Darkness Before Dawn (7 page)

"Don't
sir
me, call me Brian. You used to call me Grandpa as a kid, but I don't expect you to remember that. Sit," he says, pointing at the chair across from the one he was sitting in. "Mark filled me in on everything. I gotta say, I was shocked as shit when I found out about Blake. I thought they were trying to play me, until Mark here came to me about it. Anyway, I'm expecting company tonight, so we need to air this shit about before they get here. There will be no mention of Blake around anybody else in this house. Understand?"

His eyes go cold when he says the last part to me, and suddenly the stories about how ruthless he is are a little more real to me. I know I can take this man down in a fight, but the intensity in his voice makes me shake in my fucking boots.

"Yes, sir," I reply. "I just need to know who took her and I need to get her back."

He picks up the set of dice in front of him and starts shaking them in his right hand, his eyes never leaving mine.

"I know who has her, they won't hurt her, son," he says firmly.

"Is it the same people that took us when we were kids?" I ask, working my jaw.

He nods and sadness pools his thunderous eyes before he fixes his stare on the die in his hand. Their gray is so much like Blake's, that I feel my throat tighten again and have to avert my own to the door just in time to catch Mark, who had seemingly left the room, stepping back inside.

"You tell him?" Mark asks Brian with a nod to me.

Brian takes a breath and looks at me. "I'm sure you are now aware of who I am. You've probably heard things; some true, some not. The men that took you were like family to us until we started having some issues over twenty years ago over some land...and other things that you don't need to know about. But I beat them out on something and that was the last straw for them. You dad was in charge of approving proposals in the city at the time, each of us turned our own things in. Everybody knew that because of the relationship I had built with your dad, I would get the approval. One of the guys thought it would make a difference to kidnap you and Blake. One thing we had in common is that we never involved children in our business. That night things just..." his voice trails off. "Anyway, Blake's father went nuts after that and did some things he can't take back. And there's just been bad blood between us and the O'Brien's since then. We've managed to keep them buried," he pauses and throws the dice down onto the green table. "Until now. They got something we want. I already told them I'd give them what they want. But he's not after that anymore, it's become some sort of obsession of his. Blake's pops don't know about it, don't know about you either, and I wanna keep it that way as long as I can. If anything happens to her and he finds out she was alive all this time, when he thought she was dead, he'll...fuck, I don't even know what else he can do," he says as he eyes Mark, who raises and drops his shoulders in response.

"So Jamie O'Brien is the one that has her?" I ask, ignoring the rest of the story.

Brian shakes his head slowly. "No. Him and I go way back and despite this shit, we have the same ideals. One of his guys does. It's complicated, kid. We'll handle it though," he replies, looking at Mark again.

"You talk to Benny?" Mark asks.

He scoffs. "Fucking kid wouldn't know his head from his ass. I talked to Alex, though," he replies with a sigh. "Alex ain't gonna hurt the girl, Marky, you've seen her."

What the hell does that mean?
I'm ready to ask questions, but Ethel interrupts us to let Brian know his guests have arrived. We say our goodbyes and leave through the back door.

On the way home, we're quiet again, even though I have so many questions to ask, but for some reason I keep getting stuck on the stupidest one.

"Mark." My voice slices through the silence as I pivot my body as much as I can in the tiny seat. "Why the fuck is your last name Lewis?"

He gives a carefree laugh. "I changed it after they took you. I refused to hide, so I changed it and continued law school instead. They know who I am, of course, but the rest of the world doesn't need to know that a criminal attorney is the son of...well..."

The fact that he can't even say it makes it funnier than it is. The mix of confusion, anger, and anxiety drives me into a hysteric laugh and tears start rolling down my face as I clutch my stomach. Mark slaps my shoulder, which makes me laugh harder, and finally joins me laughing.

What a strange, fucked up world we live in.

"So Brian is Blake's grandfather, and...you're her uncle...from the farm?"

"Nope, that must've been my brother. I rarely visited the farm," he replies with an exhale.

My clattering teeth echo in the dark empty room, as I lay in the fetal position, holding myself together, trying to keep myself warm. When the door bursts open, I hold myself tighter and squeeze my eyes shut as I try to control my breathing.
Please think I'm asleep. Please think I'm asleep.
Sometimes Alex comes in here and sits on the floor staring at me when he thinks I'm asleep. Most of the time I hear him weeping as I lie here with my eyes shut, waiting for him to leave. Sometimes he mutters apologies under his breath as he touches my face lightly, and I try my best not to flinch or cry. Then he leaves quietly after bidding me goodnight. I don't feel well enough to pretend right now, though.

"Blake," he whispers roughly.

My heart begins to slow down, and I open my eyes as I stir my body.

"What?" I ask groggily, sitting up on the uncomfortable mattress. My back is killing me from this damn mattress. And the smell. I just can't take it anymore! The smell of chlorine overpowers any other lingering scent and just thinking about it makes me gag. I can even smell it through my stuffy nose from the terrible cold I have, which is pretty telling.

"How do you feel?" he asks, leaning over me and touching my forehead softly, making my stomach churn from the cigarette smell on his clothing.

"Like shit. How do you think I feel?" I reply weakly.

"I'm going to take you to the doctor in the morning," he says in a concerned tone.

I cough out a laugh. "You really think Alex or Benny are going to let you take me out of this place?

"Don't worry about them. You're going to die if you stay in here without a doctor. You've had a fever for four days now."

"They'd be happy to let me die," I reply tiredly.

"They need you alive, Blake. Trust me."

"Trust you," I whisper, mostly to myself.

"Yes, trust me. I haven't done you wrong, have I?" he asks, his hazel eyes narrowing at me angrily.

I shake my head slowly.

"Besides, you know better than to say anything or try to run. He's already warned you before. If you say anything to anybody, Cole's dead. If you try to run, we'll add Aubry to that," he says flatly.

A whimper escapes me. "You're a heartless son of a bitch," I say hoarsely.

"You have no idea," he replies. "So don't fuck with me. I like you and I don't agree with what they're doing, but if I have to pick between my life and one of theirs, it sure as fuck isn't going to be mine. Understood?"

I nod yes with tears in my eyes and remind myself that even the nicest people can't be trusted.

He groans. "Damn it, chick. Just be good and nothing will happen. I brought you something for your fever, drink it and go back to sleep. I'll come get you in the morning."

I do as I'm told and watch him leave the room. Leaving me in the darkness, nursing my ailments with my tears—again.

I go to sleep thinking of Cole. Wishing it was his arms around me, instead of my own.

I wake up sometime after Dean left, my stuffy nose not letting me go back to sleep. After a while of just staying in bed, I get up and dress before lying back down to wait for Dean. I look up when I hear the door unlock and find Benny staring at me angrily. My instinct is to push myself back, toward the wall. He's pushed me around, and I still have a couple of bruises on my arms from the last time he was here.

"Dean's taking you to the doctor today, girl. Don't you for a second think this is your chance to escape. Try something, your famous boyfriend gets hit first. Got it?" he says in his icy voice, gruff from his smoke-filled lungs.

"Got it," I whisper.

"I can't hear you. Speak up, girl," he spits.

"Got it," I say loudly. I stiffen when he stalks over to me. He grabs me by the throat and squeezes, cutting my breathing as he pushes my head roughly into the wall.

"Don't fucking talk to me like that," he spits.

"BENNY!" Dean screams as he rushes toward us and tears him away from me.

Benny looks over to Dean and hacks out a maniacal laugh. "You keep playing knight in fucking shining armor for her, don't you?"

Dean's eyes narrow. "I'd rather keep her safe while you figure out what the fuck you're going to tell Jamie when he finds out."

"I call the shots 'round here. Fuck Jamie! He didn't do shit when her pops did this to me, did he?" Benny screams as he points to his face.

I clasp my mouth with both hands. It's not that I care that my father did that to this monster, sad excuse for a man. My father is a stranger to me anyway, but the thought of him being anything like these people doesn't sit well with me. I clutch on to my stomach and try not to lose my breakfast.

"She had nothing to do with that," Dean responds as Benny walks away.

"She had everything to do with that!" Benny shouts over his shoulder not turning back around.

Dean looks at me with guilt in his eyes, and for the hundredth time since I've been here, I can't figure out why he's chosen this life for himself. He crouches down directly in front of me.

"You okay?" he asks, searching my face. I nod rapidly, my heart still drumming loudly in my chest as he helps me up.

I follow Dean out of the room in the basement and up the stairs. When we make it to the top step, I squint at the brightly lit house. We round the corner and end up in a living room where the walls are white and the decor is opulent. Not what I expected. I hear loud male voices and instinctively plaster myself to Dean's back, clutching on to his shirt. I feel his body stiffen under my hold, and he turns around, placing me by his side. His hazel eyes are looking at me, wildly confused.

"I'm scared," I whisper, because I am. I'm scared out of my mind.

His eyes soften. "Don't be scared. I got you."

I nod, but his words don't soothe me. Nothing about this place makes me feel safe, not even him.

He leads me toward the back door, the opposite direction of the voices, and outside. He holds my hand tight in his, and I know it's not to make me feel safe, but to make sure I don't run.

"Blake, remember what I told you. You run, Cole's dead. You wouldn't want that, now would you?" Dean asks in a soft voice that contradicts the severity of his threat. He says he wouldn't kill for anybody, and I wonder how much truth is in that. It doesn't matter, the threat is there and I have no desire to find out whether or not they'd do it. I can't afford to mess around, for all I know these are the people who killed Maggie. That thought alone churns my stomach.

"No, I wouldn't," I whisper. "I won't run, I promise."

"Good."

I take a deep breath and let the fresh air fill my lungs. I've smelled the nasty smell in the room for so long, I'd forgotten what breathing clean air is like. When the sun hits my face, I begin to weep quietly. When Dean opens the door of the pick up truck we're riding in, I wipe the tears from my eyes. He gives me a sad look and slumps his shoulders.