by Bella Jewel
“Good girl.”
He leans down, pressing a kiss to my forehead, then he’s gone.
I wonder if he’s right.
Tomorrow, will we be forever changed?
I guess we’re going to find out.
“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING about?” Ethan asks, shocking me from my silence later that night.
I’m sitting on the small balcony in our room, cup of tea in hand, staring out at the bright city lights. There is a cool breeze trickling through, making my skin shiver every now and then. I woke up after sleeping all afternoon to find Tanner sleeping soundly beside me. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to curl into him and stay there forever, but I got up so he could get some well-deserved rest.
It’s late now, and I’m surprised to see Ethan awake.
He takes the other chair and sits down, putting his feet up on the balcony railing and leaning back in the chair, exhaling.
“I’m thinking about what’s going to happen tomorrow afternoon,” I tell him. “Tanner said no matter what happens, we’re going to be forever changed come the following day, and I think he’s right. It doesn’t matter which way it goes, we’re all going to be different. We all have big demons to face.”
“You’re right about that,” Ethan says. “We certainly do. Have you thought about what’s going to happen if we get them out safe and go home?”
“Yeah, over and over again. That’s the best of the thoughts, and it’s still a terrifying one. It means facing everyone, including Celia’s family, it means finishing a chapter of my life I never thought I’d see the end of.”
“How do you think her family will react to the news of you and Tanner?”
I sigh. “I think about that the most. I don’t even know if there is a me and Tanner, but I do know that if I were Celia’s family, I wouldn’t like the idea of it.”
Ethan nods, shifting in the chair. “They’re good people, but they’re broken people. Sometimes broken people don’t see things clearly.”
He’s right about that. I know, because I’m one of them and so is Tanner. It’s hard to see things clearly when you’re clouded by pain and anguish. I don’t want to cause them any more pain but at the same time, I need to close this door or it’ll forever haunt me, and I’m tired of Celia’s name hanging over my head every step I take.
With every good deed comes sacrifice.
With all good feelings comes pain.
That’s just life, right?
“Either way this goes,” I finally answer Ethan, “it’ll cause someone pain. If they’re not okay when we find them tomorrow, we’ll all be broken, if they are okay and we get them out, we have to go home and face the music.”
“Yeah, then there’s the men we’re about to mess with again.”
Right. I don’t even want to think about that, because the very thought of it terrifies me. I mean, the fact is that unless they kill them, then they’re going to come after us eventually, even if we do go home. The idea of them killing makes me shudder. Do they have it in them? Even then, is it enough to walk away safely? I doubt it. You shed blood, you never have clean hands.
I’ve learned that the hard way.
“What are you going to do about them?” I ask.
Ethan shrugs. “Hopefully we can get them out without anyone even noticin'. We’re prayin’ we can find a way in and late at night they’ll be sleepin', but if not ... I don’t know, Callie. I don’t know, but we’ve got guns, and Tanner has made it clear that if it comes to it, we shoot.”
“If you shoot them, you could be risking everything. You’re a guard, Ethan, at a prison. You’d be risking your job.”
He stares at me. “Not really. People like the ones we’re taking on, they rarely deal with the law. Someone finds them dead, nobody is going to question who did it. They’ll figure it was a drug deal gone wrong. We’ll walk away clean.”
“But your minds won’t be clean. Can you—”
“Kill someone?” he finishes for me.
I nod, holding his eyes.
He stares at me for a moment, then looks out at the lights. “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”
“If it does ...”
“Don’t know, Callie. If it comes to my life or theirs, then yeah, I guess I’d do what I had to do.”
I swallow, and my chest tightens. Ethan is a good guy, the best kind. He’s the sort of man who always tries to do right, even if he has an easier choice by doing wrong. Something like this, it’ll hang with him forever. That’s just the way he is.
“You don’t have to come, I’m sure we can do it without you.”
He doesn’t look at me when he says, “I know you can. I’m coming anyway.”
“You’re a good person, Ethan.”
“Aren’t we all, Callie?” he murmurs. “Aren’t we all?”
I narrow my eyes and say softly, “You’re not a killer.”
“Neither are you.”
My chest clenches, and I look down at my hands. I know what he’s getting at, but I don’t like it all the same. I don’t want Ethan to live with the guilt I’ve lived with, I don’t want it to ruin his life. Tanner ... He’s strong, he’s made for this kind of thing. Ethan isn’t. He’s strong, and he’s brave, but he’s got the kindest heart of anyone I know.
“Why did you come on this trip?” I ask. “I mean, you could have just stayed behind, we would have made up eventually. Why would you risk everything?”
He glances at me again, and his eyes soften when he says, “Because I believe in you, Callie. I always have. I’ve watched you from the very beginning fight the biggest battle of your life and come out the other side. I’ve been there. We’re friends. You matter to me. I wasn’t going to let you end it alone, even if you didn’t want me around.”
My heart feels like it’s going to explode, and I reach out and take his hand, curling my fingers around his long ones and say, “Thank you, I know I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I couldn’t have survived without you. I hope you know just how much you mean to me.”
“I know,” he tells me, squeezing my hand. “Or you wouldn’t have forgiven me.”
He’s right.
I wouldn’t have.
But he’s my friend, not only that, but he’s kind of like my hero.
Swooping in and saving me when I had nobody else.
Of course I forgave him.
He’s the reason I didn’t drown.
5
JOANNE
The basement latch clicks, and my head jerks up. My heart races, and my eyes flick in Tatum’s direction, even though I can’t see him. I hear him shift, and I know he’s awake. As soon as these lights come on, they’re going to know he’s not tied anymore. I don’t know what he plans on doing. I’ve gone over so many scenarios in my head, and none of them work in our favor.
But I trust him.
He’s smart.
I hear more shuffling, and I’m certain he stands and walks closer to the door. It opens with a creak and then the light flicks on. It’s so bright it takes me quite a number of rapid blinks to see anything, but, when I do, everything moves quickly. Tatum is by the door, and the same two men enter the room as they did before. The only one holding a gun is the main leader, and he’s so taken off guard by what Tatum does that he doesn’t have time to use it.
Swift as lightning, Tatum is there, throwing his hands up and over the man's head. It’s so quick and so well done that I’m still blinking by the time he’s got him against his chest, his cuffed hands over his head and around his throat, pulling him so tightly against him the man's face is already going red.
The other man reaches for the gun and Tatum roars, “You grab that, I snap his neck before your finger touches the trigger.”
The man pauses while the other guy is struggling in Tatum’s grips, trying to twist the gun as his body thrashes and his face becomes redder and redder. He can’t get the gun close enough because of the way Tat
um is holding him. It’s so damned clever I can’t believe it didn’t cross my mind.
“Put the gun down or you fuckin’ die. Throw it toward Jo, and if you pull the trigger, I’ll fuckin’ snap your neck.”
The man who is gasping for air does what Tatum tells him—he throws the gun toward me. It slides across the ground, making me flinch, terrified it’ll go off, but it doesn’t. I scoot toward it, grabbing it with shaky hands and holding it up as best I can. I don’t know how to hold a damn gun, let alone how to shoot one.
“Now, cut them both free. You’d better hurry, he’s about to run out of air. You don’t want to be the reason your boss dies now, do you?”
He nervously eyes his boss, as if begging him to tell him what to do right about now. Does he risk it all to kill Tatum, or me, or Chase, or does he do as he’s told and let us go?
His boss nods, still wheezing and gasping for air. The other man moves quickly, pulling out a knife and cutting us free. He doesn’t try anything; I don’t think he’d risk his bosses life in a poor attempt at stabbing us. When he’s done, he undoes the cuffs, all except Tatum’s, of course. He’s eased the pressure just enough on the man’s neck that he’s not as red.
“Give her the key to my cuffs, then go and cuff yourself where we were sitting so I know you won’t follow us. Move.”
The man does as Tatum asks, tossing the key to me and then going to the wall with an angry scowl and cuffing himself to it. When he’s done that, Tatum looks to me and murmurs, “Bring the rope here, tie his arms and legs.”
I do as he asks, standing on wobbly legs that haven’t had enough movement in the last few days. Chase is trying to get to his feet, but he’s having trouble. He’s in a really bad way and needs a hospital urgently. I don’t worry about that for the minute, instead I rush over and hesitantly tie the legs of the man Tatum is holding. When I’ve done that, I tie his hands and step back. Tatum walks him over to where the other man is sitting, and tosses him on the ground, reaching out for the gun.
I hand it to him.
“Do not fuckin’ follow us.”
The man he just dropped to the floor starts to laugh, a bitter, knowing laugh that makes my skin prickle. Like he knows something we don’t, like he’s one step ahead of us. I ignore it and rush over to Chase, helping him to his feet. Tatum studies the man laughing for a brief second before coming over and taking Chase’s weight, helping him out of the basement.
We all move as quickly as we can, climbing the steps and moving out of the basement and through the old, yet well-secured warehouse, very hesitantly. As we go, we realize the two men are the only ones here. For now, at least. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. It seems ... strange.
I don’t know, something just doesn’t feel right to me.
“You okay?” Tatum asks, as we step outside into the darkness.
I tip my head back and breathe in the fresh air that I’ve so desperately needed. We made it out. We actually made it out.
“I’m okay,” I say.
“We’ll take a truck back into town, no fuckin’ idea where we are but we’ll work it out. We need to find a phone to call Tanner, we’ll stop as soon as we find a town or a gas station.”
“Okay,” I say, glancing around.
There is only one truck here, and we help Chase over to it, opening the door. There is a set of keys in the ignition. I guess they weren’t planning on staying long. Probably just here to torment us, or tell us some horror story, or worse, and then they were planning to leave. Come to think of it, it was always super quiet in that basement, probably because there was no one up above.
“Fuckin’ perfect,” Tatum murmurs, spotting the keys. He puts Chase into the back seat and says, “We’ll get you to a hospital, hang tight, buddy.”
I climb into the front seat, rubbing my wrists, my body sore. I want to sleep, and eat, and shower, but mostly I want to see Callie. I want to see that they’re okay. I want this nightmare to be over.
I think of Patrick, and I wonder if he’s at all concerned with the fact that he hasn’t heard from me for a few days. Would he even notice? If he did, how long would it take?
Tatum climbs into the front seat and looks over to me. I can see his face far more clearly now with the interior light of the truck. I study it, taking in the dried blood and bruises, then I say, “You look awful.”
He grins, making my heart do a silly flip flop. “You too, honey. Believe me.”
I smile, small, but a smile, and we get the hell out of there.
That seemed almost too easy.
But who am I to question things?
We’re free ... right?
IT TAKES US A FEW HOURS to get back into the land of the living, so to speak. We reach the city, and immediately pull over to find a phone. A gas station is the closest thing, and I use the bathroom, cleaning up as best I can before heading inside to ask to borrow the phone. The lady behind the counter is lovely and happily hands it over to me.
I have to be quick; Chase needs a hospital.
I dial Callie, thanking the good lord I always make myself memorize numbers of those close to me, always imagining a situation exactly like this where I’d need it. Tatum doesn’t know Tanner’s number, so I’m the only option we have of finding out where they are.
Surprisingly, Callie answers after a few rings and, with a cautious voice, says, “Hello?”
“Callie?” I whisper, my voice thick.
“Jo?” she gasps. “Jo, is that you?”
“It’s me.”
“You’re okay!” she cries, her voice breaking and the sound of crying coming through the phone. “Oh, thank god, they found you. They got to you.”
“We got out; Tatum got us out. Is Tanner out looking for us?”
Callie goes silent for a moment. “You didn’t see him and Ethan?”
“No, I didn’t. Wait, where are you?”
“I’m at the hotel, they convinced me to stay behind just in case something new came up. They found out where you guys are, and they are on their way right now to find you.”
“Does Tanner have his phone? Call him, Callie. Don’t let him go there, those men are still there, he could get hurt.”
“Shit, hang on, I’ll call him now.”
“Wait, before you go, where are you?”
She gives me the location where she’s staying and then hangs up after I tell her we’ll be there as soon as we’ve gotten checked out by the hospital. I rush back out to the truck and tell Tatum everything that’s happening.
He goes silent, his face scrunched up.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Something just doesn’t seem right. It all seems ... too easy. The fact that Tanner found out where we were so easily, it wasn’t a location that was simple to come across. And the fact that they let us go ...”
I know what he means, I felt the same way when we got out of there. The keys in the truck, the way they just let us overpower them. It all seemed ... set up.
“Do you think they wanted us to get away?” I ask.
“No.” Tatum shakes his head. “I think they want Tanner. He’s the one they’re after. He’s the one who started all of this. I’m startin’ to think they made it easy for him to find us, knowing he’d come after us ...”
“They’re going to kill him,” I whisper.
“And they were planning on killing us, too, but likely figured it didn’t matter if we got away or not, they knew Tanner would be on his way.”
“Oh, god,” I gasp. “They’re in danger, Tatum.”
He nods, and then says, “Get out, go inside, and call the police.”
“What?” I gasp.
“By the time we warn Tanner, it’ll be too late. We took half of them down, might as well finish it. We know where they are, we know that they’re waiting for him. Call the police, give them the location, end this once and for all.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper.
“It’s not worth riskin’ their lives. Go
!”
I do as he asks, rushing inside to borrow the phone again. I’m the only one who can, because if Tatum went inside looking the way he looks, they’d freak out. The lady lets me borrow the phone again, and I call the police. I tell them who I am because they already have our names, and then I tell them very quickly what’s happening.
When they tell me they’re sending people out to the location, I call Callie again.
“I couldn’t get hold of him,” she whispers, her voice frantic.
“I’ve called the police and sent them out there; it might be the only chance we have of getting that dick locked up. Sit tight, it’ll all be over soon.”
“What if they get hurt, Jo? I can’t bear any more pain ...”
“It’ll be okay, I promise. I’m coming back now. I’ll see you soon, okay.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
Once I’m done, I thank the lady behind the counter profusely, and she’s staring at me with wide eyes, having overheard my conversation. I smile at her, then rush back out to the car and face Tatum. “What now?” I ask.
He exhales. “We get him to the hospital, and then ... we wait.”
And pray.
Mostly pray.
6
CALLIE
“He’s not saying much,” I say, curling Jo’s fingers in my hand, not letting her go, too afraid that if I do, she’ll be gone forever this time. She doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, it would seem she’s getting comfort from my excessive affection toward her. “He’s ... distracted.”
I glance at Tanner who is sitting outside on the balcony, just staring. Tatum fell asleep an hour ago, when they all returned safely. Ethan went to the shower, quiet, and Tanner kind of ... just went outside. Whatever happened, it’s bothering him. I don’t know if I should push, or if I should just let him tell me.
I’ve never been so scared, as I was waiting for them to return, wondering what had happened. The police called a few times, and we gave them as much information as we could. They didn’t tell us much either, it’s like we’re sitting right out in the open and yet we’re in the dark. Pitch black darkness with no answers.