“I knew I’d see you, baby. I knew I wouldn’t give up until I did.”
“I didn’t want to leave with Gregory. I knew Meredith would be worried, but he promised he had a way for me to see you. I asked him if he’d spoken to Meredith, and he showed me a text. I should have known it wasn’t from her, but I jumped at the chance to see you.”
I hadn’t expected her to open up so soon, but I was grateful she did. It answered some of the many questions I had.
“Did he bring you here straight away?”
“No, I was at his house with him and Marley for a day or two. My phone went missing. He must have taken it at some point. I started getting worried about Meredith and demanded he let me call her. That was when he started getting angry.” She sniffled. “He locked me in a room in their house. I shouted and pounded at the door, trying to get out or at least get somebody’s attention. It was no use.”
I clenched my fist at my side. The helplessness in her voice crushed my heart.
“They moved me here shortly after.”
“Gracie, did they hurt you?” I wasn’t sure what I would do if she answered me as I feared, but I had to hear it from her.
She shook her head. “No, they drugged me… left me without food a few times. I’ve been mostly left alone, unlike the others here. Their screams…” She started to cry, and I held her close.
“We’re going to get out of here, and we’ll be taking all of them with us.” I sounded more certain than I felt.
“Carmen said so,” she whispered. “She promised we’d get out of here. She told me she used to take care of you… in there.”
I squeezed my daughter’s slender shoulders and wanted her to keep believing.
“Mom, how did you get here?”
“It’s a long story, baby. We’ll get to it sometime, but for now, you need to rest. I have a feeling a storm is coming, and we’d best be ready for it.”
Gracie leaned against my chest the way she used to do when she was younger, and before long, she drifted to sleep. I held her like my entire life depended on it.
Nobody would take her away from me.
The cold metal of my handgun dug into my back, giving me the assurance I needed.
ChapterForty-Two
Luke
Present Day
People shouting startled me awake. At first, it sounded far away, and for a moment, I thought I might have been dreaming, but when I opened my eyes slightly, my second-floor room at the motel was bathed in a yellowish-orange glow. The smell of smoke was thick in the air, causing me to choke. I’d left a window open because of the heat.
I struggled out of bed, slightly disorientated. The incessant shouting continued, and I rushed to the window. A large part of the property next door was in flames. It looked like something out of a bad horror movie. I watched, and my mouth hung agape as the flames danced their way high up into the night sky.
Throwing on a T-shirt and my trainers, I bolted down the stairs in minutes. I had to try to help in any way I could. Why had I waited as long as I did? Alyssa could be in that house. I shouldn’t have waited. Maybe, I should have just got the cops involved in the first place. How could I be so foolish when the safety of the woman I love was at stake? I texted my brother as I made my way downstairs.
The front door was thrown open, and I caught the retreating backs of the motel owners as they made their way over to the property next door. I noticed that the husband, Justin, had a fire extinguisher in his hand, as did other people on the street.
I ran after them, shouting, “I want to help. Do you know how long this has been going on for?”
“It can’t be long,” Justin answered. “We just turned in for the night.”
A large crowd had already gathered in front of the property on the street. The gate was open and everyone was trying to get close enough to get a better look. Men used extinguishers and hoses from the surrounding houses to no avail. The fire just seemed to be spreading. I felt the sweat on my skin as I made my way closer to the house.
The screaming coming from inside the house made my stomach tighten. I was afraid. What if we didn’t make it in time? How many lives were in there?
“How long till a fire truck gets here?” I shouted above the voices to a man next to me.
“About five minutes last I heard.” The man looked edgy, and I wondered why he was subjecting himself to this in the first place. That suit and tie didn’t fit here. He should be on the street, away from the heat and flames.
