I cringe, remembering how I looked into my own father’s eyes that day. How I saw my own face and my eyes. How I saw who I could become.
It’s been impossible to look in a mirror since then without seeing him.
Attorney Snow continues to scribble notes before he looks up. “What happened after that?”
“They went to a warehouse, where they unloaded the money. They removed die packs and split it into other bags. It was a well-oiled machine. They knew exactly what they were doing.” Her voice levels out slightly. “This had been planned meticulously. None of the other men ever took their masks off when I was there. Only Brad.”
Because they were smart.
They kept their identities concealed.
“Brad put a gun to my head, and he was going to kill me.” She shudders. “I saw it in his eyes. He was prepared to pull that trigger.”
And I could have lost Lucky before I ever found her…
My chest tightens, the pain so real, it’s like someone is strangling the life from me. Which is what will happen if she’s ever taken from me, if this doesn’t work.
Attorney Snow offers a sympathetic look. “Then what happened?”
I try to prepare myself for what’s coming, trying to brace myself for the impact of the words I know she’s about to say, but they still almost drop me to my knees.
Lucky releases a shaky breath. “He pistol-whipped me, and everything went black.”
Killian and Connor wince, both of them shifting uncomfortably where they quietly wait across the room.
“When I came to, I was secured inside an old locker of some sort. Metal with slats at the top that let in a tiny bit of light.” She swallows thickly. “My head was spinning and hurt. I didn’t know what had happened, why he hadn’t shot me…until I realized I couldn’t get out.”
Trapped.
She was trapped.
Left to die in an old, abandoned building that no one would have entered until it was too late.
Maybe Brad didn’t shoot her because he was afraid the sound would draw attention to them from anyone nearby, or perhaps he didn’t want to leave a bullet that could be traced and tied to other crimes he used the gun in. Or maybe he couldn’t pull the trigger while looking into Lucky’s soft blue eyes…
Another sob crawls up her throat, and she forces it back, the motion heaving her chest under my hold. “My hands were tied.”
“How did you get free?”
If her story wasn’t agonizing enough, the answer I know is coming to Attorney Snow’s question would be enough to shatter anyone. I brace myself for it, knowing full-well the tears and rage will come anyway.
She squares her shoulders, gathering her strength. “I learned how to get out of restraints at a very young age. There’s a trick to it. As soon as I got free, I managed to kick the door and bend the metal enough to get it open. The warehouse was deserted. They hadn’t left a single thing. It was as if they were never there…”
“And you never told this to anyone? Didn’t call the police?”
She glances up at me. “Not until I told the McBrides.”
Snow raises a brow. “Why didn’t you go to the authorities?”
It’s the same question I asked her, the same Killian, Connor, and Willow did as soon as I told them everything.
And the reason exemplifies the type of life Lucky has had, what she’s had to suffer.
“Would they have believed me?” She asks it incredulously, the hint of annoyance in her voice. “I have a record from when I was still a juvie. I was living on the streets, and I had to do things to survive. I stole. This isn’t a big step from that. Not really.” She shakes her head. “And I got a job across from the bank. I walked one of the robbers into that bank every night while he cased it. I would have been tossed behind bars before I even told them my story. And they wouldn’t have believed a word of it if they had listened.”
Attorney Snow’s jaw hardens, and I see the look in his eyes that confirms she’s one hundred percent right.
He wouldn’t have believed her.
