by A. M. Wilson
“What a slow, agonizing way to die.”
A wailing alarm sounds from somewhere else in the house. Or maybe it’s outside. As Bolt approaches with a fourth plate, she suddenly drops it at my side, narrowly missing my hip bone. “What the fuck?”
Bolt takes off from the room, leaving the door wide open.
“What’s...going...on?” I manage between small breaths.
“Reach into my right pocket. Can you get your hand in there?”
The angle is difficult, but with his hips bent, I manage to twist my wrist and slide my hand inside. My palm faces his thigh. “What am I looking...for?”
“Argh!” Reece groans and attempts to thrust the weights again to take the pressure off. “The handcuff key.”
Oh my god. I search deeper, shoving my fingers as far as they can go. I feel something hard against the tip of my middle finger, but I can’t quite reach it. The weight on my chest increases as Reece’s legs begin to fail.
“Almost.” I use my other hand to grab the material and push the pocket higher from the outside. I’m able to grip the key between my middle and index fingers. Slowly, I guide my hand out. “Got it.”
“You have to unlock my hands. I have to lower myself so you can reach.”
“Reece…I don’t think I can.” I glance at the door.
“She’s going to come back. You have to. You have to try.”
I feel like my ribs are about to crack under the three hundred and fifty pounds of pressure. “Let’s get some weight off you first.”
“There’s no time,” Reece whispers urgently, but there is time. There has to be because I can’t breathe like this for much longer. My fingertips start to feel numb.
I wrap my arm around the back of the weights where they rest against his abdomen. “Your legs will protect me from being crushed. On three, buck them off. I’ll guide them away from my face.” I wait for his nod. This is so stupid. If we don’t get the cuffs off before she returns, she’ll shoot me dead. Even then, she’ll shoot us both dead. “One...two...three.” On three, I yank the weights toward his knees as he uses his strength to thrust his hips. The weights crash to the ground beside me with a loud bang.
“Crap. I didn’t consider that!”
“The key, Dani. Get these fuckin cuffs off me.”
“Right.” I follow his arm to his wrist and use my fingers to locate the hole. At least handcuffs are something I’m well acquainted with. It doesn’t take me long to insert the key and release one of his hands. The other comes off just as easily, and the cuffs drop to the ground with a clatter.
Reece stands slowly as if he can’t make his muscles move quite right. Just as I get to work trying to find the end of the cable, Bolt thunders into the room with a crazed look in her eye. She stops short and cocks her head at Reece standing free.
“I only need one of you to get out of here alive.”
Reece holds both hands up with his palms facing her. “Just let us go, Bolt. We won’t tell anyone about what happened here.” His voice is steady. I try to keep my movements subtle as I work the tie on the cable around my waist. My trembling fingers struggle to loosen the knot. Damnit, we didn’t come this far to die now.
She waves the gun between the two of us and gives a delirious snort. “The game is over! The entire police force is outside.”
My heart bangs against my sore ribs. They’ve found us? Reece glances back at me, and the same hope I feel is reflected in his eyes. One of the knots slips free, and I pull it through gently. It feels like I have two more to go.
“We can distract them,” Reece says with a calm and commanding voice. “Let us out the front, and you can sneak out the back.”
“You’re fucking stupid if you don’t think they have the entire house surrounded.”
A banging sound comes from farther into the house as if to prove her point. Oh my god, they really are here. I tear at the knot harder. My brittle nails bend and rip down to the skin. The pain isn’t enough to stop me as the second knot loosens.
“Killing us all isn’t going to save you,” Reece tries again. He needs to keep her distracted so I can get free and help.
“I only need to kill one. The question is, who makes a better hostage.”
“Keeping us both alive is your best shot,” Reece argues.
“That was never the plan, pretty boy. And unfortunately for you, the cop is the better bargaining chip.” Bolt takes aim at the center of Reece’s face.
Reece takes a hesitant step back. He’s so close that I could touch him, but his movement provides the perfect cover to push the cable off my waist right as the last knot comes undone.
“I’m the brother of a cop.”
Listening to Reece bargain for his life tears my insides to shreds. We can’t go down like this.
“Not good enough,” Bolt spits.
“Westbridge Police! We have the house surrounded!” A new, booming voice echoes through the chamber that’s kept us hostage for more than a month.
“Time’s up, Reece.”
I lunge to my feet. I have to push him out of the way. The movement is enough to startle Bolt, and at the last second, she aims the gun at me. I don’t even notice the twitch of her finger before a white-hot, searing pain blasts through my left shoulder and upper chest. The pain radiates into my neck and down my side. I didn’t even make it fully upright before I’m falling back down and crashing into the concrete.
The sound of my name ripping from Reece’s lips fills the space. He doesn’t spare me more than a glance before he’s diving headfirst into Bolt’s upright body. She screams as his arms enclose around her torso and drag her to the ground. The gun slips from her grip and launches over both of their heads in the opposite direction of me. There’s no way to get up and grab it. Not that I could after being shot.
A warm stream of blood flows from the wound. I’m thankful it’s not a torrent, but the sight turns my stomach. I feel myself grow peaked as my vision swims. Through the blur, I can make out Reece straddling Bolt, unintelligible sounds floating around us. His elbow swings back before flying forward. Footsteps pound rhythmically like a drumbeat. Or maybe that’s the sound of his fist.
We did it, I think through the fog descending on me. I provided enough distraction to save Reece.
Someone shouts his name. The first true signal of our rescue. Other people’s voices.
“You’re going to kill her!” the voice says. Are they talking about me?
My eyes flutter shut.
“Dani!” The sound of Reece roaring my name forces my lids open again. Blurred faces peer down at me. Wires are attached to my arms and chest. A prick stings my arm. Suddenly, our quiet room is too loud. Too crowded.
“Let me at her. Don’t fucking touch me!” Reece bellows, sending my heart rate into a frenzy. I don’t want to be apart.
Please don’t take me away from him.
“Don’t take her away from me!” That’s the last thing I hear Reece say before I slip beneath the surface.
26
Reece
The center of the barrel is aimed at the middle of my face. A gunshot from this close would kill me in an instant. Self-preservation has me taking a narrow step away even though my subconscious yells at me to remain strong. Taking any heat from me means Dani will be the one in the direct line of fire, and that can’t fucking happen.
“I’m the brother of a cop.” I throw out, realizing belatedly to my own ears it sounds as if I’m begging for my own life and not Dani’s. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I blink slowly and suck in a breath through my nose, using the second of silence to calm my racing heart. Rage rips through me like an electric shock from a live wire. We can’t go down like this. Dani can’t go down like this.
“Not good enough,” Bolt spits.
The sound of the police announcing their arrival is the signal of the end.
Shoot me, I think to myself. I straighten my spine and stand tall, not about to die at her hands like a coward.
“T
ime’s up, Reece.”
Knowing what’s coming, I force my gaze steady on hers, the two crazed jewels barely visible beyond the weapon aimed at my forehead. A shuffle sounds behind me. The only indication of movement before the crack of the weapon firing reverberates around the concrete space.
“Dani!” I roar, whipping around in time to see her hit the floor with a hole in her shoulder. Her eyes meet mine for a second before I tear them away. Every inch of me begs to turn around and run to her. To gather her in my arms and staunch the flow of dark red from her body until help arrives. The desperation works to propel me in the opposite direction. I can’t help her until we’re safe.
Bolt has the gun raised, the glint in her eye revealing she wants to finish Dani off. I slam bodily into her torso and catch her off guard. Her greed to kill one or both of us obstructed the fact I’m not going down without a fucking fight. Encasing her in my arms, I take her down to the ground.
Her head cracks off the concrete floor. She screams in my ear, the sound only further fueling my need to take from her what she’s taken from Dani and me. The gun flies from her hand and clatters loudly in the opposite direction. I hope Dani’s close enough to grab it for defense in case this doesn’t go my way and I wind up dead. At least then, my effort will be worth the loss of my life. She’ll have a chance to survive.
I straddle the thin body beneath mine while revulsion snakes through my veins. No longer bright and greedy, her eyes plead with terror and fear. My fingers itch to close around the narrow, flimsy column of her throat, and who am I to deny myself such after the torture she’s inflicted on us?
I relish the first crack of cartilage and sinew. My right hand sits above my left, and I squeeze in both directions. Her garbled gasp slips inside me and fuels my wrath. My fingers crush her throat with as much mercy as she showed us the last however many days locked in her captivity.
Her feet slide without purchase. The buck of her hips is no match for my weight, even if I am a slimmer man than the one who arrived. As she claws at my skin covering my forearms, her nails pierce my flesh. She’s spilled my blood for the last time. With a grunt, I pull back and drive my fist into the center of her face, the impact forcing her head to the side. The crunch of bone sends satisfaction through me before I grip her throat again, doubling my efforts.
“I promised.” I bring my face closer to her mottled purple one and hiss to be heard above the sound of pounding footsteps. “The next time I got my hands around your fucking throat, I wouldn’t let go.”
Her bloodshot eyes widen before they roll back into her head. Her efforts to throw me off cease. The crazed need inside me that begs for retribution holds me captive. I can’t let go.
“Reece!” someone shouts, but I’m too far gone. I have to make sure she’s dead.
“You’re going to kill her!” he says.
That’s the fucking point, I think to myself.
Hands grab at me. Strong hands. I flinch from the contact.
“Don’t touch me,” I snarl. “Dani!” I have to help her before anyone else hurts her.
“It’s me, Reece. It’s Niko.”
“Stay away from her!” I drop the lifeless neck from my grip and jump to my feet. Or try. My knees crash into the concrete floor instead. “Dani!” I call out again. People surround her. Men with black jackets and white shirts form a barrier between us.
“Let me at her. Don’t fucking touch me!” I bellow into what feels like an empty void. Someone fucking listen to me!
More hands reach for me to hold me back, but I crawl forward to evade them. I throw elbows behind me as a defense and score a victory when someone grunts in pain. I shove one knee forward before I’m taken to the ground from behind. A blinding rage flares to life, and I hit the ground with a pained groan. Something pricks my arm.
“You’re okay, Reece,” Niko reassures. My vision begins to swim as unconsciousness looms.
“Don’t take her away from me!” I shout, but nobody’s listening.
“Dani,” the soft plea falls quietly from my lips as I fall into oblivion.
27
Reece
After swinging my legs over the side of the hospital bed, I pause and look up when the door opens. Niko only hesitates for a brief second before he’s striding across the room, his scowl firmly in place.
“What in the hell are you doing?” he barks. “Get your ass back in bed.”
“Screw off,” I grumble and yank the IV line to give me more room to get off the bed. When my feet touch the floor, and I stand, a wave of dizziness hits, and my vision blurs.
“Goddammit, Reece.” Niko grabs my arm to steady me before I land on my ass.
Closing my eyes, I sit back on the bed. I just need to rest for a minute, then I’ll be okay.
“I need to see Dani,” I tell my brother. Even to my own ears, my voice comes out weak.
Cracking open my eyes, I look at Niko. He looks almost as bad as I feel. His hair looks like he hasn’t brushed it in a week, his face is gaunt, and if I had to guess, he hasn’t been sleeping well.
“You look like shit warmed over,” I inform him.
He grunts. “That’s what happens when your brother is abducted and held for thirty-three days.”
I grit my teeth at the reminder. Thirty-three days. It felt more like six months.
“Help me up. I need to get to Dani.” Setting my hands on the mattress, I try again to get up, but I’m waylaid when Niko pushes me back down.
“Let me the hell go!” I raise my voice and begin fighting him when he tries to push me down again. “Dani!” I yell, becoming frantic. The last time I saw her, she was sprawled out on the floor in the room we were kept in. All I can see is the blood seeping out underneath her, and her long, matted black hair spread out around her.
“You’re not in any condition to go anywhere. Lie back down, you stubborn fucker.”
I grab his shirt and yank him forward. His eyes widen at the look in mine. I’m sure I look crazy at the moment, but that’s what happens when the woman you love is shot, and you don’t know the condition she’s in.
I glare at him. “Either help me or I’ll fucking do it myself,” I growl, then shove him backward.
“Fucking hell, Reece,” Niko growls. “They just moved Dani to recovery after surgery. If you’ll give me a fucking minute, I can tell you her condition.”
That gives me pause, and panic starts to set in. “She needed surgery?” I croak.
Was Bolt’s shot more serious than I originally thought?
“Calm down. It was a shoulder hit,” Niko says. “She needed surgery because the bullet shattered her collarbone. She’s fine and should be coming out of the anesthesia soon.”
Another wave of vertigo hits. “What in the hell is wrong with me?”
“The EMTs gave you a sedative when you wouldn’t stop fighting them to get to Dani.” He flicks the IV line with his finger. “You’re also dehydrated, malnourished, and weak from lack of exercise. And the marks on your back are infected.”
“Fuck,” I wheeze, slumping over when fatigue saps all of my energy.
“Now, will you get back in the bed?”
“No,” I grunt. “I want to see Dani.” Fuck my injuries and my weak body. Dani is the only thing that matters right now.
“Jesus,” Niko mutters in exasperation. “You can’t even stand without falling over. How in the hell are you going to go see her in your condition?”
“I’ll manage. Or you could get me a wheelchair.”
Niko’s jaw muscles twitch. “I’ll talk to a nurse in a minute about you going to see her. But only if you get back in bed and after you listen to what I have to say.”
Every fiber of my being is demanding I be taken to her now, but I pause in my pursuit to get out of bed. Niko looks seconds away from calling the doctor, who will no doubt administer another sedative. The last thing I need is more medication. I want a clear mind when I go see Dani. Or as clear as it’s going to get at the moment.
With reluctance, I lie back down carefully. I hold in a wince when pain shoots through my back.
Niko untangles the IV line from the blankets and places the blanket back over my legs. He hands me a cup with a bendy straw, and it’s not until then that I realize how dry my mouth is. I grab the cup, foregoing the straw, and take several big gulps of the cold liquid.
“How did you find us?” I ask, handing the cup back to him.
He takes it and sets it back on the table, then slides a chair closer to the bed. He leans over, placing his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together between them. I look at the top of his bent head.
“Niko!” I bark.
When he lifts his head, pain slams inside my chest at the tormented look in his eyes. Dani and I both lived in a nightmare for over a month. Niko, and I’m sure my parents, went through their own form of hell. For Niko, though, it was much worse because he’s already been through this with Aislin.
He doesn’t say anything for several moments, his eyes simply moving all over my face. I let him have his time.
When he does speak, his voice comes out rough as though he’s having trouble forming the words.
“It was actually through Aislin that we found you. We would have eventually ourselves, but Aislin sped things up.” His eyes turn hard as he moves them away and stares off into space. “One of the tech guys at the station found a video feed of you and Dani in a room. Something about the room triggered something, but I couldn’t place it. It wasn’t until Aislin walked in and saw the feed, and she recognized it from the years she spent in the same room.”
“Fuck.” I close my eyes. “I knew it was the same house because Bolt told us. It couldn’t have been easy on Aislin seeing it again.”
His eyes meet mine. “It wasn’t at first. She had a mini panic attack, but when she realized you and Dani were being kept there, she amazed me once again when she managed to pull herself out of it. Even so, I had her call her therapist for a telehealth appointment.”
“I’m sorry she had to go through that.”