Page 25 of Rampant

What was happening? My body jostled on a thinly padded surface, and a siren blared in my ears. I swayed, and my stomach dropped. Felt like I was being transported. I spaced in and out of consciousness, and the crisp scent of pine and nature disappeared, replaced by a hint of fresh water and fish. It reminded me of being on Rafe’s island.

Was I near a river? Where was he taking me this time?

“Zach?” Why wasn’t he answering me?

“Hang on,” an unfamiliar voice said. His tone was deep, reassuring. “We’re almost there.”

I must have blacked out again, though I vaguely recalled the shout of voices, commands, and haste motion.

“Alexandra.”

That voice I recognized, and it drifted to me faintly. I tried to lift my lids, but they stuck to my eyeballs. “Dad.” I moaned, turning my head and finally forcing my eyes open.

The fuzzy bulk of his form sat to my left. He leaned to one side and brought a hand to his chin, stroking the graying stubble there. The gesture reminded me of Zach and caused a chill to go down my spine. He leaned forward and settled his much larger hand over mine. “I can’t believe you’re here. I thought I lost you.”

“What happened?” My gaze darted around the nondescript room. The blinds were cracked slightly to allow the sunlight in. I angled my head back and noticed the medical equipment above the bed.

“You don’t remember?” he asked.

Coming fully alert, images went off like flashes in my mind. Rafe, the island, Zach…my last desperate attempt to free myself from him forever. A horrified cry tumbled from my mouth, and I lifted my arms. White bandages covered both to a few inches below my elbows, wrapping in mummy-like fashion.

“The doctor said you were lucky you didn’t damage any tendons.” He cleared his throat. “Thank God it appeared worse than it was.”

“How…” I met Dad’s gaze. “How did I get here?” Memories surfaced as soon as the words left my mouth. Zach sobbing his grief and remorse onto my stomach as he used his hands to stem the flow of blood, how he’d pleaded with me not to leave him. The same hands that inflicted so much pain had banded around my wounds to save me. Even now his actions seemed counterproductive, considering all he’d done.

But he had saved me. In his own sick and twisted way, he’d loved me enough to let me go, if letting me go meant I wouldn’t die.

“A ranger found you. You were in a cabin near Mt. Hood. An anonymous caller reported your suicide attempt, but you were alone when they found you. Do you have any memory of how you got there, or how your car ended up in the Columbia River?”

Rafe…he’d freed me from a life I’d wanted to escape, then Zach had imprisoned me with the shackles of his obsession. I nodded slowly, looking at the last few weeks from all angles. “I remember, but it’s not what you think.”

He gave a pointed look at my arms. “Talk to me.”

“It was Zach. He wouldn’t let me go. Dad”—I lowered my head, facing away in shame—“he took me. It was all him. He’s been r-rap—”

“Alexandra.” His tone made me gulp, and I felt like I was twelve again. “Your brother has been busy at our new MMA training camp in Seattle for the past month. We announced it formally this morning.”

His words hit me with the force of a sledgehammer. He was doing it again. Protecting Zach. No doubt paying people to say what needed to be said. Fabricating photos and controlling what the media reported. I didn’t have to see the evidence—he’d done it so many times already, hiding Zach’s downward spiral into alcoholism, his erratic behavior during training sessions and events, but I never thought he’d throw me under the bus.

His own daughter.

You’re not his daughter though. Not by blood.

I trembled at the voice in my head, and I hated how my eyes burned from hurt. Struggling to sit up, I hefted my legs over the side of the bed and stood. On wobbly limbs, I turned to confront him. “I can prove Zach did it. His fucking sperm is still inside me.”

I lifted my gown to just below my breasts and put Zach’s carving on display. Glancing down almost made me retch, but I swallowed the rancid taste in my mouth. Zach hadn’t exaggerated; he’d carved his name into my skin so clearly, a first grader would be able to read it. “I suppose I did this to myself too, right? Or maybe it was another man name Zach who took me, raped me, and drugged me out of my mind.”

Dad wouldn’t even look at me, and that pissed me off more than anything. “He can’t get away with this. I can’t keep living this way.”

“My poor girl.” He shook his head. “I’ll get you the help you need.”

“It was Zach!” I screamed, losing my balance and stumbling into the side of the bed. Propping myself up with both hands, I tried to ignore the bandages, but they sat between us, as if to perpetuate the deception. I hadn’twanted to die. I’d just wanted…free.

He rose from the chair and stepped to my side. “Get back in bed before you fall down.”

I yanked away from his touch and climbed beneath the blanket under my own steam. “This isn’t my fault. I didn’t do this.”

“It’s okay to admit you need help,” he said, his voice unusually soft. “Your mother fought it too, but you don’t have to make the same mistake. And you don’t have to fight this battle alone. You have your family. You have Lucas. He still wants to marry you.”

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