I gasp. The room is decorated beautifully for a baby. A white cradle is in the centre with a scan picture laying on top of the covers. A photo hangs on the wall. It’s of a woman in her mid-twenties. She’s laughing and her hands rest on her stomach. There’s no obvious bump. He catches me staring. “Sara,” he confirms. “She decorated this room.”
“It’s lovely,” I say.
I follow him from the room and he opens the next door along. I grip the wall to stop me from falling to my knees. It’s clinical, all white, with a hospital bed in the centre. A tray of medical instruments lay neatly on a table. But the thing that terrifies me the most is the incubator hooked up to a machine, ready for a premature baby. I gasp. “Where did you get all this equipment?”
“I wanted you to see that you’re safe, Leia. I’ll look after the baby the second it’s born. I won’t let you down.”
“And me?” I ask. “What about me?”
“You’ll join Sara.” He smiles and begins to lead me out the room.
“Where is Sara?”
“She’s happy. You’ll be happy too. Trust me.”
His words ring in my ears as he chains me back to the wall in my room.
CHAINS
Eva holds a bottle to my lips and I sip the water, closing my eyes in pleasure as the liquid finally lubricates my throat. “Riggs’ll be back any minute,” she whispers.
“Thanks. Go before you’re seen,” I croak.
“Gia is keeping Blu busy. We need to get you out of here,” she says hurriedly.
I smile. It’s cute that this chick thinks she can bust me outta here, but I can’t run with shattered ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. She’s risking everything and that means a lot. “No. You’ll get caught and I’ve hurt enough people. Is Raven okay?”
“Leia won’t answer her door to anyone. She must be heartbroken. She might come out if she hears you’re okay. Raven’s doing great. Frankie is taking good care of her.”
Blu appears in the door with Gia behind him shouting insults. “Get out,” he growls at Eva. She smiles sadly at me.
“Thanks, Eva. Tell Leia I love her and I’m sorry for everything.”
Ten minutes later, Cree rushes in. “She’s gone,” he says. “Leia’s gone.”
My heart rate picks up. “Gone where?”
“We dunno. Riggs is on his way back now. Last person to see her was Tiny. Said she was talking to a guy at the gates.”
“Fuck, untie me,” I growl. Cree hesitates. “If you didn’t want my help, you wouldn’t have told me. Now fuckin’ untie me.”
He cuts the ropes just as Riggs appears. “What are you doing?” he yells.
“You can slit my throat when we’ve found Leia,” I snap. “Now, call church.” I push past him and limp from the room.
“This is nothing to do with you,” yells Riggs.
“She’s my ol’ lady and she’s carrying my baby. It’s everything to do with me.”
I take my usual seat at the table and Riggs glares at me. His nostrils flare and then he tells Cree to get the guys together for church. I’ve won this round.
Brick plays back the CCTV footage of the gates. “It’s the nerd,” I snap. “Get Gia. She knows more about him.”
Gia comes in and looks around the room. “We need to know about the guy that Leia was seeing,” says Brick.
“Anna said something about him not being so nice the last time Leia saw him, shall I get her?” she mutters.
“She’s resting,” snaps Riggs.
“Actually, she’s just on the couch with Frankie. I think she’d want to help,” says Gia.
A minute later, Anna joins her side looking pale and tired with her new baby daughter in her arms. “She told me Ryan was pretty awful when she last saw him, basically called her trash and said she wasn’t fit to be a mother,” says Anna. “She told me he seemed unstable, not himself.”
My fists ball at my sides. “Why are we only hearing about this now?” I snap.
“You were all too busy with your heads up your asses,” snaps Anna. “If anything’s happened to Leia, it’s on your heads, yours and Riggs’. I need to rest. Keep me updated,” she snaps and then storms out of the room.
“I need every last one of his addresses, past and present. I need names of friends, family, every last fucker who knows him,” snaps Riggs. The men move from the room to carry out Riggs’ instructions. “And you,” he says to me. “We get her home and then you leave. You’re not my enforcer. You’re not a part of this club. I’m taking that tattoo off your back and then you’re gone.”
I nod once and leave the room. I have contacts and I waste no time in calling them to get the information I want.
LEIA
I stand in the bathroom and Ryan stares at me blankly. “Undress.”
“I promise not to leave the room. You can trust me,” I repeat and he shakes his head.
“You need to shower.”
I slowly undress and Ryan turns on the water. He watches as I remove each item of clothing, and when I remove my bra, I cover myself. His eyes are glued to my stomach and I resist the urge to shiver in repulsion. “I’ve seen you naked,” he smiles. “No need to hide yourself from me. You’re beautiful. Your body is perfect.”
I step under the water and close my eyes, hoping to wash away everything that’s happened in the last few hours.
When I’m dry, Ryan hands me a pile of clothes. I hold up the full-size briefs and stare at them. They are something my nan probably would have worn. “Comfort,” he clarifies. Next, I hold up the dress. It’s ankle length with frills and puffy sleeves. “Again, comfort.”
I slip them on reluctantly. “I feel like a ninety-year-old,” I mutter.
Ryan looks at me approvingly and smiles. “Stunning,” he mutters.
He leads me downstairs. I’ve never been to the first floor. There’s a large kitchen, dining room, and a living room. We sit on the couch and he turns on the television. I’m too busy looking around the room to take much notice as he chooses a film for us to watch. Pictures of a little boy growing fill the walls. Some contain his parents and others are just of him playing. I spot a few pictures of Ryan with Sara. They look happy. “You look like a happy child,” I say.
“My parents did so much for me,” he says. “I was raised well.”
“Does your mum know I’m here? I’d love to meet her.”
“She’s not well. Dementia, I think.”
“A new face might cheer her up,” I suggest. “She must get tired of the same four walls. And don’t you want her to know the woman who brought your daughter into the world?” I say. I can tell he’s thinking it over and I settle back into the couch to watch the film.
The next morning, Ryan comes to me early. “Okay. You can meet Mum. Only because she should meet Matilda’s mother.”
“That’s what you want to call her?” I ask.