By the time we arrive at the End Zone, Maddie and Sienna are busy decorating the VIP area with gold and black balloons, ordering Keller around to reach all the high spots. They’re throwing one hell of a party for New Year’s Eve and we’ve been summoned in to help.
Just after me, Jax walks in, letting out a tired yawn.
“Long night?” I ask him.
“You could say that again.” He throws down his helmet on one of the tables as Kai passes him a beer.
“You look like you need one of these,” Kai says.
Jax shakes his head, almost going green. “I can’t.”
“Pussy!” Keller shouts out, just as a balloon pops above his head.
It makes me jump back into Frankie’s arms.
“Keller, concentrate!” Sienna admonishes him.
“Where do you need me?” I ask.
Maddie bundles a few boxes of red confetti at me. “Can you start throwing this over the tables, please?” She blows her bright blonde hair out of her face and gives me a smile.
“Jax, get your ass up. I need you checking the bar stock,” Keller calls over his shoulder.
Jax groans, nudging Kai next to him.
“Give me a hand?” he says, his voice croaky.
“Fine.” Kai rolls his eyes at his friend.
“Where do you want me?” Frankie asks and Maddie turns, beaming at him.
“You can go and help Grayson move the DJ equipment into the other side of the room.”
“Fine,” he responds, unamused.
With a smile, I turn to Frankie and place a gentle kiss on his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin against my lips.
“Have fun with that.”
Before I can retreat, he holds me tighter, pressing his tongue into my mouth.
“Enough of that, we don’t have time!” Maddie claps her hands next to us and we both pull back and laugh.
“You heard the boss,” Frankie whispers.
I watch Frankie stride out of the VIP area, and I get to work throwing confetti over the tables. As I look up at Maddie, the room begins to whirl around me, and a wave of nausea washes over me.
“Zara, are you okay?”
My mouth starts watering to the point all I can do is nod.
‘I’ll be right back.’ I hastily exit the room and sprint down the hallway, the nauseating sensation building until I finally reach the toilet to empty my stomach.
When I finally finish, I sit back on the floor, rubbing my lower belly with a smile on my face. “You’re already just like your daddy, always testing me.”
Even feeling like complete crap, I know it will all be worth it in a few months to hold this little one in my arms.
Dragging myself up to my feet, I go and splash some cold water over my face. As I leave, a breeze brushes along my shirt and I take in a deep breath. The chill instantly makes me feel better.
I head towards the fire escape, slipping out and feeling the cold air embrace my body as I lean against the rough brick wall. Closing my eyes, I take deep breaths in and out to mellow the queasy feeling.
Footsteps crunch on the leaves on the floor. I look up and Alex’s imposing figure walking towards me. My eyes quickly dart down, and I catch sight of the pistol in his hands, causing a rush of adrenaline through my veins.
Shit.
“Alex, what are you doing?” I try to keep my voice calm.
“If you want to save yourself, I wouldn’t move.”
“Don’t do this, Alex.” I warn as he takes a step closer.
He lets out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not here to hurt you, Zara. I just need to talk to you somewhere, not here.”
“You say, with a gun pointed at me?”
As I reach for my own weapon, he raises his other arm.
“Zara, I have the location of the last two girls. Please, just come with me.”
I hesitate, searching his face. He’s pleading with me, his eyes filled with desperation. A slight tremor runs through his hand as he holds it out.
“Give me that.”
“No,” I reply.
He lunges forward, wrenching it from my grasp, and it clatters loudly to the pavement.
As he grabs my wrist, I feel the cold metal of his barrel pressing into my back, urging me to move.
“I don’t want it to be like this, Zara. You have to believe me.”
I suck in a breath. It’s not just me anymore. I have to think about our baby. I can’t be reckless or scare Alex into doing something stupid.
He leads me down the alleyway to his black mustang.
“I’m sorry, Zara,” he says with sincerity. I frown as he cuffs my wrists and forcefully pats me down before taking my phone.
“Get in.” He opens the passenger door and waits, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I hiss as he reaches to help me.
The engine roars to life, its thunderous sound echoing through the air as he pulls out. His jaw clenches and his knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel.
“Well? Start talking, Alex.”
“I will. I just need to get us somewhere safe.”
My heart rate picks up.
“What do you mean ‘safe’?”
He shakes his head. “Look, I’m under instructions to keep you away. I can’t risk my family.”
“Well, I can’t risk mine either, Alex.”
Tears sting in my eyes. I have to warn Frankie. I have to do anything to get out of this.
He continues the drive, the only sound being the loud hum of the engine. We must have been on the road for half an hour. My hands rise, brushing against my face as I pretend to scratch it. In my balled fist, I securely hold on to one of my bobby pins.
“Why do you care about protecting me?” I ask, trying to get him talking to me again.
“I was told to keep you away from Frankie, okay? I just think something else is going down and I can’t have you getting caught up in this.”
My body stiffens.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t do this anymore, Zara. I fucking hate what I’ve become. I don’t know how to escape; they are holding my father’s life over my head. I couldn’t let them hurt you. You don’t deserve it. I’ve seen you working your ass off to save those women. You’re a good person.”
“I don’t care about me. What do you mean, you ‘think something big is happening’?”
“I heard them talking, something about making a play for power.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. All I know is, I was told to be on duty and keep you away from Frankie. That was my order.”
I pound my fists against my knees in frustration. “Turn the fucking car around and take me back to him, Alex.”
His jaw tightens.
“I can’t, Zara, I’m sorry.”
As we pull up into an abandoned warehouse, I notice the broken windows and graffiti-covered walls in front of me. As soon as he pulls to a stop and the locks click, he jumps out.
I keep the bobby pin tight in my grip as he opens the passenger door and helps me out.
Before we reach the front of the building, I dig my feet into the ground, forcing him to face me.
“You’re pathetic, you know that, right?” I spit out, full of venom.
“I’ve only done what I had to do. Same as you, right?”
“Trafficking women? Really, Alex? How the fuck is that the same?”
“Chad, did he deserve to die?”
I take a step forward, straightening the bobby pin discretely as Frankie showed me to do at the docks.
“He did, yes. He went for his gun. He was in my goddamn apartment under your orders. You killed your own friend, Alex. Not me. You put him there, because your spineless ass couldn’t do it.”
“I don’t have a fucking choice,” he shouts, throwing his arms up in the air.
“There is always a choice, Alex. You just picked the wrong side of this. Let me guess, you’re getting paid a good sum for this, too?”
His face drops, telling me everything I need to know.
“You better hope to god nothing happened to those girls, or my Frankie, Alex. Or, I’ll end you myself.”
With each step I take, his piercing stare intensifies.
Keeping him distracted with my onslaught of aggression, I start wiggling the metal in the cuffs, waiting to hit resistance.
“I want out, Zara. I need your help.”
I let out a laugh. “You have to be kidding me. You’ll be lucky to get out of this without a bullet through your skull.”
“I’m doing this for you! I don’t want to be doing this anymore, Zara!” His face reddens.
“Do the right thing, then. Let me speak to Frankie and let’s save the girls. That’s the only way you get out alive, Alex.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t do that.”
The lock clicks. In a swift movement, I shake them off and make a lunge for the gun in his holster.
