Melody bit her lower lip as nerves skittered up and down her spine. She watched Christian help his father off of the back of the motorcycle, and it was obvious that the older man was having trouble getting down by himself, let alone make the walk into the motel on his own.
She was struck, as always, by Christian’s innate kindness. The need deep inside him that drove him to help others without a thought for himself. So unlike his gruff father, or the others in the gang. So unlike anyone she’d ever met before, come to think of it.
“Don’t worry, Melody.” Craig’s voice suddenly sounded from beside her, and she glanced over to see his gaze locked on to the two men as hers had been a moment ago.
“The old man is as tough as, well, old nails.” He grinned suddenly. “He’ll be just fine. And we’ll be back on the road with plenty of time to spare. You’ll see.”
She swallowed hard at his words, not sure if they made her feel reassured, relieved, or even more panicked.
She knew what Christian though about the whole thing. He had told her in no uncertain terms that he thought it was a mistake for her to go with them. For her to be there at all.
And, deep down, a part of her thought he was right. The last thing she wanted was to have be anywhere near Enrique again. A different state away would still be too close to him.
But this wasn’t about her. This was about Bianca. The woman had shown her kindness when Melody had been sure that her whole world was falling apart. Hell, it had been. She just hadn’t realized that, beneath her old, shattered world, there was another, so much better one waiting for her.
When she had been at her lowest, Bianca had given her exactly the type of tough love that she had needed. Bianca had told her to fight for her happiness, and that was exactly what she was going to do.
She couldn’t’ just sit on the sidelines, pretend like this wasn’t about her. Enrique had known exactly what he was doing when he had abducted Bianca. He had known she wouldn’t let another person suffer because of her.
But that didn’t mean she was eager to see him again, either.
The man had haunted her life for long enough. Melody was more than ready to forget about him, leaving him in the past where he belonged.
Melody’s eyes traced Christian as he helped his father inside the motel room.
She was ready to look towards her future, and she knew it was with this man. Her husband. She shook her head at the oddness of that. The father of her child.
The man she loved.
The man she wanted more than she had ever wanted anything before.
Melody tried to stay out of the way as Christian and his father moved towards the bathroom, and she was dismayed at how pale the older man looked. He must have lost a lot of blood, judging from the amount she could see darkening the leg of his denim jeans.
Hub shot her a look, and then leaned forward to growl something at his son, his cheeks suddenly turning a burnished rust color beneath his pallor.
After a moment, Christian sighed and walked over towards her.
“Hey, Mel,” he said softly, casting a worried look over his shoulder. “Would you mind running over to that diner next door and getting us a few plates to bring back here?”
Christian paused, looking at his father again.
“He’s lost a good bit of blood, and I’ll have to clean and patch him up before we can get on the road again.”
Melody glanced up at Christian, and then at Hub, easily able to read his unspoken words. Hub was embarrassed to look weak in front of anyone. Especially her.
Melody instantly nodded.
“Of course,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him gently on the cheek. “You take care of your father. I’ll be back in ten minutes?”
Christian shot her a wry grin, understanding flowing between them despite the tension she saw behind his blue eyes. He still didn’t want her there, didn’t want her in danger.
“Better make it twenty, sweetheart.”
She nodded again, giving one last encouraging smile to Christian and his injured father before heading back into the parking lot.
Melody took her time as she walked, stretching her legs after the long motorcycle ride. She knew they would have many more miles to go until they reached the spot where they were supposed to meet up with Enrique to get Bianca back.
There wasn’t anything else between here and there, just empty countryside, so she took advantage of the moment before the meeting. Melody drew in a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm and her nerves at bay, but it was an impossible task. The closer they got to the location where Enrique would be meeting them, the worse her feeling of unease got.
She knew Enrique. And she knew he would never let Bianca go easily, even if they could manage to trick him into believing he was getting her in return.
That uneasy feeling never left her, but Melody knew that she didn’t have a choice but to go on. She knew that she had to be strong, for Bianca, for Hub, and for Christian.
The last thing she wanted was for them to think that she was weak or unworthy. Her whole life she had been told that she wasn’t good enough, first by her father, and then Enrique, after the first few months of her relationship. That she was a failure. That she would never be good enough. She would prove to them that she was. To herself.
Melody walked into the diner, still lost in her own thoughts. Her head was still full of worried and doubts for the meeting that would go down in just a few short hours, and she couldn’t help but imagine all of the things that could go wrong.
She stepped into the line to order, but the hostess was busy checking out another customer, so Melody stood back to wait as her mind whirled with outcomes. What if Christian was hurt? Or killed? What if Enrique had no intention of handing Bianca back to Hub? What if the gruff old man did something foolish, like try and attack Enrique there, surrounded by the drug-dealers’ thugs?
Melody turned away from the thoughts as she looked around the diner, desperate for a distraction.
It was pretty busy for that time of day, but she wasn’t that surprised. Especially since it was the only place to stop for hours in either direction on the highway.
As her gaze moved from table to table, it landed on a booth off to one side. Melody drew in a deep breath as she took in the sight of the family of four. A mother and father, and a young girl who was arguing over the menu with another child, a boy.
She couldn’t help the small smile that twisted up the corners of her mouth. Suddenly, an image filled her mind, chasing away the shadows. It was all too easy to imagine what life would be like with Christian, once this was all over, once they were all really and truly safe. She’d finally have a real family. A home. A place to call her own. And she knew it wasn’t a building or a structure. Home was where she belonged, right by Christian’s side.
Harsh, masculine laughter cut through the pleasant thought and drew her attention to another table, where a group of rough-looking men were harassing a young, scared-looking waitress. Rage blinded Melody for a second as she watched the girl try and get away, but their hands get grabbing at her unwantedly.
She could see herself in the waitress, helpless and terrified. It reminded her of her own situation in the past, and how with help she’d been able to rise above it. She had to do something. She had to help.
Without another thought, Melody charged forward, her mouth already open on the shout as she drew near.
“You leave her alone! How dare you…”
The words froze in her throat as she finally got her first good look at the men. No! It couldn’t be. But Melody knew all too well that fate was often cruel.
She stared at the table in shock as they stared back at her, with all too familiar faces. She didn’t know their names, but she knew these men. They were Enrique’s. They must have stopped before going to the meet up with Enrique.
Panicked, she tried to turn around, she tried to flee, but just outside the door they caught up to her.
Hard hands grabbed her by the arms on either side, and something went wild inside her. She couldn’t go back to Enrique. She knew she would die. A part of her would just shrivel up, and she would never be the same again.
Melody fought with every ounce of strength that she had inside of her, but even still she was no match for them.
Still, she didn’t give up, and she didn’t stop fighting. One of the men drew back his hand and slapped her across the face, cutting her cheek on his ring.
With a scream, she kicked out blindly, landing the heel of her boot squarely between one of the men’s legs. He snarled, and sick fear rolled through her a second before his fist connected with her other cheek. Melody felt her lip split, and hot blood filled her mouth, choking her.
“Bitch!” the one she’d kicked sneered, and his expression made her even more terrified. “You’re going to pay for that!”
He grabbed her hair, and Melody screamed again, in pain this time, as he threw her into the back of a van. His face was the last thing she saw as the door was shut, her eyes rolled back into her head, and the whole world went black.