Broken Cheaters (20 page)

“I told you exactly what I was going to do, and you chose to ignore it.”

He shook his head. “You messed with the wrong person, bitch. I will not go down for your lies.”

Asshole!

“They’re not lies. It’s all on video. How many strings did your father have to pull to get you out on bail?”

He ignored me. “Where’s the kid?”

“What kid?”

“Don’t try to be smart, Trish, or this will end for the both of you quicker than you can blink. I saw you walk inside here with him. Where’s Axel’s son?”

I shook my head. My throat tightened as fear began to creep up. There was no way I’d give Trevor up. Not to him, and not to anyone else in this world. He was my nephew, and I loved him like a son.

“Okay, we’ll do this the hard way, then.”

He took a step toward me.

“Stop,” I said. “Don’t get any closer, or I’ll scream.”

“I guess you haven’t been in town for a while. The old lady that owns this store is deaf. There’s no one else here.”

“Look, all I wanted was justice.”

He laughed. “If the legal system had it right, I’d have been behind bars five years ago.”

“What?”

He waved his hand. “Your boyfriend already knows, so it’s just a matter of time before they find me. That asshole stole my car yesterday.”

“Why would Axel steal your car?”

“You’re as dumb as you were that night, aren’t you? He wants to make sure I stay behind bars for life. So I thought I could make a trade with him. The evidence he has against me from that night for you and the kid.”

Then it all came rushing back in. The moment he said it, it all made perfect sense.

“It was you.” I covered my mouth with my hand and took another step back. He matched it with a step forward. “The night Chloe died. You rammed my car from behind.
You
killed her.”

“She deserved it. She was going to destroy my life, the way you tried to. Do you now understand what happens to people who mess with me?”

With two long strides he was in my face, holding it between his strong fingers, squeezing tight, the way Brad used to. Before I got a chance to knee him, a loud scream tore through the store as Trevor jumped on Jack’s leg.

“You get off my mommy!”

Jack swerved on his foot and pushed Trevor to the ground.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” I swung my hand at Jack, my nails scraping right over his cheek. Blood spurted, and Jack looked like he’d just been attacked by Wolverine.

The fist came at me before I got a chance to duck. He struck me square in my nose, and I heard a bone crack. The next punch came from the side, and I blacked out.

W
hen I opened my eyes
, I was still unsure whether I was awake, or even alive. My head throbbed, and my nose felt like it had swelled to balloon-size. Pain pulsed all over my face, and I was afraid I’d pass out if I thought about it too much. So, I shut it out and concentrated on where I was. The room was dark, but it didn’t feel like a basement or the grungy clinic Brad had taken me to. My knees and elbows seared with heat, and my hands were bound behind my back. Come to think of it, my shoulders hurt as well. In fact, my whole body ached from the way I must have been lying for however many hours had passed. Beside me, I felt Trevor’s warm body as he snuggled against me. I breathed in relief that he hadn’t been hurt, or so I hoped.

To the right, I could make out a curtain covering the window. Streetlights filtered between the two fabrics. Outside, rain drizzled, and the humidity made the entire room feel wet.

When I moved, I heard Trevor’s sweet voice.

“Twish?”

“Trevor? Baby, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay. The bad man took us.”

“It’s okay, honey. Don’t worry. We’ll get away. Your daddy’s a hero. He’ll find us. And if he doesn’t, I’ll figure something out. Okay?”

“Youw nose is big.”

I wished I could touch it to check the damage, but with my hands behind my back, that was impossible.

“Do you know how long we’ve been here?”

He shook his head, disappointed. “I can’t tell time.”

“That’s okay, baby. It’s night time, so it must have been a while. Are you tired? Hungry?”

“No, but I’m scawed.”

“Come closer to me.”

He slid into my chest and leaned his head over my heart, sighing with relief. It was tearing me apart. If I got the chance, I’d kill Jack. Now I understood how Axel must have felt when I told him about what Jack had done to Chloe. If he ever touched Trevor again, he’d lose a hand.

“Do you know where the man who took us is?”

“No. Twish, can I twy youw wope?” he asked.

“To untie it? Yes, of course. Can you turn on the light first?”

Trevor stood up and quietly paced to the wall. He flipped the switch on. As I’d expected, we were in a motel room, and I wondered whether he’d taken us far away from home. Our house was on the outskirts of our town. The road out had plenty of lodgings, and I prayed that we weren’t far away. I prayed that Axel had already landed and had the entire police force searching for us.

I turned around on the bed, and Trevor started working his little fingers around the fabric knot. Jack must have taken the piece of linen from the store. Quiet grunts came out of his mouth that reminded me of Axel.

“You can do it.” Desperate to find something we could use to cut the fabric, I looked around the room, but there was nothing.

“It’s tight.” Trevor’s voice was quiet but still determined. He continued wedging his fingers into the knot. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

“I know, honey. Do your best.”

Just as I was beginning to feel the knot loosen, we heard footsteps outside.

“Lie down, baby, and don’t move.”

Trevor hurried back to the bed and lay down beside me. Jack opened the door. He was holding a pizza box, and after ogling me from head to toe, he threw the box on the bed. While my own stomach grumbled at the tempting aroma, Trevor didn’t even budge.

“Aren’t you hungry kid?” he asked.

Trevor didn’t reply.

“Whatever. It’s your stomach.”

Jack turned to the mirror and examined the gash on his cheek. He frowned and grumbled something under his breath. I’d dug pretty deep into him when I pulled my nails along his cheek.

“Jack, you need to let him go. He’s just an innocent child in all this. He didn’t do anything to you. I did. So just let him go, please.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t work that way. It also gives Axel more reason to give my car back.”

“That Camaro? It’s the one you were driving that night, isn’t it?

It was stupid of Jack not to have disposed of it, but at this moment, I didn’t want to question why he kept it. Probably for reasons of pride.

“It was a birthday gift from my father. I had it repainted after the accident.”

“Jack, you must know there’s no way out of this. The best scenario is if you let us go. I can tell Axel that we lost track of time while shopping. No one has to know about what happened today.”

“I’m not stupid, Trish. Don’t you fucking tell me what’s best, okay?”

Trevor’s hands flew to cover his ears.

“Jack, please. He’s scared enough as it is.”

“If I don’t get that car back, that’s hard evidence against me, and I can’t take that chance. They can probably find traces of the old paint underneath the new, and I’m not taking that risk. The deal was clear – you and him for the Camaro.”

I felt so disheartened and so ready to give up, that if it weren’t for Trevor beside me, I probably would have. If Trevor was afraid, he hid it well.

“So, Mommy? That’s an interesting development. I didn’t realize you and boy-toy were that serious.”

I didn’t want to tell him that Trevor was Chloe’s son. If he knew that, he’d take his revenge out on him. He’d consider Trevor even more attention-worthy than before.

“Maybe we can have some fun, the way I did with Chloe. She loved it, you know. She was the biggest whore I ever met.”

“Shut up! Just shut up, you liar.”

Trevor kept his hands over his ears, and I prayed he wasn’t hearing how Jack spoke about his mother. “She’s gone because of you. I blamed myself for years for her death, and it was all your fault. How could you, Jack? “

“How could I? She’s the one who called my father, and then when I found out she was coming back and she was going to take her story to the media… well, I couldn’t just let that happen, could I? You know how the press likes to twist facts, don’t you?”

Or in this case, they would be telling the truth.

“Chloe wanted it that night. She begged me to—”

“Stop it,” I hissed through my teeth, my gaze flying from Jack to Trevor and back.

“Whatever. I’m going to take a shower.”

“What about my hands?” I asked.

“They’re staying tied. The kid can feed you.”

He removed his shirt and went to the bathroom. As soon as the shower turned on, Trevor shot up to his knees, I rolled on my side, and he began working on the knot again. Neither one of us said anything, but I bet Trevor knew exactly how important it was for us to escape. After a few moments, he stopped.

“Trevor, you can do it,” I encouraged.

“My claw.”

He rushed to the chair, opened his knapsack, and began the hunt for the raptor claw I’d given him. My eyes grew wide. He took out one dinosaur after another, leaving them all on the floor, until he found the raptor claw I had gifted him. His mouth stretched into a wide grin. He jumped up on the bed, and as soon as I heard the first rip of fabric, my heart skipped a beat. “You can do it, baby. I know you can.”

Another rip sounded; then another. It didn’t take long for me to feel the fabric loosen. Once my hands were freed, he passed me the claw and I used it to tear apart the fabric at my ankles.

I cupped his face in my hands. “You did so amazing, honey. Are you ready to leave now?”

He nodded.

The shower stopped, and I heard the clips holding the curtain slide over the metal pole.

“We gotta go,” I whispered, pressing my finger to my lips.

Trevor stuffed the raptor claw inside his pocket and didn’t even bother picking up his knapsack or the scattered dinosaurs. If he was sad to leave all of his dinosaurs behind, he didn’t show it. Instead, he grasped my hand tightly and followed my lead. I opened the door and closed it gently. It wouldn’t take long for Jack to figure out that we’d escaped.

Our room was on the second floor. We descended the steep stairs as quickly as possible, but just as we got to the last one, Jack stepped out of the room. He had his pants on and the look of a man on a mission. But there was no way I would let him catch us again.

We dove into the cloud of rain and hurried to the nearest car parked outside. I pulled on the handle, but it didn’t move. Instead, an alarm sounded.

“Get the fuck back here.” Jack was running down the stairs, barefoot.

“We need an older car, Trevor.”

One that will let me jack it.

“That one.” Trevor pointed to a Buick.

I hurried, at this point praying
, Please be open. Please be open.

It was locked.

Trevor let go of my hand and ran a few cars down, pointing to a rolled down window.

“Twy this one.”

It wasn’t as old as the Buick, but it would have to do.

“Good find, honey.”

I hurried to the Chevy, nearly slipping in the puddle, unlocked it, and opened the door for Trevor. Jack was already at the bottom of the staircase.

“Hurry, Trevor.”

I took my seat and rolled up the window. Thank goodness it wasn’t automatic, because as soon as I locked the door from the inside, Jack made it to the car. He banged on the window.

“Open the car, Trish.”

I ignored him and pulled the plastic underneath the steering wheel away. I fiddled with the cables and smiled to myself as soon as I found the two to start the ignition.

“You better not fucking drive away, Trish!”

Trevor pressed his hands to his ears. A few lights in the motel turned on. Jack lowered his voice and brought his face closer to the window. “I swear if you don’t open this door right now, you’ll have more than a broken nose.”

“I’m not stupid,” I said under my breath, connecting the two wires. The engine sounded. Jack hit the window with so much force it cracked.

I put the car into reverse and drove out of the parking lot, tires screeching and engine revving up, surprised there was no smoke along with fire spitting out of the exhaust. More lights turned on in the motel. As we pulled out, I saw Jack get into a Mustang in the parking lot.

Shit!

I turned right, cutting off an oncoming car. Where were we? The road didn’t look familiar until I saw the patch of light in the sky polluted by city lights. I turned left toward the brightness, and soon enough found the main road back into the city. Rain was pounding against the windshield and lighting illuminated the night every few seconds. Streams of water flowed down the road.

It didn’t take long until I saw headlights in the rearview mirror. As I drove uphill, memories of the night I was in the accident with Chloe filled my mind.

“Is your seatbelt on, honey?” I asked, turning around.

“Yes.” He turned around in his seat. “Faster, Twish. He’s getting closer.”

I pressed my foot on the pedal and the engine roared.

“You don’t have your shoes on?”

“There was no time.” I saw tears in his eyes. He was so afraid that his entire body was trembling. Maybe it was from the cold and the rain, but I doubted it.

“It’s okay, Trevor. We’ll get you new shoes. Dinosaur ones.”

I saw the corner of his mouth lift. At this point the rain was hitting the front window so hard that the fastest speed on these old wipers wasn’t enough. That windshield might as well have been made out of glass jar bottoms.

“You can do it, Trish. I know you can. Just like that raptor chasing me in my dreams. Don’t let Jack catch us,” he said quietly.

“I won’t let him hurt you, baby. I won’t let him hurt us.”

That’s when I felt the first bump. The second one was harder. When the third one came, I lost control for a moment and panicked. The car swerved closer to the edge of the road. Beyond was a deep valley. Once I regained control, the past flashed behind my eyelids – images of Chloe and me rolling down the hill in my car. I wouldn’t let Jack drive me off the cliff again. I wouldn’t risk Trevor’s life. I slowly eased on the gas, hoping that when I stopped the car, Jack would do the same. But he didn’t – he continued bumping me, swerving to the left lane and sideswiping us. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep going, especially since I knew we were about to hit the more difficult part of the drive, up the mountain. That’s when the glass in the back window shattered.

Trevor screamed.

“Get down on the seat!”

I couldn’t believe that Jack would stoop so low. How could he? But then again, this was a man who had deliberately gang-raped my sister and then killed her. Knowing there was a deep right turn ahead, I gripped the steering wheel harder. When another bullet hit the front window, I slowed even further. Jack swerved into the left lane, but just before he could side-swipe me, I saw the truck coming from the opposite direction. I pressed my foot on the brake.

I didn’t remember if I screamed as the truck collided with Jack’s Mustang, but the fear and adrenaline cruising through my veins made me think of only one person: Trevor. I pulled over and got Trevor out of the car. He clung to my front with his hands and legs. Rain poured as thunder sounded in the distance.

I rushed to the truck driver. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Get off the road. It’s dangerous.”

“Where’s the Mustang?”

“Rolled down the hill.” He pointed.

As relieved as I was, I felt my stomach turn. I rushed to the safer side of the road, set Trevor down, bent over in half, and emptied my stomach.

“Trish.” Trevor pulled on my hand. “I’m wet.”

I crouched down beside him and took him into my arms. “It’s okay. We’ll get some dry clothes soon.”

“But I peed,” he cried.

“You know what? So did I. There’s nothing wrong with that, honey. Nothing at all.”

Sirens bellowed in the distance as I held my little boy caged in my arms. I never wanted to let him go. It didn’t take long for the police and ambulance to arrive. I borrowed the truck driver’s phone and called Axel as well.

We arrived at the hospital at the same time. He held Trevor in his arms, kissing his head and checking his entire body.

“Daddy, I am a hero now too.”

“I bet you are. Are you going to tell me everything?”

“There was a bad guy. And Trish was tied up and I helped her with my raptor claw but I forgot my shoes. Trish said we’ll get dinosaur ones.”