Absorbing White

by Charlotte E Hart

  Chapter 29

  Elizabeth

  M y feet are dragged across the room as I try to speak. I’m trying to call for Alex, but I can’t get any words out because if I do, it’ll distract him from his task. I can’t put him in any more danger, even if it means I’m taken off somewhere else. I just need to know that he can deal with the men in that room before someone kills him.

  “Fucking women,” the bastard drawls out in my ear as he yanks me towards the doorway, and I see Aiden haul himself upright and move back into the room to join in. “Leave them, Aiden. We’ll deal with this another way. They’ll all be dead in ten minutes anyway.”

  Two turns later and I try to hold on to that vision in my head as we leave the room and I’m heaved across towards a tunnel. I wish I could say I was fighting, but I’m not because there’s no fight left. As long as Alex comes out of that room safe, I’ve done my job. Whatever happens to me isn’t relevant anymore. I couldn’t care less. I just keep listening to Alex’s quietening growls and hear the screams of pain leaving the other men in that room. The bastard’s right. He’ll kill them all. Guns or not, he won’t stop until all of them are on the floor, lifeless and bleeding out their sins. Then he’ll come for me. When he’s ready, he’ll come for me and he’ll find me. These two excuses for human life will be killed, regardless of my fate. They must know that. They must know they’re not safe anymore. They’ve taken me from him, and whether I live or die, he won’t allow them another breath, will he?

  The light from the room starts to dim and I see Aiden point a torch in the direction we’re going to brighten the tunnel. I don’t know where that is. It certainly isn’t the same way we came in. What does it matter anyway? I’m almost amused. If they think they’ve got any chance of surviving this, they’re so wrong.

  “You’re both going to die,” I chuckle out to myself as Aiden grasps my arm and keeps tugging me along. “I hope you think the money was worth your lives, you bloody morons.”

  “Shut up, bitch,” Aiden replies as he backhands my face and grasps on tighter. I’ve had harder strikes from girls, or maybe I’m just used to the man I love showing me he needs me. He needs me. My smile widens at the thought as I picture him holding me down and fucking me, making love to me in his own particular way as his fingers grip me and push me. Harder, faster, more pain. Pascal was right. There isn’t much this body can’t take anymore. Or this mind, come to think of it.

  “You’re both going to die, and I hope it really, really fucking hurts.” I can’t find a more eloquent way of saying that, and I’m so amused by my response that I burst out laughing in near hysteria. What does any of it matter any more? I’m a fucking Mafia queen. Feisty Beth is kicking butts all over the place and contemplating murder of her own kind.

  “What now?” Aiden says to the bastard. I’m still laughing, now at his utterly moronic question. What now? Get ready to die, you idiot.

  “Have you been to church recently?” I don’t know where that came from.

  “Shut the whore up. I can’t think.” I’m getting a little irritated with being called a whore by this arsehole, so as Aiden tries to slap a hand over my mouth, I snap out at his fingers until I feel flesh. He grunts in reply and shoves me down to the floor before I know what’s happened, then delivers his boot into my stomach. I wheeze out a breath at the impact and pull myself into a ball to defend myself in case another one comes. Pain ricochets around me as he kicks me again in the back and sends my body shooting across the rough ground.

  “This isn’t fucking playtime. Shut the fuck up when you’re told,” he snarls above me. I clutch onto my stomach in agony and keep looking at the dirt. The longer I stay down here, the more time is wasted, giving Alex more time.

  “Playtime – such a tantalizing word, is it not?” My head snaps up at the sound of Pascal’s voice, and I peer down the tunnel in the hope of seeing him. There’s nothing there to see, only the echo of his voice and a small light at the far end. “I do hope you were not planning to leave.”

  Where is he? Aiden’s hand is on the back of my neck, dragging me to my feet so sharply I can barely keep them beneath me. I’m promptly placed in front of him as some kind of human shield. “My love, are you injured?”

  “Don’t answer him,” the bastard snarls back to me, quietly, now scanning his options as he looks around to try and pinpoint Pascal. Aiden’s hand covers my mouth so I just stay quiet and keep staring forward. I’ll hear him before they do. I’ll know what I’m supposed to do and when, because either Alex will tell me from behind us, or Pascal will from in front. I’ll feel them, won’t I? I’ll hear them in my thoughts and understand what to do.

  “Perhaps it would be wise to enlighten me of her wellbeing. If she is not yet dead, I may not kill you both.”

  “Can you see anything?” Aiden whispers to the bastard as he switches off the torch.

  “No, is there another way out of here? Where is your gun?”

  “I shall come and find out for myself, yes?” Pascal says as I hear the crunch of gravel moving towards us. Aiden pulls out a gun from somewhere and points it forward, so I writhe around in his grasp to try and dislodge it, or at the very least, send it off course, when Pascal appears. I scream into his hand to try and send some sort of warning out, but it’s too muffled to hear. Whistling comes floating along the tunnel, and I can’t quite make out where it’s from until the bastard spins and looks behind us. Yes, it’s from behind, and then another voice joins it, both whistling the same tune, almost as if they’re answering each other.

  “Knight to king four,” my favourite voice calls up the tunnel. I have no fucking clue what that means, but I’m so happy to hear his velvety voice that I sigh into Aiden in relief. Not that this is over, but he is alive at least.

  “That is a terrible move, dear boy. One should use one’s rook,” Pascal calls back.

  “Knight.” It’s harsh and totally commanding.

  “I do so enjoy it when you are irritated. Are you still aroused? I can smell the blood from here. He really is at his finest when he has engaged his savage frivolities, Elizabeth.”

  I have no idea what the hell to do with that thought.

  “Knight to king fucking four.” That actually sounded quite pissed off.

  “Yes, yes, if I must. Really, I am not dressed for this occasion. Are you ready, Elizabeth?”

  Ready for what? I have no idea what I should be ready for. No one is speaking to me. There are no voices floating around. The only thing I’m even vaguely in control of is the gun that’s still pointed towards Pascal, or rather the body holding it. Oh, am I supposed to do something with that? I suppose if I was quick enough I could knock him off course, or battle him for it. I just nod into Aiden’s hand, as if that’s some sort of answer, and hope I know what to do when the time comes.

  “Nicholas, I will kill her if you don’t let us out,” the bastard shouts into the dark, with a slight panicked edge to his voice. I close my eyes for a second and picture Alex. He’s probably crouching in the gloom, watching me, waiting. He’ll be rubbing his hands into the ground beneath him, getting ready for whatever move is about to unfold. I can see his eyes and his smile at the tone of his father’s voice. It’s possibly the only time he’s had the ability to make him nervous, be in complete control, and he must be laughing at that, enjoying it even.

  “Let her go and I’ll let you leave,” he says from the darkness. It’s his calm voice again, the one that tells me he’s utterly in control of everything around him. It sends a rush of warmth across my skin, regardless of my current predicament.

  “Do you think me a fool, son? I made you. Aiden trained you. There isn’t a chance in hell you’ll let us leave here.”

  There’s a sudden grunt from behind me, and I’m forced to the floor as the gun fires from Aiden’s hand. I wrangle at his arm for control of it, but I can’t seem to get any grip, and he’s just too strong, too heavy. Something wet begins to pour across my skin as we both lay there fighting
in the darkness, and I hear the sound of running coming at me from everywhere. Shoes scuff the earth as I heave on the arm and try to point it towards the bastard, but I can’t see him anymore. Aiden tries again to dislodge my arms from his wrist, so I just keep gripping as tight as I can and then try to bang his hand on the stones. Someone flashes in front of me, and then begins grasping at the gun in Aiden’s hands. It’s three of us now, all roiling around in the dirt for control of the damn thing, and I’m not fucking letting go of it. I have no idea who’s who, but I must keep control of this gun, must keep it away from Alex. I can’t let anyone but me have this fucking gun.

  “Do let go, my dear,” Pascal says. I shove and push until I’m almost clear of the writhing bodies and then stare back into the dark to find Alex. There’s nothing there, still only blackness, but I can see the bastard again. He’s hovering by the wall, looking around in every direction as I scramble backwards to the side. Pascal is just standing there, still in his full tux, with the gun in his hand as if he’s held it a thousand times. His foot is lodged over Aiden’s throat. I look down to see that I’m covered in blood and scream in response to it as I check myself for injuries. There isn’t any, but I’m still fucking screaming because there’s so much of it. It’s everywhere and I must be injured if there’s this much blood. I brush at it while kicking my feet around in some kind of frenzied attack at it, trying to wipe it off, but it’s seeped into the fabric and I’m panicking.

  “I’m hurt, Pascal. There’s blood, fucking blood everywhere... I’m...” I keep swiping at it and twisting myself to look. It’s all over me, covering my skin like some kind of death omen. “Pascal, fuck, I’m dying. Christ... Help me Pascal. I can’t. I’m...”

  “Perfectly well, my dear. Aiden’s blood. He is very nearly extinguished, I think.”

  I scan the body beneath Pascal’s foot and find it also doused in the same substance. His breathing is ragged, and that horrendous gurgling noise keeps popping out of his mouth. “You could always pull it out and put the repulsive inadequacy out of his misery.” I stare up at him and then back down to Aiden. Pull what out? I’m not touching anything, certainly nothing that is anywhere near Aiden Phillips. I push myself back into the wall a bit, pull my knees, and the remnants of my halter neck back up and wait for whatever’s coming next.

  The sound of feet coming along the tunnel has me staring into the murky gloom, searching for him. I just need to see him, to see for myself that he’s alive and well. I know I’ve heard him, but I need to actually see his body, check for myself that his heart is still beating in his chest. There’s still nothing as I wait. The crunching seems to go on forever, and I almost jump out of my skin when he suddenly crouches over Aiden’s body in front of me. Pascal doesn’t flinch, not in the slightest, and I just gaze into blue eyes and smile weakly. He scans me from head to toe as his bloodied fingers brush across my skin to check for damage. There’s plenty of it for him to touch, but I can’t feel any pain as he wanders his hands over me. All I can feel is his skin on mine again. His touch reminds me that there’s a reason for all of this, that I took this pain for him because I love him. His shirt is barely there anymore, and what’s left of it is crimson, and his face, oh his beautiful face, is covered in cuts and bruising. He was shot. I saw that. I look at his right shoulder and see the blood still coming out of it. I reach out to touch a split on his lip then rub my palm gently into the rest of his cheek, my cheek, my man. He’s alive.

  “Are you okay?” I ask quietly. He chuckles, looks down at Aiden, and then with a few quick shoves around, yanks something out of the side of his neck.

  “Still trying to protect me?” he says as he holds up my knife and wipes it on his shirt. I flip my eyes down to what’s left of Aiden and watch his breathing finally give in as the sound of his last, gurgled breath leaves his body. “You do know you’re going to be told off for your heroics, don’t you?” he says with a slight smirk.

  “I just… I couldn’t see a way out, and that bastard was going to...” I can’t even say the words as I watch his eyes boring back into mine.

  “I told you to stay still.”

  “I know. I heard you, and I was going to, but...” He stands up mid-sentence with a scowl and turns away from me to look at Pascal, who’s still pointing the gun at his father.

  “That was not knight to king four.”

  “No, this is true. However, Elizabeth got in the way. And your aim is pitiable.”

  “Pitiable?”

  “Disgraceful. You are dulled in your retirement, Sir.”

  “In my defence, I did throw it left handed.” Pascal barks out a laugh and nods at the bastard still loitering around near the wall.

  “What are we doing with this?”

  “Having watched Elizabeth, maybe we should let her at him again,” Alex says as he holds a hand out for me. I grab on, and feel myself being pulled up with a quick jerk until I’m by his side. He watched me? As if he could see anything but the six men he was attacking. “Anything hurt?”

  “Yes, lots of things hurt. But I’m not in pain. You saw me?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “Did I miss something exquisite?”

  “Yes, quite flawless really,” Alex replies as he picks up my chin and checks my face again. I stare back at him with a grin and decide to feel reasonably proud of my random attack strategy, given his approval. Although, I still get the feeling I’ll be getting a talking to at some point. I step around the lifeless body of Aiden to move closer to Alex and frown at what I’m part of while these pair joke with each other. People have died here. They’re dead. Michael included.

  “What should your creation do, Daddy?” he says as he takes a step away from me toward the man and lets go of my hand. Pascal lowers the gun and half stands in front of me, so I try to peek around him but he pushes me back again.

  “I want to see,” I whisper into his shoulder.

  “I am positive you do not, my love,” he replies as he wraps an arm around my back to hinder me further.

  “Now, son, I am still your father,” the bastard says. I shove myself away from Pascal and step around him so I can watch the bastard squirm. I need to see it as much as Alex does. I need to be part of this, so I can remember it with him, so I can hold him in his darkest moments and remind him of his power over his nightmares. He flicks my knife around in his hand; over and over it twirls as he approaches the arsehole, as if it’s a part of him, like he’s spent so much time using it that it’s an extension of his arm somehow. It’s odd to see him wielding it. I know I just saw him beating men to death, but that was defensive. This isn’t. This is threatening, a kind of pure malicious intent as he steps again. Each footfall is now filled with antipathy, or maybe a just a complete lack of that decent emotion I’ve tried so hard to pull from him.

  “What would the man you created do with you? Have you always known? Always watched me? How long have you and Aiden been working together?”

  “Son, it’s not…” the bastard says, slightly nervously as he tries to back his way along the wall to head up the tunnel towards the light.

  “Stop calling me son and answer my fucking questions,” Alex cuts in menacingly as he blocks the path and sneers at the man. The bastard retreats a few steps and stares back at him in fear, so I flick my eyes back to Alex again and watch him going quiet. I can see his fury building. I can almost feel it pouring off him as he grows another few inches and tilts his head at his opponent. He’s going to kill him, isn’t he? He’s going to kill his father, and I’m going to have to watch it. Something inside me shakes its head at the thought. It just keeps nagging at me and telling me that this is wrong. Rational Beth is, for some unknown reason, trying to break through all this destruction and bring some sort of calm back. Not that the fucker deserves it, but it’s one thing doing all of this when you’re under attack, when you have to defend yourself and protect the ones you love, but we’re not there now, are we? We’re safe now.

  “ANSWER ME!” he roa
rs out. I swear the walls tremble around us, and the sound echoes up and down the tunnel so loudly that even Pascal flinches beside me. The bastard just stands there looking sheepish. It’s funny really, to see the man who tortured him as a child being scared. It’s very nearly enough to shut rational Beth up. I can feel her retreating and feisty Beth yelling at him with every breath she’s got in her body. She’s still clawing at his face and wanting revenge for all the pain the man caused. But it’s wrong, isn’t it? Immoral. That’s my power in this. That’s what he said he’d given me, the moral high ground in this sort of thing.

  “I have always watched you,” the man eventually says as he dares a step forward. “You are my son, and Aiden has always worked for me.”

  “What does that mean? Why would he work for you? You’re a lawyer,” Alex replies, clearly confused as he stares back in astonishment. This seems to give the bastard some kind of authority again because he’s suddenly storming over towards Alex, his eyes darkening as he does. Pascal raises the gun again slowly so I stick my hand out in front of it. There will be no more death here.

  None.

  “Alex, we should leave now,” I call over to him, suddenly just wanting to get away from all of this and get home, where it’s quiet and safe. He turns his head to me and then quickly back to his father.

  “Explain what that means,” he says again, now standing two feet from the man.

  “Alex, let’s just-”

  “My empire, my sons,” he says slowly as he cuts across me with the most evil smile I have ever seen. My hands shoot to my mouth. Sons? Plural? “One of whom is now dead, thanks to the other.”