77
Candy and her friends sat in the hotel room as she paced the floor. Sahara watched as her friend looked more frazzled than she had ever seen her. She almost wished Candy and Slade were fighting again as to the reason for her being so upset. At least then it was just a silly tiff. Now it was almost a life-or-death situation. She didn’t know how to make her feel better and prayed they would find answers to all this. Seeing Candy being so heartbroken was killing her.
“What did the hospital say, sweetie? Why did you pass out?”
Slade looked away, almost ready to break down again. “They said someone drugged her. I should have stayed by your side all night.”
Candy rubbed his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. I was the one that walked away from my drink to go dance. I left it unattended. James must’ve slipped in with the catering staff. There were so many people there, no one would have even noticed.”
“What was your father doing there? What if he has something to do with this? What if he’s working with James? They both show up in your life at the same time. That seems like too much of a coincidence.” Slade sighed in frustration.
Candy turned to Gage. “Gage, tell me what you know, right now. Why didn’t you tell me you knew my dad?”
“Candy, I’m so sorry I was just trying to do what was best for you. When we met, you were still struggling with the grief of losing your brother. I was trying to protect you. No one else saw how hard it was when you first got here. I should have told you I knew Kevin. All I know is he went to jail about the time you said he went missing. He always talked about you and your mom like they were still married. I thought he was until you told me about your childhood. I saw nothing suspicious or that he was even looking for you. He was always very secretive about his home life, and no one knew much about him. He was just a great wrestler and trainer. I know nothing else about it, I promise.”
Candy sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “He’s one reason I became a wrestler. I looked up to him. I remember him wrestling when I was little, and he was so amazing. He almost signed to IWX until he supposedly got sick. He stopped wrestling about a year before he left us. Why is he looking for me now, after all these years? And how did he know James was at the party if he wasn’t there stalking me, too? Do you think maybe he is telling the truth?”
Gage was sitting on the edge of the bed and hung his head, thinking. “I never knew Kevin to be a liar. He never did drugs and was dedicated to his job. Nothing about him said, inmate or drug addict. I may be wrong, but I think there is more to this than we realize. The way he used to talk about you wasn’t like a father who didn’t care. He genuinely loves you and your mom, from what I understood.”
Davis, who was silent in the corner, stood up from the chair. “The only thing that seems to be consistent is this asshole, James. Candy? How did he and your mother meet?”
“I don’t know. She was going to school to be a teacher until James came along. He just showed up one day and we suddenly had to leave. We moved around from city to city for a couple of years. I remember he did a lot for the mob. Mostly… oh god. No.”
Candy sat down on Slade’s lap on the bed, looking around at her friends. It was like a light bulb went on in her head.
“Sex trafficking. James sold and bought women. He had his group of women he used, and he was their pimp. My mom… She was one of them. At least until I got old enough to sell drugs for him, in exchange to make him stop sending her out. I gave him all my profits to leave Tyler and I alone, too.”
Gage stood up, running his hands through his hair. “Do you think he could have kidnapped her? Maybe he took you too to make your dad think she just left him, as leverage.”
“I don’t know. Maybe. What if my dad didn’t do all those things I thought he did? I hated him for so long.”
Slade held her close, trying to reason with her. “We don’t know yet. He still had no reason to leave you alone so much. The only one who can tell the truth is the one person not talking and an MIA father.”
Candy cried, “What if my entire life was a lie?”
Isis went over, hugging her, saying, “It’s going to be okay. We are all here for you.”
Candy sat quietly, resting her head on Slade’s shoulder. She knew now leaving was the right choice. Her friends would defend her to the end, and she wouldn’t let them get hurt because of her.
Candy’s phone rang, and she looked at the screen and started shaking. She looked over to Slade saying, “It’s your phone.”
Slade patted his tuxedo jacket and sure enough, his cell phone was missing.
“Answer it. Put it on speaker,” Gage instructed.
“Hello?”
“Candy. Nice to hear from you.”
“Who is this?”
“You don’t remember your old stepdad? Tell Slade he has a nice phone. I would keep it if it couldn’t be tracked.”
“James, stay away from me and my mom.”
“Now why would I want that crazy old bat? No. I want you. I have some very wealthy men ready to pay a good price for you. You’ll be out of the states before anyone knows what happened.”
“I’ll kill you first.” Candy started crying angry tears, ready to fight.
“Don’t be so dramatic. We both know you don’t have it in you. You remember those ass-kickings I used to give you and your mom. I should have sold that useless brother of yours to the highest bidder. I let your mom leave so I didn’t have to take care of that brat. You were much more of a commodity than both of them. You made me a lot of cash until that kid started draining my account for his doctor visits. Being a big star, I can get a high dollar for your sweet ass to make my investments back.”
Slade grabbed her phone. “I won’t let you touch her.”
“Awe. The boy toy thinks he has a choice. I’ll give you until Monday night, Candy. I’m coming. Wear something pretty.” James laughed before a clicking came over the line. “... Fuck! What are you doing here?”
James’s voice became mumbled as if he were arguing with someone in the background. The phone made a rustling sound and James dropped it, making Candy jump. Suddenly they heard a gunshot over the phone speaker, with a man screaming in the background. His pleading voice was followed by the sound of footsteps running away.
Candy looked confused. What was happening? She turned to Slade. “Dad found him.”
There was silence on the phone for a moment. “Candy? Is that you?”
Slade held the phone up so everyone could hear.
“Daddy?”
“Thank God. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Where are you? I heard a gun go off.”
“I shot him in the arm. I’m fine. He got away. Candy, please. I need to explain everything. Meet me for breakfast in the morning. I heard James say this is Slade’s phone. I’ll use it to text you the location. Just you, Slade, and Gage. No one else.”
Slade shook his head no. “Why should we trust you?”
“Because I’m the only one who can help stop this.”
Gage sighed. “Kev… This is Gage. If you try to hurt her, I’ll kill you. You know that.”
“I know, Gage. That’s why I trust you.”
Candy nodded to Gage. “Okay, text us the location. Daddy?”
“Yes, Pumpkin.”
“Did you ever love us?” she asked.
The man got quiet and she could hear him weeping. “More than the air I breathe.”
The man hung up, and Candy stood looking at the phone and then at Slade. “He means it.”
“How do you know, Sprinkles?”
She rubbed her fingers down his cheek and smiled softly. “I just know.”
