Dark Secret - Avelyn Paige Page 0,49

she gasps. “I’m okay.” She stares up at my face, reaching her hand weakly to press it against my sweaty cheek. “You’re my dad, aren’t you?”

“I am,” I tell her. “You’re going to be okay now, honey. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“Where’s Mom?”

“She’s trapped in the other van, but we’re getting her out. I need to put you down now, honey, but this man’s going to take good care of you. I need to go help her.” I gently place her next to Lindsey, with Karma buzzing around her like an old mother hen.

“Watch Hayden,” I demand before returning to Shelby. A loud crash comes from behind us as her van returns to its wheels. Shelby’s eyes connect with mine before looking over at the ditch, spying Hayden. A smile forms on her lips.

“Hash! Over here!” Judge yells out from the other side of Randall’s van. I switch directions, and come to a skidding halt when I see the body on the ground, unmoving.

“Is it the kid?” I ask on my approach.

“No, it’s the uncle. He was thrown from the van.”

“He dead?”

“Yeah. Neck looks snapped. Probably died on impact.”

I wish I could say that his death gave me a sense of relief, but it was too quick for someone like him. He deserved to suffer for his transgressions. For all the girls he ripped away from their families and sold into sexual slavery. His ending did not match the one I’d had planned for him, but all best-laid plans tend to go to shit anyway. He’s no longer my problem, but it does leave the kid.

“You see the kid?”

“No. He wasn’t with the girls?”

Shit. He’s still in there. I climb back up on the side and yank open the passenger door. Inside, lying against the center console between the front seats is Kevin, motionless. Pushing myself inside, I reach out for him and grip his arm tightly. He’s like lead weight as I pull, but with a few tugs, I get him free and halfway out of the van. His chest moves up and down slowly. Thank fuck, he’s still alive.

Burnt appears next to me and helps get him out the rest of the way. With him on one side and me on the other, we carry him by his arms to the side of the road with Lindsey and Hayden.

Hayden cries out when she sees him. Leaning her thin frame over his, she hugs him on the ground, sobbing against his chest. “Kevin!”

The other girl comes forward, her face pale as a ghost. She stares down at him with horror and fear. I watch with pride as Hayden takes her tiny hand and pulls her down beside her. “Kevin,” she sobs. “Kevin, please don’t leave me.”

I hate leaving them, but I have no choice. “You stay here with him. I’ll be right back.”

I pivot on my heels, just as the van Shelby’s in catches fire. Flames and smoke shoot from beneath the hood, and my heart sinks. The gas line’s been severed. We need to move, fast.

Shelby

My gaze meets Wyatt’s through the shattered windshield, behind plumes of flame and smoke. Oh, God.

Reaching beside me for the hundredth time, I yank on the door handle, but it’s not even attached to the door anymore. Even though the guys had gotten the van flipped right-side up, the roof is caved in so badly, I could never fit through the window.

Thick black smoke rolls through the opening from under the hood, and I struggle to breathe. I cover my face with my T-shirt, but it’s no help.

“Hurry!” I cry out. GP, Priest, and Wyatt all yank on my door, while the others work at different ends of the van, trying anything they can to get it to open somewhere.

“We’re coming, baby,” Wyatt hollers.

I watch in horror as the flickering flames lick out from beneath the hood, growing higher and hotter. “We gotta hurry, boys!” someone yells.

Metal pings, and the sound is deafening as I sit helpless, waiting for a miracle. Acrid smoke invades my nostrils and mouth, winding its way into my lungs, choking the breath out of me.

“Fucking Christ!”

“It’s too hot.”

“Don’t you fucking stop!” Wyatt screams. “None of you stop, not until she’s out.”

The flames are coming in through the window now, and I know it’s too late. I look over to where Hayden sits, cradling Kevin in her arms.

I’m going to die, but I’m going to die knowing that my baby girl is safe. She’s with her father. She loves