Page 41 of Patch's Bride
I recognize the house when I pull into the driveway and around the back. It’s his old college friend’s place. He keeps an eye on their place every fall when they go to the East Coast. A little voice in the back of my head reminds me that just means there will be no one around to hear me scream. Morbid thoughts like that keep creeping unbidden into my mind.
As I’m turning off the ignition, the side door opens. Suddenly, my stepfather is standing there looking triumphant rather than angry like he normally does.
“Finally,” he says casually. “I’m glad you came. It’s high time you and I had a talk, young lady.”
“I want to see my sister,” I say flatly. “You promised the judge you wouldn’t take her out, and you did anyway.”
He laughs. His face is lit up with pure happiness. “Now don’t be that way, Elizabeth. The judge isn’t here to object, is he?”
When I approach the door, he pulls me inside by the elbow. “You see Lila, and then we’ll talk.”
“No. You take Lila back to the care home, and then I’ll talk about whatever you want.”
He shoots me an annoyed look while leading me down a long hallway. A flight of stairs goes down into a cooler darkness. Gooseflesh rises on my arms because my Spidey senses are going off like crazy. He could trap us down here, but I go anyway because what choice do I have.
“Did you put her in the basement?” I ask incredulously.
“Yes. It’s cool and comfortable down here,” he says. “It’s a nice room, where Lila can rest until you come to your senses.”
He’s not joking about the room being nice. It’s a family room and I can’t decide if it’s a gym, home movie theater, or man cave. But I don’t care about the surroundings. I just want my sister, soI rush forward to find her. Lila’s lying on a big sofa with a toss cushion clutched to her chest. Her eyes are wide, and her lips are too pale. There’s a bluish tinge to her skin.
“Beth,” she says in a whisper that breaks my heart. She’s still got the inhaler tight in her hand. The tremor in her fingers makes me worry that she might be using it too much. I don’t want her to overdose out of fear and anxiety, so I take it gently out of her hand as I sit down beside her.
“Breathe slowly,” I tell her. “You got this. We’re together now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
When she calms, I look up at my stepfather, who’s hovering nearby. I don’t like that greedy look in his eye. “Please take her back to the care home,” I tell him sternly.
“First, we talk.”
I can tell by the stubborn expression on his face that he’s not going to let this go. “Fine. Say what you have to say and let’s get on with this.”
“I know you’re not really married to Solomon,” he says smugly. “I checked at the courthouse, and they said the two of you got the marriage license but didn’t come back to register the marriage.”
“We are. We just didn’t get around to filing the papers. Just get to the point, I’m tired of this.”
“I don’t like your attitude. I should have taught you to have some respect,” he says in a disapproving tone.
“Listen to me,” I say, standing. “I already said that I’ll do what you want if you take Lila back to her care home. She can’t be here. She needs oxygen and monitoring.”
“In order for Lila to get what she needs, you have to follow through on your promises to me.”
My sister protests weakly from the sofa, “Beth, no. Don’t listen to him.”
“I know you want to traffic me to settle your debt to some asshole business partner.”
My stepfather raises an eyebrow at that.
“Yeah, I heard you. Why do you think I ran?”
“Vincent isn’t a partner. He’s more of an associate,” he explains. He acts like that somehow makes it alright.
I’ve heard the name before. “He’s not a biker, is he?”
“Not hardly. Vincent is one of the wealthiest men in this county. And he’s looking for wife number three.”
I just stare at him for a brief second. This is the first I’ve heard of marriage. I think he’s just telling me what I want to hear in order to get things rolling in the right direction.
“I told you, I’m married to Patch.”
