Page 67 of Bound by Vengeance
My head falls back to the seat. I didn’t bring my laptop with me, and I just feel like it’s getting close to when JK fucks up.
This isn’t good.
Ten minutes later, the phone rings and I answer my mom’s call. “Hello?”
“Alright. My guy can do it. Five a.m. in Stalemont, at the corner of Parish and Crest. Xavier and his wife Kim will be there. You give them the code. Tell the girls to go with him, and he’ll make them disappear.”
I search my memory, and it hits me. This churns in my gut. Ryker just got his sisters back, and now he’s going to lose them again.
“Right. Can Ryker know where they’re going?’
“No. It’ll be a while for that, but I trust these people, Austyn. They will take care of the girls. Swear it.”
I lean my head back on a huff of air. I may not like this, but it’s the best way to go about it. My mom has never let me down, and I know she won’t start now.
“Right. We’ll be there.”
Clicking off the phone, I give Ryker the details, telling him the sad news. He already knew it would be like this and is rolling with it.
“I just want them safe,” is all he says.
My heart grows for this man for taking care of sisters he barely knows. He has so much love inside him. I ache for the little boy who lost his family so early in life. Not by choice, but because he was made to. Breanna and Ashley had a choice on what to do; Ryker didn’t, and that hurts.
Part of me wants to hold and shelter him from all this bullshit. It must suck, coming all back up to the surface and slapping him in the face. All I can do right now is reach over and hold his hand, giving him my strength and telling him that he’s not alone.
I try again to talk to the girls, but they look like terrified little rabbits and don’t respond back, just look at me with doe eyes.
I’m just hoping that Kim and Xavier have better luck getting through to them.
All too soon, we are slowing down at the drop-off point. Ryker puts the truck in park, shutting down the lights.
“You’re going to go with some friends of ours. Ones we trust to take care of you and keep you safe.” Ryker pulls out a disposable phone and hands it to Breanna. “Only one number you can call on this, and it’s me. Only call if it’s an absolute emergency, do you understand?”
Her face is red and puffy. “Yeah.” She pauses. “Thank you. I’m scared. Very scared, but Samantha was trusting you, and I am, too.”
“Right,” Ryker says, opening the door to the truck, then opening the back door. I follow suit.
A black Tahoe awaits us, both doors open. A man with dark jet-black hair and a mustache to match comes forward. He has an edge to him that’s a little scary, and I’ve lived with bikers my whole life. Kim comes around the other side. She has long blonde hair and a killer smile.
“Hi, I’m Kim,” she says with a grin. “And this is Xavier.”
“Hi. Ryker, Austyn,” Ryker introduces.
“Sure is a good day to go on a Cruz,” Xavier says, looking us dead in the eye.
I answer, “Yeah, my friend Princess loves to go on them.” This passcode was given to my brothers and I when we were little. My mom said if she ever had someone pick us up from school, that was the code. We haven’t used it in years.
A smile comes over his face. “Yes, that woman is something.”
“She’s my mom,” I tell him.
His smile widens. “No shit?”
I nod.
Ryker steps forward. “These are my sisters. They haven’t been out around a lot of people, so please be patient with them.”
“That’s not a problem,” Kim responds, looking at the girls. “Hi, girls. I’m Kim, and we’re gonna get out of here, okay?”
