Page 56 of Heart Like Yours
If I wasn’t so consumed with thoughts of getting Paige back, I might have laughed at seeing the horrible cop getting put in his place.
There are swarms of reporters outside, everyone shouting and demanding more information about what’s happening, but we leave the police to hold them back. Parker pulls up in front of the building, and I don’t spare a single glance back as we take off.
PAIGE
White hot pain pulses at the back of my head. Squeezing my eyes shut, I suck in a deep breath and try to breathe through the nausea that threatens to rise up from the pain. I try to lift my hand to my head but freeze when I realize I can’t move.
Slowly, I peel my eyes open, blinking quickly to clear the blurriness, and take in my surroundings.
The sight of the broken door and cabinets in front of me causes everything that happened to come crashing back. Tears prick the corners of my eyes at the memory of trying to get away, of having the exit in sight only to be grabbed once more.
Then the fucker hit me and everything went black.
Voices from the other side of the door reach my ears and I strain to listen.
“I sent the demand and picture, but he hasn’t responded,” a familiar male voice whines. I try to place it but come up short thanks to the throbbing pain.
“He’ll show.” The confident words come from a woman. “I’ve had eyes on him for months. He’s soft and will cave simply to get her back.”
My brows scrunch as I try to piece things together. I’ve watched enough crime shows to know this is clearly an attempt at a kidnapping for ransom.
Well…more than an attempt since I’m tied to a chair.
I swallow thickly, my dry throat irritated by the move.
“Maybe we asked for too much,” the guy says, sounding closer than before.
“Please,” she scoffs. “What we asked for will barely put a dent in his bank.”
The door swings open, hitting the wall so hard that I’m almost shocked it doesn’t break.
“Oh good, you did wake up.” The woman cheers and I flinch at her high-pitched voice. “Good news. You didn’t kill her!”
I follow her gaze over her shoulder and jolt against my seat.
“Brandon?” I whisper hoarsely as he steps up behind her, eyeing me wearily from across the room, and shrugs.
“I didn’t really think I hit her that hard. She just wouldn’t stop running.”
The woman pats his chest cheerily. “Yes, but you know how fragile some women can be in comparison to a big, strong man like you.”
My face scrunches, both at her implication that women are weak and the fake affection she’s placating Brandon with.
“Who are you?” I croak, and she twirls to face me and steps closer into the dim lighting of the room.
Her dark brown hair is mixed with gray, lines crease her face, and her nose is slightly crooked as if it’s been broken and reset poorly. But it’s her hazel eyes that clue me in on the answer before she speaks.
“Right, I suppose we can do introductions. You know my sweetie here…” She bats her eyes dramatically before spinning back to me. “And I’m Tracy…Walker.”
I raise my brow, adjusting in my seat as best as I can to ease some of the ache in my lower back and arms. Ignoring the fact that I thought she was in jail, I ignore her need for a shock factor. “Okay, and?”
She glares at me and crosses her arms across her chest. “I’m Garrett’s mother.”
I laugh, unsure of where my false confidence is coming from. “No, you’re the woman who birthed him. Liv Mikeslon was his mother.”
Her hand lashes out faster than I can anticipate. My head whips to the side from the force of the hit and the sound of the slap registers moments before the actual pain.
“That bitch ruined everything. If she hadn’t been so nosy and stuck on her high horse, we never would have been arrested.”