Valiant

Even if it kills me.

“Rae,” I say, kneeling down in the small, fully locked up room York dumped us both in after we arrived.

I don’t know where he went.

I don’t want to know where he went.

Right now, I just need to focus on the here and now. I have to get us through this. I have to keep my wits about me. I spent too long falling to my knees instead of standing up for myself. I can’t do that again. So help me God, I’ll get us out of here, because I have something worth fighting for now.

Jack.

God. Jack.

I don’t even want to think about what he must be going through right now. It breaks my heart to think he’ll be so freaked out.

“Rae,” I whisper again, shaking her.

She came in and went to sleep just after York dumped us in here, or maybe she passed out. I’m not sure. All I know is that she’s in a bad way. She barely looked at me, barely spoke to me, she just curled onto an old, worn mattress on the ground with her back to me.

“Don’t touch me,” she grumbles.

“I know you’re angry at me,” I say carefully. “But I need you to work with me or I’m not going to be able to get us out of here.”

“You’re not going to be able to get us out of here anyway,” she grunts, opening her eyes and glaring at me. “You were useless the first time, and you’re useless now. So, leave me alone.”

I take a deep breath.

She’s not going to listen to me, and there’s no point in upsetting her. I’ll do this on my own if I have to. I’ll just make sure she comes with me when I leave.

The door swings open suddenly, and York steps in. I step away from the mattress near Rae and meet the eyes of the man I was once so afraid of. He looks almost pathetic now, standing in front of me, so underweight it’s alarming. The fear I once felt almost seems like it was reserved for someone else. This man isn’t even half of the man York was before.

“Plotting against me won’t get you out of here, Maddie,” he says in a low voice.

I don’t say anything.

Anything I say will only make him angry.

“Silence won’t work, either.”

Fine then.

“What do you want from me, York?”

He grins, and it sends shivers straight down my spine. “I just want what’s mine.”

What’s his?

“I’m not yours.”

His eyes flare. “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. Running away does not change that. You’ll pay for what you’ve put me through.”

I swallow, but keep it together. “I ran away because you’re abusive and nearly killed me.”

“Because you were seeing other men,” he hisses.

He’s delusional. Arguing with him will get me nowhere. There isn’t a single thing I can say or do that will make him change his thought process. So, I fall silent again.

“Look what you’ve done to my sister,” he says, glancing at Rae and then scowling. “Turned her into a mouthy brat. You’ll pay for that, too.”

I bite my tongue, because it’s his fault she is the way she is, but again, nothing I say will make any difference to what he’s thinking right now.

“I taught her to shut her fucking mouth damn quickly when she got here.”

His eyes hold Rae’s, and I see her shrink into herself. I hate that. I hate that one person can have such an effect on another.

“Then turning to those bikers,” York growls, focusing back on me. “Trying to get me removed. That’s going to fucking hurt for you, Maddie.”

My insides are screaming at me to fight, to run, to do something, but I don’t. I stand perfectly still, keeping my lips sealed shut.

“Answer me,” York barks, hand lashing out and slapping me across the face.

My head whips to the side and I gasp, but I don’t scream. Pain explodes in my cheek and my vision blurs. It’s as if I’ve been dragged back in time.

“Go to hell,” I growl, looking back at York.

Another slap, this one sends me flying to the ground. I stumble a couple of times before skittering across the floor and slamming against the wall. Pain erupts in my back like a fire, but, again, I don’t scream. I don’t move. My knees shake, but I stay where I am.

“You’ll learn to keep your mouth shut again. I’m organizing us passports and a flight out of this damned country. You won’t escape me again. Either of you!” he roars, before stepping out of the room and slamming the door.

For a moment, I can’t do anything but pant to get myself past the pain. York is going to try and take us out of the country. I reach up and rub my face carefully, holding back the fear that really wants to take over. I’m okay. I’m. Okay. I’ll find a way out of this.

I will.

Won’t I?

“Baylee.”

My eyes flick towards Rae, and her eyes are wide, her mouth slightly agape.

“What?” I whisper, trying to ignore the pounding in my head and the spreading pain in my back.

“My water just broke.”

Oh.

Sweet.

Jesus.

~*~*~*~

“It’s okay,” I say, rubbing Rae’s back as she leans forward, panting in agony. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It hurts,” she wails. “It hurts.”

“I know, I know it does, but you need to keep calm for me. I’ll get us out of here. I will.”

“I don’t want him to hurt my baby,” she cries, her eyes meeting mine.

For the first time, I see real fear and concern in them. She’s worried York will hurt her child, a child she’s not given one single moment of care about in the entire time she’s had it growing inside her. But regardless of that, I can’t allow anyone to hurt her baby, or her.

“I won’t let that happen,” I say softly. “I promise you.”

“I’m afraid.”

Seeing her so broken, so vulnerable ... It breaks my heart.

And terrifies me.

“I know you are. I know. I’ll figure—”

“Tell her to stop her fucking screaming!”

York bursts through the door, clearly having just woken and coming down from whatever high he just gave himself. I know. I’ve seen it all before. I used to blame the drugs for his behavior, but I have to wonder if it was always there, always lying beneath the surface, waiting for something to bring it out. I mean, surely a substance can’t make a person become so ... violent.