Page 34 of Scarred Redemption

As expected, the three men turned their heads in our direction. So did the woman behind the counter.

She narrowed her eyes seconds later, her gaze falling to Mina. “Jesus Christ. Were you in an accident?”

A feeling of relief hit me. “Kind of.”

“Come on. Let’s get you settled.” The kind woman scurried from behind the counter.

“What about my coffee, Janet?” one of the guys asked, his voice gruff. Not one of them seemed to care about our sudden appearance.

“It can wait, Jeb. Don’t you see we have a lady and her daughter suffering here?” She led us to a booth. “Sit here, honey. Dear God. What you must have been through. Let me get you some water.”

I quickly glanced out the huge window, just as petrified as when we’d been on the road. In the reflection, I noticed the woman’s face, her eyes narrowing.

“Thank you.” The words were barely audible.

“Are you hungry? Would you like some food? Should I call the sheriff’s office for you?” She was trying to be comforting, not judgmental, but I couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

“No! No sheriff. I…” I glanced out the window a second time as I settled Mina beside me on the bench seat.

“Alright.”

“Can you tell me something? Where are we?”

She was obviously confused as to my question. “Milly’s Diner.”

“I mean… where.” I couldn’t look her in the eyes.

“Kingville.”

I licked my nips.

“North Carolina, honey. What really happened to you?”

North Carolina. I half laughed. We were in North Carolina. Very slowly I lifted my head. “I need help. We were…” I looked down at Mina, her face stained with dirt and her eyes wet with tears. “We were kidnapped.”

“Oh, Jesus. Let me call the sheriff.”

My reaction was quick as she started to pull away. I snapped my hand around her wrist. “You don’t understand. They will kill you and I can’t trust the police. Please. Can I use your phone? They will hunt for me. They will. Please?” I locked eyes with hers, refusing to blink.

She looked down at Mina once again then back to my eyes. “Of course you can. I’ll also get you some food. Some water. You must be hungry. You’re safe here. No one will get through those doors. Will they, Mark, Sam? Jeb?”

“Not a soul, Janet,” another man answered, drawing my attention. When I looked his way, he opened his jacket showing a weapon. “No one hurts a woman and her child in this town and gets away with it.”

While I tried to prevent any reaction, the tears flowed again. “Thank you.”

“Let me get that phone. And don’t worry, honey. Everything is on the house.”

Janet came back in a couple of minutes with water and the phone. “My code is all sixes. Yeah, I know. A little evil, but that’s the way I roll.”

She winked as she handed me the cellphone. My hand was shaking and I tried to remember the number I was searching for in my brain. I had to be careful. It was entirely possible with the games being played that Maxsim’s phone had been hacked. When I finally remembered and dialed, I held my breath. It rang.

And rang.

Just when I was certain the call would go to voicemail, the call was answered.

“Hello?”

“Please don’t hang up. I really need you.”