Chapter Twenty-Two
Chloe recognized familiar, yet changed landmarks when the clock on the dash read 8:04. A mixture of anxiety and dread filled her tender stomach as they neared their destination. She wanted to see Dayton and Mattie, but she wasn’t sure if things would get immeasurably worse once she saw them. She didn’t know what they’d been through to get all the way to Virginia. Marcus had total leverage as long as he had her boys.
They coasted through their old town that seemed for the most part unchanged. Cars were newer, streetlamps were updated, establishments looked a little more worn in places, but it was the same overall. Chloe adjusted her clothing and sat up a bit in her seat, every swallow a painful reminder of what happened when she broke his rules.
Her heart pounded as they approached the turn. Just as she was looking in the direction of their old street, Marcus drove past the turn and continued on the main road.
“Where are you going?” Her voice was a mere wheeze of sound that abraded painfully.
He didn’t answer.
The car pulled into a shabby shopping strip under ill repair, same as it had been six years ago. Most of the stores were closed at this hour and the lot was vacant. They drove toward the back of the buildings and circled the property.
Crates and pallets piled alongside dumpsters. A hose spigot leaked from a cement wall, forming a puddle that spread across the rutted pavement like oil.
Suddenly, like two blinking eyes, a car flashed its lights in the distance. Marcus slowed and pulled alongside the other vehicle. The glass lowered and he waited for the other driver to speak.
“Everything’s set,” the driver said, his face hidden in the darkness of the other vehicle.
“Any issues?” Marcus asked.
“No, the little one was pretty upset. We gave them some nighttime remedy to help them sleep. The older one cooperated.”
“Good.”
Chloe’s heart thundered as worry turned crippling. She strained to see the driver’s face, but it remained hidden by the shadows. Marcus handed him an envelope that looked to be filled with cash.
This was the man who abducted her babies. She needed to see his face. Reaching to unbuckle her seat belt, she stilled as Marcus dug his fingers into her leg without even glancing in her direction. He told the other driver they were finished and removed his foot from the brake, their car once again in motion.
“Remember what happens when you disobey.”
They pulled out of the shopping center and onto the main road. Marcus reached in his pocket and removed something that looked like a piece of gum, folded in silver paper. He held it out to her.
“Take this.”
She took the item in her hand, too light and small to be gum. She unfolded the foil. “It’s a pill.”
“Swallow it.”
Did he plan to keep her drugged? Whatever he gave her before made her incredibly sick and she needed to stay alert. “I’ll do—”
The car swerved without warning and skidded to the shoulder. He got within an inch of her face and snarled, “It grows tedious, don’t you think? Swallow the fucking pill or I’ll make you swallow it. If I think you didn’t ingest it I’ll force another one down your throat with my fingers holding it there until it dissolves.”
Sheer impotence had her eyes tearing. “Can I at least see the boys first?”
“You will not be seeing my boys tonight. They don’t know you’re coming. They’ve had a rough day, thanks to you, and I won’t have you getting them worked up. Now, swallow the fucking pill before I jam it down your fucking throat. One. Two—”
She whimpered and placed the pill on her tongue and forced it down her ravaged throat while her mind reflexively tried to regurgitate the drug. Common sense and her need to survive were lost against her instincts to reach her children. She needed to be strong to do that, not battered. The tiny capsule disappeared.
She breathed and waited. Marcus looked at his watch then pulled down the visor mirror and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I wonder,” he said quietly to himself. “How much have you lied to our boys about me?”
Chloe didn’t answer.
“Six years is a long time.” He continued to groom himself and she wondered what he was waiting for. “It’s a shame they had to leave their friends without even a goodbye.”
She tilted her head and frowned at his ear. It looked wrong, too curly and flat. Did he always have ears like that?
“I suppose I should give them time to adjust, but you and I have some catching up to do and that requires privacy. I’ve already enrolled hem in theirrrr new spoolll...” His words slurred and garbled as she swayed in her seat.
Why did his voice sound so far away, his words coming out slow and long? And what was he saying? She focused on his mouth. It moved slowly, sound coming out, but only a few words recognizable.
She sagged in the seat, suddenly very relaxed as the tension left her shoulders. As if in slow motion his hand reached past her and opened the glove compartment.
She rested her head on her shoulder and watched the man with the silly ear pull out a rolled up scarf and shut the compartment. The bundle unraveled and she saw it was a necktie.
But Trenton doesn’t wear ties.
She tried to count his fingers as they moved like octopus tentacles. He either had seven or twelve. She wasn’t sure. He slid the knot up to his throat and said something she couldn’t understand. A buzzing hum filled her head.
“Wellllllllllllll,” he said with big eyes, too many eyes. Slow and echoing, his voice filled the air. “Thaaaaaat should doooooo.”
Her belly danced as the car moved, the soft motion rocking her to sleep.