Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut (24 page)

“Luke, I am begging you. I need you to trust
me. Promise me, you will save Maddie. Promise me, right now.”

“I can get you out of this, babe,” I said,
emotion becoming more and more evident in my voice. I would give my
life before I gave her to that man.

“Promise me,” she whispered, trying to keep
her voice strong.

I was defeated. I didn’t have a plan, but I
would make one. Right now, Dallas needed reassurance and if it made
her feel better, then that’s what I would give her.

“I promise. I won’t let them take her,” I
said, closing my eyes and sighing in defeat. I couldn’t choose
between them, I wouldn’t.

“Time’s up,” I heard a man’s voice say and
the call ended. My brothers were now gathered around me, waiting
for my next move.

“Let’s get to the cabin. We have eight
hours.”

Chapter 13

Dallas

I knew by Maddie’s slow breathing that she
was finally asleep. The morning’s events were traumatic for all of
us, but somehow I reached in and found my protective instinct,
making my main concern Maddie’s safety and not my own. I was scared
to death, not knowing what would happen once we arrived. One minute
we were sitting around the living room, after saying goodbye to
Brooklyn, and in the next, the kitchen door was being knocked down
and Frankie was there. He looked as scared as the rest of us. When
he saw Maddie, he shook his head at her, silently pleading with her
to keep her mouth shut. Maddie, figuring the goons holding the guns
were Frankie’s men, proceeded to lash out at him verbally, earning
her a big goose egg on her head when she was hit with the butt of a
gun. They tied everyone up, asking who was who. Frankie confirmed
that I was Dallas. When a call came through, the request for a
hostage changed. They asked for Maddie instead of me. I begged and
pleaded with them, telling them it was me that they wanted and not
her. The man on the other end of the phone decided that he needed
both of us and that he would let Luke decide our fate.

I tried everything in my power to keep them
from getting Maddie, but they easily grabbed the both of us and
threw us into the back of an SUV. We were scrunched in to the tiny
spot between the back hatch and the third row seat. Our ankles and
wrists were bound behind us, leaving the only semi comfortable
position-laying on your side. I don’t know what happened to the
other girls or where the guys from the club house were, it all
happened too fast. Brooklyn had decided to stay an extra week with
all of us. Thank God that she left when she did. That was one less
body to worry about. The week without Luke had crept by. Even with
all the excitement from the girls and the stories and sappy movie
nights and endless bottles of vodka, I missed him so much that I
often just wanted to be alone; wrapped up in his shirt that smelled
of his cologne. Maddie and I had kept our distance, only speaking
when it was necessary. Which only happened once- when she asked me
if we had anymore peanut butter. We weren’t the best of friends
yet, but it was progress. At least she wasn’t trying to claw my
eyes out. I spent a lot of time with Logan, too. Every day we would
work on his homework together. Maddie didn’t seem to mind, but she
wasn’t thrilled about it either. I think Brooklyn said something to
her that made her back off a little.

It felt like we had been riding for hours
when we pulled off the road and into a wooded area. My guard went
up and I was terrified that this would be where they killed us and
dumped the bodies. I was so relieved when the hatch was opened and
the goons held water and sandwiches in their hands, instead of
guns, that I almost wet my pants. There were four guys at the
house, but only two were with us. I had no chance against them and
I was afraid that if I tried anything stupid, they might kill Luke.
They told me that I would see him when we got to where we were
going. Just the thought helped soothe my worries. The guys were
big, bulky and looked like FBI agents. They even wore suits and
shiny shoes and little ear piece things. They gently sat me up
first, holding the water to my lips. I didn’t think about it being
poisoned until I took a big gulp of it. Well, too late now, and I
needed my strength. He fed me small bites of a peanut butter
sandwich rotating it out with sips of water. I didn’t fight him,
and the process went smoothly, almost too smoothly. He acted like
he had done this before. The thought was unnerving. When I shook my
head, letting him know that I didn’t want anymore. He stepped to
Maddie and gently grabbed her by her arms, sitting her up.

“Please,” I said, my voice coming out strong
and getting the men’s attention. “Untie her. She is hurt.” The men
ignored me and began shaking Maddie lightly, waking her. When she
saw them, she started to scream and the bigger of the two placed a
gloved hand over her mouth.

“We have food and water. We are not going to
hurt you. I am going to help you sit up. If you scream, I will gag
you and drive on.” Her wide eyes looked to me and I smiled weakly
at her.

“It’s okay, Maddie. Just do as they say.” I
don’t know how I kept from crying, but I managed to be brave for
both of us. She nodded her head and he released her mouth, then sat
her on her knees next to me.

“My head hurts. Where are we?” she asked,
swaying slightly. One of the men placed a hand on her shoulder to
hold her steady.

“I will get you something for your head. You
have been kidnapped and we are taking you to your club. You will be
set free once we get there.”

Hope soared through me at the words from the
nicest goon I had ever met. He shook his head at me, silently
letting me know that it was not me that would be set free. I
nodded, letting him know I understood, still so elated by the fact
that Maddie would be home safe with Logan that I didn’t have time
to think about my own well-being.

“Will you please untie her? You can let her
sit up front with y’all. Please?” I begged, worried Maddie had
suffered a concussion.

“No, I want to stay with you,” she said,
shaking slightly. My heart swelled at her words. Oh, how I wish we
hadn’t wasted so much time on hating one another.

“We still have a few hours of driving. I
don’t trust either one of you. You both stay tied up until we get
there,” he said, pouring the last bit of water in Maddie’s mouth
and stepping away. “No bathroom breaks. If you have to go, you
better hold it.” He slammed the door and we were closed off from
the world once again.

“Dallas, I’m scared. Logan is gonna be so
worried about me,” Maddie cried. I wished I could put my arms
around her. Instead I scooted closer to her on my knees and laid my
head on her shoulder. She laid her head on top of mine and we sat
like that until the jerking of the vehicle forced us back on our
sides. The carpet was rough and chaffed my skin as I scooted to her
so that we were face to face. The tight space was just big enough
for the both of us. We both wore pajama shorts and tanks. I sent a
word of thanks up that at least it wasn’t cold.

“I want you to have something when you get
back home,” I said, keeping my voice strong, wishing I could wipe
the tears from her eyes. “I want you to get Luke to take you to my
house. Everything that is mine is now yours. Everything. But, I
have something that I hold dear to my heart, something that money
can’t buy. I don’t want anyone but you to have it. Promise me you
will get Luke to take you there.” Maddie nodded her head, her tiny
body wracking with sobs. “In my closet, there is a hope chest.
Inside it you will find a box of my mother’s things. You didn’t
know her, but she would have loved you,” I said, my voice now a
whisper. I fought to control my tears, knowing I had to stay strong
for both of us. “She would have wanted you to have it. I’m sorry
our father treated you as if you didn’t exist. If I could go back
and swap places with you, I would. You deserve it so much
more.”

“I don’t want to take your mother’s things.
They don’t belong to me.”

“Yes, they do. You are her step-daughter. The
sister to her only child. She wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Maddie nodded her head, knowing that I would never give up
something so precious to just anyone. She had lost a mother too and
knew how sentimental their possessions were to their daughters.

“Luke will get you out of this. You just have
to give him a little time,” Maddie said, trying to reassure
herself, as well as me, by nodding her head.

“I know he will, but until he does, I want
you to hold onto it for me. I wouldn’t trust it with anyone else.”
I stared into her beautiful, blue eyes. Seeing more and more of my
father in her. Maddie would have a life of happiness, and if I had
to give my life to give it to her, then so be it. She was more
worthy than anyone I knew. My blood ran through her veins. I had
spent my whole life thinking there was only me, yet here I lay in
the back of an SUV with my own flesh and blood lying next to me.
She spent her life wishing she was me, and I would have given
everything to be her. She was the one who had it all.

I watched Maddie as she cried herself to
sleep, memorizing the shape of her face, the color of her hair, the
steadiness of her breathing. I wanted to remember everything about
her. I wished I had a picture of Logan, my nephew. The one I would
never watch grow up. The one who held my heart in the palm of his
hand from the very first time I saw him. I didn’t know what my
future held, but I knew better than to expect to ever see them
again. This man would not keep me, just to let me come back to see
my family.

My family.

I had a family and a man I had never met was
about to take them from me. I knew Luke had a plan, but I feared
that it would end with someone getting killed or hurt. I closed my
eyes, hoping that I would just go to sleep and when I woke, I would
be in his arms and out of this nightmare. All I could think about
was how I should have told him I loved him, in person, one last
time.

I awoke with a jolt and looked to see Maddie
staring at me wide-eyed as we bounced around in the back of the
vehicle.

“We must be getting close,” she whispered.
“We have been going pretty slowly for a few minutes.” I figured we
were in an abandoned area and the thought scared the shit outta me.
They could kill us all and no one would be the wiser.

“Everything is going to be fine,” I said to
Maddie, locking my eyes on hers. “When we get there and they let
you go, I don’t want you causing a scene or trying anything stupid.
Go straight to Luke. If he can’t get me out of this, I will figure
something out. Remember, you have a little boy at home who needs
you, Maddie.”

“This is all my fault. I caused this,” she
said, getting panicky. I kept my voice calm and reassuring, the way
a mother would do.

“None of this is your fault.”

“If it wasn’t for me, Luke would have killed
Frankie years ago and none of this would have happened.”

“Maddie. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault,” I said,
enunciating each word in order to try and make her understand. “You
can fix all of this. All you have to do is go to Luke when we get
out and stay calm. They are not going to hurt me. They just want to
upset Luke.” I knew it was unlikely, but I prayed like hell that
they wouldn’t hurt me, at least not in front of Luke and Maddie.
The thought of them hurting was worse than any physical blows I
would take.

The car stopped and my heartbeat sped up as I
waited for the doors to open. A low, controlled voice that I didn’t
recognize spoke and I heard the two front doors shut and the
shuffle of feet as the back door was opened. The sun was setting in
the distance and I noticed that we were in a big field with trees
scattered around. The goons sat us up, so that we were facing
towards them. I saw a man approach that looked like he was in his
late sixties, but in very good shape. His white hair was slicked
back and he wore a tailored, black suit that was flawless, despite
the dusty gravel road that lay beneath his feet. The man was
strikingly beautiful and wore a smile that revealed two rows of
perfect, white teeth. A cigar dangled from between his fingers and
I noticed that he wore a diamond ring on every one.

“Miss Knox! What a pleasure to finally meet
you!” he said in a voice full of fake warmth. “I believe there is
someone who is
dying
to see you.” My heart sank to my knees
as he put distinction in the word ‘dying.’

“Luke! Come see your lovely lady.”

Seconds later I was fighting for air as I saw
Regg and Ronnie drag Luke into view. His face was battered and he
looked to have taken a pretty bad beating. His legs hung lifelessly
below him, and I knew it took enormous strength for him to just to
keep his head up. One of his eyes was swollen completely shut and
the other was bruised badly. Dried blood caked his nose and mouth
and splattered his shirt.

“Luke, here, was not very pleased about me
taking you, as you can see. I knew he was concocting a plan to
undermine me and since this is my show, I figured I would let him
fight for the two things he loved the most. You and his cut.”

I heard Maddie whimper beside me, and was
more than thankful for the goons that were there to hold us up, or
else I would have fallen out of the back of the car, face first. I
knew better than to say anything, it would only make matters
worse.

“He is a tough one though. We couldn’t break
him. I love a man with that kind of fight in him.” The man shook
his head and smiled looking from me, to Maddie and then Luke. “Come
on fellows, get around here so you can see that I stayed true to my
word and they are unharmed.”

I watched as the club, with their hands
behind their heads, gathered around behind Luke, Ronnie and Regg.
It was then that I noticed about six other goons holding guns,
pointed at each of them. I counted each of them, fifteen total.
They were all here and other than Luke, appeared to be without a
hair out of place. Regg had a black eye and some scuff marks on his
face, but they looked like older wounds. He managed to hold Luke up
without struggling, so he must have been okay.