43. Tilly

Chapter forty-three

Tilly

I 'm still crying on the bed, my face buried in my hands. They've taken him, and I'll never see him again. I always knew this was a real possibility. God, Tommy shouldn't have punched Keaton. But deep down, I know that wouldn't have prevented this. Tia is dead, Papa is in charge, and everything is wrong.

"Would you shut up? There's a million other dudes out there," Keaton says. I don't even bother responding.

My phone rings, and Keaton lazily looks at the screen. "Fucking Andy." He silences the call and picks at his fingernails. Papa is looking at his own device.

"There's an issue at the warehouse." He looks at one of the other cousins, Don. "You wanna stay with her? I need to handle this," he says.

"No problem," Don replies without moving a muscle.

Papa and the other two stride towards the door. Before opening it, Papa sighs. "We take care of our own, Matilda. I know this hurts, but it's for your own good."

The string of curse words I want to shout at him is on the tip of my tongue, but I hold them at bay. As soon as they're gone, Don grabs the remote and switches on the TV.

"You proud of yourself? Holding your pregnant cousin hostage?" I snap at him.

He shrugs. "Better than killing my pregnant cousin, I guess." I scoff at his blunt words, and he sighs. "Jesus, Til, like I had a real choice."

My phone rings again, and Don gets up to look at the screen. Keaton left it on the TV stand. As he does, my heart rate picks up. The path to the door is open, but I'm not as quick as I used to be.

But if I push myself, bang on the neighbor's door or something, maybe someone could call the police and stop Ricardo from hurting Tommy.

I jump to my feet and sprint to the door. When I rip it open, Don spins around. "What the hell are you doing?"

I run out without answering him, screaming for help as I do.

"Tilly!" Sam's voice comes from down the outdoor hall, and I immediately head that way. But Don is right on my tail. I can almost feel the powerful man's hands brush against my back.

I'm halfway around the corner where Sam's voice had sounded when Don grabs me by the hair. My head is yanked to the side, and I twist before falling on the hard concrete. Pain erupts everywhere, stabbing furiously into my back. The wind is knocked out of my lungs. I cough, trying to inhale in a panic, my palms on the cold scratchy surface by my side. As if they're trying to find something to hold on to.

But there's a scream of fury, and I see Sam launch herself at Don.

"Run, Tilly!" Sam screams as she wrestles with the giant on the ground. I rise to my feet, my back screaming in protest, and start limping away. The first door I reach, I bang on it, begging for help.

An old lady's face appears in the attached window, her phone to her ear with a look of shock on her face.

"Please! Help us!" The old lady shakes her head and points to the phone. I spin and start jogging to the next door. Before I can even knock, it swings open, and a powerful hand yanks me inside.

"Stay down," the woman demands. Her back is against the wall as she watches out the window. The woman, probably a bit older than me, with reddish hair, has a furrow on her face, but her mouth twitches, almost as if she's enjoying this display of pure chaos and danger. At least she looks like she knows what she's doing, even if her attire makes her look like a well-paid sex worker. Her skirt is shorter than I would even dare, and the tube top barely covers her chest and toned stomach.

I cower on the floor. "Who's the woman?" she asks.

Words won't come. She sighs. "Miss, I'm undercover LAPD. Detective Margarette Parker." The name makes me perk up immediately. I've heard Miranda and Mack both talk about Detective Parker, someone who is supposedly up to date with my family's misdoings.

"My… my friend Sam. That guy attacked us." The woman squares her shoulders, and her jaw tightens.

"Do not come out of this room. You understand?" I nod, and Detective Parker stretches her neck before swinging the door open.

I scramble to her spot at the window as the woman stomps over to where Sam is straddled over a bleeding Don. Detective Parker pulls a gun from under her short skirt. Where the hell was that thing hiding?

"LAPD, step away, hands high motherfucker!"

Don doesn't waste a second. He's on his feet, his nose pouring blood, and screams as he launches at Detective Parker. Sam scrambles up and backs away, but Detective Parker seems nonplussed—almost bored—as she sidesteps him. He spins around and cocks an arm to throw a punch. A smirk on her lips, Detective Parker swoops up her elbow, and in one motion, has Don pinned against the wall.

I burst out of the room and run straight to Sam, throwing my arms around her and squeezing as hard as I can.

"Miss, I told you to stay in the room," Detective Parker says. But I can already hear the approaching sirens and ignore her.

"Why did you do that, Sam?" I say as I sob on my friend's shoulder.

"I'm not gonna answer that, weirdo." Sam pries my arms away and looks me up and down. "Did he hurt you?"

I shake my head, though my back is throbbing. "Til?" Sam asks, her tone accusing.

"My back," I admit. Sam is already guiding me to the stairs as new uniformed police officers race up.

"She needs an ambulance." One of the officers is already squawking into his radio to call for it. Detective Parker lords over Don, watching with a smile as he's handcuffed. The sight does wonders for my morale and I glare at him. He doesn't meet my gaze, and if I didn't already know that he was a complete unsavable asshole, I would think he almost looks sorry. Probably about being caught.

"But Tommy?" I ask, the name sticking in my throat like cement.

"Greg and Mack are already on it. We pulled up just as Tommy and that guy were leaving. We could see he was bleeding. Greg dropped me off and followed the car."

My heart leaps with hope. Mack and Greg are big guys, and both well-trained. Mack was in the Marines, and Greg was an FBI agent. Maybe, Tommy will be okay. Even as I think it, I push the thought away. Hoping feels dangerous.

"I can't…." I shake my head. Sam wraps me in a hug again.

"I know, babe. You won't have to. I'm sure Tommy will meet us at the hospital," Sam says.

I nod against her shoulder and notice some bruising already starting on Sam's neck. "You're hurt," I murmur.

Sam scoffs. "Trust me, it's nothing. Greg has left me way worse off," she says. I recoil, and Sam laughs. "No, nothing bad. He likes to teach me self-defense. After what happened with my ex… I swore I would never be that helpless again. Plus, wrestling with him is…" she blushes a little and leans forward. "Kinky."

I smile, but it feels hollow. If everything works out, and that's a giant if, I'll have to give my friend a very hard time about that information. The ambulance has just rolled up, and Sam leads me down the stairs with Detective Parker in our shadow. I don't need to ask if she's coming along, I know this drill. We won't be left alone until the detective has my story.

As I climb inside, the only thought running through my mind is where Tommy is and if Greg will find him in time.