Freefall (22 page)

My fingers squeezed the edges of the leather seats, and I held my breath as he took every corner at top speed. We hit a dip in the road and our heads nearly hit the ceiling of the car. He cut off a huge truck, and I closed my eyes as he sped onto the freeway ramp as if we were on an airport runway ready for takeoff.

Lincoln smacked the steering wheel with his hand three times. “You ungrateful bitch. I’ve done everything for you. I pulled you off the streets.”

I had no way to tell him that I agreed with him. I held tightly to the seat and wondered if, for the second time in my life, I was going to face death in a car. He was a skilled driver, but rage poured off of him as he changed lanes with every breath. The guilt I felt was softened by the outrage I was feeling at him for charging through traffic like a mad man, putting everyone in his path in danger. A black and white police car brought relief from the wild ride, and he slowed the Porsche down to a more reasonable speed.

He reached over and pinched my chin painfully as he turned my face toward his. Tears blurred my vision, but the hurt and anger in his face was all too clear. He let go of my face. “And to think I was feeling bad about what I’d done.”

I looked at him in confusion.

He pulled his eyes from the road again and stared at me. “That face, that unbelievable face. I would have done anything for that face.” He looked straight ahead with an ugly grin. “Lucky for me, other men are willing to do anything for it too.”

His words made no sense but a harsh, icy feeling crept through me, and I had no way to communicate or ask what the hell he meant. Lincoln sensed my distress and decided to feed it.

“That’s right, Babe. You’re worth a lot of money south of the border. Quarter of a million to be exact. Turns out the jerk who printed your pin-up posters made an extra box for himself and sold it to his brother. Your face is everywhere in the black market world. And a certain arms dealer is particularly fond of that poster.”

An evil smile that I’d never seen before curled up his lip.

“That’s right, my mute treasure, instead of my house, I put you up for collateral in a very profitable business deal. If I don’t deliver a payment for the
merchandise
then you’ll be heading south to your new home. I thought I could marry you and avoid having to cash in, but now, I really don’t give a shit.”

The chaos of the last half hour made it difficult to understand exactly what he was trying to tell me. I’d known all along that he’d gotten involved with some very illegal stuff, but how I’d become a part of it was still confusing.

The air conditioner was blasting, and I crossed my arms for warmth and sank down in the seat. The guilt I’d felt just minutes earlier had been completely replaced by fury and terror. Even though he was rambling like a madman, I’d grasped some of it. To him, I’d always been one of his possessions, and now, I was apparently being thrown into the poker pool as something worth risking.

As we pulled off the freeway, I was relieved that the car ride was coming to an end. I had to figure out how to get away from Lincoln. That prospect seemed more dangerous and daunting than ever. He pulled his phone out and pushed a button.

“Yeah, it’s me. Hey, I need you to do something for me. I need you to send three of those guys out on a job. I’ll pay extra.”

I could hear the murmur of a man’s voice on the other side. I was certain he was talking to Grady. My heart was beating in my throat. I’d never seen this side of Lincoln, but it seemed that since he’d stepped into the black market world of business, he’d changed his demeanor to match it.

“I need them to scare someone. Someone who needs the shit beaten out of him to put him in his place. He’s a tattoo artist down in the city.”

I grabbed his arm, but he pushed me away.

“Yeah, he’s a tall guy with weird orange eyes. Goes by the name of Nix. Are you getting this? He owns a tattoo parlor called Freefall. Tell them to give it to him good but leave him alive. He looks like he could probably put up a good fight so send three.” Lincoln looked over at me. Tears streamed from my eyes like waterfalls. “I want the asshole to suffer.”

He put the phone away, and I stared out the window so I wouldn’t have to see his smirking face. I hugged myself against the horror of it. I had no way of warning Nix, and I was Lincoln’s prisoner. I’d remembered the nurses at the hospital always telling me that I was tough and a survivor. I was going to have to be both to get out of this, and now I’d dragged the only person I’d cared about since my family into it all.

I held my stomach trying to keep myself from getting sick. As the car stopped, I reached for the door handle and jumped out. I half-ran, half-stumbled down the driveway but Lincoln’s arm snaked around my waist. I turned around in his arms and pounded his chest with all my strength.

“We don’t want to attract attention out here,
Babe
,” he snarled. He took hold of both my wrists and dragged me into the house.

Grady and his hideous sidekick met us at the door. Lincoln all but threw me inside, and I fell to my knees. I raced for the stairs, and his cruel laughed followed me up. “Your computer is gone so you have no way to contact your pretty boy.” He laughed again. “I guess he won’t be all that pretty in a few hours.”

I shut the door behind me and sank to the floor sobbing hard enough that sounds came from my throat. With the garage on the bottom floor, the balcony was three stories up. There was no way to jump it without breaking my ankles. I pulled my legs up against my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees and tried to control my crying. I needed to come up with some way to save Nix. At this point, Lincoln could send me anywhere as long as he left Nix alone.

I jumped to my feet and ran to my nightstand. My happy family stared up at me from the picture, and I looked down at the faces that I’d missed for so long and wondered just when my endless trail of despair would stop. I fished out a pen and paper and wrote. It was nearly illegible, but Lincoln would be able to read it.

“I will go anywhere you need me to go. Please just leave Nix out of this. I promise never to see him again.” Just writing the words was as painful as the long shard of windshield slicing my side open with every breath. I braced myself to face the horrid group of men downstairs and walked out of the bedroom clutching the note in my hand.

All three men looked up as I walked into the room. Without looking any of them in the eye, I marched over and handed Lincoln the note.

He grabbed it and laughed as he read it. “Of course you’ll go wherever I need you to go. If all goes well, it will be right back into my bed where you belong.” The ice in his words made my stomach clench into a painful knot. “But nothing is going to save that tattoo artist. When his shop closes this evening, he is in for a very painful surprise.”

C
HAPTER 25

Nix

I’d spent most of the day working on an intricate design on the shoulder of a loyal client. My concentration sucked, and it was the last thing I wanted to be doing. My mind was definitely not on work, and I was glad to finish it. Even with my lack of attention, it had looked darn good.

I hadn’t heard from Nana or Scotlyn all day and could only assume that they were having a nice time together. Cassie walked in with sandwiches. “You hungry?”

“Yeah, that was brutal. I haven’t done anything that detailed in a long time.” I grabbed a sandwich from the bag.

“Well, you’ve still got two more appointments this afternoon, but they’re easy ones, a seahorse and a puffin.”

“Great. Nothing is easy today though. My head just isn’t in it. I think I need a few days off.”

Cassie unwrapped her sandwich. “You should take some time off. Dexter is dying for more work. He could come in and take over for a couple of days.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Call him later and find out when he can do it.”

My phone rang and I pulled it out. “Hi, Nana, how are you feeling?”

“Oh, I think that new medication is making me sleepy. I slept almost all morning.”

“Is Scotlyn still there with you?”

There was a long pause. “Who?”

“Scotlyn, the girl who comes to sit with you, is she still there?”

Again a long pause. “There was no girl today.”

Scotlyn must have left already, and Nana had forgotten that she came.

I could hear her slippers shuffling across her floor. “Your note is still on the door, Alex. The one that tells me about the pretty girl at the door. I didn’t see her today.” Her feet shuffled across the floor again.

“Are you sure you just didn’t forget, Nana? Check the kitchen to see if she wrote some of your stories down.”

“I’m going there right now, but I don’t think she was here.” I could hear her breathing harder as she walked to the kitchen. Soctlyn had texted me that she was nearly at Nana’s house, and after the incident at the bus stop, I worried that something had happened.

“Oh wait, Alex, here’s a note I wrote.” I could hear the paper crumpling in her hand. “Expensive silver car outside of house. That’s right, I remember now. A man was sitting outside the house this morning, but he’s gone now.”

My heart pounded in my chest, and I squeezed the phone in my fingers. “Was it a Porsche, Nana? You know, like the one Dad used to drive.”

“Yes, that’s what it was. But he’s gone now, Alex, so don’t worry.”

“All right, Nana. Call me if you need me.” The words nearly stuck in my dry throat. Obviously, hearing the drastic change in my tone, Cassie looked up from her sandwich. “What’s the matter? Is Nana all right?”

I nodded. My mind was shooting in every direction. “The girl who comes to sit with her didn’t show up today, that’s all.” I wrapped the sandwich back up. Hammond had figured everything out, and since it was no longer a secret, I took a chance on texting Scotlyn. There was no reply. That was all I needed. I was going to confront Hammond today and then Scotlyn was coming home with me. I wasn’t completely sure how it would all unfold, but there was no way she could stay with him anymore.

The afternoon moved like molasses. I checked my phone every minute for a text from Scotlyn, hoping she’d find a way to let me know she was all right. I was still going under the assurance she’d given me that Hammond wouldn’t hurt her, but as the day wore on, I felt more uneasy. As the last client was leaving, Dray walked in.

“The old man actually followed through on his promise. I have a phone interview for a longshoreman position down in Long Beach.” He laughed. “My mom should have left him years ago. It seems to have humbled the man into realizing that he was an asshole.” He stopped and looked at me. “You look like some punched you in the stomach.”

“Yeah, sort of.”

“What’s up?”

I looked over at Cassie, and she put up her hands. “Again, I’m not interested in the sordid details of your dating life. I’m taking off a little early if that’s all right with you.”

“No problem.”

Dray followed me into the back while I cleaned up my tools. “You know how I had Scotlyn going over to sit with Nana during the day?”

“You mentioned it, yeah.”

“Hammond was waiting for her in front of Nana’s house today. I can’t reach Scotlyn.”

“That’s not good. What are you going to do?”

I stopped and thought about the question. “Hell if I know. If I just walk up to the house to try and talk to the asshole, he’ll probably have me arrested for trespassing or who knows maybe he’s got a gun. I need to get to Scotlyn somehow. I’ve got to get her out of there. I’m pretty sure he took her phone away.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to go over there and pound his face in. Then we push inside, grab the girl, and go,” Dray said with enthusiasm.

“You really do need to get back in the ring. I’m hoping I can do this in a civilized way. I don’t want to put Scotlyn in any danger, and if I just drag her off Hammond isn’t going to just leave us alone to live happily ever after.”

Dray looked like a kid who’d just been told he was getting coal in his Christmas stocking. “Damn, you are boring these days. I’m going to grab a water bottle from your fridge. They’re going to call me soon for the interview, and my phone gets much better reception on your office couch than on the Lucy.” He returned a few seconds later. “Cassie forgot her phone.” He handed it to me. “My head has taken too much pounding. I was just about to text her to tell her she forgot her phone then realized it would be kind of useless. I think I need to rest before they call.” He headed back into the office and closed the door behind him.

I placed Cassie’s phone next to her computer. She had a key to the shop, and she’d probably come back for it soon. My strategy for taking Scotlyn from Hammond flipped around in my head while I finished cleaning up. Nothing brilliant came to me. I was going to head straight over there, and see if I could reason with him. And the more I pictured that in my head, the more ridiculous it seemed. But I had to try it this way first. After that, there was always Dray’s plan.

Clean up in the shop was the boring part of the job, and I was glad to be done for the day. I’d been working nonstop since I’d opened Freefall a year ago, one of the drawbacks of owning your own business. The problems with Nana, and now with Scotlyn, made the idea of a few days off sound good.

I heard Dray’s voice in the office, which meant his phone interview had begun. A job with the longshoremen was something he’d wanted for a long time. His father had worked down on the docks for years and made good money. The job fit Dray’s personality perfectly.

I pulled the shop key out of my pocket and walked out to the front to lock up just as the door opened. Three big, unseemly looking dudes walked in. I’d never seen any of them in the shop before. “You’ll need to call to make an appointment,” I said to them, and then it appeared highly unlikely that they weren’t there for a tattoo. Apparently, Hammond had sent his minions over for a visit. So much for my civilized plan to go reason with him first. He obviously wanted to play dirty and that was fine by me.