Page 84 of Double Edged Hearts
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cora
Richard shoves me into a car, and the driver drives off before we can even close the door properly.
There’s a guy sitting next to the driver who takes out his gun, getting it ready to fire if anyone comes close. No one seems to be coming, though, because we took the back entrance and we’re getting away.
“Fucking drive faster,” Richard bellows.
I glance down at his jacket and see his gun. If I can get it, I can try to get away.
I’m sick of being the ragdoll and the helpless woman. I trained for shit like this, so I need to fight back. Alex and his men came for me. God knows how they found me, but they did, and I can’t allow this car to drive away with me.
While Richard glances out the window to look back to where we came from, I take my chance and grab the gun from his pocket.
Adrenaline takes over, and I shoot the driver first then the other guy. Just as Richard grabs me, the car swerves uncontrollably when the driver falls over onto the steering wheel. We end up crashing into a truck, and the car flips over.
I hit my head as we go down so hard stars speckle my vision and I almost black out, but my instinct to survive keeps me awake to seize the window of opportunity. The chance to escape. Against the blood that runs down the side of my face and the impending pain that makes my head throb I shuffle around and kick the door open. I grasp on to the frame, pull myself out, and run.
I lost the gun when the car flipped, but if I can get back inside and hide, it will be something.
“Cora, stop!” Richard calls out and fires a shot. He misses, and I run straight into the hangar. It holds quite a few planes. I should be able to hide amongst them.
It’s semi-dark in here but bright enough for anyone to see me.
I hide behind the tail of a white Cessna and try to calm my breathing. I hear Richard come in, but I don’t see him. I can’t from where I am crouched.
“Cora, don’t make this hard on yourself. Don’t do this. It doesn’t have to be this way,” he jeers. “Come, come out and come with me. All I ever wanted was for us to be together. Was I so wrong to want the best for my child?”
My damn head is spinning, and every time he makes some reference to being my father, I feel sick. I feel physically sick, like I could heave and vomit.
I can’t imagine the pain my parents must have gone through. I don’t agree with them keeping the truth from him—that was wrong, and I can understand being angry about that.
At the same time, I know my mother, and I know my father. They thought of protection at all times. Everything they did together was to keep us happy, but more so to keep us safe. If they didn’t tell Richard I was his child, they must have had a pretty damn good reason for it, and I think I’m witnessing it firsthand.
Mom probably didn’t want to be with him because she saw this side of him, or knew it was nigh on coming.
I would have never sensed she thought there was anything malicious in him because he always came to see her. But now that I think of it, Dad was always there in the house or not far when Richard came to visit. Dad always had this look of caution about him whenever Richard was there, and Dad always made sure those visits weren’t for longer than necessary. Not at all like their other friends.
All those things were clues. Little lessons to me. And there I was, full of gratitude when I went to live with Richard. I never knew I was entering the mouth of hell to rub shoulders with the devil.
“Cora… I’m getting tired of this. Come the fuck out!” Richard shouts. His voice carries across the space surrounding us.
I swallow hard and think. I need to get out of here. I just can’t see the exit. I can’t see where I could go other than the way I came in. There must be a way though. Somewhere that connects to the main airport or a maintenance entrance.Something.
I take little steps, walking on the tips of my toes so as not to make any noise. His footsteps get closer, and my heart speeds up. I wish I had a gun or a weapon. There isn’t anything around that I can use to defend myself except my hands.
“Cora, I’m growing impatient. Come out! Come out! Come out!” Richard’s voice pierces through me. “Just like your mother. Stubborn bitch, so fucking stubborn. It’s not a good thing to be stubborn. It can get you killed. I can’t allow you to leave here without me. I won’t risk losing everything after you spill my secrets.Come out.”
His voice and his footsteps grow closer, and when I see a door ahead, I start running.
My footsteps are audible now. A second later, he’s behind me, running at top speed.
Whenever he complained about his age, I always used to chide him because I knew he could easily take down someone in their twenties. I just never thought it would be me.
He catches up to me quickly and jumps me, knocking me to the floor. He pins me down, but I fight and scream, punching him.
I punch and thrash, not giving up. I can’t let him take me. I can’t. He grabs my hair and pulls so hard I see stars again. I scream and throw a punch that connects with his jaw. There’s a crunching sound and he staggers backwards.
