Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut(67)

“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.