Page 82 of A Deceitful Pact

“Jack, you're kinda becoming an inconvenience. Usually, I like to work my way up to a grand finale, but I got a pressing situation goin’ on. Tell my girl where she’s gonna find those women.” I press the gun into the back of his other knee.

“You won’t find them,” he tells me, screaming out again when I take out his second knee.

“Now I can guarantee you ain’t goin’ nowhere. I place the gun back in my pocket and reach into the holdall for those cable ties.

“What are you doing?” he asks as I fix ‘em tight around his wrists.

“My girl’s havin’ my baby, and I gotta get her to a hospital. I figured I’ll just leave ya here in the closet, then come back when I can really take my time.”

“Gable Park!” I’m shocked when the words blurt from his mouth. “There's an old abandoned timber yard out there,” he manages, as more blood pours onto the wood floor. “You’ll find the girls there. Kill me, but don’t put me in a fucking closet.” I look down at his face and see the panic in his eyes.

“What’s the matter, Jack, scared of the fuckin’ dark?” I laugh at him as I turn him round to face me.

“You had no bother keeping those girls locked away, knowing what was happenin’ to them,” I remind him

“I’m not gonna kill your ass until I know you're telling the truth.” Lifting up his limp body by the front of his shirt, I leave a trail of blood on the floor as I drag him across it to Riley’s walk-in closet. “Enjoy some reflection time.” I toss him inside, slam the door shut, and turn the key.

“You okay?” I immediately turn my attention to Riley, placing the key to the door on her dresser and grabbing the knife from the bed.

“I’m fucking great,” she answers me back as I slice the blade through the ropes on her ankles.

“You had any more contractions?” I check.

“No, but I can feel one coming,” she warns, and I quickly cut through the ropes behind her back before it gets here. Her hands move straight to her stomach, and she tenses up.

“Oh… this one hurts,” she tells me, and I stroke my hand over her tummy, surprised at how tight it’s got.

“Riley, you're not breathing, you have to do the breathe-y thing,” I remind her.

“Oh shit!” Her eyes stretch open in shock.

“What… what’s wrong?” I ask, following her eyes and seeing the huge puddle between her legs.

“My waters broke, didn’t they?” She closes her eyes

“It did, darlin’.” I take hold of her hand and smile when she opens her eyes because, despite this not being the way we planned it, and the fact we got an ex-fiancé bleeding out in the closet, it looks like today reallyisgonna be my little girl’s birthday.

RILEY

Thankfully, Sawyer takes over and goes into full action mode. He presses his cell to his ear as he helps me off the floor and onto the bed. There’s blood everywhere, but I ignore that and focus on waiting for my next contraction.

“Jace,” he sounds relieved when he answers. “I need you to drop whatever you're doin’ and get to Riley’s place. We know where the girls are, we just need someone to go get ‘em, tell your uncle to call it into that guy he trusts. Everything from here on out is taken care of officially.” I smile with relief as I listen to him explain how it’s gonna be.

“Of course, Riley would like to be there herself, but she’s got something more important to do,” he smirks, rubbing my back as he answers Jace’s question

“There's a guy who’s been working for the Gentrys, tied up in Riley’s bedroom closet. I’ve shot both his knees out, and he’s bleeding pretty bad. I left you the key on her dresser.

“Here comes another one.” I feel that dreaded wave of pain start to build, and Sawyer holds out his hand for me to take.

“Yep, she’s in labor,” he explains, seeming relatively calm given the situation.

“I don’t know, five minutes, maybe a little longer…Just listen to me. Tell Jamie his guy needs to raid the old timber yard at Gable Park. And you come here and take this asshole somewhere discreet. Don’t let him die until we’re sure he’s given us the right location and I get back.”

I try to focus on Sawyer's words to Jace rather than the pain, but it’s gotten so much worse since my waters broke.

“And if you could get someone to clean this place up, I’d be appreciative. I don’t want my girls coming home to this.” This time, I smile at him. “Sure, I’m gonna call you when she gets here, you're her goddaddy, ain’t ya?” Sawyer laughs as he hangs up the phone and turns his attention straight to me. “Has it passed?” he checks.

“We never agreed on Jace Sullivan being our baby’s godfather,” I point out, while he picks out some clean sweatpants and guides them up my legs.

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