Page 82 of Reckless and Rooted
He shifts in his seat, not replying, and I take a step back. “If I get even a whiff of you trying to take my son from me, it won’t be a good day for you.”
“All right, all right,” he says, sighing and slumping in his chair. He looks around the coffee shop, the façade he’s been keeping in place falling slightly. “How can you stand to live here? It’s so tiny.”
I glance around, smiling at Aveline when she waves, and shrug my shoulders. “It’s home.”
Saying my goodbyes—hopefully for the last time—I step out into the sunshine and breathe. I am glad I gave him a chance to talk to me, otherwise I might not have known that Jeanette is throwing around her opinion, that she is trying to control my life without, well, me.
The first then I do when I’m home will be firing her.
I start my walk, eager to let Jax know all is well, and get going over to his mom’s house. We’ve made a sweet tradition of family dinners every couple of weeks, one that I’m not passing up as long as we are in town.
My head is light and full of hope when I run into a body on the sidewalk. I’m just on the edge of town about to enter my neighborhood. I reach out, catching myself and making sure he doesn’t fall over. He’s hunched over, and I assume he’s elderly.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” I say, making sure he’s all right.
He turns to me, then grins unnaturally. “That’s just fine, dear.”
A hand clamps over my mouth from behind me, and I scream, throwing my arms around and kicking out my legs. The man who I assumed was elderly grabs my ankles, and the two men lift me, walking me toward a car.
Please God, make someone see me! I scratch and punch, slapping the hands that are clamped tightly around my waist, and notice a black SUV. The back door opens, and the older man climbs in, taking my fighting legs with him. The body holding me from behind moves me too slickly into the back seat, still holding my upper body.
I kick as hard as I can, finally getting a foot free, and kick up, breaking the older man’s nose.
Then, I bite down on the man’s hand who’s holding my mouth, hearing him cry out.
“Give me the syringe!” the older man says, taking something from the person in the front seat. Or is it two people?
I kick him some more, nailing him in the balls and enjoying the cry he makes from the impact. He leans over me, and the overwhelming scent of marijuana hits me, making me wish I could gag, but the man holding my mouth has it so tight that it’s painful.
Then, a prick in my neck and my limbs slowly stop fighting, stop listening, as if they just can’t anymore, and the world around me goes black.
My last thought is begging Jax to take care of Lawson.
39
jax
An hour passes,and there isn’t one word from Felicity. I pace the room with Law in my arms. He sleeps peacefully, not knowing that my gut is churning with dread and regret for letting her leave without me.
I can’t believe I fucking did.
Thirty more minutes pass, and I have to think they’re done, so I dial her number, waiting on pins and needles for her to answer the phone.
Nothing.
Five more minutes and I give in and call the bakery, which is where I assume they went.
Then, I get the confirmation from Aveline Hart herself.
“Felicity left a little before him, but it was at least forty minutes ago. Maybe an hour?”
An hour ago she left, and she still hasn’t returned home? Not possible.
I’ve got the diaper bag packed with more bottles and breast milk than Lawson should need, and I drive down Main Street,looking for any sign of Felicity and feeling my eyes heat when I don’t see her or that douchebag Zack anywhere.
I head straight to my mom’s place. She owns a small house on the outskirts of town. It is the same one she raised us boys in, and aside from a couple of bits we’ve fixed up, it is the same as always.
I knock on the door, and my niece, Lue, answers, her grin broad and excited to see the baby. Her smile falls a little when she sees me alone. “No Felicity? Is she sick?”
