Page 43 of Single Mom for the Firemen

Then I know that anything he has planned is not exactly going to leave me in a better state than they found me.

“Why does he want to meet with me?” I demand.

The man chuckles. “It’s not to give you a quote for your story, if that’s what you’re talking about,” he replies, derisive and cruel. “He wants to look you in the eye when he does it.”

“When he does what?”

He shrugs. “That’s up to him.”

I clasp a hand over my mouth, trying to contain the groan of terror that wants to escape me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Callie moving slightly, and I glance around to make sure she hasn’t heard any of this—much to my relief, she’s still asleep.

I reach out and grab the man’s arm. I can’t let him walk out of here without trying to get Callie away from this place. I know the chances are slim, but if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, to ensure that she’s okay…

“Please, just get her out of here,” I beg him. “Say she ran away or something. Let her back into the woods. I don’t care, just don’t make her part of this?—”

“She already is,” he replies, his voice even, as he slides his gaze past me and toward the sleeping bundle on the floor. “You made that choice when you started working on this story, remember?”

“If I’d known?—”

“If you’d known that we’d retaliate?” he remarks, cutting me off. “You’re telling me you really thought you could get away with this without paying the price?”

His lip curls up into a derisive smile. I want to scream. I want to claw at his face and beat his chest and beg him to let my daughter go, not to make her pay for what I have done, not to make her suffer for everything that I’ve been foolish enough to bring down on her head…

Before I can stop myself, I lunge for him, my fists raised—but he catches me by the wrist and twists it up painfully, drawing a cry of agony from between my lips.

“Just wait,” he tells me, his voice low, his eyes glittering with excitement. “You’ve got plenty of fight coming your way soon enough. No need to waste your breath on me.”

And with that, he shoves me back into the room, my wrist aching with agony, tears pricking my eyes and a lump of terror in my throat that I can’t ignore. How can this be happening? How could I have let this happen…?

I try the door again, but he has already locked it behind him. I kick it a couple of times, but it doesn’t move—and when I glance around, I see that Callie has woken up, her eyes bleary as she lifts her head from the sweater I placed on the ground for her.

“Mommy…?”

I rush over to her, dropping down by her side again and pulling her head onto my lap.

“I’m right here, baby,” I promise her, smoothing my hand over her head in an attempt to soothe her. “You’re okay. Just go back to sleep…”

She’s so exhausted, it doesn’t take long for her to do as she’s told, leaving me alone in the silence of the room once more—and distinctly aware of the hell that is about to rain down on our heads.

If what that man told me was true, then I don’t stand a chance. Lewis Jacobson will make an example of me—a warning to anyone who might be planning to pull the same kind of shit I did that there’s no point standing up against him, because he will always be there to slap us down.

And my daughter is going to pay for it too. I stare out of the window and send out a prayer to whoever might be listening. I don’t know if I deserve the help right now, but God only knows Callie does.

And I will do anything to keep her alive. Anything.

22

MASON

I scanthe road ahead of me—still quiet at this time in the morning, aside from a few cars traveling to and from early shifts at work. Nothing that stands out as anything out of the ordinary, though this situation couldn’t be much further from standard-issue if it tried.

The walkie-talkie I have propped up on the dashboard fizzes to life, and Killian’s voice cuts through the static.

“You in position?” he asks me.

“Affirmative,” I reply. “I’m next to the road that leads to the warehouse. Nobody’s getting in or out without me knowing about it. You?”

“We’ve got eyes on the place now,” Killian replies. “Jake’s scouting it, getting an idea of how many guards we’re dealing with. We’re going to make our move in the next fifteen minutes or so.”

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