by Weil, J. L.
Now, as I found myself in a modern day dungeon, those three little words I longed to hear didn’t seem as important as just being close to him, or keeping him safe for once.
Mrs. Deen’s haunting green eyes captured mine. “It will be worse if you fight them. Worse for you both.”
Both.
I got dizzy and sunk back down on the bed with my head between my legs. Both. Echoed over and over again in my head, and the tribal mark on my hip went tingling.
Chase and I.
This wasn’t just about me. Duh. I was just bait, the booby prize. What they really wanted was Chase.
And that wasn’t something I was willing to give up, not to save my own neck, not even to spare my own mother from the pain of losing me. Chase had already done so much for me. I owed him this and so much more. My only regret was I wouldn’t be able to see his face one last time, kiss those heavenly lips good-bye.
A single tear ran down my cheek. I didn’t even have the energy to wipe it away. Why bother?
She left shortly after that, locking the metal door behind her and submerging me to darkness. As soon as I heard the click, I lost it, like going-out-of-my-mind-koo-koo. Throwing myself against the door, I beat my fist on the immoveable door, screaming for her to help me. For anyone to help me. Begging someone to help me. With a fiery, swollen throat and now cut and bleeding fists, I sank to the stony floor, weeping uncontrollably.
And to think I thought I’d already wasted all my tears, but here they came again. I’d be dehydrated in no time. How much puffier and red could a person’s eyes get? I probably looked like an over rip raspberry.
Wracking with sobs, I couldn’t help wonder if she was as much a prisoner as I was? And honestly I sat there, bawling my eyes out speculating if her situation was direr than mine. She was living with the enemy, sleeping with the enemy, nurturing the enemy.
I on the other hand, had the bitchin-of-all-half-demons on my side. And you can’t forget the little tidbit that we were soulbond. If anyone was going to come out of this predicament, it was going to be me.
Fact.
Now I just had to start believing it.
What worried me most was not if I would be rescued, but what could happen to Chase. The longer we were apart, the weaker we both became. So that meant my part demon better-half wouldn’t be at full capacity either.
That plain out sucked some serious ass.
Somehow I ended up falling asleep. My body was fried worse than a blistering Malibu sunburn. I had no idea how long I was out, but I woke up instantly alarmed with a hair curdling feeling chasing over my skin. My body went rigid as I lain as still as possible, listening.
I definitely wasn’t alone.
Gathering enough courage to open my eyes, I saw a glint of something shiny. Confusion clouded my brain as I slowly recalled this terrifying horrible dream I had. But when eyes focused on a face that looked an awful a lot like Emma’s dad, my heart plummeted.
He was leaning against the wall peeling a red apple with a very sharp and dangerous looking knife. Dressed to the hilt in black cargo pants, black t-shirt, and black combat boots, he looked like he had just finished an operative mission. All that was missing was a smear of black war paint under the eyes. Something told me he probably had gallons of the stuff in his garage. If he was going for the whole intimidation route, it was totally working.
I was quaking in my fuzzy socks.
Closing my eyes, I tried to pull myself together before I fell apart, which was the exact last thing I wanted to do in front of him. I didn’t want him to think that I was weak, or that I was going to break easy. I wanted to be brave, strong, and indifferent to his sick little games.
Now if I could only pull it off.
I had faced demons, hellhounds, and the school bully, one round with Emma’s dad should be a piece of cake. If there was one thing I knew about myself, it was that fear often made my tongue only that much sharper. I was counting on it.
“I was wondering how long you were going to feign sleep.” His voice gave me the heebie jeebies. Big time.
I blinked. “Geez, Mr. Deen, I was wondering how long you were going to hold me against my will. It’s a felony you know, kidnapping and whatnot. A pretty serious crime.” Emma’s dad scared the ever-loving-crap out of me. I was proud that I’d been able to control my voice, keep the shaky feeling from surfacing, because inside I was shivering in my sparkling converses.
His green eyes sharpened. I don’t think he expected me to call it for what it was. Super duber illegal. “Let’s skip the formalities shall we? Considering you and I are going to be spending quite a lot of time getting to know one another. Call me Eric”
“I think I’ll just call you like I see it. You’re nothing but a filthy criminal. A bastard.”
“Emma warned me you had tongue as sharp as a razor. Doesn’t surprise me since the kind of company you prefer. It’s no wonder you are rotten inside. They’ve poisoned you.” He cut a huge hunk of the apple with his hunting knife. “Poisoned your humanity,” he said, pinning me with his hateful gaze.
It was ten times as potent as Emma’s. I dug my nails into my palms to keep from shuddering under his spiteful scrutiny. This guy was off his friggin’ rocker. My humanity? I couldn’t be held accountable for what I said or did next. “What are you, a cult leader?”
The jagged blade moved to his lips with a slice of apple at the end. He ate the piece of fruit right from the tip of the knife. “What I am Angel…” his voice got scary low, and his eyes looked wild and crazed. “Is a savior.” He tossed the rest of the uneaten apple across the tiny room. It hit the solid wall with a juicy crack.
I jumped, sitting up at the end of the bed. He was only feet in front of me, leaning on the concrete blocks. Yikes. Someone had anger issues. His levels of weirdness just went beyond acceptable. “Why am I here?” I demanded, skipping the formalities. We were way past that now.
He gave an uncanny short chuckle. “You are going to get me what I’ve been pursuing for years.”
His mood swings were giving me whiplash. Yep, I was right. He was a total goner, a raving lunatic. Emma so needed to have a daddy dearest committed. ASAP. “What makes you think I would ever help you?” I didn’t even attempt to hide my disgust of him.
“You and I both know that you will help me.” His eyes darted to the four walls of my cell, smirking. “Really, what choice do you have?” The cockiness in his voice had me wanted to bitch slap him. It wouldn’t be the first time that I slapped a monster.
Or probably the last.
My hand trembled.
“There is nothing you can do or say that would make me give up my friends. I’d rather die,” I vowed.
He moved so fast, I didn’t notice the danger until it was pressed against my throat. The blade in his fingers dug into my exposed neck at the same time he spun me around in some kind of head lock. I felt the tip pierce my exposed flesh, nicking it. Droplets of blood began to trickle down my throat. “Well that can be arranged.”
My upper lip broke out into a cold sweat as I fought to stay conscious. Plain sliced through me. It might have only been a tiny gash, but in my present state of fear, it felt like he had cut a major artery.
This was it. My life flashed before my eyes, which was like déjà vu. Snapshots of all the faces I loved played through my head. My mom. Lexi. Travis. Chase.
I half-laughed, half-choked. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”
He backed away, a hint of surprise in his evil green eyes. “I’ll give you some time to think it over.”
“When Chase finds me, he is going to tear you to shreds,” I spat, fueled by anger and fear.
A glint of anticipation lit in his green eyes. “I look forward to it.”
I snorted. “Go to hell.”
He tsked his tongue “You first.” And then the door slammed in my face with the force of a typhoon.
His departure left me itchy and antsy. This place was getting under my skin, and my face-to-
face with Dr. Evil left an acidic taste in my mouth. I needed a release for all this emotion turning inside. I was going to explode.
For all the good it did me, I screamed bloody murder, releasing a buildup of frustration, anger, distress, and hopelessness. It was just a brutal reminder that my voice was hoarse, and my throat felt like I’d had a run in with a weed whacker. Discouraged beyond belief, tears stung the back of my eyes, and I raged with hatred for that man.
He was going to pay.
Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday he was going to get what was coming to him. Karma was supposed to be a bitch after all.
With nothing else to do, I laid back down on the cold metal bed. Curled in a ball with watery eyes, my muscles screamed in agony. I listened to the silence, dead air buzzing in my head. Letting myself relax after being wound so tight, everything, everywhere hurt. But it wasn’t just the physical aches, I hurt inside as well.
Fiddling with my bracelet around my wrist, I thought of Chase. His voice filtered through my thoughts, and I pictured his blazing silver eyes. His lopsided stupid grin. His annoying pierced brow.
Minutes turned to hours. Hours into days.
And he never returned. But his wife did, delivering food.
Honestly, I didn’t know if I’d been holed up in this prison for a day or for a month. I spent most of the time flip-flopping between being angry that Chase hadn’t come for me yet and being relieved that he hadn’t found me.
I also was getting weaker by the hour. The giant hole in my chest grew and grew. Just thinking of him made the pain tighten. Knowing Chase, he was probably ridden with guilt. His anger levels would be extremely dangerous, and he would soon be uncontrollable.
As much as I was worried about my own situation, I was even more concerned about him. I thought about home and how right now I longed for a hot shower. My own bed.
Those were my last thoughts as I dozed off into some form of unconsciousness.
Half-asleep, half-zombie I heard the sounds of scraping of metal on concrete but in my present state, it took longer to register that someone had opened the door. My name whispered through the darkness in a voice that turned my stomach.
Emma dared show her face.
I pried my eyes open, rubbing the sleepy goop from them, praying that I was having a nightmare within a nightmare. It was hard to tell at first whether my eyes were open or not, distinguishing between the darkness of the room and sleep became increasingly difficult.
“Angel!” the pesky voice called again more forceful.
“Go away,” I groaned.
“Dammit Angel, we don’t have time for this,” she snapped impatiently.
Damn. That was very real. Very Emma.
And what the heck was her deal? All I had was time. “What are you doing here?” I mumbled somewhat inaudible, sounding like I was drunk. I figured she was here to gloat. Searching the black room, I found her bright green eyes flashing at me in annoyance.
And I thought here it comes. A tiny smirk lifted at the corner of her peachy lips. “What does it look like? I’m saving your sorry ass.”
Chapter 23
Excuse me. What?
I bolted from the bed to my feet so fast my head swirled in circles. Probably not the best move when I was feeling like utter crapola. “Why?” I asked genuinely confused. She had done nothing but try to kill me since she’d set foot back into town.
“Do I need a reason?” she countered, sounding annoyed. “Now get your hybrid butt moving, unless you like it here?”
I ignored her sharp tongue and the need to lash back. “I don’t understand.” Why the hell was I arguing? Just go with it, a part of me said. The other part didn’t trust Emma. She was more likely to stab me in the back than rescue me.
She huffed. “Look mutant. I don’t have time for this. We only have one shot here, and we are losing precious time arguing. Later we can play the fifty questions game, after we get out of here. Capiche?”
I nodded, tongue-tied and in shock.
I was afraid to believe this was real and not another trick. “You better not be shitting me,” I warned, finding my tongue. It never left me for long.
She had her head out the door peering down the hallway. Looking over her shoulder at me, she placed a finger on her lips, signally that I should shut my trap.
Done.
With my breath held, I wiped my sweaty palms on my dingy jeans and waited for her next move, not knowing what it would be. I half expected her dad to coming charging into the room and yell gotcha. So when she stepped outside the door and motioned for me to go, I was swarmed with relief.
“Move your ass!” Emma demanded, with no lost love, or sympathy for that matter. I got the message loud and clear. It just wasn’t my butt on the line. It was hers as well. She was after all going behind her wacked-out-of-his-mind father’s back and helping me escape this hellhole.
I screwed up my face at her. “You are the worst rescuer ever,” I muttered. I tried to keep reminding myself that she was sticking her neck out, risking being beheaded, but her attitude was making it difficult.
Though really, I shouldn’t talk.
My boldness was quickly replaced with fear. I was so scared, I thought I would hurl. It didn’t help that I was weak, malnourished and running on pure adrenaline. I was surviving on a thin thread of hope and seeing Chase’s striking face one more time. He was gorgeous in a way that made girl’s do stupid things. After that I didn’t care what happened, actually I was pretty sure I would crumble at his feet and hit the ground like a dead horse.
Letting Emma take the led, I ran behind her. We barreled through a set of double doors at the end of one hallway only to open up to another endless corridor. Racing for my freedom never looked so far away. I ran like I was running for the last copy of Black Ops III.
She often glanced over her shoulder to make sure I was still there. My heart pounded in my ears, and my breathing was ragged with excursion. This was the most exercised I’d had in days and my body wasn’t up to par, but I pushed on. There was no other choice, yet that didn’t mean I did so gracefully.
Stumbling, my knees hit the concrete as I face planted the floor.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The pain radiated through my entire body, stinging my eyes. It knocked the wind out of me for a few prolonged seconds, making it hard to inhale and exhale. A pair of strong, sturdy arms lifted me to my feet. Emma kept an arm under me, supporting most of my weight. I leaned heavily on her. “Thanks,” I said winded.
Her eyes caught mine. “You can thank me after I get us out of here. You okay?”
I nodded, feeling our window of opportunity swiftly closing behind us.
Without wasting anymore time, we took off together down the maze of never ending hallways. Since this was the first time I’d really been out of my room, I noticed how huge this place was. Some kind of headquarters was my guess. There were what looked to be offices and more closed doors that I was afraid to ask what was behind them.
When we reached yet another set of doors, Emma punched in a code and kicked it opened. I didn’t really want to admit it, but Emma was sort of kickass.
Blinded by sunlight, I squinted, trying to clear my vision unsuccessfully. Somehow I’d expected it to be after midnight, not in the middle of the day. A brisk wind tore through the air as I took my first steps outside. Shaking inside and out, the breeze rushed over my cheeks and the clean air burned my nose, in a good way. My eyes strained against such brightness and white orbs shined behind my eyes.
I didn’t get to enjoy my first seconds of freedom long. Emma was right there nagging me relentlessly in her pushy voice. “Hurry. We need to bust ass. We aren’t home free yet princess.”
It was unbelievable how she had the ability to rile me even as she was helping me – an uncanny talent. Wobbling as fast as possible across the parking lot, I winced with each step, my bruised and battered knees screaming at me. I sighed in sweet relief when a few short feet later we turned t
he corner of the white brick building and stopped.
I stared our getaway, the same midnight blue SUV that had tried to run Lexi and me off the road. I gave a short laugh. Of course. What irony.
“I don’t know what you find so hilarious, but I swear if you are losing your mind now, I’ll smack you,” Emma growled.
I chewed my bottom lip, biting back a retort. She had to be just as tired as I. She had done most of the work after all.
Whipping open the passenger door, she helped me in. I say help, but it was really more like boosted. Scrambling around the car, she hopped into the driver seat and roared the car to life. “Buckle up. We’re in for a bumpy ride.”
I hoped she wasn’t being literal, because that escape had wiped me out. I was dying for some caffeine. Starbucks. Hmm. My mouth watered.
I must have made a noise or something, because Emma barked, “Get your head out of the clouds. We still need to make it through the gate before we do a victory dance.”
I didn’t know about her, but I was most definitely not in the mood to dance. However, I was worried about the massive chain gate we were headed full throttle for. “Do you have a plan for that?” I asked, shifting restlessly in my seat.
“Yeah.” She punched the gas pedal in her SUV. “You’re wearing your seatbelt right?”
“Uh-huh.”
She never took her gaze off the road. “Good, because it is about to get...rough.”
I guess it had been literal. Emma’s plan was going to kill us. Wasn’t that a laugh? I was going to die not in captivity, but during the rescue. Gripping the oh shit handles in the SUV, I braced myself for what I knew was coming.
Emma steered the SUV straight for the locked chained gate at full speed. I was afraid to look at the speedometer, better I not know what insane speeds she was driving. The impact was nothing you could prepare for, and I’ve been in my fair share of car accidents, mind you they have all been since I moved to Spring Valley.
It threw me forward, the seatbelt stretched against my chest painful, and then I was tossed jarringly back against the seat. I felt my head snap back and the sound was deafening, but the SUV barreled through like a tank.