by J. L. Beck
“Okay…the doctor will be in shortly,” she tells us before checking my vitals and unhooking me from the IV machine. “Do you need help going to the bathroom? The last thing we want is for you to slip and fall.”
“I’ll take her,” Declan interrupts before I can get the first syllable out. “She can’t pee in front of strangers.”
A nervous laugh escapes from her throat and I can’t help but wonder if this is everyone’s reaction to him. Peeking up at him I take in his rugged features once more. Dark eyes, a strong chin, and cheekbones that would make a model jealous. He looks like he was carved from stone. And I haven’t even gotten started on his body. He is so big he makes the chair he is sitting in look breakable. He’s the biggest of the brothers, and though he terrifies me, in more than one way, I feel incredibly safe with him. It’s a conundrum that I still haven’t figured out yet.
Nurse Brenda exits the room with a smile and Declan gets up from the chair and walks over to the bed. “Come on, go use the bathroom and get dressed so we can leave as soon as the doctor comes in.”
As I stand my legs are shaky, and a wave of dizziness slams into me. I grasp onto the railing of the bed and am surprised when I feel Declan’s warm hand gripping my elbow tenderly. Who knew a man like this was capable of such a soft grasp?
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Princess. We haven’t made it out of here yet. If I have to, I’ll use you as a human shield to save myself and my brothers.” I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from responding to him. He’s so cruel, so callous, and dark. One minute he’s kind and caring, and the next he’s threatening to shove me into shark-infested waters. He helps me into the small bathroom off the side of the room.
I use the toilet by myself, but Declan helps me get dressed. Just as I get the T-shirt pulled into place, the doctor walks in. As Declan asked of me, I insist on being released right away. The doctor makes me sign some paperwork, which I sign with a fake name that Declan gave me. Then I’m given a bottle of antibiotics, and a smile, as the doctor tells me he hopes I feel better before he walks out, leaving us all alone.
“Time to go, Princess.” Declan puts my meds in his pocket and puts his arm around me as we walk out. His hold on me is possessive, and I cling to his side with each step we take, still not feeling at one hundred percent. His phone starts to ring as soon as we step out of the room, and I stare at him completely puzzled. When did he get a phone? In all the time I was with them, I never saw any of them using a cell phone. He looks down at the screen of the sleek device and mutters a string of curses.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, panic filling my belly.
“Ready to find out what it’s like to be used as a human shield?” My eyes go wide, and dread clings to my insides. He wouldn’t, would he? Who am I kidding, of course he would. He’s wanted me dead since the moment he laid eyes on me. A scream lodges in my throat and the need to run overwhelms me, but I don’t. That would be a stupid move, something that would surely get me killed.
He must be able to tell what I’m thinking because a moment later a soft chuckle, something I’ve never heard escapes his full lips.
“Just kidding, Princess. I don’t feel like listening to Trey whine that I broke his favorite toy, but we do need to get a move on it. As soon as we get outside, I’m going to toss you over my shoulder. We need to move quick, someone’s alerted your dad’s people.”
My dad’s people? That means...what does it mean? If what Wes, Trey, and Declan were saying is true about my father it means uncertain death for all of us, but if they were lying, it means freedom for me.
Which do I believe? My head is spinning, and bile rises into my throat. My stomach churns and I press a hand to it to get the damn thing to relax. The last thing I need is to be vomiting. I just got out of the hospital.
As we head toward the double sliding glass doors, I become more and more worried. What if they get caught? What if they were right about my father? The thought of being taken from them and thrust back into my old life terrifies me. I might be scared of them, but I’ve come to care for them, and they must care for me in some way too since they took me to the hospital when I was sick, instead of letting me die.
My heart hammers inside my chest so hard it feels like it’s trying to break free from my body. “I’m scared,” I admit, looking up at Declan who gives me an indecipherable look. I expect him to say something like, you should be scared, but he says nothing at all which is almost worse.
Instead, he just pulls me into his side a little tighter and that’s all I need to bring my boiling panic down to a simmering fear.
As soon as we are outside, an SUV pulls up in front of us. Declan opens the backdoor and pushes me inside, sliding in behind me before slamming the door shut. We speed off with squealing tires not even a moment later.
“Feeling better, Princess?” Wes asks from the passenger seat.
“She better be. We’ve risked too much for her not to be,” Declan answers for me, and I cut him a dirty look. He’s giving me whiplash with his back and forthness.
“Yes, thanks for asking,” I answer, ignoring Declan’s cold stare that’s now piercing mine.
“We’re being followed,” Trey mutters from the driver’s seat, his eyes moving to the rearview mirror before the car swerves into the other lane.
“Buckle up, Princess, things are about to get a little wild,” Wes orders and I don’t wait for him to tell me twice. I snap my seat belt into place right as something slams into us from behind. I’m slung forward, the seat belt cutting into my skin around my collarbone. Trey curses and then we are swerving yet again. Declan grips onto the back of Wes’s seat to steady himself while Wes presses his hands to the dash.
“Turn here,” Wes yells. It’s hard to hear him over the swoosh of blood in my ears.
The engine revs as Trey floors it while taking a sharp turn. The movement makes me think we’re going to roll at any given second. I hold my breath until we are safely around the corner and I watch in horror as people jump out of the way. Storefronts and signs turn into blurs as we speed down the road probably doubling the speed limit.
“Hold on,” Trey warns right before he pulls into a side alley, grazing the side of the car against the brick exterior. I look back over my shoulder and when I don’t see the other car following us anymore, I briefly sigh. We must have lost them. Thank god. I turn back around in my seat and slump down in it. I’m about to ask where we’re going now when I catch something out of the corner of my eye.
A scream catches in my throat but never gets to come out.
A car comes out of nowhere smashing into the side of our SUV. The sound of metal crunching fills my ears. The sound is deafening, and with a jolt I find my head banging against the window. My whole body is jerked around like a rag doll as the SUV goes sliding across the road and into the wall of an alley.
For a long second everything seems to stand still. The smell of burning tires and gasoline is pungent and tickles my nostrils, somehow bringing me back to reality. A throbbing pain forms behind my eyes and I groan as I try and move. Before I can gather my wits, Declan is unbuckling me and dragging me out of the car.
Gunshots ring through the air and I twist my body around to see who is shooting. Fear grips my heart, sinking its claws into the muscle. I know I shouldn’t care if they live or die, but a part of me does. As soon as my eyes find Wes and Trey crouched behind the car with guns in their hands, I feel something as close to relief as it will get. There are three guys shooting at us from the side of the car that crashed into us.
Declan all but drags me farther into the alley and through the back entrance of a store. He continues pulling me, his grip on my arm bruising until I’m in a standing position. We practically run through the store without stopping, even with people screaming at us. Some salesperson comes running toward us yelling to get out or she’ll call the cops, but we are way ahead of her. My lungs burn as our pace quickens until finally we reach the
front of the store.
Once we are out the front door, Declan slows down, his face is a mask of emotions, his eyes wild, as he scans the crowd, as if the three guys that were back in that alley are going to find us in this huge crowd.
“Walk normal, we need to try to blend in.” He leans into me, his hot breath fanning against my cheek. After a moment we step into the crowd, moving with the people as they do. The streets are busy, and for a fraction of a second, I had forgotten what the city was like. I try and skew my facial expression, keeping it neutral. I don’t want to draw attention, not that I think we would, but it doesn’t hurt.
We walk like this for a while. I try to stop myself from looking over my shoulder, which is easy with Declan’s arm draped around me, and my body pulled in tight to his side. Even though I’m wearing clothes that are way too big on me, to an outsider we must seem like a normal couple merely walking down the street and checking out the shops. If only they knew how false that was.
My heart rate is almost back to normal after a short time of walking. I’m nearly certain that we lost them. Now the only fear I have is for Wes and Trey.
“Do you think Trey and Wes are okay?” I ask, my voice a whisper.
“You worried something might happen to us, Princess?”
I shrug, even though I know there’s no point in hiding it. They might not care about me, but for some strange reason, I’ve grown to care about them.
“Don’t worry, my brothers and I have outrun far worse. We’ve looked death in the eyes without blinking. We can handle your father’s security team,” he says, rolling his eyes.
We continue walking down the sidewalk, and I consider asking him where we’re going when Declan suddenly stops mid-step and tightens his grip on me. When I look up at him and see him staring down the road, I follow his gaze.
Two men in suits are staring at us, two men I know, because they are both part of my dad’s security team. These are two men that watched me grow up. That I considered to be like family. For a second everybody stands still, then the two men start heading for us, their steps eating up the distance that separates us.
Adrenaline courses through my veins, the need to run is damn near consuming and I feel myself wanting to pull away, but Declan is faster and must be thinking the same thing because he spins us around to run in the other direction. We weave through the crowd, my feet barely able to keep up with him, when he makes an abrupt stop and pulls me to the side.
“Listen to me and do exactly what I say. You’re going to go into this store, go out the back and then take a right, walk all the way down that alley, turn and then go into the first store. You’re going to hide there until I come for you. Got it? No funny business Jessa. My life, your life, my brother’s lives, they’re all on the line.”
“Through the store right down the alley, turn, first store, hide, got it,” I repeat before he pushes me into the storefront. My body is shaking, a nervous sweat coats my hands, and I rub them down the front of my sweats as I make my way through the store. It’s one of those stupid container stores. I look around making certain no one has seen me before I sneak out the back door. Air enters my lungs, but it never really feels like I’m actually breathing. I’m exhausted, beyond exhausted, but what am I to do? I can’t stop. If I do, then I’ll die, and so will the brothers.
I enter the back alley, turn right and start walking down it, my feet moving over the concrete with ease just like Declan told me to do, but after a few steps doubt starts to flood my mind and I wonder if I’m doing the right thing? Should I trust them? Trust the man who kidnapped me, the one that wants me dead. I barely know these men and I have no real reason to believe them. I mean they haven’t truly hurt me, but they’ve reminded me often of the power they have over me. Weighing my options, I stand firmly in the middle of the alleyway.
What if this is my only chance to get away and I’m blowing it because I’m being naive and stupid? Declan wants me dead, isn’t that what my fate will lead to anyway?
I slowly turn around, still completely unsure about what is right or wrong. All I know is that I’m in a life or death situation and I have no idea what to do. Maybe I can get away from both? Maybe I can just outrun them and my father. But what if my father doesn’t really want me dead and it was all a ploy?
I squeeze my eyes shut, and grip at my hair.
I’m losing my damn mind over this. If I betray the brothers, they’ll rip me to shreds, but if I don’t take this chance to escape them then I’m just as weak as they all suspect me to be. Before I can make a choice, I hear footsteps approaching. Something inside me says to run, but my feet won’t move. It’s like they’re a part of the ground now cemented deep into the concrete.
“Where is he?” A male voice fills the space, and my eyes snap up honing in on two men that stand a short distance away. I’ve never seen them before, but I’m certain they’re my father’s men. Both have their guns raised, the metal shimmering in the sunlight. They’re pointed right at me. I stare down not one but two barrels with my mouth gaping open.
This is it. I’m going to die. Why won’t my feet move?
“I asked you a fucking question!” the same man from a moment ago yells. “Talk and I’ll make it quick.”
I’m momentarily stunned, as I try and make sense of what he just said. It was true. Everything the brothers told me was true. My father really does want me dead. The more I try to wrap my head around it, the harder the throbbing inside it gets.
“Or don’t talk, that’s fine with me, we’ll both just give you a nice hard fucking, before ending your life. We saw the video, we know you like it,” the other man chuckles, and I feel like puking. As if it’s not bad enough that they want to kill me, they want to degrade me before doing so.
“I’ll give you to the count of three, Jessa, and then I’m going to start shooting. I’ll aim for your legs first, so you can’t run from us.”
The other man starts counting, but he only gets to one before I take off at a dead run. As soon as they realize I’m not going to just stand there and let them count down to my impending death, they start firing off bullets.
“Run, run as fast as you can…” they taunt, and fear zings through me as the bullets whiz past me. My feet smack against the concrete, with each step I take. My lungs burn with every breath I take, the air entering them but not filling them. I feel like I’m going to puke, and I internally kick myself for being stupid enough to stand in the alleyway second guessing Declan’s orders.
I near the end of the alleyway, which is a dead end, fuck my luck, when I glance back and see the two guys gaining on me. Tears sting my eyes. This is it. All that I’ve gone through in the last couple weeks only to end up dead anyway. I tell myself I need to be strong, even though my future is bleak. They’ll kill me, but first, they’ll have their way with me. Reaching the end of the alleyway, I become panicked.
My gaze swings back toward the men and out of nowhere, I see a body slamming into them, tackling one to the ground and causing the second one to lose his footing and drop his gun. Terror clings to me, as I watch the events unfold, knowing even if the two men die, my future is still as bleak as it was before.
The men move so fast I can hardly keep up with their movements. Declan knocks the first guy out and is back on his feet in under a second. Before the second guy can grab his gun off the ground, Declan is on him, throwing jabs left and right, to his face, belly, and sides. I feel like I’m watching some kind of action movie take place right before my eyes.
Just when I think Declan has the upper hand, the other guy moves, raising his gun in the air, and right at Declan. I open my mouth to warn him, the words getting caught in my throat a second too late. The bastard pulls the trigger, the bullet leaving the chamber faster than I can track it. My eyes widen as Declan’s body jerks, the bullet hitting him in the abdomen. His hand comes up to cover the wound, then he’s looking at me. He’s never looked at me the way he’s looking at me right now like he might actually be
afraid for my life.
“Run!” he yells, but my muscles refuse to budge, my feet becoming roots buried deep beneath the concrete. That is until the guy who just shot Declan raises his gun in my direction. My self-preservation springs into action and my body moves without thought.
I run to a nearby dumpster and hide behind it. There’s nowhere to go from here, and it’s the best I’ve got. I could run away, but there’s no way I can leave Declan here alone and I’m not getting around that bastard with the gun without dying. Something in my belly tightens as the silence around me festers.
Where are the bullets? Why don’t I hear anyone running? I peek around the edge of the dumpster and see the man pointing his gun at Declan’s head now. Something in me snaps, it’s like my heart makes the choice before my head can even think through it. Instantly I’m running around the dumpster, squeezing myself between it and the wall until I make it to the other side. Adrenaline pumps through my veins, and I can see the pain in Declan’s features. He’s hurting, which only pushes me further to do what I’m about to do.
The man holding the gun has his back toward me now.
Perfect!
“You think you fuckers are so smart, messing with a man like Richards.” He chuckles, his voice labored. “But you aren’t.” He kicks Declan in the side right where he just shot him. Declan grunts at the impact and I hate the noise. I hate that he’s in pain. I have to fix this. I have to save him, save us both. Maybe the hero in my story isn’t a white knight, maybe it’s me.
“I hope she was worth it. I hope her pussy was worth your fucking life.” I grit my teeth, fury overtaking the terror coursing through my body. Sneaking behind him, my movements are slow, but precise even with my shaking limbs. I don’t know how I do it, but I grasp the gun in my hand.
It’s heavy and cold and I thank whatever god might be watching over me that the man doesn’t notice me then. He doesn’t notice anything, the only person who does is Declan who is staring at me with a look of awe and anger. Without thinking, without feeling, I point the gun at the back of his head.