Page 114 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
He lifts his face and I suck in a sharp, painful breath at the battered mess. Anger rushes through me that they did this to him, but it quickly fades when I see his heartbroken expression. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him cry, and he looks absolutely devastated.
“He fucking killed her,” he chokes out roughly.
My heart stops in fear, wondering who on earth he’s talking about. “What? Who?”
“My mom!” he replies on an agonized sob.
I shake my head, not understanding why he thinks this. “How do you know?”
His twisted expression watches me for a moment, uncertain as to whether or not to tell me, then he points across the small space to the opposite corner. It’s dark and difficult to see, but I manage to make out what resembles a pile of sticks.
“It’s human bones, Faith.”
A small scream rips from my throat just before I slap a hand over my mouth. I quickly look away and desperately try to swallow the bile rising in my throat. At the sound of Christopher’s pain, I pull myself together and slip my cuffed wrists over his head until my arms are wrapped around him. I bury my face close to his, trying to offer him as much comfort as I can. “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.”
He shakes his head. “This entire time I thought she left us. I couldn’t understand how she could just leave us with him, but she didn’t.”
“Are you sure it’s her?”
“Yes. Her ring was beside it, and I heard him tell Spike he caught her trying to take Ruthie and me. She was going to take us with her.” He sobs harder, completely breaking my heart.
“I’m so sorry, Christopher. So, so sorry,” I choke out through my own tears. “I promise we will get through this. I’ll help you.” I don’t say any more, and for the next few minutes I just hold him, trying to bring him any comfort I can.
When he’s a little calmer he sits up and looks at me. “Are you okay? Where’s Ruthie? They said they were going to grab both of you.”
His questions trigger many of my own but I decide to answer his first. “She’s okay.” At least I hope she is. I push that awful thought away and focus on the now. “I hid her just before your father broke in, and thankfully they didn’t find her. She was calling Cooper when your father broke in. I heard the sirens just as I blacked out, or at least I think I did. How did they get you?” I ask softly, brushing his hair out of his battered face.
He grinds his teeth, “They followed me from the gym. I got into a fight with Cade, and was so angry when I left that I didn’t notice them. I turned down a back alley a couple blocks away and started kicking the shit out of a dumpster in a fit of rage. They drove down, blocking my way out, and took me in broad fucking daylight. I managed a few shots on them, but then my dad hit me with the butt of his gun and knocked me out.”
My heart breaks knowing how scared he must have been. “Do you know where we are?”
“Yeah, this cabin belonged to my mother, it was her parents’. I have only been here a few times. I didn’t think we owned it anymore, but now I know why it was kept a secret.” He shakes his head in disgust.
Knowing that Floyd Dennison is capable of murder, I realize we are in even more danger than I originally thought. “Okay, listen. They have asked my papa for ransom money and I have no doubt, Christopher, that we have a lot of people looking for us. But we have to try getting ourselves out of here too, in case it takes them a while to find us.”
He nods. “After I came to, and realized what he did to my mother, I tried breaking through the door, but they heard me and came in. I tried to overpower them and that’s why I look like this now, but I’ve started working over in this corner.” He slides over and shoves his hand underneath a board. “The bottom wood is wet and pretty rotted. We just need a big enough space to slide underneath.”
“Yes, this might be our only option. If we can make something big enough to get under, do you know anywhere that is close enough to run to?”
“Not that I can remember.”
I let out a breath, “Okay, well this is our only option and it will be better than staying here. So we make a space big enough to escape and run into the woods to hide. We do whatever it takes until someone finds us, and I have no doubt that many people are looking for us.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just hope Cade is one of them, because we know that guy gets good results in the end.”
My heart falters at the mention of his name and it takes a minute for me to find my voice. “Yeah, Christopher, I know he will be the first in line looking for us.” Which is true—no matter what has happened between us and how he’s feeling, I know he loves Christopher, and I do believe he cares a lot about me.
“I wish my last words to him weren’t telling him to go fuck himself.”
I give him a sad smile and think about our last encounter too. “He knows you care about him, and he cares a lot about you and Ruthie too.” And I sure hope he knows I love him, that even after everything that happened I still love him, more than anything else in this world.
*
Cade
We pull up to the dirty run-down bar just off I-90, that is loaded with at least thirty different bikes, and there is a couple going at it on one of them right out in the fucking open. I try to rein in the violence coursing through me, but the longer this is taking the hotter my rage builds.
