My mom loved big and she tried so hard even when she was sick, not to let me know how bad things were getting for her. Right up until the end, when she could barely eat or get out of bed, she would ask me to come to her room so she could read to me before bed.
I finally came to what I was looking for. A photograph of Waverley and I on her eighteenth birthday. We were in Atlantic City, the first time King had let us go off on our own. We’d had separate rooms, because even though War accepted our relationship, he didn’t like having it rubbed in his face. He knew I’d sneak in there though.
This photograph was one of us lying on the bed in that hotel room. She was wearing my wife beater and panties and I was shirtless. Her cheeks were rosy and her smile huge. I was holding my phone camera up so the angle wasn’t great but that smile always got me. I’d loved her so much back then.
I closed my eyes thinking about how we’d fucked up so spectacularly. I’d only just got her back, and she was taken from me. I vowed right there that once she was home, I wouldn’t be letting her go. Fuck North Carolina. She was mine and nothing would take her away from me again.
I needed a shower, I needed a clear head. I needed her.
Grabbing an ashtray off the table I turned and threw it at the wall. It was ceramic so it easily smashed, shattering to pieces all over the floor. No one came running, because it wasn’t unusual to hear things breaking around here. It did little to alleviate the stress and pain I was feeling.
I stomped over to the window and pulled it open as wide as it would go, letting in the noise of the compound. I heaved in a few deep breaths, trying to get air into my lungs. King’s warnings about the repercussions of killing Nytro’s officer echoed in my head. I couldn’t stand to think that something we did could be putting her in even more danger. I couldn’t stop imagining the things they could do.
Throughout all of this, I heard Reinhart had been arrested, but I think he might have been released on bail. Either way, he was on the cops radar for the things he’d done. I wanted to kill him too. So many people had hurt her over the years, she didn’t deserve any of it.
My phone started to ring behind me. For a moment I thought about leaving it, but it could be news about Waverley. I grabbed it off the bed, didn’t recognize the number but answered.
“Yeah?”
“Hudson.”
My heart stopped. I pulled the phone from my ear and checked the number again. Then hurriedly put it back. “Wave?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“What…where the hell are you?”
“I’m safe. I got away. Someone helped me. It doesn’t matter. I need you to come get me.”
I started hurrying towards my door. I was shocked, scared, elated, all of the feelings warring inside of me, I couldn’t believe I was talking to her. “Of course, tell me where and we’ll come.” I grabbed the door handle.
“Hudson, you need to come alone.”
I stopped, my hand on the door, my brows dipping. “Is someone there with you?” I asked quietly. “Threatening you.”
“It’s not what you think, I promise. Shit, Hudson do you seriously think I would let you walk into a God damn trap. Do you even know me?”
I almost grinned at the snap to her tone. Only Waverley would be calling for help and start giving me shit over it.
“I’d sooner die than let that happen.”
“Don’t say shit like that,” I told her. I shook my head, barely able to believe we were arguing.
“Hudson,” her voice went soft and it was my undoing. “Please, promise me. I’ll explain everything when you get here but I’m safe, I’m away from them and… I need you.”
I’d been drinking but this phone call had sobered me up instantly. I’d catch hell for this. I should go tell King, he’d spent an hour drumming into us that we couldn’t go off on our own trying to fix this. I should be loyal to him, to my President.
“I hear your brain ticking,” she said. “Hudson. I just need to talk to you. There are things you don’t know and I’m scared. Before I go to dad, I need you to tell me that I’m not losing my mind.”
When she sobbed softly I squeezed my eyes shut. All I wanted for the last few days was to find her and she was begging me to come get her. I didn’t understand what she meant about there being things I didn’t know.
“Okay, I’ll come alone. Where are you?”
She gave me an address. It was close to Parsippany. I left my room and stayed on the line with her as I hurried downstairs. People looked at me as I went through the bar but no one stopped me. I tried not to make it look as if I was hurrying somewhere. They’d figure soon enough I was leaving so I had to make it look convincing.
“Wave,” I said when I got outside and made sure no one was around. “I’m on my way, okay. You promise you’re safe.”
“Hudson, how many times.”
