Page 64 of Throne of Sin

“Yes?” One of Dante’s men is standing behind me, looking sheepish. I hadn’t realized anyone was in here.

“I’m sorry I scared you”—he lifts a cell phone towards me—“but you have a phone call.”

My heart flutters, wanting to hear Dante’s voice as I take the call. “Hello?”

“Demi, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days!” My mother’s frantic voice automatically places me on high alert.

“Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Oakleigh just kept getting sicker and sicker. I had no way of getting a hold of you, I didn’t know what to do.” My heart races a mile a minute.

“Where is Oakleigh right now?” I look toward the front door, then around the room. No one is in here anymore. The man left to give me privacy.

“At the hospital, the one with her regular doctor.”

“I’m on my way there, sit tight.” I hang up the phone, dropping it on the counter before I jog out of the house. I see one man having a smoke off in the distance. I try to walk casually toward his car, and peer in. The keys are in the ignition and the man’s back is to me.

I slip into the driver’s side door and press the gas down to get to my daughter as fast as I can. My mind is solely focused on getting to the hospital. I never should have left Oakleigh with my mother. I could have made it work. We’vealwaysjust made it work.

The light is red but no one is around, so I slow but don’t stop. The next light turns yellow, and I gun the gas to make it through the intersection before it turns red. The parking lot is full at the hospital, like normal. There isn’t a single spot near the front entrance so I make my way around the building toward the outskirts before I see a spot.

Jumping out of the car, I turn right into a solid chest. I didn’t even see another person. Strong arms hold on to me and I look up into Jameson’s eyes.

“And your mother told me you’d never come running, but here you are.” The cords on his neck stand out, his entire being strained, and he vibrates with anger.

“What do you want, Jameson?” I hesitantly ask. My eyes dart around the area, as I realize no one knows where I am.

“I want my family back,” he sneers, gripping on to me harder.We were never a family.

My gut drops and my eyes frantically search the packed lot for anyone to help me. His fingers pinch into my arms and I’m forced to come closer. “We never were a family.” I hold myself up strong, refusing to cower to him.

“When Tex called me about you selling yourself, I thought, good girl. You should have lasted a week, tops, and I was supposed to come in and save you.”

“Where’s my mom?” I ask, not wanting to bring up Oakleigh, hoping he’ll get sidetracked.

“That dumb bitch,” he scoffs, licking my cheek. I try not to cringe but I can’t help it. The wet sliminess has me pulling away. “She thought she could hide my daughter from me. I have to give the old bag credit; she definitely loves her granddaughter more than you.”

“Where are they?” I ask again.

“I hooked your mother up with some mind-numbing drugs. She was always the weak one. She’s probably sleeping in her bed or trying to get her next score. Did you know why she slept for so many hours back in the day? I’d come in and give her drugs. The drugs helped her stop remembering the shitty hand she’s been dealt. But you ran off and she got clean. It was then that I decided to find you.”

My stomach twists and my lips feel too heavy to pull up into a fake smile. Each of my muscles tense and I’m going to snap any moment. “Oakleigh. Where is she?” My teeth grind as I speak.

Jameson looks down and crushes his lips to mine. His hand holds the back of my head, my arms flail around trying to get away from his touch. “You always tasted better when you put up a fight.” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Did you think I wouldn’t know that she was his?” he sneers.

“She’s your daughter, Jameson.” My heart pounds so heavily, I worry it might combust. I never feared Jameson physically hurting Oakleigh because she was his blood.

“Bullshit!” he yells into my face. “She was born the exact day you were due withhis. I saw your calendar with a heart bubbled all around the day.”

“She was born early, it’s why she has bad lungs,” I plead as I try to get away from his grasp.

“I’m not fucking stupid,” he growls into my face, his spit hitting me in the mouth. “I thought you would grow to love me. We could be the doting parents we always wanted to be. But you ruined it all. It’s what you do. You’re a fungus that destroys everything in its path.”

“I left you because you’re psychotic!” I yell, unable to rein in my temper. His eyes flare and I know it was a bad idea. He opens the van door, tossing me inside. My face hits the floor and my legs hang out, only half on the seat. “Be good. Otherwise, all I have to do is make one phone call, and your daughter is dead.”

I want to scream that she is his, but I know better. I’ve dealt with Jameson when he goes off like this. He’s not even close to the same person. I pull myself up and buckle in. My cheek throbs where I hit it when I was tossed in. I rub at the sore spot but stop when I see Jameson watching me through the rear-view mirror.

Chapter 33

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