by A. M. Wilson
His knuckles turn white as he grips his hands together tighter. “I am too, but I’m also glad she was there, or we may not have made it in time to save you and Dani.”
“Wait. You said there was a video feed. How did you get access to the recording?”
His head falls forward again, and I watch with trepidation as his shoulders lift when he pulls in a deep breath. Anger and pain darken his eyes when he brings them back to me.
“It wasn’t a recording,” he states flatly. “It was a live feed streaming to a website.”
My blood runs cold at this news, and my voice is barely recognizable when I growl, “What?”
He nods, his eyes turning flinty. “The website is called Bolt’s Insidious Playground. From the looks of it, it appears to be a gathering place where people with certain… dark sexual tastes can watch live feeds of people being tortured. The IT team is working on uncovering all the details as we speak. The FBI has also been brought in.”
My throat convulses, and it takes massive effort to keep the bile from coming up. I grip the blanket in my fists, disgusted by what Niko is telling me. It’s one thing to know Bolt was watching Dani’s and my every move. It’s another to know other people out there were watching as well.
It takes me a moment to see past the red haze of anger and to form words, and even then, my voice comes out tight.
“I knew she had a camera in the room, but I thought it was to keep an eye on us and for her own sick game.”
“I’m sure that was part of it,” Niko says. “ Up until Aislin recognized the room and we found you and Dani, there’s been no leads on where Naomi Stone had you hidden.”
“Who’s Naomi Stone?”
“You know her as Bolt,” Niko answers. “I didn’t recognize her at first, but she also used the alias Juliet Freeman.” I watch as something indecipherable enters Niko’s eyes. “She was one of the people in the neighborhood I talked to a couple days after you disappeared. I was right fucking there in front of her. She was in my grasp.”
“Don’t put that shit on yourself, Niko,” I tell my brother. “She’s obviously good at what she does. She had both of us fooled. I’ve had many interactions with her as Juliet, and I never knew the type of person she was. Hell, she came by my house a few days before she took me, disguised as another woman. She was looking for her dog. I had no fucking clue it was Juliet.”
Blowing out a breath, some of the tension in Niko’s shoulders fades. No matter what I say, though, I know he will always carry some guilt. That’s just the type of person Niko is. Just like I’ll always blame myself for the pain I put Dani through when I fucked her over when we were teenagers. And just like I’ll always hate myself for the things I did to her while in Bolt’s captivity.
“Were they able to pull down the website?” I ask, putting us back on track.
“Yes, thank fuck. Both the techs at the station and the FBI are going through Naomi’s hard drive. They’ll be working on identifying the victims and the people who took part in their torture, including the bidders.”
“Is she dead?” My question comes out low.
“Yes. If it wasn’t for you choking her to death, the doctors say she probably would have died from the damage you did to her larynx when you crushed it.”
Niko’s answer does nothing to appease the white-hot anger still coursing through me. I swore the next time I got my hands around her throat, I’d choke her until she was no longer breathing. But Bolt’s death was too easy. She deserved to suffer more for what she put Dani and me through.
“The official report is that Naomi was already dead when the police arrived. You killed her in self-defense. Someone will be by in a while to take your statement.”
A grunt is my only reply. I know what he’s implying. There could very well be charges brought against me for strangling Bolt to death. To be honest, being arrested for killing her is the last thing on my mind. I’d take that crazy bitch out again in a heartbeat.
“I want to see Dani now.”
Niko gets up from the chair, telling me he’ll be back in a minute. I lie in bed and stare up at the ceiling, still coming to grips that Dani and I are finally out of that basement. The longer we were there, the less hope I had of being rescued. In the end, that hope was gone, and I really believed we would die in that room.
Minutes later, Niko enters the room with a nurse coming in behind him, pushing a wheelchair. She smiles as she stops the wheelchair beside the bed.
“I hear you’re pretty adamant about seeing Ms. Lawrence. I can sneak you in for a few minutes.”
I flip the covers off and gingerly sit up, swinging my legs to the side and making sure the flimsy gown I’m wearing doesn’t show my junk. I jerk my chin to the wheelchair. “I don’t need that.”
The nurse, an elderly lady who looks like she can’t weigh more than a hundred pounds, gives me a look Mom used to give us when my siblings and I were kids and would do something wrong. “Sorry, honey, but the only way you’re getting out of this room is in this chair.” She pats one of the handles.
I aim a scowl in Niko’s direction when I see the smirk on his face out of the corner of my eye.
“Whatever,” I mutter.
Niko comes over to help when I put my feet on the floor. I want to push him away and tell him I can do it myself, but then I realize just how fucking weak I am when my legs wobble.
Once I’m in the chair, the nurse turns it toward the door. Even with the weight that I lost, I don’t see how the old lady is strong enough to push me around, but she does an excellent job.
“Ms. Lawrence still hasn’t woken from the anesthesia,” she says as she expertly turns a corner. “Try to be as quiet as you can so you don’t disturb her.”
“Is it normal for her to still be asleep?” I ask, drumming my fingers on the armrest of the chair. “How long has she been out of surgery?”
“Only about twenty minutes, so she should be waking soon. Some people take longer to wake than others. There’s nothing to be worried about.”
“How…” I pause and have to clear my throat. “How bad were her injuries?”
The nurse stops just outside a door. “I can’t discuss that with you, but the doctor should be coming in soon, so you can talk with him.”
“Have her parents been in to see her yet?”
“No. They've been given her status, but we’re waiting for her to wake up before we bring them back.” She pushes the chair inside the room and stops me beside the bed. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to bring you back to your room.”
I feel rather than see her move away. When Niko walks up beside me, I yank my eyes away from the still form of Dani and look up at him.
“Give me a few minutes,” I say gruffly.
He nods. “I’ll have the nurse call me when you’re back in your room. Don’t take too long. Mom, Dad, and Tori are out in the waiting room wanting to see you.”
I jerk my chin up. I stop him after he takes a couple of steps away.
“Niko?”
He spins back to face me. “Yeah?”
“There’s something Bolt told us that you need to look into. She said that Clem Stewart told her the baby Aislin had while being held captive is still alive. She said he’s with a couple in Mayfield.”
The color drains from his face. “Are you sure?”
“I’m just repeating what she said.”
“How does she know Clem Stewart?” Niko asks.
“I’ll tell you about it later. I just wanted you to know about the child.”
He wipes his hand over his mouth, then nods. “Thank you.”
After he walks away, I turn back to Dani’s bed. With the bed being so high and my ass in the wheelchair, I can’t see her that well. Gripping the armrests on the wheelchair, I slowly get to my feet. My legs are still shaky, but I’ll be damned if they won’t hold me up so I can see Dani better.
My chest tightens when I get my first good look at her. Her face is gaunt and pale, which is n
othing new because it’s been that way for weeks now. She has a nasal cannula over her nose and wrapped over her ears. Her eyes are closed, her long black lashes resting against her slim cheeks. Her hair, despite the shower she said Bolt let her take, looks dull and brittle. The vise around my heart constricts when I see the bandage sticking out of her hospital gown.
Back in the basement, even though my attention was firmly on Bolt and her gun, I knew in my gut what Dani was going to try to do once she released herself from the cord. The whole time we were held captive, despite the animosity between us, we’ve both been trying to protect the other. I had no intention of letting Dani take the bullet intended for me. I have no doubt Dani would have tried to push me out of the way, which meant I was ready for that outcome and locked my body in place.
What I didn’t expect was for Bolt to move the gun to Dani.
I close my eyes, my mind playing the moment Dani was shot over and over again. I felt like I took a bullet to the heart when she was blasted back to the concrete, and blood started puddling around her. I don’t remember much after that. Only a fiery rage blistering my insides. Bits and pieces of me with my hands around Bolt’s throat come to mind. I wish I could relive every minute of taking her life.
My eyes travel down to Dani’s hand resting by her hip. Carefully, I pick it up and loosely lace our fingers together. They feel so slim and fragile, like the rest of her body.
Tears form in my eyes, and I let them fall. I came so close to losing her. So fucking close to never seeing her beautiful face again.
With my own hand shaking, I lift the back of hers to my lips. I keep my voice low when I say, “I hope you know, magnet, now that this is over, I’m never letting you go.”
28
Dani
I’m never letting you go.
The sound of his voice rouses me first. I blink my eyes against the weight of drugs holding me beneath the surface. Bright lights force them shut again before I’m able to look around. My dry throat burns with each breath. All of that is forgotten as a warm weight squeezes my hand.
“Dani,” Reece breathes my name with a holy reverence.
“Reece,” I croak, shocked to see him. A plastic cup of water appears in my eye line. He plucks the wrapper from the mouth of the straw and holds it near my lips. “Thank you.” The water feels like an icy river chasing away the dryness. I sit up suddenly as panic takes hold. The move sends a white-hot poker into my shoulder. “Where are we?”
“Shh. We’re out of there. You’re in the hospital.”
My wide-eyed gaze settles slightly as the words sink in.
“How are you feeling?”
The fuzziness in my head makes piecing together the events leading to this moment nearly impossible.
“I’m okay. My shoulder…” I suddenly remember the wound which must have landed me here.
Reece grunts beside me. “The doctor hasn’t been in yet. You just got through surgery.”
Surgery…
“That bitch.” A fire of retribution flares to life. “Where is she?” I’ll hunt her down in this damn hospital if I have to. As I move to push myself up again, my arm gives out before I can even get it under me.
“Settle, Dani. You’re going to hurt yourself more.” Reece’s tone is full of worry.
I whip my face in his direction and try to ignore the ache his stare gives me. “Is she here?”
“She’s dead,” he says with finality.
“Good.” My nostrils flare with my forced exhale. I need a minute to cool the ruckus of emotions provoked by thoughts of that monster.
Reece runs his fingers along the back of my hand, reminding me we’re still touching. I jump at the contact.
“Oh, sorry. Did I hurt you?”
I follow his gaze to the covering on my upper arm.
“A little,” I fib. As soon as the words leave my mouth, he jerks his hand back. Guilt settles like a stone on my empty stomach. I flick my remorseful gaze to the door.
“The doctor should be in soon to talk about your injuries. I just needed to see if you were okay.”
“Are you okay?” I throw the question back to avoid answering. Physically, I think I’m okay. My mental health might take a little longer to figure out. Having Reece staring as if he can see the very cracks beneath the surface unnerves me and makes it hard to sort the emotions for myself.
“I am now.”
I fidget with the warm blanket on my lap. “Are my parents here?”
Reece lifts his hand, seemingly to touch me, but it falls back down to the bed. “They are. Your sister too. Should I get them?”
I take in the state of him, a hospital gown matching mine and confined to a wheelchair. For the first time in what feels like a decade, I crack a teensy grin. “I think I’ll wait for the nurse to bring them.” He drops his head to take in his appearance and huffs a laugh of his own. The sound soothes a little bit of the ache while, at the same time, it opens one of the cracks. Vulnerability shines through. Suddenly, I want to be alone.
A nurse appears at the door as if an answer to my silent wish.
“Time to go back to your room.”
I flick my gaze back to Reece. He opens his mouth to put up a fight but thinks better of it. “I promise to come back later. I have some things to share that Niko told me.”
The no-nonsense nurse is already wheeling him to the door. I watch them go. The company was nice, but my real family is waiting to see me. I miss them. After what they’ve been through, they deserve to see me first. To discuss my injuries and recovery. To see for themselves that I truly am okay after what I’ve been through.
Reece can wait. My family has waited long enough.
I can’t formulate a response fast enough in my drugged-up mind before he’s through the door and disappearing down the hall. Something pinches in my chest the moment he’s out of sight, but I force it to the back of my mind. I have to. I can’t do this with him again. Reece belongs in a box inside my head. Letting him out of that box was a means of survival, but we did it. We survived. Now he needs to return to the place that keeps me from getting hurt by him.
The time to ponder thoughts about Reece is cut short by the arrival of my family. My parents look as if they’ve aged a decade in the time I’ve been gone. Even Madison appears older with dark circles beneath her eyes and her hair in a wild bun.
“Oh, Danica,” my mother cries, moving as fast as her weary body allows. I tuck her under my good arm and rest my chin on top of her lifeless, gray curls. My eyes lock onto my father’s over the top of her head. He leans heavily against his walker while taking the two of us in.
“Dad, sit down,” Madison instructs and gestures toward the lone chair in the room.
Ever the stoic man, he coughs quietly to hide his emotions and lets her push him into the chair.
“I can’t believe you’re alive,” Mom cries. She takes my face between both palms, and her watery eyes provoke tears of my own. I swallow them. I’ve held them in for thirty-three days. There’s no reason to let them out now.
“I’m okay.” I nod between her hands as I rush to reassure them. “I’m here. We made it.” My tone is flat.
“The news said the bitch is dead,” Madison adds.
“Madison!” Mom scolds while Dad grunts from his chair, more than likely in agreement with my sister.
My sister lowers herself to the foot of my bed and rubs my shin. My leg stiffens at the foreign contact, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “You can’t tell me you aren’t thinking the same thing, Mom.”
Mom dries her tears with the back of her hand. “Yes, well, I do my best not to cuss, but I can’t say she didn’t get what she deserved.”
“Damn right,” Madison mutters.
“I’m sorry.” I look my sister directly in the eye and hope she feels the depth of my apology.
“Whatever the hell for?”
“Madison!” Mom scolds again.
“I came here to help you, and all I managed was to
cause more pain,” I admit with remorse.
“Honey, no.” My sister moves around the bed to my injured side. The side Reece recently vacated. “That’s not on you.”
“We aren’t invalids, Danica,” Mom adds on.
“Dad can’t drive, and you can hardly see!” I shift my legs restlessly. The need to get out of this bed overwhelms me as a well of emotions opens up. The need to process everything at once engulfs me.
“The only thing you need to worry about is you.” Dad enters the conversation for the first time, his words measured and important.
“Right now is about you getting better. Whatever you need. We’ll get by just fine.” Mom pats the back of my hand. I let her get in about four taps before I subtly withdraw. Even though these people are my family, the scrutiny is becoming too much after a month of total seclusion from the outside world.
“I hired a coworker's daughter to help when you—you know—and she’s really worked out well. She does the shopping and meal preps, and drives Mom and Dad to appointments,” Madison says.
“I’m glad you found her,” I answer quietly. Madison hands over my glass of water, mistaking my rough voice for a dry one. “How are the kids handling this?”
Braden and Zoey were beyond excited Auntie Dani moved to town, and I can’t help feeling like I let them down as well.
“They’re okay. They miss you.” Madison gives a half-smile. “We shielded them from the worst of it, I think.”
We’re interrupted by a knock on the door. A woman in a white coat stands politely just inside. “Hello, Danica, I’m Dr. Toland.”
“Dani.” I correct her and take another sip of water.
Her gaze flicks through the faces of my family. “If you wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes. I’ll have a nurse come find you in the waiting room when we’re finished.”
“We’re her family,” Mom argues firmly.
Dr. Toland sweeps her scrutiny over my face. “Given the nature and extent of Dani’s ordeal, her privacy is most important.”
What she’s saying hits me square in the chest. Flashes of memories from my time in the basement assault me like a horror film. The things that were done to me. The things I was forced to do. The room feels devoid of oxygen as I replay the shameful images.