The Sacrifice: Chapter 57

“Tyson?” Gavin enters the room, and I jump to my feet. It’s been three hours since we arrived, and I haven’t been given an updates.

“What is it?” I rush out. The fact that I finally found her hasn’t helped me. There’s still so much that I need to know about the time she’s spent away from me.

“I’ve removed the wires, but I found something interesting.”

“What is it?”

“She had a tooth missing. It had been pulled.”

“That’s where I had her tracker.” Never once had I thought that someone would think to look there. “Someone removed it.”

“You put a tracker inside her tooth?” Kashton chuckles, nodding his head in approval. “That’s pretty brilliant, man.”

The Lords have put trackers on their chosens and Ladies for years. I wanted one where not everyone would think to look. I’ve seen women get a knife to their neck to have them removed.

“How did they know where it was?” Saint wonders.

“Good question.” Kashton leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Who all knew where you put it?”

“No one. Lake didn’t even know.” I run a hand through my hair. She was so confused as to why I took her to the dentist after our wedding, but I wasn’t going to tell her what I was doing. I didn’t want her to know where it was. Or that I had one on her at all. I wanted to see what my wife would do if given the chance at some freedom, and she never once tried to run from me.

“The dentist is dead.” Ryat and I did our research the moment we found her bloody tooth in the alleyway of Blackout. There had been a fire. How convenient. The question is, how did they know to go there?

“Gavin?” The guy who helped us—Bramsen—runs down the hall to us and my pulse quickens at the concern on his face.

“Is she okay?” I step forward. Maybe thinking that something has happened.

He looks at Gavin and gives me his back to speak to him. Gavin turns back after nodding a few times. “Lake is pregnant,” he tells me.

“Congratulations, man.” Kashton slaps my back, but my eyes stay on Gavin.

He frowns and asks me, “Why do you look surprised?” Gavin looks over at Ryat and then back at me.

“You did a test?” I ask. “On Laikyn?”

“No,” Bramsen answers. “Well, yeah. Not here, though. I remember them ordering one when she was brought into the psych ward. She was adamant that she was not pregnant, but the man insisted that it be done.”

“It wasn’t on her chart,” Gavin tells him.

“I know. I had a friend of mine check before we left. I received the text while we were in surgery and just saw it.” His eyes meet mine. “Your wife is, in fact, pregnant.”

“Why wouldn’t they put that on her chart? Why would it be a secret?” Kashton asks.

“She can’t be.” I shake my head in denial. It has to be a mistake. “She’s on birth control. You put her on the shot.”

“Who did?” Gavin asks.

“You did,” I growl, tired of playing this damn game.

His frown deepens, and he steps into me. “I haven’t seen her.”

“I messaged you the morning of the wedding,” I say, pulling my cell from my pocket. “Gave you the time and hotel and asked you to meet us there to administer the shot.” I go to our conversation, and it’s the last text between us.

He pulls his cell out and shows me our texting history. He does not have what my cell has. “Tyson, I didn’t…”

“You didn’t, but you sent the kid…” I trail off.

“Who?” Gavin demands.

I give him my back, running my hands through my hair. “FUCK!” That motherfucker tricked me. “Jackson,” I growl.

“What does he have to do with this?” Gavin asks, knowing who I’m referring to.

“He was the one who showed up at the hotel and administered Lake’s birth control,” I snap. “He said you were in surgery and that you sent him.” I even called Gavin the moment the kid told me he sent him. Gavin’s phone went to voicemail, so I figured he was in surgery.

“I’m sorry, Tyson, but I did no such thing.” Gavin shakes his head.

Somehow, Jackson intercepted Gavin’s cell and made sure he gave Lake something else? What the fuck was in that shot? But why? And how the fuck did he know where we were? “Where is he? I want him here. Right now!”

“I’ll call him.” Gavin scrolls through the numbers in his cell, trying to find Jackson’s. “I’ll ask him to meet me here.”

“He’ll know it’s a setup,” I say and look at Kashton. No one comes to Carnage to hang out. And the Lords know that the Spade brothers have their own medical staff. So why would they need Gavin here?

Kashton pops his knuckles. “Tell him you need help, and you’re sending him a car. I’ll go pick his ass up.”

Gavin nods and walks away, giving us his back while placing his phone to his ear. I step into Bramsen. “Does my wife know?”

He shakes his head. “As far as I know, she was already sedated by the time they got the results.”

LAIKYN

I’m coughing up blood. The spit flies from my mouth as the van comes to a stop. I’m pulled from the floor where I was shoved facedown after they ripped my tooth out of my mouth. It hurts so bad; I can’t stop sobbing. Which just makes the throbbing worse.

“Let’s go, bitch.” My hair is grabbed, and I’m yanked from the van. I’m tossed over a shoulder and carried away as I fight the bastard but am unsuccessful.

I’m thrown onto a gurney, and I kick and scream as I’m pushed down a hallway. The bright lights that hang from the ceiling pass quickly as if they’re running. A hand reaches down to press on my chest, and I lift my head to bite down on it. They shouldn’t have removed the gag.

That grants me a slap to the face so hard my eyes fall shut. “I want her sedated,” he barks out as I’m pushed into a room. “Right now. Knock her the fuck out.”

I’m shoved over onto my side, my hands all of a sudden free, and I use them to push off the bed. I run for the door, but it’s quickly closed, and I’m picked up off my feet. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs while I see people just standing around watching this man throw me down.

He gets up on the bed, straddling me, and pins my hands down by my head. “Fucking sedate her! Now! And where the fuck are the restraints?”

“No. No. No.” I can’t fight them off if I’m sedated and restrained. Where is Tyson? Was he in the fire? I saw it. The club was burning when we finally drove away in the van. I can still hear the screams coming from inside. Or maybe it was me that I heard when they yanked out my tooth. Arching my back, I suck in a deep breath. “TYSON!”

Someone else grabs my wrists, letting him release them. Instead, he wraps both hands around my neck and starts to choke me. I buck my hips, thrashing underneath him from side to side, but my arms are secured down to my sides. Then I feel hands on my legs, pinning them down as well.

“You know…” He lowers his face to mine. “He might have actually done me a favor. You may be worth something pregnant.”

No. I’m not pregnant. Tyson wouldn’t let that happen. I don’t want that to happen. And this is the exact reason why. No one is coming to save me. No one even knows I’m alive.

He shoves my head into the mattress before letting go and gets up off me. I gasp, sucking in breaths, my lungs burning.

I yank on the restraints, realizing they’ve got me tied down to the bed, and any piece of hope I had that I might escape this is smothered. My chest so tight he might as well be sitting on top of me again.

“I want her sedated until I say otherwise. And get that pregnancy test done.” He barks out orders, and people run in and out of the room.

“I’m… not…” Deep breath. “Pregnant.”

He leans over my bed and grips my tear-streaked cheeks. “You better pray to God that you are. Otherwise, you’re no use to me.” His hand drops to my chest and it reminds me that I’m still topless. He grabs my breast painfully before slapping me across the face, making me cry out. “A worthless bitch is a dead bitch.”

His hand lowers to my black booty shorts and I can’t fight him as he cuts them off me. I’m sobbing when his fingers move my underwear to the side. “I guess if the results come back negative, I can fuck you until you’re pregnant.” He kisses my tear-streaked face when his fingers enter me. “Either way, I’m going to make you useful.”

His lips move to the side of my lips to kiss me again, and I lean into him, sinking my bloody teeth into his flesh. The last thing I hear is his scream before his fist hits my face.

There’s a beeping sound in the back of my head that won’t stop. It’s driving me crazy. Among other things. Like the throbbing in my mouth. My cheeks hurt, and my teeth ache. Is that even a thing? Was I punched a few more times once I was knocked out? It’s like a constant feeling of pressure, gripping my face.

“Lake?” I hear my name off in the distance. “Lake, little darling.”

My heavy eyes open, and I flinch.

“That’s it, Lake. Open your eyes. Look at me, Laikyn.”

I see shapes of various sizes, but they’re blurry. And then dots, bright floating dots that seem to move every time I blink. The room spins so fast it’s like I’m rolling down a hill and can’t focus on anything.

Something warm is on my face. Hands maybe? My head falls to the side, and I swallow, making me flinch. My tongue feels heavy. Why does my head hurt so bad but everything else feels so numb? Is it because I’m tied down? Is that why I can’t move my body?

“Look at me, Lake.”

I blink again or maybe my eyes were already closed and they open. A familiar set of baby-blue eyes comes into focus. Mine instantly start to sting as my breath catches in my heavy chest. If I’m dreaming, this is the best dream I’ve ever had.

“Hey.” Tyson leans down and gently kisses my forehead. “Don’t cry, Lake.”

I sniff.

He lets go of my face and he crawls onto the bed with me. He places an arm underneath my back, and I turn onto my side, not caring how bad it hurts, and bury my face into his shirt. His scent envelops me. “I’m … sorry,” I manage to say, my throat tightening and my hands gripping the material, but I can feel how weak I am.

“You’re safe, Lake. You’re safe.” He rubs my back, and I begin to sob. “I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

The act makes my head throb worse. That headache intensifying. But I feel that dream start to slip. A wave washing me out to sea, pulling me from him. I try to hold on but it pulls me under, and I’m unable to swim fast enough to break the surface.