Page 64 of Virtue & Vengeance

16

EDEN

THE SHITTY MOTEL we were staying in had roaches. As I sat in the chair Allen tied me to, I watched three of them scatter across the ceiling above me. Closing my eyes, I prayed one didn’t fall on me, which was funny considering I had much more pressing things to worry about.

Allen had left the TV on for me, and an old episode of Cheers was playing. I watched without much attention, my focus mainly on thoughts of how I was going to get away from him.

There was money somewhere with the car.

And there were drugs.

Both of which were locked in an impound lot. I prayed it was still there, but the fact was, the car had been impounded twice now. There was no telling if the money and drugs were even still under the car, but if they weren’t, I knew there would be hell to pay.

If I didn’t come up with something, chances were Allen was going to kill me.

I froze when the door to the motel room opened, and Allen came inside. He tossed a bag of food on the bed and kicked off his shoes, filling the small room with the disgusting scent of stinky feet and greasy burgers.

“Please,” I begged. “Just let me go. I’ll go get the car from the impound lot at six, bring it back to you, and I’ll disappear. You’ll never have to see my face again, I swear.”

He turned, his angry eyes taking in my expression, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he sat on the bed and dug through his bag of food.

I watched from my chair as he stuffed his face with burgers and fries. He burped several times and guzzled a beer. When he was finished, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and chain smoked until it was almost time to leave.

When it was almost six, he tugged on his shoes and stood from the bed. My body stiffened when he started my way.

“I’m going to untie you from the chair. If you try anything, I’ll kill you. It’s that simple.”

I nodded, and when he untied my hands from behind my back, I flexed my wrists to get the circulation back to my hands. I hadn’t even realized my fingers were numb, but now they were tingling and full of pain.

I followed Allen out of the motel room and to his car, rubbing my chafed wrists the entire way. I searched the parking lot for people, but again there were only rodents.

Instead of putting me in the trunk, he let me sit up front with him.

“What’s the name of the impound lot?” he asked.

I gave him the information he wanted and sat quiet and still as he keyed the address in the GPS on his cell.

I kept my eyes wide open as we pulled out of the parking lot, taking in every single place so I would know precisely where the motel we were staying in was located.

Luckily for me, it wasn’t far at all from Kennedy’s condo. It was just a few streets over on the wrong side of town.

Finally, ten minutes later, we pulled up to the impound lot. Unfortunately, Zander was waiting just outside the lot, leaning against the Oldsmobile waiting.

“Fuck!” Allen roared. “I thought you told him to leave it parked out front?”

I shivered when he snatched my arm and tugged me. “I did! I swear. You heard me. I don’t know why he’s here.”

I said that, but I knew why.

Zander wasn’t stupid. He knew something was up with me, and even though I knew he didn’t care about me, he cared about Kennedy. Since Kennedy loved me, he would make sure I was okay. Even if that meant sitting outside the impound lot and waiting for me to show up.

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

Part of me wanted to open the door and make a run for it. At least scream out and catch Zander’s attention. He wasn’t that far away. I’m sure he would hear me if I screamed loud enough.

But the other part of me—the part that was in love with him—wanted him to stay out of it. Allen was dangerous. He was going to kill me, and I had a feeling that was going happen whether or not I got his money and drugs back. I didn’t want Zander’s life at risk also.

So even though it killed me, I remained silent as I watched him wait for me. I memorized his stance. His long powerful legs and his slim hips. I memorized the rise and fall of his chest with each breath.

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