Vince Grady was mean too. Real mean. He had hurt Emmie. Made her bleed and then just left her on the side of the road. When I had run, making him chase me, he hadn’t liked that very much. As punishment he had hit me five times in the face. Now my face felt swollen and hurt so bad I couldn’t help but cry. I had the lingering taste of blood on my tongue where he had split my lip from his first slap.

Now he was pacing back and forth, kind of like Shane did sometimes when he was worried. Only Vince was talking to himself, and scratching at his arms. I noticed he had a few sores on his arms and every now and then would scratch a scab off of one of them, causing blood to drip down his arm. Yuck.

There were noises coming from the room next door that were scaring me, and I kept hearing sirens in the distance. This wasn’t a good part of town. He hadn’t bothered to cover my eyes as he drove me through the city with my hands tied and my legs taped together so I couldn’t run away again. So I knew that this part of the city was what some of the older kids in my school would call ghetto.

I wasn’t sure how long we had been in this smelly old motel room, but my legs had fallen asleep a while ago and I had to use the bathroom really bad. I was scared to tell him that though. Scared he would have to watch while I peed. I didn’t want him to see me like that.

From my back pocket my cellphone vibrated and not for the first time. Vince, seemingly lost in his own world as he continued to pace and mutter and scratch his bleeding arms, didn’t notice the slight noise though. I knew it had to be Harris and shut my eyes as I said a little prayer that I would get to see my best friend again. He was probably mad at me right now. I had promised to go trick-or-treating with him tonight and he no doubt thought I had bailed on him. Part of me wished he were here with me now. He was braver than I was, and he wouldn’t let this man do anything to hurt me. Another part, a bigger part, was glad he was home with his dad. Safe from the monster I shared DNA with.

The vibrating stopped and I closed my eyes. I was tired and my face was hurting so bad. I wanted to go home, wanted to see Layla and the twins… Wanted my dad to hold me and keep me safe.

Tears that had nothing to do with the pain I was in leaked from the corner of my eyes. Vince Grady might be my real father, but Jesse Thorton was my dad. Completely. Totally. A million percent. He loved me. Would never hurt me like this gross, evil man had hurt me. I prayed that I would get to see him again. Get to hug him and tell him how much I loved him…

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Vince was shaking me. I opened my eyes or at least tried to. My left eye was completely swollen shut now from where he had hit me earlier and my right one felt heavy and achy. “Time to go.”

His breath so close to my face made me gag and I tried to turn my head to get away from the stench before I vomited all over him. Eww. How could someone smell that bad? Like week-old trash that had been sitting in the sun. It smelled sour and dirty and vile.

Vince lifted me and tossed me over his shoulder roughly, hurting my stomach with his boney shoulder. I hoped he didn’t drop me, because he didn’t look strong like my dad or Drake, Shane, and Nik. I was sure even Axton was stronger than this guy. He carried me like a sack of potatoes out of the room and I noticed that it was dark outside. It had still been daylight when he had brought me here. I wondered what time it was and where he was taking me.

I’d heard his part of the conversation when he had talked to Dad on the phone earlier. He was going to exchange me for a lot of money tonight. Money that my dad would pay because he loved me. I just hoped Dad didn’t get hurt.

When we got to the old beat up truck that Vince had used to hit Emmie’s SUV with, he tossed me in the back instead of placing me in the front seat like he had before. My elbow hit something metal and I whimpered in pain. He jumped in and started the truck. It backfired twice, making me jump and whimper again, but then he was backing up and the wheels were squealing as he pulled into traffic.

He didn’t drive far before he stopped and just sat parked for a while. It was dark out here. No lights from buildings. No stars or even a moon. It was so dark that at first I thought I was going blind or that my right eye had swollen shut too…

The sudden lights of an oncoming vehicle reassured me that I could still see out of my right eye. Vince got out of his truck and must have left the door open because I didn’t hear it shut. After only a moment I heard two doors open and my heart stopped.

Was it my dad here to get me? Or was it someone else?

When I heard a deep, angry voice I breathed a sigh of relief. “Daddy,” I whispered, then strained to hear what he was saying.

“Where is she?” he demanded and it sounded like an animal growling.

“Back of the truck. You got my money?” Vince sounded anxious. I wondered if he had lost some of his scariness in the face of the big beast that was my dad. Not many people, scary or not, could see my dad and not be intimidated.

“Right here, Grady. As soon as you give me my girl and sign these papers you can have the money,” Dad told him, still sounding all growly.

“Papers? I don’t remember agreeing to sign no papers.”

“Right here… Sign them and take your money.” It was a different voice this time. Nik! I wanted to cry out, ask him if Emmie was okay but I was too scared to speak. What if Vince heard me and changed his mind? I wasn’t going to do anything to stop my dad taking me away from this monster.

There was a pause and then Vince started screaming curses at Dad and Nik. “Fine!” he shouted.

“Now give me Lucy,” Dad commanded.

“In the truck,” Vince told him, but he must have had his money because he sounded calm again.

“Lucy!” His voice was closer and I finally let a sob escape me.

“Daddy!” I tried to roll over, but couldn’t move. “Daddy!”

“Lucy… Gods.” The tailgate opened and then he was lifting me into his arms. His hands skimmed over me from head to toe, checking me over. He couldn’t see my face clearly with just the lights from the vehicle as his only light source. I tried not to whimper when he touched my hurting face, but it was agonizing to have his big rough hands touch my eye and cheek.

“Oh, baby. Daddy’s here.” He kissed the top of my head and carried me toward the vehicle he had gotten out of. The closer he got to the vehicle the more light he had and when he glanced down at me, seeing my swollen bloody face, I felt a change in him.

“Fuck…” he breathed, his eyes black as the night around us. “Nik…” He was shaking and there was an expression on his face that would have terrified me if I didn’t know how much he loved me.