Page 6 of He's All In

Marco follows me out of my room, and the floorboards creak under our steps. We’ve lived in this old building for as long as I can remember because my father owns the whole thing. We occupy the top floor, which thankfully gives us some room to put space between us and him.

I’m sure he could afford to move out of here and to somewhere nicer, but he enjoys the power he holds in the neighborhood, and power is something my father will never let go of. He wants that more than money.

“Dad’s downstairs,” Marco tells me when we make it to the kitchen. He doesn’t have to say with whom because I know he’s with Barbra. She stays on top of everyone's rent, and my father stays on top of her. In more ways than one.

“What did you guys do today?” I ask as I start to prepare dinner.

“Nothing really.” Marco pulls out his phone and starts playing on it. “He met up with some people. I stayed in the car.”

Then what was the point of my father taking him? Marco has been staying home alone since he was around ten. I didn’t love it, but my father always has the final say over everything.

“When are we moving?” Marco doesn't look up from his phone when he asks the question.

“Ah...” I lick my dry lips. “Soon, hopefully.”

“Cool.” He smiles. “Can’t believe we’ll have a pool.”

Why did I have to tell him all about Paul’s place? His building has a pool and offered a lot of things that would be good for my brother. The schools in that area were on the top of the list.

Marco wasn’t a fan of Paul, so it took a few perks to get him on board with the marriage. Once finding out about all the new stuff, he was excited to get out of here. I’d been just as excited to get him away from all of this. That was the deal I made with my father. I didn’t put up a fight about marrying Paul and then I could take Marco with me.

I knew that my father letting me take Marco didn’t mean much because he’d still be able to get his hands on him when he wanted to. He’s trying to groom my brother, but I was willing to take anything to put distance between them. It would’ve also made it easier for me to find an out for both of us. A marriage to Paul would have meant I could have saved money and had an escape plan. The goal was to run away as far as we could and never look back.

The front door opens, and then I hear my father’s voice. Along with Jackson. I grab the noodles off the stove and strain them while praying they don’t come into the kitchen. Jackson makes my skin crawl. The way he stares and the things he whispers to me when no one else is near is terrifying.

“Kelly,” my father calls before walking into the kitchen.

“Hi,” I say, not turning around. “Dinner is almost done. I’ll bring you a plate.” I hold my breath, hoping he’ll retreat to his office.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he says, and I slowly turn around.

My father is glaring at me with his arms folded over his chest. Jackson stands behind him with a smug expression on his face.

My blood runs cold.

Chapter Four

LUKE

It’s been a week since Kelly ran out of my car, and I’m not sure how much longer I can stand this. After she took off, I thought I’d just ask Bruce for her address, but he didn’t know. Neither did Katherine or Chloe or Sawyer. The only person that would know is in a rehabilitation facility and isn’t allowed phone calls.

When I pointed out that it was weird no one knew where she lived, they all seemed to wonder how it was possible. I guess they all took her coming and going for granted and assumed she was fine.

Since then, I’ve taken a few hours each day to ride around the neighborhood. At this point all I can do is hope that I get lucky and spot her coming out of a building or walking home. Katherine said she wasn’t answering her text messages or phone calls, and so I told her I’d find her.

My company is one of the best in the business for security, so the fact that I haven’t been able to locate her is not only frustrating but suspicious as hell. It seems like she might have given Paul and his family a fake last name, or someone has gone out of their way to keep her identity hidden.

I asked several of my contacts to do some digging, and everyone has come up empty-handed. I’ve even done some not-so-legal searches with her phone number, and it’s like it’s been purposely blocked.

“Where are you?” I say to the inside of my empty car as I take another turn and around the block.

It’s early afternoon, and I thought that maybe this might be a better time of day for her to walk around outside. At night there’s nothing but criminals and drug addicts on foot and crooked cops patrolling the streets. This is not a safe place for any woman to live, and I need to find her so I can get her the fuck out of here.

At the end of the block, I see a tall brick building with an American flag hanging next to the door. My window is down, so the sound of a bell catches my attention, and I realize it’s a school. There are a few people milling around the side, and I slow the car. I’m not sure what makes me do it, but when I get closer, I pull over and watch the kids leaving.

Teachers are there to direct the kids, but they all look to be middle school aged. Most of them are walking home in pairs, while a few others meet with an adult to go home. There’s only a couple of kids remaining when I see a young man come out of the building and look around.

He searches for only a second before he smiles, and that’s when I see Kelly waving at him. She’s on the other side of the street and walking in his direction while holding what looks like two milkshakes.