by Amy Braun
Think about Dro, I told myself. You have to get out of here if you’re going to find her.
“That was for my son,” Emilio said. “At first, I was skeptical of your relationship. Then I saw how much he loved you. It was beautiful to see him that way, with that glow only young lovers have. But you crushed him, Constance. You took that beautiful piece of him, and you ravaged it. I never thought you would be so selfish.”
I dragged my arms across the bottom of the tub. The move was sluggish. I thought about my sister’s face, turned my will into strength. I didn’t want to die. I wasn’t going to die. I pressed my fingers together and tugged my arms apart as far as they would go. The ropes bunched with tension, but there was more give than before. I compressed my fingers and pulled up, feeling the binds slide off my wrists, catching on the top of my knuckles–
Emilio put the wire in the water directly next to my head.
While my body went completely taut, a sharp buzzing filled my ears. It sounded like a thousand angry bees zipping through the water. I completely forgot about the noise when the pain started again.
It raced down my body like a wildfire, turning my nerves into lightning bolts. My entire head felt like it was being punched nonstop. My heart turned into a whip, cracking against my ribcage. Even my bones were aching.
A static buzz snapped along my skin. I was shaking worse than ever, every shiver sending a wave of pulsing agony through my body. Tears were flowing down my cheeks, completely out of my control. My head was spinning the way it did when I was about to pass out.
“That was for taking all the gifts I gave you, all my trust and respect, and throwing them away. I believed in you, Constance. I should have known better.”
He leaned over the tub and grabbed my throat, lifting me up. I winced and let out a hoarse cry as he half dangled me out of the tub. Water dripped from my hair into the tub, the only other sound besides my raspy breathing. Emilio was inches away from my face now. I smelled the musky rose cologne he always wore, and saw the ferocious contempt in his eyes.
“Don’t go unconscious now, Constance. I’m only getting started with you. That was five minutes. You have at least fifty-five more to go.”
Despair filled me. I couldn’t take one more minute of that pain, let alone a full hour. No one was going to save me. No one would take pity on me. I don’t know what else Emilio had planned for me, but it would be worse. I couldn’t stand to think about anything more horrible than this.
Don’t you dare think it, Connie, my sister’s voice said sharply. Don’t you dare give up. Get out of here. Survive. I can’t do this without you.
That was what my sister would say if she knew what was happening to me. She was out there, alone and scared and worried half to death. Isabel and the Blood Thorns were looking for her. I didn’t know if she’d made it to the warehouse. I hoped she did– I told her exactly where it was the night of the massacre, and Dro knew the city as well as I did– but anything could have happened. I had to find her and make sure someone else hadn’t captured her along the way. And if they did, I had to find them and show them exactly how big a mistake they made.
Just like that, all the rage I’d been holding in began to rise. It filled my body the same way the electricity had. I thought about everything I’d done under Emilio’s orders. The people I’d beaten and killed. Raymond, Horatio, the man who’d turned on Emilio, the three men he’d shot in front of me, the victim I’d watched Blood Thorns dismember. I thought about what he was putting me through now, how he didn’t think I would survive it.
Then I snapped.
I swung myself back toward the water. Emilio’s grip was so tight on my throat that his arm slid down with me, splashing into the water. He threw the wire away before he could be electrocuted with me. I bent myself in half, my knees knocking Emilio in the head. He grunted and jerked his hand off me, his skull crashing into the side of the tub with a metallic thunk.
While he was dazed, I gave the ropes one more violent tug. I nearly dislocated my wrists, but I pulled them out of the loops. I punched up, catching Emilio in the face. I did it again, and again, then twisted so I was squished up against the far wall. I kicked with both my feet, catching him directly in the nose. Cartilage crunched inward, blood gushing out on either side of my boots.
Emilio tumbled out of the tub. I pushed myself onto my knees and rolled out of the container. I landed hard on Emilio. The movement knocked the air from his lungs, but I was gasping for breath, too. My limbs felt heavy, aching from pain and aftershock. I crawled on top of him, pinning him with my weight since I couldn’t do it with my hands. I used my free hand to punch him in the face over and over. Each impact sent a stinging shock through my torn wrists, but I didn’t stop. I knew that if I stopped, he wouldn’t toy with me anymore. He would kill me swiftly, efficiently, and brutally.
His nose broke and his lip split under my fist. Once I was sure he was disoriented, my fumbling hands felt around his jacket. I took out his handgun and grabbed his pocketknife. I cut the binds off my ankles. I pressed the pocketknife to his throat.
“You can’t call for help before I cut your throat open, so don’t try. Understand, my dear?”
Emilio stared at me, fury in his eyes and blood on his face. It dripped from his smashed nose into his teeth, staining them red.
“Good,” I said. “Now, this is what’s going to happen. You’re going to get up, and we’re going to walk out of here. Try anything, and I’ll have to choose between shooting you in the knee or stabbing you in the back. Both options appeal to me, so choose wisely.”
“You bitch,” he spat. “I’m not doing anything you say.”
“Oh yes you are,” I told him coldly. “Because if you don’t, I’m going to have to try out some of those tools on the table. I don’t know what I’m in the mood for, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”
I pressed the knife deeper into his neck, drawing a thin line of blood. “After all, you taught me so well, Emilio.”
He growled, looking like a wild animal instead of a man. But I caught the reluctance in his eyes. I stood up slowly, getting away from him and making sure he couldn’t attack me. I didn’t want him to see that I was tackling the last of my strength. I took out the gun and pointed it at him. It made me feel a little bit stronger. Emilio tightened his fists, his shoulders going up and down as he seethed. He was a live volcano about to explode. I had to be careful. I would only have one chance at escaping.
Finally, he turned and started walking for the door. I followed close behind him, keeping the gun at his back. I made sure he didn’t put his hands in his pockets to go for a phone or a radio. The last thing I needed was him calling for backup. I still didn’t know how to get past the guards that were going to be around the hacienda and in the parking lot.
One thing at a time, Constance, I thought to myself. Get out of the basement first.
When he was at the door, I pressed my back to the wall. I took out the pocketknife and pressed it to his neck. Emilio glared at me. I dug the gun barrel into his ribs.
“Tell the guards to get out of the hallway. Don’t try using any codes or eye signals. I know them all.”
Emilio peeled his lips back in a snarl, then slid the peephole open. The slot was only wide enough for the guards outside to see his eyes. They wouldn’t see the whole of his battered face and realize something was wrong.
At least, that was what I hoped.
“Sir?” I heard one of the guards say.
“You might as well take a break. I’ll be in here a while. The bitch is being a pain in my neck.”
Smart-ass.
Emilio slid the peephole shut after watching the guards walk down the hallway. He reached down and opened the door. I kept the knife and gun close to his neck and back. I checked down the hallway. There weren’t any Blood Thorns waiting to attack me. So far, so good.
Now we just had to get outside.
The basement was built like a dungeon. Half of the door
s were filled with supplies and wines. The other doors were connected to torture rooms and cells. The left half of the basement hallway led up into the hacienda. That was the exit I didn’t want to use. Not unless I wanted to walk into a mansion filled with gun toting gangsters and a pissed off, homicidal ex-boyfriend.
I turned Emilio to the right, leading him toward the cellar exit. I checked over my shoulder every once in a while, nudging Emilio to keep him moving. No one came running down the hall to see us, and soon we were on the steps. I pressed the barrel of the handgun to the back of his knee so he wouldn’t turn and push me down the stairs. Emilio fiddled with the lock until it was unlatched, then pushed open the door.
We walked out of the cellar, and were now outside standing on the grass by the side of the house. I kept the gun on Emilio and stayed behind his back. I pressed the gun into the base of his neck, glancing over his shoulder to make sure we were still out of sight. I tucked the knife into the belt loop of my jeans and reached into his suit jacket’s pocket to grab his car keys.
“I did train you too well,” Emilio grumbled.
“That’s your fault, not mine. How many guards are out here?”
“More than you have bullets for.”
I shoved the gun barrel into the back of his neck. “Then it looks like you have to be my meat-shield for a little while longer. Move.”
Emilio did as instructed, walking toward his car. I moved to his side, glancing back to check out the guards. There would be two at the front of the house, but the entire front gate had been removed. I must have really wrecked it, because it looked halfway through replacing.
Which was perfect for me. Once I was in his car, all I had to do was drive straight through. We were almost at Emilio’s black Lexus. I couldn’t see any other guards walking the grounds, and I was keeping to the tree line so the guards at the front of the house wouldn’t see us. A couple more feet and I could–
“Dad?”
Fuck! Fuck, fuck!
I wrapped my arm around Emilio’s neck and put the gun to his head. Mateo had just come out of the house. He stopped mid stride and squinted, trying to see me in the dark of the night. He finally made the connection, and a violent rage passed over his face.
“Let him go, you bitch,” my ex-boyfriend growled, reaching for his gun on his hip.
“Ah, ah, don’t do that, Mateo,” I warned as I pulled Emilio back with me. “I plan on letting him go, as soon as I’m in that car and driving out of here.”
He stopped going for the gun, resting his hand loosely at his side. His anger never dissipated. I bumped against the driver side door of the Lexus. Now came the tricky part– getting the car unlocked without someone fighting me.
“You’re not getting out of here,” Emilio said matter-of-factly.
“If you want to keep your head, you better make sure that I do.”
I loosened my hold on his neck and started fumbling at the door behind me. Which button unlocked the damn–
Emilio’s elbow drove into my stomach, pushing all the air out of me. I gasped and doubled over, just as he whirled around and slammed his fist into my jaw. I fell onto the grass, clinging to the gun for dear life. My ex-boss pounced on me and started beating the life out of me.
Punch after punch rained down on my chest and face. It wasn’t long before I was seeing stars and tasting blood. I gripped the gun and slammed it across Emilio’s face. He pitched to the side and fell off me. I sat up and shoved him away, kicking him hard in the ribs with the tip of my foot. I aimed the gun at Mateo, who was charging for us. I could hardly see, but I took a shot. Mateo suddenly bellowed and dropped to the ground, clutching his leg. I didn’t know if the bullet grazed him or went through his calf. I just hoped the pain would be enough to keep him down for a couple minutes.
I reached up and jammed the key into the car door. Screw the fancy buttons. It was an awkward angle, since I was shooting the gun with my right hand to keep the guards back and unlocking the car with my left. I kept twisting until I heard the door lock click. I stayed low when I yanked the door open and crawled into the driver’s seat. I slammed the door closed and slumped until I was basically lying on the floor of the car. I shoved the keys into the ignition and brought the car to life.
The door was suddenly wrenched open. Emilio stood over me, blood covering the lower half of his face. His hair was wild. He looked like a demon from Hell. He reached forward to grab me and pull me out of the car.
I didn’t hesitate. I lifted my gun a few inches higher until it was just under Emilio’s chin, and squeezed the trigger.
Bone and brain cracked through the top of his head, blood misting over his hair. Emilio stumbled back, stiff and awkward. Then he collapsed onto the ground. He didn’t get up again.
The heartbreaking scream kept me from driving away right then. I knew that voice. I had just taken the only thing Mateo had left in the world. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for my ex-boyfriend as he crawled to his father’s corpse, shaking his shoulders and crying his name.
My heart was in my throat, but I had to use the precious time I had to escape. I slammed the car door shut, put the car in gear, and sped for the gate.
Bullets cracked the back window. I stayed as low as I could, trying to keep the car straight. I was almost there, almost out–
A brutal pain punched into my right shoulder. I screamed at it, my grip slipping on the steering wheel. I nearly drove into the security booth, but wrenched the car back on track. I floored the gas and sped down the gravel road. I glanced in the rearview mirror.
Mateo was on his feet, holding a gun at the back of the car. His body was getting smaller and smaller the faster I drove. I couldn’t see his face, something I was enormously grateful for.
I didn’t look down at the gunshot wound until I knew the hacienda was behind me. Blood was pouring out of it. Way too much blood. The pain was excruciating, pulsing aggressively with every heartbeat. I took one hand off the steering wheel and pressed it to the wound. I kept pressure on it, but warm blood was still seeping through my fingers. It was hard for me to steer straight and I had to blink to keep my vision clear.
I’d finally done it. I’d escaped the Blood Thorns and survived. Now all I had to do was stay that way until I found my sister...
Chapter 15
It only took us almost two hours to make it down the hill. When we reached the bottom, I thought we had entered a dream.
The tall trees had thick trunks, their branches sagging under the weight of the healthy moss growing on them. Ferns and small clumps of green grass covered the forest floor. Pink, purple, and yellow wildflowers grew out of the heavy brush. The air was humid, but not uncomfortable. Everything smelled fresh and pure. Sunlight glittered through the treetops, shining through some of the trees like spotlights.
I didn’t deserve to be here. This forest, the Heaven Gate, it wasn’t meant to be touched by mortal hands, let alone bloodstained ones like mine. I shoved my hands in my pockets, keeping my eyes on the ground.
Not that it helped. The ground was just as gorgeous as the rest of the forest. The soil was fresh and soft under green grass. Tiny white flowers sprouted up in some areas. My scuffed combat boots looked blasphemous against the earth, and I was afraid to step anywhere. I didn’t want to harm this forest. It hadn’t done anything to me, and all this beauty ought to have been honored and preserved.
I looked over my shoulder at the rest of the group. Sephiel was in bliss, wandering around the forest and studying it. Recognition would cross his face every once in a while, like he was going back into a happy memory.
Warrick stared up at the trees like a little boy who was amazed at how tall they could grow. He touched some moss hanging over his head, a clever smirk playing on his lips. He ran his fingers through the moss, liking the feel of it. His eyes went back and forth over the branches above him, as if he was thinking about climbing them. Warrick finally noticed me staring at him and met my gaze
His eyes were elect
ric, identical to the color of the bright leaves around him. My heart stopped at the sight of them. Just as it got back on track, he smiled. It was the warm, playful, brilliant smile I’d become dangerously attached to. The one he didn’t give to anyone else.
Something went through his eyes when he saw me, a look that melted my heart and put a warm feeling in my stomach. I tried to smile, but I looked away instead. Gabriel said that this place was magical, literally and figuratively. There was no way to tell if Warrick was looking at me that way because he wanted to, or because the forest was playing tricks on me.
I turned my head to where Dro was standing with Max. They were next to a bush growing some ruby red dahlias. Most of them were opened in full bloom, but the kids were standing in front of one that wasn’t. Dro hesitated, then reached out and touched it.
The petals peeled open, the dahlia blossoming to life before their eyes.
Dro gasped happily, a huge smile coming over her face. My heart lifted at the sight of it. For a minute, she looked like the carefree little girl I grew up with. The one who would always trail after me when I wandered into the forest outside our camping spot at Owl Creek. We would come back covered in mud and grass stains, then give Mom a bouquet of wildflowers so she couldn’t get mad at us for getting dirty. Dad would roll his eyes and say we were worse than two boys. They would tell us not to do it again, but I never listened, and Dro would always want to see the new places we could explore.
Max said something that made Dro smile. She cupped his face and kissed him. I looked away and let them have their moment. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her so happy. It had been too long. These days, her smiles usually held traces of fear or worry, and sometimes rage. I would have given anything to make a time machine and take her back to when things were simple. When we were both innocent, and didn’t know what she was. When we hadn’t cared.
I trudged forward. I could have stayed in the clearing forever, but the longer we admired this place, the more motivation we would lose. I took out the bottle of Gabriel’s heavenfire. I focused on it, watching the flames twist under the glass. My heart drooped at the thought of what it would do to this place. I bit my tongue to keep my eyes from watering.