a couple of times, her eyes shifting to the floor, then slowly lifting to meet my own. She clears her throat and I notice that her gaze is watery. Unlike me, her tears don’t fall. She swallows them down, shaking her head a couple more times, then gives me a small smile.
“She is going to win. Nobody knows where we are. I’ve been here for days, Tenny. The only person I’ve seen is Danny. Nobody will find us here.”
“Where are we?” I ask.
My mother shrugs a shoulder, her eyes staying connected to my own, then she clears her throat. “We’re somewhere near a forest area. Nobody has been around. But we aren’t in the city anymore, we’re on the outskirts somewhere.”
Licking my lips, I stand and make my way over to the barred window. Looking outside, I see that my mom is right. From what I can see, there is green foliage everywhere. Trees, dirt, leaves, and even a lake in the not-so-far distance. What I don’t see are other houses or any people at all.
Shit.
“We’re in a forest,” I mutter.
She doesn’t say anything, because she already told me that. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I close my eyes and let out a breath. Bouncing Holden on my hip, I will myself not to break completely down and cry.
My mother reaches out for me, but her chain is too short. I hate it and I vow that when I get out of here, when we all three get out of here, that Danny and Susan will be the ones in chains, not her, not ever again.
As if I’ve summoned the devil herself, the door flies open and I turn around to see Susan standing there. She’s wearing a tight skirt, a tighter shirt with puffy sleeves that shows off far too much cleavage than she or any other person should be showing off, especially one of her age.
But I don’t want to seem like a young judgey bitch, so I don’t say anything at all. I do, however, stand frozen solid with my lips parted in shock and awe that she is actually here. She actually had the audacity to show up and that shouldn’t surprise me, but it does.
“Look at the happy little family,” she sneers.
My mother jerks her chin up in the air and looks down her nose at Susan. “What do you want, bitch? You’ve kept me here with that asshole, now you’ve kidnapped my daughter and grandson. What the fuck do you think you’re going to get out of this?”
Susan’s lips twitch. “You three dead will give me everything that I need.”
“Landry will never take you back. You’re a prostitute, you tried to take his company from him. He doesn’t want you, Susan. As far as I know, he doesn’t even like you,” I snap.
She takes a step toward me, balling her fists at her side. Then I watch as she tilts her head to the side, her eyes sliding over me until they stop on my finger. Shit. I didn’t even think about turning it around, in fact, I’ve become used to it over the past day or so, I forgot it was there.
“What the fuck?” she breathes.
I take a step back, shifting Holden over to my mother. He’s starting to whine, probably hungry along with frightened, but the way that Susan is looking at me, I can’t risk her doing something to him.
“You will not marry him. I simply cannot allow that.”
I don’t ask her what she means. I don’t have the time. She lunges for me just like I thought that she might and together we fall to the floor. Lifting my arms, I attempt to shield my face from her nails. She screams, her hands finding purchase in my hair and she lifts my head before she slams it down on the floor, she does it a couple more times.
My legs kick, my body bucks, but it’s not enough. She has the advantage and she took me by surprise. Looking over to Holden, I whimper as she lifts my head one more time. With my baby in my mother’s arms, my eyes connected to his, everything around me goes black and Holden is the last thing that I see.
LANDRY
“We got her,” Hansen shouts into the phone.
With zero help from Julie, I was able to call IT myself and figure everything out. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but she didn’t even call them. My heart stops beating at