OtherSide Of Fear (Outside The Ropes #3)

by Ashley Claudy

  The bald man pointed his weapon at Gage, and I put him in the sights of my gun, finger on the trigger. He swung his gun, shifting his aim at me.

  A hand slid over my glock, over my finger, squeezing as I pulled the trigger. The gun blast vibrated through my arm and the man in front of me dropped. My arm was jerked up to point my gun at my own head, my finger trapped on the trigger by another hand. I froze, afraid the struggle would fire the gun, and Rusnak pulled me tight against him, my back pressed to his front.

  “Stop,” he bit out his command.

  Gage released the bearded man’s head, and he collapsed to the ground, neck twisted unnaturally on his shoulders. A sure sign of death. His body radiated rage, shoulders inflating and falling with each breath as he glared behind me at Rusnak. “You wouldn’t hurt her.”

  The gun shoved against the side of my head, the tip searing my skin from the heat of the shot fired before. “I’ll do what I have to. Are you willing to test that?”

  Gage stayed still, breath slowing.

  “Put your gun down,” Rusnak commanded.

  Gage crouched down slow, setting the gun on the ground at his feet.

  “Get him.”

  The other two men were hesitant as they closed in on him, until one pulled out a bright gun, firing at Gage’s back. The prongs of the Taser attached to him, sending him flat on the ground as he convulsed.

  The glock was removed from my head, and Rusnak gripped me in both arms. I was fighting against his hold, unaware of myself, only of Gage on the ground swiping at the cords but not able to reach them on his back. Every new round of shocks, killing me to watch.

  Rusnak turned us away from the sight, but I could still hear it. Gage’s body jerking on the ground. The sudden groans as a new wave hit his muscles. The two men laughing.

  “Sh-Sh-Shh, Sweetheart. Stop fighting. It’ll be better if you stop fighting.”

  I couldn’t stop the tears that started, but I tried to strangled down my instinct to struggle against Rusnak’s hold, wanting to do nothing more than help Gage.

  “Blyad,” Rusnak’s voice changed and his body went rigid. “You should have left when you had the chance. Don’t say anything.”

  “What’s happened?” Alessandra asked, walking in with Cherry and another man.

  Rusnak flung me away from him, on to the hard ground. “Get her. I’ll handle him from here.”

  He had my gun in his hand as he walked towards Gage.

  44: Madness

  I SCRAMBLED TO MY FEET, JUST AS the men reached me.

  “Come on, let’s not make this hard,” the bald one ordered, stepping close to me.

  As much as I wanted to fight back, to attack, looking around the room was enough to still me. Rusnak crouched by Gage and lifted up his head, gun pointing under his chin. Blood streaked Gage’s face, pouring from his eyebrow, and his hands were bound behind his back.

  “He wasn’t going to stay and talk,” Rusnak answered Alessandra. “And when we tried to make them stay, things got out of hand.”

  Alessandra came to Rusnak’s side, bending down in her fitted knee length dress to look into Gage’s face. “You killed two of our men to avoid questions?” Her voice was a smooth, slow poison. “What are you scared of?”

  Cherry walked over to where I was, just to the side of the men flanking me, but her eyes were fixed on Gage.

  The man they entered with stood between the two groups.

  “I defended myself. They attacked me,” Gage rasped, and turned his head slightly before Rusnak gripped his hair tighter, stilling him. But Gage looked directly at him. “Why?”

  “You lied to me. We know you talked to those agents the day they died. We have their phone records.”

  “I didn’t. They never called me—”

  Rusnak cracked the gun across Gage’s face, dropping his grip on his head at the same time. Gage rolled to the side and spit out of his bloody lips onto the cement floor.

  “It was a burner phone, but we traced the location to your home.”

  I was ready to throw up, everything burning, about to jump out of my skin.

  Gage spit again and lifted his head as high as he could from his side position with his hands strapped behind him. “Bullshit.”

  Rusnak lifted his hand high and brought the gun down on Gage’s face, only to raise it again and repeat the process.

  “It wasn’t him. Stop.” I tried to dart forward, but the men grabbed me, one at each side.

  Cherry lifted her gun towards me.

  Rusnak paused, his arm suspended in mid air as he twisted my way.

  “It wasn’t him. He didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “Regan, stop,” Gage yelled, “Don’t fucking listen to her.”

  “It was my phone. Anthony gave it to me. Gage didn’t know.”

  Rusnak walked towards me, a strange look in his eyes, a murderous look barely contained. “You’re lying for him. Stop it. Stop talking.”

  He had warned me not to talk earlier, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let them abuse Gage for my plan. We were probably going to die for it anyways, but I wanted to spare him pain.

  “Maybe she’s not. Let her talk,” Alessandra spoke, but I couldn’t see her.

  Only Rusnak filled my vision as he got closer, gun pressed to my chest.

  “I told you it was probably her,” Cherry added. “I knew that bitch was a snake.”

  Rusnak held my gaze for a moment, teeth grinding. My heart pounded against my ribcage, against the gun pressed to my chest.

  “It’s fucking impossible to tell exactly where a phone call took place at,” Gage’s voice echoed in the open space.

  A darkness dropped over Rusnak’s face. “Shut him up,” he commanded the man at my side.

  He dropped my arm and took a few long strides to reach Gage, kicking him in the head.

  “We still need to question him,” Alessandra stated, making the man move the direction of his boot to Gage’s side.

  “Get him strapped to the chair,” Rusnak ordered.

  The other man dropped my arm and went to help. So did the man that came in with Alessandra and Cherry. But all three men kicked him before lifting him.

  Gage continued to speak through it, in grunts as air was kicked from his lungs. “She never told him anything. It’s like we said.”

  “What’s the truth?” Rusnak hissed.

  I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Gage to look at Rusnak. “Please, make them stop. I’ll tell you.”

  “They’re lying,” Gage yelled, pain cracking his voice and shredding my heart. “Don’t believe him.”

  Rusnak pushed me to the door, and when I struggled against going, he hooked his arm around me and dragged me. Terror tore through me. I didn’t want to leave Gage, even if I was useless.

  I was yelling something. So was Gage, I could see his lips moving. But so was the entire room. Everyone was yelling, a thunderous roar that exploded everything else. I was in flight, body moving, struggling against Rusnak with everything I had. Gage was struggling in the chair they had him in, and it tipped to the side. He landed with a crack, but his lips were still moving, saying something I needed to hear. But then I was pulled around a corner, and he was no longer in my vision. His voice echoed in my head though.

  Don’t believe him.

  Don’t say anything.

  I love you.

  I don’t think he actually said I love you, but that’s all I kept thinking. Hearing. It’s all I wanted to say to him. I love him. I love him. I love him. Hoping my chant evoked something. It felt like the world to me. But it was powerless. Useless.

  Rusnak had my arm jerked high behind me, a heat searing through my body from it, but I couldn’t feel anything beyond the torture of imagining what was happening to Gage.

  He turned us into a side room and closed the door. Only then did I realize Cherry was with us.

  “What are you doing?” She
had a cigarette in between her lips as she paced the small empty room.

  “I can’t question them together. They’ll support each other’s lies. And I’ve got to get to the truth.” He tossed me to the floor. “Stay down,” he warned when I went to move.

  His hands smoothly undid his belt, pulling it off in one, quick, threatening movement.

  “What the fuck are you doing then?” Cherry pulled the cigarette from her lip, blowing out hard.

  “Getting the truth.” He stepped towards me and looped the belt around my neck.

  My hands came up to grip under the strap, to keep it from tightening, and I tried to rise to my feet.

  “Tcht, Don’t fight this.” He pushed my shoulders, holding me down on my knees. “I told you, fighting will only make it worse. For you. And for him.” He met my eyes, waiting for me to acknowledge his words.

  “Why question her when you know it was her? She was always shady, but after the car accident she flipped. She’s the one with a vendetta out for everyone. Not Gage.”

  He didn’t look away from me as he lowered down on his heels, still higher than me. “I’m going to find out for myself. And if it’s true, I’m going to find out how far she went.” He turned his focus to Cherry. “Then I’m going to question Gage. Go tell them to expect me soon. This shouldn’t take long.” He dropped his gaze over me. “Oh, and Cherry, tell them not to hurt him, not until I tell them to.”

  Rusnak rose to his feet, pulling the belt with him so it tightened around my neck. The smooth leather and buckle bit into my skin and made me gasp, cutting off my air as he pulled tighter.

  Cherry lingered at the door a moment then stepped out.

  Rusnak slid one hand over my cheek, wiping my tears with the tips of his fingers. His other hand kept a firm, tight grip on the belt.

  “See, I made them stop. They’re not hurting him right now, and you’re here, away from them.”

  It didn’t ease any of my pain, not when I couldn’t see for myself, not when it was only if Cherry gave that message. And if they believed her.

  He loosened his grip on the strap, dragging his other hand over my cheek and down my neck till he slid them under the clasp, tugging it to give me more space to breath.

  “I always thought your mother would destroy me, back then.” He mumbled as his fingers slid between the leather and my skin, moving around my neck. “But it was you. You make me break all my rules.” He sighed, dropping his fingers away. “And you still fuck me over.” He jerked the belt.

  I dropped to my knees in a blinding burst of pain. I would have dropped farther, but the leather leash wouldn’t allow it. My hands pressed to the ground to try and get my balance, to hold myself up so I wasn’t hanging by the belt. But it was hard to focus without air, my muscles drained, vision turning red.

  “Would it stop if I killed you?” He gripped my shoulders, holding me up. His hands were no longer pulling the belt, but it didn’t loosen.

  I scratched at it till I hooked my finger inside it and pulled, giving me air that I gulped in.

  “What did you tell them?”

  He didn’t stop me, so I kept pulling at the belt till it was no longer looped around my neck. It dropped to the ground behind me.

  “I didn’t say anything.” I barely made a sound.

  His grip tightened on my arms, fire growing in his eyes.

  “Anthony wanted information, but I didn’t say anything,” I continued.

  He jerked me forward and back. “I know that’s a lie. You’re the one that tipped them off about Viktor. Why?”

  “I didn’t.” My only plan was denial.

  He pushed me, dragging me back till I slammed into a wall. “I’m trying to help you. But I can’t if you keep lying to me. Do you even know the things I’ve done for you?” He dropped my arms and stepped back but pulled out his gun at the same time. “But you don’t care. All you care about is him.” He stretched his arm out, gun directly in my face. “I should kill you.” He sucked in air. “Better yet, I should kill him.” He dropped his arm, gun pointing down as he took another step back. “I’ll kill him and then you.”

  “I know you killed Shadow’s men for me,” I blurted it out, doing anything to keep him here instead of carrying out his threat.

  He watched me with cat eyes. “They were never supposed to touch you.”

  I read between his words, realization dawning. “You sent them?”

  He looked to the wall like he could see Gage on the other side. “They were supposed to find him.” He turned back to me, something sparking in his eyes. “See, I can be honest. Lets play a game. A truth for a truth.” He stepped closer, bringing his gun up under my chin. “I’ll know if you’re lying.”

  And I could see it in his eyes; he would kill me either way. There was no getting out, and as the realization settled, everything else disappeared and I stopped shaking.

  “Who is Shadow?”

  He smiled at my question or maybe at the new strength in my voice.

  “That’s not the right question. It’s what is Shadow?” He raised his eyebrows at me like it should all make sense. “It’s never been a person. My turn, what did you tell the FBI?”

  “Nothing.” A crack of the gun to my cheek nearly knocked me over. My head was forced to the side with the arc of the swing, but I managed to stay on my feet and straightened back up.

  “I’ll start with something easier, what did he ask you about? What information was he after?”

  “Shadow. He wanted information on the girls and the trafficking. He said it was international.” I resisted wiping the blood I could feel pooling at my lip. “What is Shadow?”

  Excitement was building in him, his eyes growing bright and breathing shallow. He stepped closer to me, one finger swiping my bottom lip, gathering blood on it. He sucked the tip of his finger into his mouth with a smile. “It’s grown larger than we ever dreamed. And with the connections I made in prison, I was able to merge my business with them. Did the agent say who they thought was responsible?”

  “Gage. Then once they arrested Ian they said they caught Shadow.”

  His eyes narrowed and he moved suddenly. I braced for impact, but felt nothing. He had both hands pressed against the wall, caging me between them and his body. “But they didn’t. Did you tell them they didn’t?”

  “Who’s in charge?” I ignored his question. It was my turn. “Who do you answer to in Shadow?”

  He shook his head, watching my lips. “No one. Not anymore.” He dipped towards me, his hands coming to either side of my head to hold me still as I tried to pull away. The gun was still in one hand, the side pressed against my head. His lips took mine, sucking on the bottom, not caring that I fought against it. He left no room to fight; his body pressed me firm into the wall. A threatening heat radiated from him. He broke away, pulling my lip between his teeth. “I don’t answer to anyone. I’m in charge.”

  He looked like he could devour me, the animalistic hunger in his eyes chilling me but giving me confidence as well.

  “So will you kill me? Since you make the rules?”

  “I should. I need to.” His hands re-gripped the sides of my head, forcing it back against the wall. His lips brushing mine as he spoke, “But I want to consume you.” Then he was back on me, closing over my lips with his own. His hands traveled down my body, and he ran the gun just under my waistband as his other hand slid up my shirt. His lips moved to my neck and I could feel his control breaking as his fingers groped. The grip on the gun relaxing as he fumbled to touch me.

  I slid my hands over his arm as if for balance, as if in the heat of the moment. I was waiting for the perfect time, about to make my move when the door flew open and Alessandra stormed in.

  Rusnak broke away, pressing the gun into my stomach as he looked to his wife.

  “You weak bastard,” She spoke level, even though she had slammed the door open seconds before. “Couldn’t keep your cock out of it. Fall
to your knees at the first sign of pussy?” She lifted her gun. “I’ll do what you can’t.” She took a few steps in, going to the side of Rusnak.

  “Calm down,” he commanded. But she looked calm, frighteningly so. “Put the gun down.”

  “What is it about you that makes these men lose their shit? They all forget their roles. And for what? A traitorous, snake in the grass, whore?” She was stepping closer, anger rising, arms stiffening as her finger hovered on the trigger.

  “Don’t,” Rusnak tried again, hesitating with the gun still pressed to my stomach.

  I snatched it from him, flipping it in my hand the way Blake taught me and shooting it all within a second.

  Alessandra dropped the gun, clutching her bleeding hand. I whipped towards Rusnak, lining up his head in my sights as I stepped away from him.

  “That was fast. You’ve gotten better than I remember.” He didn’t seem scared at all.

  I side stepped to the gun on the ground and picked it up, aiming that at a screaming Alessandra.

  “You’re still weak with that trigger. You should have shot to kill,” Rusnak kept talking.

  He took a step, and I fired the gun, dropping it to hit his shoulder.

  He staggered back, clutching his bleeding arm.

  “That was a warning. I don’t want you dead. Not yet.” I looked to Alessandra. “Get down on the ground.”

  She had her hand cradled to her stomach, and her eyes were filled with a burning hatred as she sunk to her knees. But when she moved her other hand to her waistband, I shot her. In the head.

  She fell back, dropping the gun she had reached for. It slid over the ground.

  Rusnak made a strangled sound like a wounded animal.

  “I warned you. Both of you.” I couldn’t look at her, but I didn’t feel bad for what I’d done. I had to do it and having done it fueled me, removing my own doubts. I slid the gun I shot her with into the waist of my jeans and picked up the smaller gun that she dropped, never taking my eyes or aim off Rusnak.

  “Walk to the door.” I didn’t dare get close to him as I made the command.

  He walked slow, watching me all the while.