Jamie Begley - Tainted

Sawyer gasped for breath when Briggs released her, and Digger waited until she quit before he began questioning her again. “I suggest you think harder.”

“Once, several boys ganged up on us, causing Callie and Vida to almost be hit by a car. I pulled them away from the road before they were hurt. That was the only contact we had with King.”

Her hand went to her sore throat. “H—he wasn’t my f—father, and he wasn’t Vida’s, s—so maybe he was protecting the driver of the vehicle? I—I don’t know.”

“How do you know he wasn’t Vida’s father?”

“B—because Goldie kept a picture of Vida’s father on a s—shelf in her apartment. Vida showed it to me one time. He wasn’t my father because my mother didn’t even know King until I was two-years-old.”

“That’s all you know?”

“Yes.”

“It’s useless information.”

“I don’t know what else I can tell you. There isn’t a connection between King and us.”

“I am beginning to see that the problem for you is that the only reason you were useful to me was for information. Since you’re useless, I have no further benefit by keeping you.

“Take her to the basement.”

Sawyer lay on the bed, listening to the soft cries from the other rooms. She had lost track of the number of days she had been held in the tiny room. She was beginning to lose touch with reality. The only contact she had with the other women was being forced to listen to their misery.

So far they hadn’t drugged her; that would defeat their purpose. Digger still believed that she knew something.

She was hungry. I will never complain about eating at another buffet, she thought wryly. She wiped a tear away. At least Vida was safe for now. Whoever was protecting her, frightened Digger. She had seen the wariness in his eyes when she’d heard him telling his men to back off when they grew tired of her lack of information and wanted to go after Vida.

A loud explosion had her sitting up on her cot, with terror swamping her. Running to the door, she put her ear to it, listening to every sound she could hear. She stepped away when she heard the sound of gunfire. She instinctively hid in the darkest corner of her room, crouched down and hiding in case any of Digger’s men came for her.

She wanted to scream along with the other women, though she managed somehow to control herself, wanting more to be able to listen to what was happening in the building.

Another smaller explosion sounded closer.

Relief flooded her when she heard the FBI yell out. She started crying in relief at the sound of doors opening and women being set free. It had her running to the door, banging on it, afraid they would miss her. The sound of a key in the lock had her stepping back.

She started crying harder as the door swung open and an officer stood there with an FBI vest, who quickly ushered her up the steps with the other women. They kept reassuring them they were safe and free. As Sawyer brought up the rear with one of the officers behind her, she felt him lurch forward, causing her to fall to the ground as he landed heavily on her. She knew he had been shot when she felt his dead weight.

His body was thrown off her and she was jerked to her feet.

Digger’s man, Morgan, had her by her arm, dragging her back the way she had just ran from. Smoke filled the air as she started screaming for help.

“Make another noise, and I’ll kill you,” Morgan grunted as he ran down a hallway, dragging her with him. He went around the corner, coming to a stop at the large man blocking their path with a gun in his hand. The man didn’t hesitate. Before Morgan could even point his gun, he shot him. Morgan’s hand fell away from her as he dropped to the ground where Sawyer looked down at him. A bullet hole was right between his eyes.

“Let’s go, Sawyer.” King held his hand out to her, his eyes unremorseful.

Sawyer gave him her hand, running with him toward another doorway. He paused before the door, and then pushed it open, keeping to the side of the building.

She glanced across the few feet where the whole parking lot was filled with police and fire trucks as a car pulled up in front of them with its lights off. King opened the backdoor and pushed her in before getting in himself. The car pulled slowly out of the lot, heading away from the burning building and police.

“That’s the most excitement I’ve had in a while.” King’s merciless appearance had not changed over the years. His large body with dark hair and eyes would make anyone hesitate to approach him. The cold-blooded way he handled his enemies sent them running. He was wearing dark jeans and a jacket, which was the most casual she had ever seen him; usually, he was wearing expensive suits.

His head turned toward her, studying her. “You’ve looked better, Sawyer.”

Sawyer gave a wry laugh. “I’ve felt better. What’s going on, King?”

“Digger was under the misguided impression that you have information about me that no one else knows.” Sawyer broke eye contact with him, going to the extremely broad shoulders of the man driving the car.

“Is Vida okay?”

“Vida is doing extremely well. Your little friend is being watched by an acquaintance of mine.”

Sawyer couldn’t decide if that was good news or bad news, considering the caliber of friends King had.

As if reading her mind, King set her mind at rest. “Colton is a good guy. He’ll take excellent care of her.” He lifted her hand, turning it until her tattoo showed in the faint light. “I believe he was the one who gave you this tat.” Sawyer remembered the man who had given her the tattoo years before. He wasn’t someone that you forgot.

The car took a turn and Sawyer realized where they were going. “Why are we going to the airport?” Sawyer questioned.

“Because you need to stay out of town a little longer. The FBI managed to let Digger and Briggs slip from their grasp, and you’re not safe in town until he’s caught.”

“But I want to see Vida!” Sawyer protested.

“Bad enough to get her killed?” He callously disregarded her protests. “Digger’s operation might be hurt, but he’s a long way from being out of business. Colton is more than capable of seeing to it that Vida is taken care of; however, Digger won’t use his full strength against her unless he has to. You go running to her and you’ll give him that reason. I can’t just kill the bastard the way I want to. Because he’s such a fuck up, the FBI are watching both of us.”

The car passed through a private gate, pulling into a long, paved drive. Lights up ahead made a small plane sitting on the runway visible.

“I can’t leave without seeing her.”

“I’m not giving you a choice, Sawyer. Listen to me; I’ll make sure that Vida knows how to find you. You know Vida; what do you think she will do?”

Vida wouldn’t stop until she found her, if she knew where she was.

“Colton and she have become close. Do you want to ruin that for her?”

“Where will I go?” Sawyer begrudgingly accepted that King wasn’t going to let her get near Vida.

“From what I hear, Vida wasn’t the only one to find someone.” Sawyer blushed when she realized he was talking about Kaden.

“I don’t know if he even wants me back.” The last she had seen him, he had been talking with Tatiana. Maybe they had worked things out and she would be in the way. She didn’t want to see him with another woman.

“I think that’s a question you have to ask him,” King stated. “But either way, he’ll see you’re safe until this mess is finished. Digger has to be more cautious away from Queen City. He has half the police force in his pocket here.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I have the other half,” he admitted.

The man in the front seat got out of the car after talking briefly on the phone, coming to stand outside her door. “The plane’s ready to take off.”

Sawyer reached for the door handle, but King reached out to stop her.

Sawyer turned back to him.

“Did you tell him what he wanted to know?” His pitiless eyes stared into hers.

“No.”

He tilted his head in curiosity. “Why? From my sources, I heard they were hard on you. Why didn’t you tell Digger what he wanted?”

Sawyer broached the subject cautiously. Digger was crazy and mean as hell, but King was the more most dangerous of the two. If King had wanted her, he would have succeeded where Digger had failed. “Because that child deserved to rest in peace.”

King paled at her harsh words, his hand dropping away; however, years of holding in her pain had her unable to hold back now.

“No one, not one adult in that building or neighborhood stepped up and stopped Brenda. My mom and Vida’s both tried, but she threatened them. Brenda told them that she would disappear with Callie.” Tears long held back escaped. “She was so beautiful, King. How could you leave her to that evil woman?”

King paled even further. Pain that she didn’t know the man could feel was hard to miss.

“I saw you every day, watching for her to come outside. She didn’t even have a fucking doll.” A sob broke free. “She didn’t even know what a father was, King, until Vida and I told her. How could you turn your back on your daughter?”

The day that Vida and Callie had almost gotten run over by the speeding car would live with her forever. Marshall, Brenda’s new live-in boyfriend had purchased a doll for her. Callie had run into the road after it when the neighborhood punks had thrown it toward the road to torment the girls. Vida and she had both chased after her. Sawyer, to this day, didn’t know how she’d had the strength to overcome the girls, pulling them to safety in time.

King had not been far behind them. His terror had let his secret slip. It was the one and only time Sawyer was sure that King had lost control. Vida had sat down on the ground, comforting a crying Callie over the loss of her doll. She had not realized how close to death she’d come. King had stood by Sawyer.

“I owe you and Vida, Sawyer. None of the punks in the neighborhood will bother you again.” Tears were in his eyes, and his hands were clenched by his side. Even as a young girl, Sawyer could feel the restraint he’d used to hold himself back. Sawyer had seen that look enough in her mother’s eyes to know what it meant. The resemblance easily seen between the two as Sawyer’s eyes had gone back and forth between them.

“You’re her daddy.” Sawyer breathed, scared at the look that came in his eyes at her astonishment.

“If anyone finds out who she is, Sawyer, they’ll hurt her. Do you want her hurt because you couldn’t keep a secret?”

“N—no.”

“Then keep your mouth shut. If anyone finds out, I won’t be happy. Vida’s mom works for me; do you want her to lose her job?” He had shown no compunction in threatening a child.

N—n—no.”

“No one will let your mom babysit for them if I tell them not to. Do you want your mom to lose what money she has?”

“N—n—n—no.”

“Then keep your mouth shut. You’re the only one who knows, so if it gets out, I will know you talked.”

Sawyer nodded her head. “I won’t say anything, King. I swear.”

“I expect you to keep that promise, Sawyer.” He left her and her friends without another word, walking away from his beautiful daughter, not looking back.

“I did what I had to do.” Kings words drew her back to the present.

“Yes, you did, and you’ve had to live with losing her everyday just like Vida and I do.”

Sawyer opened the car door, stepping out and hanging onto the door for a few seconds. She was blinded by the tears in her eyes. Blinking, she managed to glance back at the grim-faced man.

“I told Digger everything I knew. I didn’t tell him you were her father because you weren’t a father to her when she was living, and you sure as hell don’t deserve to be called her father when she’s in a casket paid for by the state.” She slammed the car door in finality.

King’s bodyguard escorted her toward the plane with a gun in his hand, while four armed security guards were waiting outside the plane. Damn, King was making sure she got on the plane.

As she drew closer, two of the men came forward to escort her up the steps, the other two following behind.

The plane was opulently decorated. Sawyer was staring around, awestruck. She had never been in an airplane before and this one rivaled the tour bus.