Page 79 of Silver Sinner

Trik's foul tongue lashes against my cheek and he laughs. "We're going to be one big, happy family."

30

LAYLA

I wrench my head away from his disgusting mouth but his grip is too tight, too final. My struggles only make Trik laugh, and he eventually releases me with a shove.

"Outside," he snarls. "I don't have time for any more delays."

He doesn't need to tell me twice. Maddie is outside, so that's where I rush to. The cold night air chokes my lungs with each frantic breath, carrying Maddie's panicked screams that turn into sobs when I reach the bottom of the steps and she sees me. Both her arms reach out to me from the man holding her with his arm clamped around her waist.

I rush toward her… and stop a few feet away.

Blood splatters the windows of the takeout place I've lived above these past years. Enough blood that my stomach churns and nausea crawls like acid up my throat. I can't think about them. I can't think about either of them, or Amy, or Pierce. I need to focus on Maddie.

"Maddie, sweetie, I'm here!" Her panic urges me on and I surge forward until I'm able to snatch her out of the arms of the pale-faced grunt holding her. His lips part as if to spit something at me, but he falters when Trik appears beside me and lays his hand on Maddie's head.

She immediately jerks her head away from his grip and buries her face in my shoulder. I wrap both my arms around her, holding her as tightly as I dare while Trik smirks, completely unbothered by her rejections.

"Let's go," he sighs, as if this entire thing has bored him. We all pile into the cars parked haphazardly on the sidewalk, and the last glimpse of my apartment is a single light warming the curtains.

I'm terrified.

It pounds through my body like a siren, growing louder and louder with every waking moment. I almost can't breathe with how my chest constricts, but I force myself to, if only so Maddie can follow the sensation with her own panicked breaths.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Maddie doesn't speak. She sobs against my neck and clings to me as tight as she did after Amy and her mysterious group broke into my home. All I can think about as I rock her back and forth is Pierce. I pray he gets my message. I pray that whatever kept him from me, whether it be disgust toward me or just utter disinterest, fades long enough for him to come and save my daughter.

I don't care about me. All of this, everything that's happened, is born of my choices. Maddie doesn't deserve any of it.

Trik takes us to the edge of the city, a place I've never been before. Through iron gates and past high, cobblestone walls, we drive until towering trees part their canopy for a gigantic mansion that I can't take in with one look. Smooth stone steps lead up to a porch framed by smooth oval pillars, and a dark oak double door is decorated with stained-glass windows. Each window along the walls of the manor are dark, as if the owner fears people looking in. Half of them are obscured by vines creeping over the walls and in any other light, the place would be beautiful.

Maddie's calmed by the time we park, but her panic surges up once more as I'm dragged from the car by my arm and I use all my strength to keep a grip on her.

"Mommy!"

"It's okay baby." I hush her softly, bouncing on my knees to soothe her while cradling the back of her head with one hand. The other remains around her waist while she clings to me like a koala bear. "We're just going to⁠—"

Trik's hand collides hard with my face, and I don't see it coming. The air sparks with the sharp impact of skin on skin and my head snaps hard to the side. In an instant, blood coats my tongue and tears sting in my eyes.

"Shut that fucking kid up," Trik snarls. "She's doing my head in. Or I'll do it for you."

"She's scared," I snap back, bringing my watering eyes around to meet him. "What the hell do you expect from a six-year-old!"

Trik rolls his eyes and his jaw tenses, then he jerks his head and leads the way up the steps.

"I'm sorry, Maddie," I whisper. "I know it's scary. I know. But I'm here, okay? We're okay if we're together."

She gazes up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes and unfortunately, the slap seems to have shocked her into silence. Her sobs fade into nothing but hiccups for air, and she hides her face in my shoulder with her tiny hands gripping my dress.

I glance over my shoulder.