Could some part of him still care?
The quick surge of hope makes it hurt all the more when he adds, “We have a job to do. So let’s just fucking do it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” grunts one of them.
My body is so tense and alert that I practically jump when the car stops and Logan wraps a hand around my arm again to pull me up. If I’d thought he was rough in seventh grade when he guided me through the Oakley streets, it’s nothing compared to the way he squeezes me now, shoving me up so hard into a standing position that I nearly let go of Aurora.
“Careful there,” admonishes someone from the front seat, and for the first time, I notice Everest Grant was the one driving. “She’s got a kid in her arms.”
Another tiny pinprick of hope, because I know Everest, at least, isn’t an asshole.
But then, I remember just how much of a useless follower he is when Logan growls, “Shut up,” and he does.
“Don’t give a fuck about the kid,” he adds.
The words send me hurtling out of my self-pitying gloom, as I read the threat behind them.
Carmelo may never have shown the least sign that he cares about his daughter, but sheishis progeny.
If Logan is the one to decide her fate, though…
Panic strangles me as I stumble after him blindly. I barely have time to notice we’re back in Oakley before he’s dragging meinto a building, up a staircase, and through two cramped rooms.
The minute we’ve reached the second one, I fall to his feet.
“Please, Logan,” I choke out. “Please… please… if you ever cared about me… please…”
I can sense him taking a step back.
No, no, no. Wait. Listen. Don’t leave!
“Please, my daughter… please… just look at her… look how innocent and helpless she is…”
“Get that fucking thing away from me!” he snarls, and a moment later, he’s slamming the door shut.
_
Well, at least neither of us is dead. Yet.
I’m left alone in the small room, and little by little, as my eyes take in the musty bed, with its two side tables and the lamps on them, the cracked TV on the other side, and two paintings of flowers hung on the wall, I come to the conclusion that we’re at the Oakley Motel.
It’s the only place of its kind in Oakley, and I’ve always wondered at its existence, because who in their right mind would choose to vacation in this hellish town? Let alone pay for the privilege?
After a few minutes, I allow myself to relax just enough tosit down on the bed, slightly loosening my hold on Aurora. She gazes up at me with her in-focus blue-green eye.
“Hi, baby,” I murmur. “Everything’s okay. See? We’re going to stay here. Isn’t it nice?”
I croon sweet little lies into my shivering girl’s ears, until at last she relaxes, visibly reassured.
“Mama,” she complains. “Hungry. Hungry, mama.”
Fuck.Of course she is. She hasn’t had a thing to eat in hours. Not since we left this morning at the break of dawn. My little girl is starving, and I need to do something about it.
Neither of us is dead,I remind myself.If they wanted to kill us, they would have. If they’re planning to, they will. Nothing I do or say can possibly change that.
It’s not a particularly happy thought, and yet, it reassures me enough that I make up my mind to open the door.
I slowly stand up again, still clutching my daughter. I think I’ll be holding her for the rest of my life. The past few days have fucked with my mind enough that the thought of being separated from her by even a few feet sends panic to my chest.
