CHAPTER 27
RYAN

I dumped the back up car and wracked my brain as to where the hell those assholes might’ve taken Grace. I had no idea how I was going to fix this shit, but I knew I had to get her out of this alive. Jesse was way too eager to follow Kenneth’s orders and Kenneth was a bombastic nightmare. They wouldn’t go easy on her, and every second that passed by meant there was a greater chance she was already dead.

I’d been calling their phones, but they weren’t answering. Fuck. Those assholes must’ve made some bullshit plan behind my back. I bet they were going to try and steal from me, to take off with all that fucking money for themselves. They probably had a separate safehouse somewhere only the two of them knew about, and that was where they probably had Grace.

But if they were still in the city waiting for the heat to die down, it meant I could pinpoint where they were.

I hotwired another car and stuck to the back roads of the city that weren’t being patrolled. I went by their old houses, in case they had defaulted to one of their familiar places. I dodged the police when I saw them coming around the corner and I sat in the shadows, waiting for opportunities to check out other places.

But they were nowhere to be found.

Using the spare keys under their mat, I got into their apartment. The two of them lived like fucking pigs. Pizza boxes everywhere and opened beer bottles on the fucking floor. It made me angry just looking at it as I started rifling through their trash. I pulled out bills they never intended on paying and porno magazines they were probably beating off to. These men were the bottom of the fucking barrel when it came to men, and I was ready to set their fucking place on fire.

Until a green piece of paper called my name.

I stuck my hand into the bottom of their fucking garbage and grabbed it. I opened it up and smoothed out the wrinkles, but there was nothing on it. I dug through the trash to try and find another piece of green paper, but it was nowhere to be found.

Then, I had an idea.

Running around their apartment, I tried to locate a pencil. Finally, I found one tossed in a corner, the eraser practically chewed off the end. I ran back over to the sticky note and lightly began to shade the note. Gradually, an address slowly appeared in relief on the paper.

I had them.

Now I knew where those fuckers were.

I stuck the address in my pocket and ran back down to the car. There were no sirens in the distance, which meant the police were still basing themselves out of the bank. I jumped into the beat up car no one would miss and cranked up the engine, then sped off in search of the address on the paper.

Weaving through the back roads, I chanced the main road to get to the proper side of town faster. I took the only other highway out of the town, and because it wasn’t barricaded off yet I had to make a choice. I looked down at my phone and picked it up in my hand, then dialed 911 and stuck it to my ear.

There was a good chance I couldn't take both Jesse and Kenneth at once, not with the guns they were packing. And if going to jail meant keeping Grace alive, then I was willing to do it.

I was willing to do anything for her and our child.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hello. Yes. My name is Ryan Park, and I am headed out to 6801 U.S. Highway 1082. It’s probably an abandoned home on the outskirts of Tell City, and the men who robbed City Central Bank are there with the money as well as the hostage they took.”

“Sir, did you say the men who robbed the bank?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How do you know this information?”

My eyes started combing the abandoned houses for the right address. I knew if I told the dispatcher the truth, it could lead to my arrest. But it also meant it could lead to the arrest of Jesse and Kenneth before they could kill Grace. It was a chance I had to take if my child was going to have any sort of healthy life with their mother.

I only hoped Grace wouldn’t feel the need to bring my child to see me in prison.

My child deserved better than that.

“Because I was one of the men who robbed the bank as well,” I said.

I heard the sharp intake of air on the other end of the line and continued before the dispatcher could say anything else. “I made a mistake, and I can’t take it back. But they’ve taken the woman I love, and she is pregnant with my child. I can’t let them hurt her.”

“I’m sending an ambulance and police your way. Sir, do not approach them. Wait with me on the phone until the police—”

But I hung up the phone before she woman could finish her statement.

I drove down the windy, dusty road just outside of town. I counted down the numbers, my eyes peeled for any signs of life in the abandoned sector of town. I had half a mind to kill them both and leave Grace to be found and taken care of by the ambulance headed for us. But there was a sliver of hope that bloomed in me. If I could obtain a lawyer that would take pity on my situation, I might be able to get a reduced sentence. Maybe I could get out with enough time to still be a somewhat active participant in my child’s life.

But all of that fell to the back of my mind when the cabin number came into view.

I pulled the stolen car up behind a car I didn’t recognize. I climbed out of my car and stuffed another magazine in my gun, then headed for the door. I wasn't waiting for any police to get there. I was settling this once and for all.

I had unfinished business, and I needed to look Grace in the eye and apologize.

Barging into the house, my gun rose immediately. I leveled it at Jesse as my eyes scanned the room. I found Kenneth with his hand trembling, and a gun trained at a slumped figure in a chair.

Holy shit.

Grace was out cold.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” I asked.

“I knew it,” Kenneth said. “I told you, Jesse.”

“What the fuck did you do to her?” I screamed again.

I pressed the gun right between Jesse’s eyes and backed him straight into a wall.

Jesse grabbed my shirt and knocked the gun out of my hand. I tackled him to the ground and threw my fists into his face. I felt his nose crunch underneath my fist before his knee was thrust into my stomach. He rolled us over and I blocked his punches, and I heard Kenneth laughing in the distance.

Throwing a punch straight into Jesse’s throat, he began to choke. I rolled us back over before I got up, then I kicked his gun off into the corner. I picked mine back up and grabbed him by his hair, pressing the gun to his temple.

I saw a look of panic on Kenneth’s face as Grace began to stir.

Kenneth cocked his hand back and I popped off a warning shot. It buzzed right by his head and he flinched. Grace was slowly coming to and I watched Kenneth fist her hair, then he ripped her blindfold off as I pressed the gun back to Jesse’s head.

“Wakey, wakey,” Kenneth said. “Time to pay up.”

“I can’t believe you blew this fucking job for some pussy,” Jesse said, choking.

“I didn’t blow anything. It was the two of you who had another plan behind my back,” I said.

“Damn right. I put it in place to save our ass. When you came in talking about changing shit up, I knew something had happened. That you had some conscience setting in or some shit. Didn’t know it was because you got a bitch pregnant, though.”

My blood ran cold. “Ryan?” Grace asked.

She whimpered as Kenneth yanked her head back.

“She’s pretty, you know. Got a nice pair of lips. I bet they’d feel nice around my cock.”

“I swear to God, I will fucking kill you if you touch her,” I said.

“Ryan, stop,” Grace said, with a whimper.

When I cocked my gun against Jesse’s head, he began to panic. His body began to shake with nerves as Kenneth clenched his jaw. He threw Grace’s head forward and leveled his gun right at her fucking stomach.

He was a sick bastard, and I had half a mind to shoot him on the damn spot.

“It’s clear that you care about this woman,” Kenneth said. “But it was stupid for you to come after her.”

“I’ll always come after her,” I said.

“Aw, how sweet,” Kenneth said flatly.

“Drop your gun, or she dies.”

“You wouldn’t,” I said.

He cocked his gun and Grace started to cry heaving sobs as she leaned forward. Spit was dribbling from her mouth and her eyes were screwed shut. She had bruises all around the crown of her head. I was seething with anger. She probably had a concussion and needed serious medical attention.

Where the fuck were the police?

“Drop. The gun,” Kenneth said.

I watched the barrel of his gun press against her side and she winced. Fuck. They had me and they knew it. I held up my hands and released Jesse, then dropped my gun to the floor. I kicked it away from us before Jesse could get his hands around it, then sent my knee flying into that fucker’s stomach.

He went to his knees and I saw Kenneth flinch.

I saw Jesse crawling across the floor toward the nearest gun and I tried to stop him, but Grace crying out in pain caused me to whip my head around. I saw Kenneth tugging at her hair, pulling her eyes upright to watch me.

Watch my every move as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I wonder how she feels, carrying the child of some lowlife criminal,” Kenneth said.

“Ryan. Help me,” Grace said, breathlessly.

I heard another gun cock and I looked over to my side. Jesse’s trembling, trigger-happy hands were leveling a gun at my head. A bit of blood was trickling from his mouth and the smile on his face rolled my stomach with disgust. I knew he would shoot me. He’d blow my brains out right in front of Grace before killing her himself.

I held up my hands as my eyes turned back to Kenneth.

“On your knees,” he said. “Hands behind your head.”

“No, Ryan. No, please,” Grace said.

“It’s okay,” I said, as I got down. “Everything’s going to be all right, Grace.”

“Please. Don’t hurt him. I’ll do whatever you want. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t hurt him.”

“Such a heartfelt plea,” Kenneth said. “Too bad it won’t do any good.”

“No! Please! Don’t kill him!”

“Grace! Look at me. Look at me. Eyes on me,” I said.

Tears were dripping down her face as she turned her wide eyes to mine.

“Focus on me. Only me, and nothing else. Can you hear me?” I asked.

“This is bullshit, boss. Can I kill him now?” Jesse asked.

“I need you to be strong for me, okay?” I asked.

“Ryan, no,” Grace said, with a whisper.

“Jason and Harper are going to need you. And our child is going to need you. You have to be stronger than you ever felt possible, but I know you can do this,” I said.

“Ryan, please. Get us out of this. I know you can. You’ve always been so smart. Smarter than you ever—ever thought,” Grace said.

“I love you,” I said. “And if it’s any consolation, this was my last job. I was looking up two-year colleges to go to and everything.”

“I believe you,” she said, breathlessly. “I believe you, Ryan.”

“You need to take care of our baby, okay? He or she needs to grow big and strong. And they’re going to have the best mother to do that with.”

“Ryan, don’t.”

“And Jason? He’s going to need you, too. He’ll be angry at first, but he loves you. Adores you, even.”

“Please,” Grace said, as she began to sob again.

“It’s okay,” I said, as Jesse pressed his gun to my head. “I promise you, everything is going to be okay.”

I was hoping the police would get there soon before they fucking blew my brains out. Every second I could stall them and draw this out meant I stood a chance of making it out alive. But even if I didn’t—even if Jesse ended my life—I needed to know Grace was going to make it out of this unharmed.

Which meant hearing the sirens rolling down the street before I gave in.

“Do you remember the first time I ever saw you?” I asked.

“At the dance?” Grace asked.

“No. Not then. It was across the auditorium at some shitty pep rally for our football team,” I said, with a snicker. “You were wearing a red and white sweater and a pair of skinny jeans. Your hair was down and you were rolling your eyes just like I was. I thought to myself, ‘There’s a girl that gets me. She hates this shit like I do.’”

“That’s when you first saw me?” she asked.

“It was. And it was the moment that changed my life. You changed me, Grace. In ways I can’t even describe. I hope that even through all this, you can see how much I love you. How much I’m willing to do for you to make sure you’re okay. To see that you’re taken care of and safe.”

Though I didn’t hear sirens, I did hear tires rolling down the street.

Fuck. Maybe the police in this town were smart after all.

“All right. I’m done,” Kenneth said. “Kill him, Jesse.”