasn’t above begging. Not for my daughter’s life. I knew we couldn’t go back to Sid. He’d kill us. Kill me. I would not bring a defenseless child into that Hell. My child. He thought I didn’t know what he was. What he did. I knew. He underestimated me because he thought he’d broken me completely. But a part of me was still whole, for our daughter. So I knew that he hurt people, killed people. That he was part of something to do with drugs. I had to get out. If he knew she was alive, he’d never stop hunting us. This was my only chance.

The woman seemed to be battling with something while she looked at me. I knew I must have looked bad. I felt it.

“Okay,” she whispered quietly.

I sagged in relief, even though the battle was far from won. “Thank you,” I breathed, looking down at her nametag. “Alexis.”

So somehow she had made Sid think that the baby he had named Hillary was dead. He’d come into my room, sat at my bedside sobbing, begging for my forgiveness. I had sat stoically, doing my best to ignore him, to breathe through the way his hand clutched mine. I somehow made it. Made it through the stifling poison of his presence before he disappeared, promising to come back as soon as he could. Someone was looking out for me, because I caught a break. He didn’t come back, not for three days. Long enough for me to recover just enough to walk. To get out. Alexis, the doctor who saved our lives, organized for us to stay at a sort of rehab facility owned by a friend, just until I was well enough to travel. I hadn’t wanted to stick around, I had wanted to get as far away as quickly as possible, but Alexis convinced me to stay, to get stronger.

So I did, the whole time expecting Sid to burst in the doors and find me. Find us. He never did. Alexis gave me enough money and baby stuff for me to get far away. She also got both of us new identities. She had connections, experience dealing with women on the run, so she knew how to make us disappear. The odds were against us. A scared teenage mom and a newborn baby on the run. I had sixteen years of never catching a break, living life with no one looking out for me, but in the first weeks of Lexie’s life I was sure I had a guardian angel looking out for me. One that sent me Alexis. One that led me to a small hotel, and two wonderful people grieving the loss of their daughter.

I awoke with a jolt. The memories had come rushing back with the appearance of Sid’s face, his sickening presence. My eyes searched the room and I sat up, scuttling to the other edge of the bed when I saw Sid sitting on an armchair across the room, his leg crossed over his thigh, watching me.

“You were a pretty teenager, Button,” he said musingly. “But you’ve grown into a beautiful woman.” His eyes flitted over my face. “Even with the temporary imperfections,” he delicately described my injuries.

I managed to push myself off the bed, standing as far away as humanly possible. Sid pretended not to notice this. “I’ll admit,” he continued. “That I was,” he seemed to search for a word, “displeased when you ran from me. Even more so when you eluded me for sixteen years,” he said tightly, getting up, buttoning his jacket. “Then—” He stalked toward me and I pressed myself against a wall, nowhere else to go. “I finally caught a break. See, I’ve never stopped searching.” He paused. “My break was when I learned our daughter didn’t die that day,” he spoke softly as he approached me. “I learn that my little Button only let me
think
my child was dead.” His soft tone turned hard now, and his hand circled my neck. It was the same way Zane had so many times. But there wasn’t passion, tenderness, love beneath this touch. Only brutality. His hand tightened to pain and I gripped it, struggling to breathe.

“So, of course I doubled my efforts to get my family back together,” he told me as if he wasn’t strangling the life from me. “I caught another break. Found the people who took you in. Hid you from me.” He tilted his head, regarding me. “They didn’t sell you out, no matter how much pain I put them through. In the end, I had to dispose of them. Thankfully, I managed to get enough information from them once they were gone,” he said blandly, as if he wasn’t talking about murdering the only people who had given me love.

He seemed to realize that he was choking the life out of me and let go of my neck. I struggled to stay on my feet and doubled over, coughing, spluttering for air.

“You bastard,” I croaked when I was able to get enough air in my lungs. I straightened. “You bastard!” I repeated, louder this time and charged at him, lashing out with my nails, my fists, anything to cause him pain. My attack was laughable and he subdued me in a manner of seconds, his hands securing mine.

“They wouldn’t have had to die if you hadn’t forced my hand,” he informed me calmly as I struggled in his grip.

“You’re a monster,” I spat at him.

He shook his head. “Seems you’ve forgotten yourself after all these years, Abigail,” he said releasing my hands.

I didn’t try and fight this time, knowing there was no use. “I grew a spine,” I hissed at him. “I grew up. I realized you’re nothing but a sick coward who gets off on hurting those weaker than him.”

Sid’s face turned stormy. I held my head up high, willing myself not to give in to the fear coursing through my veins. “I don’t want to hurt you, Button,” he said, his emotional state as volatile as an active volcano. “You force me. You know that. All I want is my family back together.”

“We are not your family,” I answered with venom.

Sid smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong, Abby. You’re my wife. Hillary is my daughter. You’re mine.” His words held such a promise I had to remind myself he didn’t have her. She was safe.

“Her name is Lexie,” I corrected him, hating the name he had chosen days before he nearly killed her in my belly. “And she will never lay her eyes on the slime that sired her,” I promised him.

Sid stepped forward. “You might become more obedient once our daughter is under this roof,” he murmured. “Or she might find herself without a mother altogether,” he threatened softly, squeezing my chin between his thumb and forefinger. He looked at me a second longer, doing a quick sweep of my body. I flinched at the hunger that lay beneath his eyes.

“Get yourself cleaned up,” he ordered, stepping back. “I expect you ready in half an hour. Someone will be up to fetch you.” He spun on his heel and made for the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob. “It’s good to have you home, Abby,” he said over his shoulder. “I’ll make sure this time you don’t ever leave me again.”

With that firm promise he was gone.

“What’ve we got?” Bull barked at Wire, whose eyes were glued to multiple computer screens.

Bull didn’t know what half the shit on them even said, but he knew he was searching for evidence on Mia and Lexie. On who they really were.

Wire didn’t move his eyes from the screen. “Would have a hell of a lot more if I didn’t have the Incredible Hulk threatening to green up and wreck all my shit every five seconds,” he replied blandly.

Bull clenched his fists, restraining the urge to thump the wiry little fucker.

He felt someone clap him on the shoulder.

“Come on, brother, let him work,” Cade muttered firmly.

Bull gave the screens one more look before turning to leave the room.

“We know anything more?” he grunted at his friend after they left the dark room, emerging in the hallway that led off to the rooms and the living area.

Cade shook his head. “Went over to Mia’s—place is trashed.” He gave Bull an uneasy look before continuing. “Signs of a struggle, ‘specially in her bedroom,” he went on carefully.

Bull couldn’t do it. Couldn’t restrain his monster anymore, so he turned and plowed his fist through the wall. When he had calmed slightly, he turned back to Cade.