This time she wasn’t terrified and unable to defend herself. She was pissed. She’d had enough of being bullied, knocked around and shit on by men she didn’t trust and men she had trusted. She might very well besigning her own death warrant by not meekly abiding by their demands, but at this point, bring it on. She wasn’t going anywhere without a fight.
She kicked, punched, clawed and continued to scream until a large fist slammed into her cheekbone, sending her sprawling back to the floor. Dazed and confused for a moment, she heard a harsh voice whisper, “Shut the bitch up,” before that same hand covered her mouth.
Not willing to just give up and accept her fate, Hayley resumed her fight. Her nails dug into flesh as a fist connected with her ribs, robbing her completely of breath. Shit! Those were the same ribs cracked in her mugging, and by the pain scorching through her midsection, she’d bet every penny of her bank account he’d just cracked them again.
Her free hand fumbled for the cheap lamp beside the couch and she brought it down on whoever, and whatever, she could reach. A hand tightened in her hair and slammed her head against the floor, leaving her vision blurry. She blinked rapidly, trying to bring her attackers into focus, but it was nearly impossible with the way he held her to the floor, using all his weight to press down on her.
She felt cool air against her chest and knew her shirt had been ripped open. The man who was currently straddling her had blood trickling from his temple and her nail marks on his cheek. “Our father doesn’t like a lot of fight in his women. We’ll have to take care of that,” he snarled as he ripped the button from her jeans.
Oh hell no. She wasn’t letting this pencil-dick asshole rape her. She’d gladly choose death before allowing him to violate her and rob her of what little dignity she had left.
Knowing what they planned, she redoubled her efforts to escape. The second man, who greatly resembled the man straddling her, and whom she assumed was his brother, limped over to help subdue her as her flailing legs kicked over the coffee table and sent the glass top shattering to the floor. From a distance, she heard banging and her neighbor’s voice yelling, “Keep it down over there or I’m calling the cops!”
Ironic since he made every bit as much noise on a routine basis fighting with his old lady.
Both of her attackers froze and exchanged quick glances, and then the man atop her pulled a gun from nowhere and pressed it to her forehead. “I’ve had enough out of you, bitch. Move again and I’ll blow your brains out here and now. My father just wants to talk to you, and I’m the man who’s going to deliver you to him so he can see that I’m perfectly capable of running the family business. Now, are you going to be a good girl and come with us or does this have to get messy?”
Hayley knew they were lying. There was no “talk” to have, but she also knew that he was dead serious about the gun at her head. She would give them what they wanted until she could blowtheirfucking brains out, or die trying.
The younger of the two brothers dragged her to her feet while the older one kept his weapon trained on her. The pain screaming through her ribs made it hard to breathe and her vision was still blurry from the repeated blows to her head, but adrenaline was keeping the worst agony from her injuries at bay.
They made their way out her door and down the hallway, not passing another soul. As Hayley stumbled down the stairs, her purse, which she’d somehow held on to, banged against her hip and reminded her she wasn’t down and out yet. She quickly glanced at the piece of shit who’d threatened her with a pistol through one rapidly swelling eye and noticed he no longer held his gun in plain view. Must not have wanted to alarm anyone in case any of her neighbors actually gave a shit. The idiot obviously wasn’t familiar with this particular section of town.
She was led to the trash-strewn back alley behind the building where she’d watched drug deals happen from her window. There was a black town car waiting.
Never let them take you to a second location.
The instructor of the self-defense courses she’d taken as a teen had drummed it into all his students’ heads. If she got into that car, she knew she was dead. If she put up a fight, she’d probably still be dead. Either way, she died, but fighting at least gave her a chance that, once inside the car, would disappear with every minute they got closer to wherever they were taking her.
As her kidnappers carried on a low-voiced conversation on either side of her, she slowly slid her hand into her purse and wrapped her fingers around hard steel. Her last remaining link to her father. And if this didn’t work, she knew she’d be seeing him soon.
Hayley faked a stumble, putting a few feet of space between them. The men spun around, both reaching inside their jackets for their weapons. As her back slammed against a nearby Dumpster, she pulled out her father’s Colt. Everything she’d learned as a young girl at her father’s side on a hilltop in Tennessee came back as she sighted down the barrel, exhaled and squeezed the trigger.
36
As the navigation guided them deeper into one of the seedier areas in the underbelly of the city, Silas felt Maddox’s glare boring into him.
“Just say what’s on your mind,” Silas hissed impatiently.
“What the hell is Hayley doing in this neighborhood, Silas? You said you set her up with another place.Thisshit is what you meant? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Goddamn it! You know me better than that. I never intended her to be living like this.” He couldn’t keep the sharp pain or the overwhelming fear out of his voice, despite his best efforts. “I set her up in a nice place not far from her school, but she hasn’t been back home or to school in days. I...” He closed his eyes, saying the last in a whisper. “I lost her. I spent all fucking morning trying to track her down. Then Ghost’s call came and I can only pray to God I make it in time.”
Justice made a sound of disgust and Maddox just looked pissed as hell.
“It never occurred to you to ask for help? Like when she first went missing? She’s not just yours, Silas. She’s ours too. Just like Evangeline is ours. We’re your fucking brothers.”
“This shit isn’t right,” Justice bit out, clearly in agreement withMaddox’s furious statement. “Yeah, Hatch fucked us over. Sold out to the goddamn cops. But if we can no longer trust one another, we may as well hand the city over to Vanucci because we’ll all be feeding the fish in the Hudson and then where will Hayley, Evangeline and Gia be?”
Silas knew they both spoke the truth, but he couldn’t worry about them or the issue of trust now. Not when his entire world was hanging by a thread. Later, when he was certain of Hayley’s safety, he’d work on repairing what Hatcher had destroyed.
The GPS informed them their destination was approaching on the right and as Silas pulled to the curb, gunshots filled the air. Diving out of the still-running car, all three men pulled their own weapons and raced toward the sound.
Not Hayley. Don’t let it be her. I can’t be too late.
Feet sliding, he flew into the alley, then shock stopped him in his tracks and for a split second he was rendered immobile by the gruesome sight that greeted him. Beside him, he heard Maddox whisper, “Sweet Jesus.”
Hayley was sitting on the ground in front of a Dumpster, bloody and bruised. Again. She held a gun in unwavering hands, dry-firing into two obviously dead bodies. Her eyes were blank and the only other sound in the eerie silence apart from the incessant click, click, click as Hayley robotically continued firing was the sound of her harsh, terrified breathing.
