Misha
“Mama, I’m scared.”
“I know, hun.”
We’d been sitting there for about an hour, in his room. It was the one on the top floor, the biggest, with a huge bed and a large window. It’d have been a nice room—ideal, even—if I hadn’t known who it belonged to. It smelled like his cologne, a piney scent that I had come to loathe in the last five years.
I was scared, too. But I couldn’t let Rose know that. I had held her all the way into Jackal territory, had kept her close and safe, and I knew that the only way that she was going to stay all right was if I stayed all right. I knew that Trip had gotten my text message, and I knew that he would be on his way. Whatever happened between then and now would have to be prioritized in terms of what was best for Rose.
While I was lost imy thoughts, the door opened. I scooted further onto the bed as Callum came in, smirking like he’d won the lottery.
“Rigger can’t wait to see you, you know,” he said. “He’s real excited.”
“I’m surprised that he isn’t here right now,” I said snidely. “With as excited he is. Makes a guest feel unwelcome, you know.”
Callum laughed. “A guest. Heh. That’s what you think you are. I see why Rigger likes you so much; you’re so mouthy. He’s going to have fun putting you in your place. So am I.”
He turned, shouting out the door. “Hey, Hellen! Get your ass in here.”
Hellen?
My brows furrowed as she walked in—Holland’s old lady. She was an older woman, still shapely and naturally beautiful though. She had honey blonde hair and brown eyes. She also looked tired as all hell. I wondered why Callum was talking to her in such a way; that’s not how things were run. Hellen was always given the utmost respect being Holland’s old lady. Then again, Holland was out, Rigger was in, and she was probably in the minority at this point.
She carried a tray with her, holding a couple of sandwiches and some water. Callum gave her a snide smirk and a pop on the ass as she set it down. Her face twisted in a grimace, but she said nothing.
“Y’ll catch up and you lay out the law of the land around here for her,” Callum said. “Rigger’s setting some things into motion; he’ll be up in a little.”
With that, he left. As soon as I was sure he was gone, I turned to Hellen.
“Hellen—”
“How on Earth did you get yourself caught up in these boys again, girl?” she asked. “When you hightailed it on out, I thought you’d be gone for good.”
“So did I, Hellen.”
“Holland was gonna eventually leave, too.”
“I—” I paused. “He was?”
Hellen nodded, handing me the plates with the sandwiches. I took one, and gave one to Rose so she could have something in her poor stomach.
“He had been thinking about it before the wreck, as Rose got older. He felt bad keeping you for so long when he knew all you were trying to do was get away from the chaos of the life. Before your boys cleaned up their act and straightened themselves out, at least.”
“Little late to think about what Holland was or wasn’t going to do, though.”
“Yeah, well, ain’t that just the way.”
I nibbled at the sandwiches and saw that Rose was doing the same. Good. I turned my attentions back to Hellen.
“What’s happened since I left, Hellen?” I asked. “Why are you being treated like this?”
She laughed a little bitterly. “Because I stood by Holland even when he was in a coma, I wouldn’t do what Rigger wanted just because he was trying to be macho and a piece of shit. I stood up for the club girls, too. It’s one thing to pass them around and screw their brains out, another to do half the shit those boys were allowed to do to them. Had too much of a big mouth.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Hellen waved her hand at me and shrugged.“Don’t be. For Rigger? He was a piece of shit when he joined and Holland should have never taken him in. For everything that that man ever did, he always had a shitty soft spot for people, even when he shouldn’t have.”
I shifted.“I’m sorry he’s gone, Hellen.”
“Ah, yeah, well. So am I, Misha.”
She stared at me a little, her brows furrowed. She’d never hated me, even with the way Holland had taken me. I’d always found that odd, though it was nice that she hadn’t. I supposed it was part of her being a practical woman. Hellen was nothing if not practical.
“Your man coming to get you?” Hellen asked suddenly. I glanced at her and she gave me a raised brow.
“It ain’t like I’m gonna tell Rigger, but you should know that if your man is coming, Rigger’s got boys here and that little weasel Jared—”
“Jared told me about Rigger looking for me to begin with.”
Hellen laughed. “Honey, who do you think told him to go out and drop that information? Jared’s gotten into a lot of trouble … They thought that he helped you escape, for one, but he’s also been skimming money from Holland for years, then come to find he thought he was going to do the same with Rigger. Holland wasn’t ever stellar with numbers, but I’ll hand it to Rigger, he’s smart like that, saw right through. Told him he’d spare his life if he dropped a couple of little hints to scare you up, maybe make you come back on your own, then hang around in town for the finale. He knew your boys would come looking for him to see where they’d be taking you.”
I drew in a breath, and shook my head. I could hardly process any of this.
“I thought Jared was my friend.”
“Jared is your friend, but he’s also a raging coward, baby.”
I couldn’t even argue with her on that one. I knew that Jared was a coward. I didn’t think that he would betray me like that, though. Just for himself.
Hellen put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t dwell on it, Misha,” she said. “It’ll only make it worse. Hunker down until your man comes. I don’t know all of what Rigger has planned, but it won’t do you any good trying to run out.”
Hellen left, and I weighed my options. Jared had had a hand in all of this. I shouldn’t have felt so bad—but I did. It twisted something ugly in my chest and it legitimately hurt.
I finished off my sandwich with gusto, and looked to Rose. I needed to get her out of here. She could run, and run, and run, but the Jackals had bikes … Unless she ran into the woods.
My phone was still in my pocket. Callum hadn’t taken it; I’d silenced the ringer and slipped it into my pocket, letting him think that it had been left behind. I pulled it out and tucked it into the little PJ pocket that she had.
“Honey,” I said. “When the time is right, I’m gonna tell you to run, okay? You need to run as fast as you can, into the woods. Don’t stop until you hit the road, okay? You remember how we left?”
She nodded at me, though she was still shaking.
“Mama, you’ll come with me, right?”
“I’ll follow you, sweetie.”
“But, Mama—”
“You have to trust me Rose, okay? Please.”
She sniffed but nodded, and tucked her face into my chest. I didn’t know if it was the right choice to make, but it was the choice that I was making nonetheless for my daughter.
I waited as patiently as I could, then. It was maybe ten minutes after that the door opened once more, and it was Callum that came in.
“Rigger’s here. Wants you downstairs.”
His smirk told me that something gross was likely up, but there was something positive in that; it would be easier to get Rose out of this goddamn house down there as opposed to up here. Rigger could do whatever he wanted with me after Rose was gone, but I needed her out and in the woods and I needed her calling someone for help. I stood and took Rose’s hand. Callum tried to touch me to nudge me out of the room, and I dodged his touch. He only laughed.
“You can keep doing that all you want; it’s not gonna change a damn thing, Misha.”
With that, we made our way down the stairs. Each step echoed nervously in my heart, but I steeled myself for my daughter. I had to keep my nerve and my wits about me.
Downstairs, there were a few Jackals about—but I knew it wasn’t all of them. They were the ones that had always been somewhat in Rigger’s pocket. They’d probably been all too happy to jump Holland’s ship and throw their support in for Rigger once Holland was out of the way. They were scattered about the downstairs, leering, with Rigger in the middle of them.
He was tall and built, and would probably have been handsome if he wasn’t such a disgusting human being. His hair was black as pitch and his eyes were clear blue. Dreamy, to a lot of the club girls, before he got his hands on them, at least.
“Misha. Nice of you to return.”
“I didn’t really have much of a choice, Rigger.”
“You had plenty of choice! You came back willingly rather than trying to fight your way out. You had a choice to stay here, too, but I suppose you had an itch that needed scratched. You should be grateful that I let you scratch it for as long as I did.”
I said nothing. He smirked and walked toward me, circling around me. It was like he was a predator eyeing prey, sizing me up, trying to see how much of a bite he could take out of me. it was honestly sickening, but there was little that I could do about it. He got closer, reached out and fluffed his fingers through my hair. I stepped away from him and he reached out and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me closer to him. It would almost have been considered a lover’s embrace, but he was far from a lover. I could smell the cloves on his breath and the hints of his cologne on his skin. I hated the combination of those scents.
“Did you miss me, Misha?”
“Like someone misses cancer,” I griped.
He chuckled. “That’s rude. And here I have a house for you, a bed for you, food for you. And this is how you treat me. You run away, and then when I give you your little vacationyou come back to me with an attitude. I don’t like that all too much, Misha. Not at all.”
“I’m sure you’ll live, Rigger.”
He laughed again, and this time he let me go, though he continued to circle me.
“So, did you enjoy it? Your little rendezvous with your old flame? Was it enjoyable? Did you have fun?” He eyed Rose. “He put another one in you?”
I didn’t answer.
“Aw, the silent treatment. That’s so cruel. I thought we could talk about your vacation, like old friends. But apparently I was wrong. You come back thinking that you can talk to me any way that you want. Didn’t you learn anything while you were here under me, Misha?”
I didn’t answer him again. This time, his stare got nasty.
“Tut, tut. You give a girl a little bit of freedom and then she’s ungrateful for it.”
Before I knew it, a hand came across my face. It was hard, and knocked me to the ground. Rose yelled out, but I didn’t respond; my ears were ringing from the force of the hit across my face and I felt the blood starting to run down my nose.
“Misha, you know I hate marking you up,” he said, stooping down to take my face in his hand. He made me look at him and his head was tilted, that predatory gaze staring back at me in those evil blue eyes. I glared at him.
“You like it, and don’t even try to tell me that you don’t. I know you, Rigger. You’re a disgusting, sadistic son of a bitch.”
“Ouch. Such foul language. And in front of the girl. Tut.”
He let go of my face and stepped away. He started to approach Rose, and she began to back away from him.
“Come now, girl. Don’t be shy. You remember Uncle Rigger, don’t you?”
Rose whined, stepping further away from him, out of his reach. She was getting closer to the door. I saw this as her chance.
“Rose, now!”
She spared me only a single glance before turning and bolting. One of Rigger’s men tried to reach out and snatch her, but she was too fast for him and ended up darting out of his grasp and out of the front door. It banged open, and I watched as my daughter’s figure flitted away into the darkness before the door banged closed again. A few of the men moved toward the door, intent on going after her. To my surprise, Rigger called them off.
“Forget about her. She’ll get lost in the dark and the woods and she’ll either come back or she’ll deal with the elements and the animals.” He looked down to me. “Clever, I suppose, but not wholly. If you think she’s gonna get away quick and fast, you’re wrong.” With the toe of his boot, he rolled me over, onto my back on the floor. I looked at him from my place there, hating him with every fiber of my being but knowing at the very least that this was going to give Rose a head start. She wasn’t totally helpless; she had a phone that was almost all the way charged and she was smart even if she was young.
“You know, I always thought you were such a handful. Even when you were Holland’s, walking around like you were untouchable just because he threw you a bone or two here and there. And then getting uppity when we finally had the chance to keep you in your place.”
“You’re a piece of shit. Of course I want nothing to do with you,” I snapped.
Callum smirked.
“Well see about that. We’ll see—”
Suddenly, the front door bust open. I was startled, and looked over to see Trip charging in, along with the other Pride boys. My heart jumped in my chest, elated, but not when I saw guns drawn on both sides. My eyes widened, knowing there was going to be some sort of firefight.
“Misha, get out of the way!” I heard Trip’s voice as he shouted at me, moving in on Rigger. I couldn’t lose him.
I knew Rigger needed to go down first. I kicked my foot out as a shot rang out loud and Rigger let out a surprised grunt as he began to fall to the floor.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I saw the anger on Rigger’s face, and I saw the gun pointed at me. I heard someone shout my name—it might have been Trip, it might have been someone else. All I knew was that Rigger was going down to the floor, and there was a sharp pain that radiated out from the right side of my body.
More shots rang out, but I slumped against the floor, my eyes turned up to the ceiling. I saw people run past, and more shouts. There might have been another set of shots before they died out, but I couldn’t pay attention to them.
My thoughts were on Rose. Was she okay? Had she made it to the road? Would the Pride boys follow her? Would they take care of her? Of course they would. She was Trip’s blood and he wouldn’t let a damn thing happen to his little girl.
“Misha? Misha?”
I felt hands on me. Sweet, warm hands, that held me so tightly against a solid body. I blinked; I hadn’t realized that I had closed my eyes at all.
“Trip …” His face swam in a blur in front of my face, but it was him.
“Misha, come on. You’re gonna be fine. Keep your eyes open.”
“I’m so tired, Trip.” Why was I so tired?
“Misha, you need to stay awake for me, okay, baby? Come on. No, don’t close your eyes again—”
“I love … I love you … Trip.”
“Misha? Misha!”