Page 33 of Like An Animal
THE GHOST
J eremy guides me out of the plane and I take in my surroundings, finding I’m in the middle of an abandoned airstrip. It could be privately owned and not well-maintained, but I doubt it.
“Well. Hello, stranger.”
I snap my head around from a familiar voice and all the color drains from my face, similar to how it did when I saw Jeremy in his face paint, when I see Massimo standing there, leaning against a car.
“Max?”
What the fuck? Did the whole JMX gang get back together after Jeremy’s release from prison? I figured Xavi and Massimo would’ve gone straight to Jersey when Jeremy was sentenced.
Wait a minute. Is that where Jeremy has taken me?
Massimo grins. “Long time no see. Welcome home, little lady.”
I can’t deny that a big part of me is unimaginably happy to see Massimo.
He has changed a little, like Jeremy. Massimo’s light brown hair is longer, almost taking on a shaggy hairstyle, and instead of the clean-shaven look I remember, he has a fully groomed beard that compliments his rounded jaw.
His blue eyes glow as if he’s the happiest he has ever been.
I expected both Massimo and Xavi to be just as mad at me as Jeremy is, but they don’t seem to be holding those grudges. Well, Xavi might, but Massimo was always much quicker to anger than Xavi. Xavi never got mad at anyone unless pushed too far.
“Quit playing catch up and get in the fucking car,” Jeremy growls, but Massimo doesn’t seem fazed at all. He just shrugs and gets into the driver’s seat of the sleek black car before Jeremy practically shoves me into the backseat. I manage to catch myself before I faceplant into the other door.
The door slams behind me as I sit right and put on my seatbelt. Massimo starts the car as Jeremy climbs into the seat in front of me.
I make a quick assessment of my surroundings, taking note of the expensive upholstery and lack of worn carpet.
There’s not even a slight scuff on the seat.
Either the car is brand new or rarely used.
Either way, it’s clearly expensive. It’s something one can tell by the design of the buttons on the door and the slight tint on the windows.
Based on the logo on the steering wheel, it’s an Aston Martin–very expensive. However, I’ve never seen one that looked like this. It must be a custom build or an unreleased model. Based on the quality, I would bet on the latter.
“Just relax, little lady. We’ll be there soon,” Massimo says as he speeds down the road, maneuvering between vehicles like he actually knows what he’s doing.
Thank God I put on my seat belt, but sadly, there’s no getting out of this.
At least, not until I find my daughter and we can leave together.
Once I have her in my arms again, I’m going to run with her and disappear into the night.
I’ll go somewhere that neither The Fathers or Jeremy will ever find us again.
Massimo pulls down a long driveway with guards standing at a gate at the end of the driveway. They open the gate before letting him onto the property and I watch the gate close behind us, immediately realizing that if I want to escape, I’ll probably have to either steal a car or scale the fence.
That’s going to be a difficult task.
Massimo speeds down the long winding driveway, trees flashing by the car, as I stare out into the practically empty property…until I see it .
The massive estate settled into the back of the gated area.
And I thought the house we were raised in was ridiculously big. That had nothing on this monstrosity.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Jeremy was trying to compensate for something. Clearly, that’s not the case, so why does he have such a big house? Hell, maybe it’s not his. Maybe it’s his grandfather’s house or Xavi’s parents' place.
Either way, there’s no reason for anyone to need that much space.
It’s a massive mansion with a very minimalist exterior, much like the compound I ran from in the dead of night. Even the men walking around with rifles in their hands match up, except The Fathers didn’t have men with bulletproof vests and military style gear.
It puts me on edge. The similarities are too close for my comfort.
Massimo pulls up to the front door and parks next to a car similar in style and color to this one before Jeremy climbs out. I pull off my seat belt before looking at Massimo.
“Max, what is this place?” I ask, hoping he’ll give me more than Jeremy would.
He turns his head and smiles at me. “This is the compound. Once Jer feels like it’s safe, he’ll move you to his house, but for right now, this is the best place for you. There isn’t anywhere on Earth safer. No one comes or goes from this place without one of us approving it.”
Well, there goes my escape plan. I guess that will need to wait until we leave this place.
Emotionally, this place feels the furthest from safe.
Just being near it makes my skin crawl.
The door is pulled open and my arm is yanked out, pulling me along with it.
“Hey!” I grunt as I stand to my feet, wobbling in my heels from the way my legs shake. I meet Jeremy’s cold eyes as his eyebrow twitches.
“Come on.”
The man seriously needs to take a chill pill. He almost pulled my shoulder out of socket. It wouldn’t have hurt too bad, but it would’ve been a hassle to put back into place.
“I was just asking Max some questions.” Seriously, what is his problem? Why is he in such a hurry?
“Your interrogation methods can wait. We are on a schedule.”
What?
I thought Massimo said we were going to stay here until Jeremy decided to move us. I’m pretty sure that’s what he said.
“Where’s my daughter?” I thought she would be here, but his whole mention of a schedule has thrown me off.
He yanks me to him hard, his eyes narrowing. “Shut. Up.” Then, the fucker practically drags me toward the door.
It’s a simple question. If she was here, he could’ve said “inside”. Just one fucking word.
“I want to know where my daughter is right fucking now, Jeremy! I’ll do whatever you fucking want me to. Just tell me where she is.” I try my hardest to yank my arm out of his hold, but he just sneers at me.
What the fuck happened to him? Sure, Jeremy never really liked talking, but he was never this obtuse. If I asked him a question and he had an answer, he would answer it. Not anymore though.
“Please.” I try a softer approach. “I just want to know she’s okay.” Maybe that will work on him.
His eyes narrow even further before he pushes the front door open.
I should’ve known it wouldn’t do shit. He was never fooled by my soft, sweet facade.
He tugs me inside and I nearly trip over my shoes before I hear it.
“Mommy!”
My head snaps up as Lottie dashes across the room before Xavi grabs her. “Woah. Not so fast, kiddo.”
I try to pull out of Jeremy’s hold to get to her, but he yanks me back. “Lottie! It’s okay, baby.” I don’t even know if that’s the truth. I don’t know what Jeremy has planned for us.
“Satisfied?” Jeremy rasps in my ear.
“She’s upset. Can’t you see that? Just let me comfort her,” I practically screech from my frustration. I’m used to being the one to take care of her. This is the longest we’ve been apart. By now, I would’ve gotten her dressed and ready for school. We would’ve eaten breakfast together.
“No. You can see her later. Come on.” He drags me toward the hall as Lottie cries for me.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll be back!”
“Stop coddling her. She’ll be fine,” Jeremy groans and I scowl at him.
“I’m not coddling her! She’s in a new place surrounded by people she doesn’t know. She’s confused, not that you would know anything about dealing with a child that is genuinely upset. And another thing…go fuck yourself.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “Get moving and stop fighting me or you’ll end up with a nasty bruise.”
Why the fuck does he care if I have a bruise? He’s given me worse than the bruise he could cause.
“I swear, I’m going to slit your throat in your sleep.”
“Sure, you will.”
“Don’t think for a second that I’m not capable of it.
You didn’t see what I did to David and Kathy.
” I may not have had much of a choice in killing them, but I did have a choice in how they went.
I did everything I had imagined doing to them for years and before I was halfway done, they were begging for me to end their suffering.
They wished for a quick death which I didn’t grant them.
Kathy deserved to die for every last torment she put Jeremy through–the death of his parents, all of the assaults, and making him think anyone who knew would die too.
David, my father, died for every last sin he committed against me and also for the hand I know he played in the death of my mother.
He wanted to have me to himself so he could violate me, but he didn’t count on Jeremy coming into the picture and keeping me protected.
No one did.
Jeremy came in like a wrecking ball and shielded me to the best of his ability. I don’t blame him in any way for how things turned out. Not even I could see it coming to the head that it did. The only ones that could were the ones responsible.
Jeremy pushes open one of the doors which leads into an office with a man in a suit sitting in the corner, looking majorly uncomfortable.
“Are you ready, Mr. Borza?” the man asks as he stands up, adjusting his blazer.
“Let’s do this.”
“Do what?” I ask, confused. What the hell is the plan here?
Neither Jeremy or the man in the suit responds to me. The man reaches into his brief case and pulls out a manilla envelope before pulling a single sheet of paper out, setting it on the desk in front of him.
What the fuck?
I recognize what it is immediately. I’ve only seen a marriage certificate once before and that was because I was marrying Kyle. What is the point of having one? One, I can’t get married if I’m already married and two, you need a marriage license a few days before you actually get married.
Is Jeremy going to force me to marry him?