by Stefani, Z.
Gavin rushed to his disguise kit and grabbed his gray wig and hat. He didn’t have enough time to apply makeup or the moustache, so he would be careful to keep his head down. He opened the door and immediately composed himself.
Julian held his breath as the door opened. He couldn’t see the person who came out of the house because Royce was standing in the way.
“Can I help you?” Gavin asked.
“Are you residing here?” questioned Julius.
“My aunt just passed away; I’m here to access the property,” Gavin said calmly, altering his voice with a country accent.
“Well, it’s a good thing you answered; we’re with the electric company. We’re checking the power in this area.”
“Is something wrong?” Gavin asked.
“There was a malfunction, and it’s causing mini explosions throughout this area. We believe this place may be the root of the problem,” Royce stated.
“There’s no problem here, sir, the power works fine,” Gavin said with obvious relief.
“That’s the problem. You shouldn’t have electricity.”
“Would it be possible to schedule an appointment for tomorrow or even later today?” Gavin asked.
“No, we need to get in there and find the problem before it causes another explosion. Tomorrow may be too late; this is a very dangerous situation.”
Julian was straining to see the man’s face since he was too far away to hear the voice. He was ready to set the plan in motion regardless when Royce finally stepped to the side.
Despite the grayish wig, Julian instantly recognized the face. He yanked open the van door, alerting his cousins. Julian ran top speed just as Royce and Julius grabbed a shocked Gavin.
“Get the fuck off me!” Gavin snapped, desperate to get loose.
Julius grinned. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Julian grabbed Gavin and dragged him into the house before tackling him to the floor.
“Where is she?” Julian roared.
“Who?” Gavin sneered.
“Answer me!” he growled like an animal before slamming his fist into Gavin’s jaw. “Where the fuck is she?” He continued to punch Gavin.
“If you kill him, he won’t be able to tell us where she is,” Julius reminded his cousin. His words managed to penetrate through Julian’s rage.
Gavin smirked arrogantly. “You’ll never find her without me. She’s not even here. I locked her up somewhere far away.”
“Don’t get so cocky, we don’t have to kill you to make you talk,” Julius pulled out a pair of pliers.
“Removing certain body parts won’t kill you,” Royce added as he grabbed a scalpel out of the bag he had.
“Not if we cauterize the wounds quick enough,” Julius pulled the small blowtorch out of the bag.
“Make him talk while I look for her,” Julian told his family.
“My pleasure,” Julius said as Royce pulled out the rope and quickly tied Gavin’s hands and feet.
“She’d better not be hurt,” Julius said as he started the blowtorch.
Julian raced through the first floor, looking into every room. His heart raced, and his breathing was jagged; he feared what he may or may not find. He broke down a door that was locked, but couldn’t find Heaven anywhere. He was in the last room on the floor when he saw the small door. There were several locks going down the front and Julian was thankful that they weren’t secured.
Julian opened the door and saw the long set of steps that led to darkness. It was dark as he descended, but he could see a dim light as he neared the bottom step. He turned and followed the direction of the faint light. He had only taken a few steps into the room when he saw a figure slumped on the floor. He sprinted towards the woman; he knew by the mass of dark waves that it was Heaven. She was chained to the wall and wearing her dirty wedding gown.
“Heaven.” Julian kneeled next to her. She looked so frail that he was afraid to touch her. His heart raced at an accelerated speed, and it was getting harder for him to breathe. “Heaven baby,” he cried as he tried to pull her to him, but the short chains prevented it. He held her as close as he could, trying to wake her up. “Heaven…please baby…please wake up.” He carefully shook her, afraid to hurt her. He saw the bruises on her face and felt his body shake with rage. He would kill Gavin; he would rip him apart with his bare hands. “Heaven, please wake up, please!”
“Julian?” her voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper.
“Oh, thank god!” he cried in relief. He put his foot on the wall as he yanked at the chains, trying to break them and free her.
“He keeps the keys on his belt.” She had just finished when Julian jumped up and headed for the stairs.
“No, don’t leave me!” she screeched hysterically, and he headed back to her.
“I’m not leaving you; I need to get the keys so I can get you out of here and take you home.”
“But what if Gavin comes back?” she cried, and Julian felt a sharp pain in his heart. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“Gavin’s tied up, he’s upstairs with my cousins. He’s never coming near you again—I promise you this time.” He kissed the side of her dirt-streaked face before standing up. “I’ll be right back—not even a minute.”
“Hurry,” she whimpered.
Julian ran faster than he had ever run before. He made it up the stairs in record time.
“Do you see keys on his belt?” he started yelling the minute he hit the steps; he knew his cousins would be able to hear him.
“Yes,” Julius answered as he snatched the ring of keys off Gavin’s belt. Julius jumped off Gavin and ran out of the room to meet Julian.
“I found her.” Julian grabbed the keys and ran back down to the basement.
Seeing Heaven chained up still shook him, and he felt his rage return. He quickly unlocked her shackles and grabbed her the second she was free. He held her tightly to his chest, careful not to squeeze her too hard. Heaven wrapped her arms around his neck as the tears began to flow. He quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her. She tried to stand, but her legs were too weak; she’d been sitting in the same position for so long that her legs had atrophied. Julian wasted no time picking her up and carrying her upstairs.
She felt relief as she exited the basement.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to find me,” she whispered.
Julian kissed her forehead. “I knew I would find you. I wouldn’t have stopped until I did.”
“The police will be here any second,” Julius told him as he walked into the room.
“I’m taking her to the van,” Julian said.
Once Julian was outside in the bright sunlight, he saw the extent of the bruising on her face. What had appeared to be a faint bruise or even dirt was anything but. The whole side of her face was swollen; she had a nasty bruise on her cheek, and her eye was almost swollen shut. He rushed to the van and sat her down, looking at her face.
“What did he do to you?” Julian felt her pain as if it were his own. He lost all of his self-control and raced to the house.
“Julian, wait!” Heaven tried to go after him, but her legs gave out as she stepped out of the van. She winced in pain and stood back up, bracing herself as she headed to the house.
Julian was in a state of rage that was so potent that he could no longer think straight. He had only one thing on his mind. He ran into the room and jumped on top of Gavin. His cousins backed up as they watched Julian beat Gavin’s head against the floor. Julian’s face was bright-red, and he seethed like a wild animal as he attacked him.
“You like beating on women? You sick motherfucker,” Julian yelled in contempt.
“Julian!” Heaven cried as she entered the room.
“Get her out of here!” Julian roared like a beast as he sank his fingers into Gavin’s neck.
“You don’t need to see this,” Royce said as he took her arm.
“No, I don’t need to, but I want to.” Hea
ven said as she yanked her arm away from Royce. “After what he put me through, I refuse to miss this!”
“A girl after my own heart,” Julius chuckled.
“You’re going to beat a restrained man?” Gavin asked Julian.
“Yes I am, just like you beat Heaven while she was restrained.” Julian slammed his fist into the side of his head. Gavin’s eyes crossed as his head hit the floor. He stayed there for a moment before he began to chuckle maniacally.
“I’ll get out again, and I’ll come back again,” Gavin hissed like a madman as he spit the blood from his mouth. “Even prison can’t stop me; I’ll get her eventually. She is the only way that I can destroy you.”
“Not this time.” Julian stood up, and Julius passed him his gun. “This time I’m not taking any chances.”
Gavin yelled and tried to stand up, but Julian fired the gun. The single bullet entered through the middle of his forehead, and Gavin’s body hit the floor.
“Finally,” Heaven breathed a sigh of relief.
“You never have to worry about him coming back again,” Julius said.
***
The police swarmed the place. No one asked any questions about the dead body on the main floor. However, they had lots of questions about the half-dead female in the basement.
“She’s Lila Strain, our co-worker. She’s been helping Gavin Grant since the very beginning,” Heaven informed the police.
***
Julian insisted that Heaven be evaluated by a physician. Heaven didn’t object as she knew it would only slow the process down. All she wanted to do was go home. She remained calm during the examination. It wasn’t until she noticed her dress was missing that she perked up.
“Where’s my dress?” Heaven asked the nurse.
“I think it was taken to the garbage,” the nurse replied kindly.
“No,” she jumped off the bed, “I need that dress.”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Julian said as he tried to get her to sit back down.
“I don’t want a new gown; I want that gown.” She tried to head towards the door, but Julian held her back, “I need that dress, Julian!”
“Go find that wedding gown,” Julian instructed the nurse.
“I think I know exactly where it is,” the nurse nodded before she rushed out of the room.
“What’s the deal with the gown? It’s covered in dirt and blood.”
“I’ll have it cleaned.”
“Why would you want that gown, Heaven?”
“Because I promised myself and Gavin that I would get married in that gown, no matter what he said. I should wear it to his funeral too.”
“We’re not going to his funeral.”
“We should; long enough for me to spit on his grave.”
***
Once they finally made it home, Julian carried Heaven up to their bathroom and set her down on the settee. He started the bathwater and then went to their room to get her a clean nightgown. She winced as she stood up and Julian was instantly by her side to help.
She turned her back to let him remove the jacket and then her hospital gown. He unfastened her bra, and she slid it off as he slid her panties down to her feet. She stepped out of them and quickly stepped into the tub. The water was warm, and the bubbles came up to her neck. She sat with her back straight and her knees close to her chest.
“Your mother was right; you have lost weight,” Julian said with a saddened frown. He had only seen her backside, but her weight loss was obvious. “Did he starve you?”
“Almost, he gave me just enough to keep me alive.”
“What did he give you?” He grabbed the small pitcher and began to pour the warm water down her hair.
“Bread and water, which he tried to make me beg for.” She put her head back as the warm water ran down her head.
“He can never hurt you again,” Julian promised as he began to help her wash her mass of hair. He wished he could shoot Gavin all over again for what he did to Heaven.
“No, he can’t.” Heaven felt relief. Julian finished washing her hair and then grabbed the big sponge.
“Your mother had her chef prepare all of your favorites.”
“That sounds so good; I’m starving,” she said and her stomach growled to back her up.
“Here, you wash up, and I’ll go make sure the food is ready when you get out.” He passed her the sponge, and grabbed the towels and put them on the stand next to the tub.
“Strawberry shortcake?”
“And caramel cake.”
“Um, I can’t wait to eat. I love my mother.”
“Just relax and let that hot water work on your muscles. I’ll be in to help you soon,” he finished before leaving the bathroom.
Heaven quickly washed up before getting out of the tub. She had washed off all the grime from that dirty basement, and she felt a lot better. She wrapped a towel around her hair and dried off. She was reaching for the nightgown Julian had laid out for her when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She hadn’t looked at herself since she had been imprisoned by Gavin. She looked at the bruises around her neck from the metal collar. They weren’t as bad as the bruises around her wrists and her ankles.
Julian walked into the bathroom to see her standing before the mirror. He walked to stand behind her, looking at her through the reflection.
“I’m thankful that you’re safe; the bruises will fade,” he said as he kissed the small bruise on her shoulder.
Heaven quickly turned around to look at him. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and it broke his heart.
“He told me you were dead. I didn’t believe him at first, but he started to convince me. I was afraid I would never see you again,” she cried.
Julian pulled her into his embrace as the tears began to stream down her cheeks.
“Shush.” He put a comforting hand on her head, holding her close to him. “He’s dead now, and we survived. He can never hurt us again. We’ll never have to watch our back or look over our shoulder. No more sleepless nights with one eye open.”
“It’s really over.” She cried tears of joy.
“Yes; now we can finally get on with our lives. We never have to worry again.”
“Finally.”
***
Lila Strain spent months in the hospital. It took a while for her broken limbs to heal. Due to the odd position her broken leg had begun to heal in while she was chained to the wall, she would have a permanent limp. Once she had healed enough to leave the hospital, they took her to the local jail where she would wait for her trial.
Lila’s trial dragged on for months. She tried everything in her power to get out of it. Her husband had gotten her one of the best lawyers around, who wasn’t connected to the King Law Firm. Her husband was her biggest and only supporter. That was until he heard the tapes that Gavin had left behind.
On the tapes, Lila asked Gavin to murder her husband in exchange for Heaven. Lila gave Gavin detailed instructions on how to commit the murder. She even supplied him with her husband’s work schedule—right down to his lunch breaks. After that, Lila was on her own; her husband never returned to the courtroom.
Julian and Heaven had to testify, as well as half of the employees of the firm. However, Julian and Heaven decided not to attend the trial except for when they were needed to testify. They didn’t want to see it; as far as they were concerned, it was over.
In the end, the judge sentenced Lila to the maximum for all of her crimes. She would be a senior citizen by the time she got out of prison. Lila was escorted directly from the courtroom to the prison. After the grand tour of her new home, the guard led her to her new bedroom.
“Enjoy your stay,” the guard smirked as she locked the cell.
A woman the size of a linebacker spoke as she jumped down from the top bunk. “Well, hello roommate, I’m Beulah.”
“Hi,” Lila said as she sat her prison-issued suit on the bed.
“No, don’t put that there!” the woman yelled
as she tossed Lila’s things off the bed. “There’s rules in this room, and it’s time you start learnin’ them.”
“I-I-" Lila stammered as the six-foot amazon backed her against the wall.
“Shut up and listen, bitch, cause I ain’t gonna tell you more than once. Bottom bunk is mine—you are not allowed anywhere near it. I like to use the top bunk too, so you can only use it if I ain’t usin’ it. You break one rule, and I’ll break all the bones in your muthafuckin’ face. Got it?” Beulah’s green eyes were pale enough to add to her intimidation factor. They glowed like a demon’s.