Page 80 of A Deceitful Pact

“How do you know that, Jack?” I ask, fearing his answer.

“I’ve seen it, Riley. I’ve seen everything. I’ve had you under surveillance.” The way he looks up at the light fixture above the bed makes me shudder. “I even left you a little reminder of us when I came here to fix them up.

I close my eyes when I think of the day I found that picture on my bed.

“I loved you, Riley, I loved you enough to walk away. I tried to warn you to back off, and now it’s too late. I need you to tell me where the girl is.” He looks unhinged.

“Jack, I don’t know where she is; you’ll have to ask Jamie Sullivan.” I feel my little girl fidget inside me and start to cry when I think of the danger she’s in.

“Not the answer I came here for, Riley. Try again.” He presses the gun hard into my temple.

“I don’t know where she is, I swear. I asked him to hide her, because I knew they’d try to take her back. I swear on my baby's life that I don’t know where she is.” I stroke my hand over my tummy, wondering if she can sense my fear.

“Why is he so special? Why him?” Jack asks with tears forming in his eyes.

“I’ve always wanted to be a mom, I just knew that if I was, I’d have to do it alone.”

“See that. That, right there…that's what I’m talking about. You’re cold and closed off, Riley. I loved you so hard, and you gave nothing back.”

“I was trying,” I promise him.

“Guess I just wasn’t enough.” He shakes his head in disappointment.

“I really didn’t want to do this, remember that.” He keeps the gun pointed at me, as he reaches down to the floor on the other side of the bed and picks up a holdall..

“You know where that girl is, and you're gonna tell me.” He reaches inside and pulls out some rope. “Or things are about to get real painful.”

SAWYER

Istare at the clock on the wall. I’ve barely been here an hour. The time is passing real slow and I can’t get rid of the niggle in my gut that tells me I should be with her. Our baby is due tomorrow. Riley’s restless and undoubtedly getting herself into some kind of trouble at home. I need to get out of here.

“Drink up, we’re closing,” I call out to the three customers I’ve got. I’ll message Len and tell him to be here to open up at five. I’d much rather be at home with my girl, holding my tongue, while she reels off baby names.

Once everyone’s drunk up and gone, I lock the door and head for the grocery store.

I pull up at Riley’s fifteen minutes later, lifting the bag of her required items from the seat before I climb out the truck.

It’s crazy to think that if Riley gets her way, today could be my little girl's birthday, and with that in mind, I whistle my way up the path and let myself inside.

“Honey, I’m home.” I dump the bag on the table and look around for her.

“Riley?” I call out again when she doesn’t answer. I swear, if she’s taken that walk to old man Harris's place I’ll somehow put her over my knee and spank her ass.

“Riley!” I call out again, seeing the bathroom door open. There's steam on the mirror, and I’ve told her so many times about running the bath too hot. I push the door all the way open and find the room empty. Then, just as I make my way down the hall, I hear a faint, little whimper and a familiar click that forces me into panic mode. There’s someone in the bedroom, they’ve got a gun, and I’m pretty sure they’ve got Riley too. I can’t let my anger take over. I have to think smart. I’m not armed, I don't even know where Riley keeps her gun. So it’s looking like I'm gonna have to rely on my fighting skills.

Taking a breath, I duck low and crash my way through the bedroom door. A fire goes off, and I’m pretty sure it misses as I spear forward and take the shooter off his feet with a low tackle. I don’t have time to look around and see where Riley is, my first priority has to be getting the gun from this person's hand. Another shot goes off. That one doesn’t miss, it slices through my bicep, and when I see the guy on the floor beneath me, pointing the barrel at my face, I quickly grip his wrist and palm strike his elbow, forcing it out of joint and making the gun fall from his hands.

The fucker cries out in pain as I grapple for the gun, taking it in my hand and pointing it right between his eyes.

“Sawyer.” I look over to the corner of the room, where Riley is tied by her ankles with her hands behind her back. The robe she’s wearing is open at the front exposing her naked flesh to whoever this fucker is.

“It’s Jack. Don’t you dare kill him!” she calls out, looking scared, and when he looks up at me and starts to laugh, I slam my fist into his face to silence him.

“What the fuck happened here?” I look back at Riley.

“Don’t lose your temper, you can’t kill him.” She’s crying and frightened. It ain’t doing nothing to calm my rage.

“Baby, I know me and you work on different sides of the law, but there are certain things I ain’t gonna let slide.” I push the gun deeper into the fucker’s head, not giving a shit if he’s her ex-fiancé, or if a little part of her still cares for him. I need to see what the inside of his skull looks like.

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