by Ann, Bry
“I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“You have fire, tabib żagħżugħ.”
Silence. Be silent, Isla. Just live through this.
“Wanna know why you’re here, little girl? Wanna know why I’m gonna take you back to my room and decide what to do with you there?”
I ignore the taunt and nod my head meekly. “Yes.”
With an evil smile, ice man leans into my ear, brushing it with his prickly facial hair.“Seven is my stepson.”
Chapter Twenty
Seven
“Rose,” Boss grinds out, hanging on to control by a thread, “I need to know why you all were outside of the gate?”
Frances is tense. Boss is furious. I’m on the verge of losing it. He took her. Who, we still don’t know. I should have grilled Isla more. Boss is realizing the same thing. We let her fear and two shitty ass days get in the way of vital information.
“Rose…” Boss snaps again.
“I told you, Dwad. It was an accident.”
“No, Rose! No, it wasn’t. I’ve told you since you could talk what the rules are! You wouldn’t disobey me like that. You wouldn’t let the other kids.”
“I won’t let you hurt him, Dwad.”
Boss freezes. “Hurt who? Who said I’d hurt anyone?” he asks carefully.
Rose huffs. “I know you do mean things.”
She stomps her foot and crosses her arms.
“Who said that?” He’s gonna fucking annihilate whoever told her that.
She side-eyes him. “Uh, I’m smart!”
“Rose,” Boss says, grabbing her arms gently, “I’m not gonna hurt anyone. I’m just stopping bad guys. If you don’t tell me, Seven’s friend is gonna get hurt really badly by some really mean people. Do you want that?”
For the first time, Rose looks at me. Her eyes are sad. It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to scare her with my anger and fear. I have to force my face not to show her the images of Isla being bruised and beaten that are tormenting and warping my mind into something dark.
I can’t lose someone else I care about. I can’t.
And I do care about her.
Whatever Rose sees in my face saddens her. She turns back to her dad and twists her hands together.
“You have to promise me you won’t hurt him, Dwad. Promise.” Her grey eyes drill into him. “Or I will never talk to you again.”
“I promise,” Boss says. “Now we gotta be fast, okay?”
Rose twists her fingers harder and stares at the intertwined fingers.
“Radar bet me I wouldn’t get a flowew from outside the gate. The gwards were checking a loud noise. Radar opened the gate. He learned how.”
Boss is grinding his jaw so hard I swear he’s gonna break teeth.
“I’m so mwad at him, Dwad! I wouldn’t let him make fun of me. So, I did. The girl with the pwetty hair, Seven’s fwiend, ran after me. The skinny guy after her. Nia was there, too. Seven’s fwiend made me run back. I was going back when a big black car came and four scary men came out. It was fwast, Dwad.” Her eyes water. “They went for Seven’s fwiend and the skinny boy jumped in fwont of her, but they— they shot him.”
She starts crying. Boss squeezes her hand.
“And they took her away.”
“What did they look like, sweetheart?”
“Fat.”
Frances laughs. I don’t.
“Anything else?” My words are tense.
“Um…” Rose places a hand on her chin, thinking hard. “Dirty.”
“Great, fat and dirty,” I mutter. “Now we’ll find her.”
Boss glares at me. “Thank you, Rose. Go to your mom, okay? She’s outside, but first…” He extends his arms a bit. “Come give me a hug.”
She looks at him wearily. The pain on his face is felt by every man in the room.
“Rose, I love you so very much,” he pleads with her.
Slowly, she wraps her arms around him. “Lwove you, too.”
And she runs out.
* * *
“Seven.” Boss turns to me, eyes on fire. “Ben’s downstairs. I’ve been holding off, given your mood, but… now it’s of use to us. Go find out where your girl is.”
He does not have to ask me twice. Hand on sword, I exit the room.
* * *
Isla
“No, you’re not! N-no.” Seven can’t have a stepdad this evil. He can’t.
Ice man chuckles. “I assure you I am. Seven tell you about my soon-to-be ex?”
“His mom was a rotten bitch who deserves a man like you,” I snarl.
“Well, well, well,” he laughs, “you do have a tongue on you.”
“Only for rotten human beings.”
“When they’re not present,” he chuckles, lightly.
Good point. “Yeah, when they can’t hurt me.”
He laughs and releases me. The second his body isn’t there to block the view, the dead body comes into my line of sight. Between my first look at death and the pain in my head, my stomach can’t take it. I lean over and puke up what little I’ve had today.
“What did I tell you?!” ice man roars. “Disgusting!”
He slams a number on his phone, and in less than thirty seconds, three men are in the room. Three. ‘Cause the fourth one… I lean over again, but ice man grabs my hair, holding me at a distance like I’m spoiled meat.
“Don’t you dare! Fuck your medicine. You need to learn to listen.”
He chucks me at the three men as I scream for him to change his mind.
“Wash her. I don’t want filth in my bedroom. Bring her there when you’re done.”
NO!
“Oh, and men?” He glances over his shoulder. “If you do more than touch her, I’ll kill you.”
He glances at the dead man in the room to make his point.
“I don’t care how good her pussy looks naked. You die.”
“Yes, Boss,” they all grumble.
“NO! Let me go!”
I try to pull forward, but they’re too strong. They’re too fucking strong. I cry out from desperation and failure when the pain in my head stops me from being able to fight further.
“You promised me medicine,” I cry.
“I can promise a lot of things. I don’t have to do any of them.” His eyes are as cold as they were the first time I met him when he glances at the man holding me the most firmly.
“Now, go throw her in the shower. Wash her off. Be thorough.”
No, Seven. PLEASE. Please, come for me.
Chapter Twenty-One
Seven
We’re hours in.
I thought he’d have caved by now. He’s bleeding everywhere. His once deceivingly handsome appearance has now been carefully crafted by the tip of my sword. His thick black hair is matted in blood. My insides are roaring and the cage where my demons lie is about to bust open.
“Okay!” he pants. “Okay, fuck.”
His head lolls back a bit. Drip, drip, drip. The blood dribbles down the ends of his hair.
“He goes by Slice. Cold motherfucker.”
“Who does he work for?”
“Himself, as far as I know.”
Dagger grits his teeth to try to get through the pain.
“Where would he take Isla?”
Dagger smirks. My sword flies up and slices through his thigh.
“I’ll cut through the artery and end this if you don’t spit it out,” I hiss.
“His ho-house. The one his wife doesn’t know about.”
He cries out as the pain really starts to set in.
“Who’s his wife?”
“Li-Lindy Jones.”
My sword flies up and slices through his neck with a roar.
Ice man. Ice blue eyes. Almost white. Strong. So strong. Those were her words. I’m a fucking idiot!
I know who it is.
* * *
“To review,” Boss studies his surroundings as he speaks low and slow, “Seven, it�
�s your job to get Isla out safely at all costs. Frances, the rest of my men, and I will ensure that Seven is able to do that, and we’ll also grab Slice.”
I nod. My body feels like it’s on fire.
“Seven,” Boss murmurs, leaning into me, “we don’t know what Isla’s been through. Whatever you see, you have to keep it together, man. You could cause permanent damage if you prioritize vengeance and anger over her. Trust me, I’d know.”
Like he didn’t say anything, like he didn’t reveal a little of himself to me as a friend rather than as my boss, he turns back around and hardens as he stares at the approaching property.
Before the car even stops, hidden by a large bush at the back-left corner of the property, we all jump out. The van behind us holds most of Boss’s men. The second they see him, they all jump out as well.
“Go, Seven,” Boss orders. “Go!”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I’m off.
I should have known. I should have known. I should have known.
This bastard is a big part of the reason Delilah killed herself at nine years old.
I should have known.
Trauma has a way of erasing even your worst monsters.
My body brushes against the stucco of the sidewall as I creep through the vines to the back door. Slipping the paperclip out of my pocket, I easily undo the lock, buzzing.
I run into a kid in the dining room. Maybe 22, beer belly, stanky… just like Rose said.
I pull my sword halfway out of its scabbard.
“Put your weapon down or I use this.”
His eyes widen at the sight of my thick, sharpened blade. Slowly, ever so slowly, like they all do at the sight of my sword, he lowers his weapon.
“Good boy.”
In a swift motion, I pull out my gun with the silencer in place and shoot him.
Sorry, kid, but it’s faster this way, I think to myself as I pass his dead body.
Where would that bastard keep her? I have to check the most vile places first. It’d be a basement scenario or his room. That thought sends my stomach churning through a sickening array of images.
That’s where I’m going first.
Though I don’t see him, I know Boss is here. So, I have more leeway with my speed. Two at a time, I run up the stairs, forcing myself to be calm. Not to churn up gruesome images of Isla or war camps or my baby sister, but I force calmness.
For her.
‘Cause she’d do it for me. She has done it for me.
If this is how I feel right now, I can’t imagine how Danny feels. Trapped at the hospital with Frank, knowing he’d only hinder us if he came along.
I’d die.
My breathing is quiet as I search the upstairs. There are at least six doors up here. So far, I’ve avoided Stephan—Slice—and I want to keep it that way ‘til I know Isla is safe.
I listen.
For something.
Anything.
And I get it. Hyperventilating. Isla!
On soft feet, I run to the left corner door. I want to throw it open with a BANG and tell her I’m here. It’s okay. But I have to be subtle in case he’s in there.
I use one hand to twist the knob and the other to peel the door open, making sure to have an awareness of my sword and gun, should I need them.
I’m not a small man, so being quiet is difficult, but I manage. I pin my back to the wall once I get the door closed with a silent click.
And that’s when I see her. Huddled in a ball in the corner of the room in a thin white men’s t-shirt, with dripping wet hair, is Isla Grace.
The most amazing woman in the world.
“Isla,” I whisper, careful to approach her.
She sniffles and shudders, closing herself in further.
“Isla, it’s Seven, hun. Can you look at me?”
Her body stiffens. One side at a time, her eyes creep up above her knees.
“Seven?” she whimpers.
Her eyes meet mine and she flies forward, crawling and tripping and fighting to stand as she flies at me, crashing straight into my broad chest. Her arms tuck against my chest on a sob.
“You came for me.”
I wrap one arm gently around her, breathing a heavy sigh of relief that she’s alive.
“Is anyone here?”
She shakes her head against me, trembling hard. I take stock of the surroundings before I give into her so I don’t put her at further risk, but when I don’t hold her tighter, she tightens her hold on my t-shirt.
“You must have said please.”
She laughs a choked sound. “I said please lots of times.”
I wrap my other arm around her little waist and scoop her up. She immediately takes the hint and jumps so I can cradle her against me. Lifting my hand up, I brush her dripping wet hair away from her face.
“Are you hurt? Did they hurt you, Isla?”
If they did, I swear to God. A growl builds in my chest, but I remember Boss’s words and swallow.
Her lower lip trembles, but she shakes her head no.
“Then what’s this?” I whisper, grazing her soft, trembling lips.
“Nothing urgent. Can we go? Please, get me out of here.”
“Yes.”
Her hold on my neck tightens as she hides in my t-shirt. The immediate trust she’s placing in me after I threw her away means the world to me. How she’s able to place her trust in me after all I’ve done is beyond me.
I lean down and kiss her head. I can’t help it. She’s here. She’s okay. What I feel is too strong to ignore. She doesn’t move from her spot hidden in the crook of my shoulder, but softly, so softly, she plants a feather-light kiss on my chest. I try to ignore the flutter in my heart, but fail.
“It may get crazy, so just keep your eyes closed, angel.”
She nods. I can feel her eyes squeeze… and I go.
* * *
“Get her out of here!” Boss yells amidst the chaos downstairs.
“Don’t you dare, Seven!” I hear my stepdad roar. I freeze. All the hatred in the world for what he did to Delilah and now Isla brims to the surface.
“GO!” Boss yells. “Seven, that’s an order.”
I feel Frances push at my back. “The fuck are you doing? Go!”
BANG! He spins and shoots an aimless bullet over his shoulder.
I can’t go. He’s here. I can kill him. I can set Isla down and get vengeance for Delilah. ‘Cause that pussy ran after she snuck a bottle of my mom’s pills and finished the whole thing. He deserves to die. He’s the start of every problem I’ve ever had! My rage rises ‘til I’m literally shaking with it. I have to kill him. I have to be the one. I’m gonna…
“Seven.” A soft hand cradles my cheek, forcing my gaze away from where Boss has his gun trained on Stephan. “Get me out of here. Please, get me out of here.”
* * *
Isla
He’s got that same distant look in his eye that he had the night he choked me out. Except this time, it’s not aimed at me. It’s aimed at his stepdad. He can’t go kill him in a blackened rage. Besides the obvious problem of it being murder, I have a terrible feeling about what will happen if he does right now.
“Have you thought to ask why Isla’s dripping wet, Seven?” Seven’s stepdad goads, smiling broadly at Seven like he doesn’t have a gun trained on him.
Seven’s boss growls. Seven’s entire body lurches.
I kick my feet to get down, somehow managing only because Seven’s stepdad’s words have rocked Seven to his core.
“Seven, look at me!”
I jump in front of him, blocking the view of his stepfather, and grab his face with both of my hands.
“It’s me. I’m telling you he didn’t. He didn’t touch me.”
“Aww, doc, don’t say that. Your hands felt real good as you stripped me of my clothes.”
Shame. So much of it. “Your jacket,” I cry. “I-I just took off your jacket.”
I turn to Seven, pleading, shaking. P
lease understand.
“It was just his jacket. Please, leave with me. Seven…”
BANG! A roar echoes as one of the men in my nightmares crumbles to the ground, grasping his knee. The sight of it snaps Seven out of his shock.
My doctor instincts fire to help, but does this man deserve my help? Am I a terrible person if I just get myself safe? I have to help.
At the same time as I go forward, Boss tells Seven in a gentle voice, “Go.”
Seven wraps an arm around me, pulling me back.
“I’ll save you from having to be a good person,” he murmurs.
Thank you. I don’t say it, but I think he knows.
“Come on.”
He gently tugs my hand. The sun burns my eyes as the pain in my head, which I’d temporarily been distracted from because of my immense relief, comes back tenfold.
“Ahhh!” I cry out and grab my head, crumbling to the ground ‘cause of the pain.
“Isla!” Seven cries, scooping me off the cobblestone. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
“My head. My head. I think it’s splitting in half.”
He quickly scoops me up and climbs with me into the back of a car.
“Go!” he orders. And the car does.
“Hey,” he says softly, shifting us so my head is resting on his lap and he’s stroking my face. “You’re burning up, Isla.”
My lips turn up in a weak smile. “It’s okay. You came.”
His head is already shaking. By the time it stops, his eyes reveal the wells of pain I saw before.
“Why are you wet, Isla? What did he do to you?”
I close my eyes as he strokes my hair.
“I-I can’t think. It all hurts. Can we just wait ‘til someone makes it stop?”
“Your head, hun?”
“Yes,” I whimper.
“Okay.” He cradles the back of my head and tucks it into his black t-shirt. I feel around for his large hand and squeeze. Hiding my face in his t-shirt is his way of making the world darker so the pain hurts less.