Page 69 of Vengeance

Shep narrows his eyes and shakes his head, telling Ty he has no idea why the women are now jumping up and down like schoolgirls. “What’s going on?”

“She didn’t show up for work today,” Ty says. “I know something’s wrong, Shep. I know it.”

“A quick announcement,” Phoenix shouts, and gets everyone’s attention. “I just want everyone to know that my baby’s having my baby. Again.”

Lily looks at her husband, who has a wide grin unlikely to leave his face anytime soon. “He knocked me up again, but so help me, God, if it’s another set of twins...”

Lex wraps an arm around her shoulder. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s been so long, you’re probably having triplets this time.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Uh, guys... First, congrats. But I gotta go,” Ty says.

Tilting her head, Lex asks, “Why?”

“I can’t find Tara. She’s not answering my calls or texts, and she’s not home. I just found out she’s not at the store, and Alice says she never showed up today. I have a bad feeling.”

“You think it’s Billy, don’t you?”

“Ty!” a young voice calls as the front door pushes open. “Ty!”

He turns and immediately feels like he might pass out. “Matty? What are you doing here? How’d you get here? Is Tara outside?”

“I walked from Tara’s house.”

“Holy shit,” Shep says and gapes.

“I didn’t have your number, and Dad smashed Tara’s phone. He took her in her car. He’s going to hurt her, Ty. He’s going to hurt her!”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Griffin’s Beach

Ty

“What do you mean when you say he took her?” Ty asks, panic rising in his stomach. Shit, shit, shit, shit!

“He broke in the back door. I don’t know how he knows where she lives, but he found her. He broke in, and she grabbed her phone to call you. She told me to run, but I couldn’t run. I couldn’t leave her,” Matty says.

Lex walks up to them and crouches down in front of Matty, giving Ty a chance to collect himself. “Hey, Matty, remember me?”

“Lex, yeah, I remember. Tara told me how much she likes you after you hit Aunt Lenetta.”

“You did what?” Colt asks.

Ty looks at Lily, who waves a hand in the air. “Not important right now.”

“Why couldn’t you run, Matty?”

“Because I promised her I wouldn’t let my dad hurt her. If I ran, I couldn’t stop him, but I didn’t stop him anyway. He took her phone and smashed it against the wall before she could call Ty. He put a hole in it. Then he took a knife from the kitchen and held it against my throat. He said he’d kill me if she fought.”

Reaching out, Lex rubs his arm. “That must’ve been scary.”

Ty’s glad Lex happened to be here. He doesn’t know what to ask or how to act. His mind can’t seem to focus on anything other than his girl has been taken by her sadistic ex, and he doesn’t know what to do. Matty’s as scared as he is, but he doesn’t know how to comfort the boy. Not when he doesn’t know how to comfort himself.

He shakes his head. “Dad wouldn’t kill me, and I told Tara to run. Even if Dad hurt me, at least Tara would have a chance to get away. But she didn’t listen. She begged him not to hurt me, and she said she’d do what he wanted as long as he let me go. I told him to leave her alone, and he smacked me. She told me it was okay, and he told her to get into the car and drive.”

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