by Bella Jewel
Chase, mostly.
I don’t even know if he’ll make it through, and that thought is terrifying.
He’s done a lot of wrong, but he doesn’t deserve to die.
“You awake?” Tatum’s husky voice penetrates through the darkness.
Most of the time, we can’t see each other, it’s that dark down here. Occasionally, the sun hits the small window just right and we can see, but other than that we’re surrendered fully to darkness. They have only come down once since they beat the two guys and put us all down here. They’ve told us only one thing: we’ll wish we never messed with them.
I believe them.
I really do.
“Yeah,” I whisper into the darkness. “Are you okay?”
“Feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” he winces, “but I’ll live. Got a few things broken, by the feels, but I’m still alive so that has to count for something.”
I exhale with a shaky breath. “What about Chase?”
“Tried to rouse him when you were sleepin’ before, but he didn’t move. Don’t even fuckin’ know if he’s alive.”
“I am,” Chase croaks from the darkness, his voice so low and so weak that my heart sinks. He doesn’t sound good.
He needs medical attention, urgently.
“What’re you feelin’?” Tatum asks, his voice as concerned as I’m feeling.
“Like I’d rather fucking die than feel this pain for a second longer,” Chase rasps.
“We’re goin’ to get out of here, brother. Just keep breathin’. If you can focus on anythin', keep focusin’ on that.”
Chase doesn’t answer.
I’m scared.
So damned afraid.
I think about Pat, and I wonder if he’s even noticed I’m gone.
Does he even care?
Probably not.
I wonder if Callie and Tanner have found any leads, I wonder what their plans are, I wonder if they’ve even noticed yet.
I don’t want to die here.
Not here.
Anywhere else but here.
“You good, Jo?” Tatum asks me, his voice tired and ragged.
“I’m okay,” I tell him. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Sorry we put you in this mess.”
I press my legs together, swallowing to try and remove the hard, dry lump that seems to be lodged in my throat. “It’s not your fault,” I tell him. “I wanted to do this, too.”
“It was a stupid fuckin’ plan. Should have known we couldn’t outsmart someone that fuckin’ powerful.”
I don’t say anything, because he’s right, it was a stupid plan. A really dumb one. But at the time we thought it would work. We truly thought it would work.
I think about Callie and the moment that bullet connected with her. The terrifying moment I thought I’d lost my best friend. She’s strong, so damned incredibly strong, I know that she would have found a way through it, I just know it. Ethan would have never let anything happen to her. Yet our last words were heated, and that kills me, it kills me because we never fight, we never disagree to the point it bothers us, and the moment she was shot, that’s exactly what we were doing.
“Do you think they’ll find us?”
“I think Tanner will find a way, yeah,” Tatum mutters.
“Do you think Callie is okay?”
“She’s strong, she’ll be okay.”
“Even if they do find us,” I whisper, more to myself than Tatum, “are we ever going to truly be free of this nightmare? People like that don’t just go away. They will haunt us forever.”
Tatum is silent for a few beats, and then he says into the darkness, his voice low, “Don’t you worry about them, you just worry about gettin’ through this. We’ll make sure they never touch you, Jo. I promise you that.”
I don’t even want to know how he’ll do that.
I’d rather live in ignorant bliss.
For the moment, anyway.
THE DOOR SWINGS OPEN and a bright light shines into our faces, nearly blinding me for a few seconds. When you’ve been sitting in the dark for a few days, seeing light is like staring straight into the sun, and it hurts like hell. I blink, unable to rub my eyes, until the light becomes a little less painful.
Two men are standing at the entrance, holding huge assault rifles and two flashlights. One of them is the man that beat Tatum. The other I don’t recognize. I’m fairly certain the first guy is running the show, and we just so happened to let him get away. Anyone else and we might not be in this mess. If you don’t take the leader down, then he’ll just keep building his pack.
“A little bright, is it?” he murmurs, his voice thick, laced with an evil edge that makes my skin prickle.
“What the fuck do you want with us?” Tatum growls. “Whatever it is, just get it over with.”
The man smiles, baring white, straight teeth. His teeth are a lie; they are perfect, yet the rest of him is so ragged and terrifying. They’re a trick, a nasty little surprise to confuse you and throw you off your game. Because beneath the messy brown hair, the stale blue eyes, and the rubbery skin, he’s nothing but evil. Perfect teeth or not.
“It’s not you I want, it’s your pal Tanner, but I took what I could get at the time. One way or another, he’ll make his way here, and I’ll end you all.”
Tatum’s face tightens, and now he’s in the light, I can see the bruising is getting deeper, a purple color, black in places. His lip is busted, one of his eyes is swollen shut, and he looks ... well ... horrible. My eyes swing to Chase, who is shackled to the wall, his eyes closed, his head dropped forward. There is dried blood all over his skin, up his arms, on his face, soaking his shirt. They did a good job of him.
My heart aches for him. I’m not a monster, I don’t want to see anyone in that state, even if part of me believes he probably deserves it.
What he let happen to Celia still makes my stomach twist and my skin prickle, it still makes my breath shorten and my palms sweat with horror. Nobody, not a single person in this world, should ever have to endure what Celia Yates went through at the hands of these men.
My eyes go back to the monster standing in the doorway.
Was he one of them?
Does he know who was part of it?
The exact men who played a part?
“Tanner won’t find us,” Tatum rasps. “He won’t fall into your little trap.”
The man laughs. I wonder what his name is? I try to picture a name that would suit such an evil face. I can’t think of one right now.
“Won’t he?” He grins. “I have left just enough to make sure he does find you, and when he does, he’ll walk right into my hands, and I’ll make sure he never walks out again.”
“He’s not stupid,” Tatum hisses. “He knows you’re planning something like this.”
“Does he now? Far as he knows, I’m locked away. After all, he doesn’t know I figured out your little plan and got out of there, does he?”
Tatum’s jaw tics.
The man grins, and he looks to his friend. “Let’s go, they’ve had enough light for one day.” His eyes meet Tatum’s again. “We’ll be back for you soon when your friend arrives to save the day. Don’t worry, I’ll make it a good show. I have to outdo your attempts at taking me down, after all. Good plan, just poorly executed, but what would we expect from a bunch of amateurs?”
He laughs and turns, walking out of the basement and slamming the door closed, plunging us back into darkness again. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, falling back into the depths of silence.
“I’ve got a plan,” Tatum says into the darkness. “We’re getting out of here.”
Oh, god.
The last plan nearly got us killed.
I hope this one is a little better.
2
CALLIE
“Sit down, Callie,” Tanner orders, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes hard, his jaw tight.
He’s had enough of my behavior, and I can’t
say I blame him. I have wanted out of this hospital since the moment I found out that Jo and Tatum are missing. I’ve been able to think of nothing else. The doctor wants me to stay a few extra days, so Tanner has been out trying to figure out what the hell happened to them.
I’ve been making his life difficult, storming around—well, hobbling—trying to work it out, asking a million questions, and calling him when he’s not here to find out if he’s found anything. It’s driving him crazy, I know, but that’s my best friend, that’s my Jo, and someone has her. Someone has her because of me. Because of my desperate attempt to end certain chapters in my life.
She’s been with me every step of the way, risking it all.
I’m not going to leave her when she needs me most.
“I’ll sit down when you tell me what you’ve found out!” I snap back, exhaling and clenching my teeth together until they make a grinding sound.
“Won’t be telling you fuck-all if you don’t sit the fuck down, right fuckin’ now.”
Oh, boy.
His voice is like a whip, so I do as he asks.
I sit the fuck down.
Not without crossing my arms first, though.
“Went back to the place they got arrested. Ethan and I broke in and went through some shit, checked things out. Couldn’t find much, except a couple of phone numbers scribbled on paper. Called a few numbers, asked a few questions, spoke to a few people, found out the leader of this fuckin’ group didn’t go down. He didn’t get arrested.”
I blink, shaking my head in confusion. “What?” I whisper.
“He didn’t get locked up. Must have clued in and got out of there, then he must have gotten hold of Jo, Tatum, and Chase.”
My mind is reeling. He didn’t get arrested, so everything we just did was for nothing? If he didn’t go down, the rest of them are irrelevant; he’ll just find new people and keep his little operation going strong. Not to mention he has my best friend and we have no idea where he might be.
“Do you know where he is?” I ask.
“Not yet,” Tanner says. “I’ve got Ethan onto it. He’s askin’ questions, talkin’ to the right people. We’ll find out where they are and get them back.”
“What if ...”
“Don’t,” Tanner growls, stepping forward and squatting down in front of me, his eyes locking onto mine. “Don’t think the worst, Callie. It’ll make you crazy.”
“He’s crazy,” I whisper. “And he has my best friend.”
“We’ll get them back.”
“What if he’s hurt her?”
“We’ll get them back.”
“What if he’s done worse?”
“Callie,” Tanner says, grabbing my jaw and forcing my eyes to lock with his, “we’ll get them back.”
“We should call the police.”
Tanner shakes his head. “Not yet, I’ll make sure he goes away, but not before they’re safe. We call the police and he finds out, he could very well end their lives. Not riskin’ that right now.”
“What about Pat?” I ask, biting my bottom lip. “He’ll try to call Jo, and when she doesn’t answer, he’ll get suspicious. He could go to the police.”
Tanner purses his lips and rubs a hand over my thigh absentmindedly before saying, “You call him, tell him that Jo lost her phone and the two of you are okay. Tell him that she wants some time out, and she’ll talk to him in a few days.”
“He’ll lose his mind; he’ll demand to speak with her.”
Tanner squeezes my knee before pushing to his feet. “You’re smart, Callie. Figure it out.”
I stare at him as he starts pacing the room. Sure, I’ll figure it out. I’ll try and hold the raging beast that is Patrick off long enough to get Jo back. If he gets suspicious, this is all over. I’m not going to let something happen to Jo because of him.
So yeah, I’ll figure it out.
I pull out my phone and dial his number, not wanting to wait a second longer. He’s probably already tried to call Jo a few times and has figured out she hasn’t answered.
“Callie,” his voice comes across the line cool, calm and collected, as always. “Been trying to call Jo, where is she?”
Not, Is she okay? Has something happened to her? Just, Where is she? Plain and simple, straight to the point, just how Patrick likes it.
“She lost her phone,” I tell him, “but, Patrick, she is having a hard time and wants some space. She’ll get a new phone in a few days, but she told me to let you know that she needs some time and will call you when she can.”
The line goes silent for a moment. “I knew she’d do this, get you to do her dirty work for her. She’s been playing this little game for months now, and she’s finally spoken up. You can tell Jo that I don’t want her to fucking call me, I want her to come home and speak to me like my wife, like I deserve.”
“Maybe,” I snap, “if you spoke to her a little nicer than you’re speaking right now, she’d do that.”
“Gotten into her ear finally, have you, Callie? You know, she was fine when you were locked away. Then you got out and, suddenly, she doesn’t know what she wants.”
“First of all,” I growl, clenching my fists, “you know damn well Jo hasn’t been happy for a long time. You know it and you’re making her life a misery because of it. She’s finally had enough. I haven’t gotten into her ear; you’ve done a fine and dandy job of doing that all on your own. Now, if she means anything to you, anything at all, you’ll let her be for a few days.”
“Gladly,” he snaps. “She’s not the only one who has had enough. Tell her that she’ll lose everything when she loses me.”
“Maybe,” I mutter, “but she’ll gain a fuck of a lot, too.”
I hang up the phone and glance over at Tanner who has stopped pacing and is staring at me with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed. “That went well then?”
I snort. “Yeah, perfect. Well, at least we know he won’t be calling Jo for a few days, possibly more because he’s a giant dick.”
Tanner grins, and it catches me off guard. He doesn’t smile much these days, but when he does, it utterly breathtaking. I can’t help but grin back at him.
“Now,” he says, his eyes lightening at my grin, “let’s find our friends.”
Yeah.
Let's.
“I FOUND SOME LOCATIONS,” Ethan says, walking into the hotel living room a day later.
The hospital finally agreed that if I took it easy, kept up with my medication, and didn’t go back to work for a few weeks, that I’d be okay to leave. Tanner insisted we all share a suite, because he didn’t want any of us alone right now in case things went bad. We’re in a different town, with people who are on the hunt for us. It’s dangerous.
Ethan agreed, and booked a two-bedroom apartment for us until we could locate Jo and Tatum and get Chase home so he can finally end this for all of us.
That’s if we find them alive.
The thought has my stomach clenching with anxiety.
If something happens to Jo, I just don’t know if I can go on. She’s ... well ... she’s everything. She’s gotten me through the hardest times of my life. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“Talk to me,” Tanner says, standing from the sofa he was sitting on, drinking a beer. “I’m done waiting. I want to know where they are.”
“Managed to get a fella to speak,” Ethan says. “Acted like I was part of it all, and the stupid junkie fell for it. Told me he has heard that he didn’t get arrested and is hiding out. Said he had been to the place he frequents a few times to buy drugs, and that it’s really well hidden. Figure it’s worth a look. At the very least we might find someone who does know where he is.”
“It’s dangerous,” Tanner says, “but I’m not waitin’ any longer. If we don’t find them soon, there is a chance we won’t.”
Ethan nods. “We go tonight.”
“I’m coming!” I say, heart racing at the thought of finding my best friend.
&nbs
p; Both men look at me like I’m losing my mind.
“You’re jokin’ right?” Tanner mutters.
“No, I’m not joking. That’s my best friend. I’ll stay in the car, but I’m coming.”
“Yeah,” Ethan says, not looking at me as he pulls out his phone and punches something into it, “you’re not.”
“Since when do you two get to make choices for me?”
“Since you got shot,” they both say at the same time, and then their eyes meet for a split second.
I wonder how long it’ll take for them to talk about what happened all those years ago and maybe bring their friendship back to life.
“I’ll stay in the car,” I repeat again. “That’s Jo. She’s ... she’s everything to me. I’m not leaving her when she needs me.”
“You’re injured,” Tanner argues.
“She’s my best friend, she’d do it for me. I know she would. Nothing would keep her from being there when I got found. Nothing is going to stop me from being there when she’s found. I’ll hold a gun, lock the car, stay low, but I’m not staying here.”
Tanner exhales and looks to Ethan. “She ain’t goin’ to give this one a rest, is she?”
Ethan shakes his head. “Not until she drives you crazy enough to give in. Might as well let her come, or she’s as likely to catch a cab and follow us.”
Now there’s an idea.
I grin.
Ethan shakes his head, and Tanner scowls at me.
“You don’t move from that fuckin’ car, you follow all my commands, you don’t fuckin’ do anythin' without me tellin’ you first. We clear?”
“Yeah,” I say, holding his eyes. “We’re clear.”
He nods, and Ethan goes back to his phone.
I glance out the window, taking a shaky breath.
Hang on, Jo.
We’re coming.
3
JOANNE
“You gotta stretch, stretch until your body feels like it’s goin’ to break, Jo.”