by M. G Rayne
Charging forward, I'm instantly in front of her as she drops to her knees. Wrapping my arms around her she starts to scream. What have they done to you?
“Mel,” whispered close to her ear. Please let her hear me.
Violent shakes rack her whole body, muffled screams are still trying to escape her mouth but can’t as it has been duct taped shut. I forgot about her. How could I? Guilt races through me, how could I? Seeing her like she is, I hate myself.
“Mel, sweetie. I’m here.” The shaking starts to slow, her eyes land on mine. The pain I see there breaks my heart in two. I failed her. Her body is riddled in bruises, her once bright eyes are dead. There isn’t any light behind them anymore. Mumbling something, she gives a slight nod in agreement.
“You said she would be fine.”
“Well, unfortunately she got a bit wild. So we had to put her in her place.” The smug expression that graces his face pisses me off even further.
“What plan do you think I’m doing?”
“Word is, you’re in the lineup for the Death Royale.”
“The what?” Death Royale, what the fuck is that?
“Death Royale.” He steps so close we are nose to nose, his eyes flick between mine searching for something.
“I haven’t got a clue what that is or what you are going on about.” A deep sigh escapes my mouth.
“You don’t know? Alexander has a plan for you.”
“What the fuck are you on about?” People and their fucking secrets are starting to pluck at my last nerve.
The fucker takes great pleasure in telling me all about the competition itself, but it's obvious he doesn’t know everything. There are holes in this story. He thinks Alexander has entered me into it as his prize fighter. But it sounds like a giant free for all where men can measure their dick sizes and see who is the ultimate badass.
A hand wraps around my throat. Whoever has hold of me is around my height if the tightness of his grip is anything to go by. He is trying to assert his dominance. The main man himself seems delighted by this as a hungry gaze shows behind his eyes.
“You are going to fight, Reaper, but you will lose.” What is it with everyone asking me to throw a goddamn fight? It’s not in my nature.
“Why? What’s in this for me?”
“Well, me and the organiser have a deal. We both want you to lose this fight and make us money,” he says and before I have a chance to respond he continues...
“Since your name has been posted the ticket sales have gone through the roof for the event.”
“Ticket sales? I'm an underground fighter. It isn’t something that is really broadcasted all over the place.”
“Doesn’t matter, people want to see how you fare with the big boys, darlin’.” My life was so quiet. How has it turned into this shitshow so fast?
“Are you trying to be a cryptic asshole? Or does it just come naturally?”
“I'm just an asshole, baby.” Is he gonna get to the damn point? Pulling teeth would be less painful.
“You are going to fight. Then I will collect what is owed to me.”
“What do you mean, what's owed to you?” I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
I feel numb, my body is frozen to the spot. How could my dad do something like this? Fuckface here is all smiles and laughter thinking I’m going to agree to this. Has everybody gone insane? I’m still trying to process what has been said when Mel starts to scream as one of the goons starts pulling her up from the ground. Everything slots into place, why they took Mel. Why he thinks he is owed from a deal made twenty years ago by my parents. Why have they hurt her like they have?
“Meeeeeel,” I roar as my body moves on its own. Good girl, she’s hit the deck.
Throwing my head back, I hit goon one in the nose. Running behind the nearest tree, I check to make sure Mel is safe. All the men are standing around in shock. They weren't expecting me to react like this. Taking advantage, I pull my gun and start firing.
One down. Running for cover against another tree, luckily for me the tree line is shaded from the sun's glare. Which gives me the perfect hiding spot to disorientate them. All the men are firing at the spot I was just in. I fire off another four rounds. Four of the goons drop. Checking for Mel, I see she has managed to get herself into the tree line. Five down, three to go.
“Who the hell are you?” The last goon screams into the air. I pull my knife from my ankle.
“The Reaper.” I take a deep inhale, I fire. Before his body even hits the ground, I am out of my hiding spot. With a flick of my wrist, the knife I was holding sails through the air and hits the one who dragged Mel by the neck. One left.
The fear on his face sends a pleasant shiver throughout my body. Yeah, Dude, you fucked up.
“Wait. Wait. Please.” God what a snivelling little rat. Not so cocky now, are you?
Stalking forward I allow a sadistic grin to form on my face, which ramps up his fear even further. He’s running for his life, well the best he can considering he’s doing it backwards. Clever Man. Not wanting to take his eyes off me, but it hasn’t become clear to him just yet that he won’t be leaving here alive. He trips and lands on his ass. Looking down on him, I pin him to the ground with a foot to his chest.
“My dad may have made a deal with yours...” I lean more weight into the foot holding him, then I slowly crouch down.
“You kidnap my family, then tell me I am supposed to become your wife.” Venom pours from my voice.
“I will not be owned like an object. I will not kiss anyone’s feet.” The asshole starts stuttering so badly his words don’t make any sense at all. I’ve had enough of this shit.
Bang!! Watching the shock disappear as the light dims in his eyes brings a sick sort of satisfaction to me. He got everything he deserved for hurting my family. Now the hardest thing of all is in my path, helping Mel through this.
Chapter Thirteen
Reika
No emotions filter in from what I have just done. Personally, I think he died too quickly for my liking. Still standing over his body, I hear a muffled sound. Grabbing my knife out of the other guy's throat, I wipe the blood from it on his suit jacket.
I cautiously walk over to the tree that Mel is sitting behind, my heart breaks at the massive tears rolling down her face.
“Shhhhh. I got you girl. I’m gonna take the tape of your mouth. That ok?” The fear rolling of her is disorientating. It’s bringing nausea to my stomach. Now, crouched in front of her, I can take a better look. The person that stares back at me is even more broken than I am.
“I’m sorry. If I pull this off slowly it's gonna hurt more. Ok?” With a slight nod of her head. I tear the duct tape from her mouth. She’s trying her hardest to pull deep breaths in. Sitting down on the ground, I start to work on her wrists and ankles.
Once she’s able to move, violent sobs tear from her throat, and the shaking becomes a whole-body tremor. What the hell do I say? Not knowing what to do with myself, I sit quietly rubbing my hand up and down her back. Just wait, Reika. That's all you can do.
Watching the closest thing to family breaking apart in front you is the worst feeling ever. I don’t know if I want to cry with relief that she’s here, or cry because she is the shell of the person she was before. I can’t push her about what happened to her, the bruises tell me as much. Without warning Mel launches herself at me, hugging me so tight I can hardly breathe. I can’t hear what she's mumbling into my shoulder, she’s holding on for dear life. Hugging her, I wait until the shaking starts to die down.
Her sobs have become quieter.
“Mel, Sweetie, I am so sorry you got dragged into this.”
“Y, Y, You came for me.” The surprised tone she says this with is like a knife straight to the heart.
“Always. I’m so sorry it’s taken so long.” My voice trembles under the pressure I am feeling. She’s so lost now. What if it had taken longer to find her? No, Reika. Stop that thought.
“You kille
d them?”
“I, um...” What do I say to that? Not exactly like I can say yeah. Of course. It was fun.
“Thank you.” My heart breaks a little more that she is thanking me.
“You don’t need to say thank you!”.
“Mel, I - I’m so - I’m sorry they hurt you. I’m so goddamn sorry.” The doors on my emotions fly open and I break down into tears, which then sets Mel off again. We cling onto each other like we will fall off the earth if we let go.
Her shaking pulls me back to my senses. I don’t know how long we have been sitting on the ground but Mel is frozen to the core. I get to my feet. She grabs my calves not wanting to release me. Then I bend down and scoop her into my arms. With her arms wrapped as tightly as she can, I head in the direction of the truck, whispering into her ear, “Don’t look.” I don't want her to witness the scene around us of bodies all over the place. It’s bad enough she had to see me cause all this. Good thing Daddy taught me well. I always complained when I was younger why I couldn’t be a normal child and play like the neighbors' kids. I had martial arts training before and after school every night of the week and firearms training three times a week. You never know when you might need to use your skills, Little Reaper. They will keep you safe. I could never understand his words because I have hated them since that night. I always hated the way he said things, like they will keep me safe. If he really believed that, why didn’t they help them?
Making it back to the truck, I hear a noise coming from the foot well. Getting Mel seated in the cab, I fumble around looking for whatever is causing the noise. My fingers brush my phone as it goes onto voicemail.
“One sec. Lock the doors if you want too.” Nodding again, she pulls her legs into her chest.
15 missed calls - Unknown Number
20 missed calls -Marcus
25 messages - Unknown Number
10 messages - Marcus
10 missed calls - Tom
15 messages - Tom
What the fuck? The fucking pyscho has put his number in my phone. Wait, how the fuck did he unlock it? That crazy ass prick. What the hell is wrong with these people? He must have used my thumb print at some point while I was out of it. Fuck it, I’ll deal with this shit later. Swiping all the notifications off. I scan my contacts for the number I need. Hitting dial as soon as the number pops up on contacts. I pace listening to the line ring.
“Billy here, what can I do for you?” So fucking formal, clearly didn’t save my number like I told him too.
“It's Reaper. I need you for a cleanup.” Thank God he hasn’t changed his number. Now I know what people would think if they knew the sort of people I know, but as a teenager I did some very shady shit for people to try and cure the anger I was constantly feeling.
“Fucking Hell, Reaper! What did you do?”
“Doesn’t concern ya ass, Billy. Can you do the clean up or not?”
“Yeah, Yeah. Usual fee applies though girlie.” Does it now.
“You sure on that one? You owe me for helping with your shit few years back.”
“But...”
“No but’s! You owe me, so what do you say?”
“We square after this?”
“Yep.” He doesn’t respond. The line is silent for ages.
“Where? How many?”
“Clearing on Langdale Road. Eight.”
“Eight!” he screeches down the line. Fucking hell, is he trying to make my ears bleed?
“Yeah, Eight. I'll make it nine if you screech in my ear like that again.”
“You're a psychopath. Get out of there. We are on our way.”
Not having to be told twice, I shut down the call and make my way to my side of the truck. Unlocking the truck a blood curdling scream hits my ears. I jump in without thinking and Mel nearly jumps out of the window.
“Shit, Mel. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m taking you to my place.” Shaking her head so fast, it looks like she's trying to snap her neck.
“No. No. No. No. They’ll find us.” Shit! She’s breaking down again. Think, Reika. That’s it.
“Mel, I’m gonna head to Tom’s cabin. Is that ok with you?”
“D, D, Does he. Does he know?” I shake my head in answer and she sags in relief at my words.
An hour later we pull onto the track that leads to the cabin. This is the perfect place to keep off the radar for a few days. Tom doesn’t know, but I’ve hidden a few things around here. Mel doesn’t want to get out of the van, so I offer to carry her which she accepts. Shifting her weight to be able to unlock the door I head to the living room and place her on the sofa.
“I’m gonna go look for a change of clothes for you.” I head off on my search and send a message to Tom to let him know we are safe.
Hey, sorry missed calls. Can’t talk. we are safe!
I need you to bring me and Mel a few changes of clothes
to the cabin. If that’s ok?
I’ll call later to explain as much as I can x
What the hell Ry. I'll grab you guys some stuff
but I need to know what is going on. Kane and
his brothers turned up here yesterday looking
for you?
See you in a couple hours! x
For fuck’s sake, can’t I catch a break? His attitude is really starting to piss me off. They can stew for all I care, but we need words about this fucking Death Royale thing. Finding some of Mel’s clothes in the laundry room, I head to the bathroom and lift out her favorite shower gels, shampoo and conditioner. I lay out fresh towels and turn the shower on, then make my way back to the living room to find Mel still in the same position I had left her in.
“The shower is on for you, Sweetie. I've laid out fresh towels and your favorite shower stuff.” She just nods.
“I’ll make us some food, while you're in there. You want a coffee?” She nods again and slowly gets up from the sofa. Watching as she heads down to the bathroom, my emotions run away with me. Tears well in my eyes. How can I help her through this?
Finding bacon and eggs in the fridge, I give them a sniff to check that they aren’t going to give us food poisoning. From where I am standing in the kitchen, I can hear the rumble of an engine heading our way. Shit. He must have floored it. As I wash my hands, I see the recovery truck come out of the lane from the woods.
“Mel, I’m just going for fresh air.” Not waiting for a reply, I head out to meet him.
I wait out on the porch, my brain just switches off. My thoughts are all over the place.
“What the hell, Ry?”
“Shhh! Keep your voice down. I’ll tell you what I can, but please stay calm.”
Taking a seat on the porch swing, I take a deep breath and start to tell him about everything I can. The words fall out of my mouth like word vomit. I can only tell him everything to the point I know of. He repeatedly asks throughout if Mel is ok, but what can I say? Once I finish, I look up and meet his eyes to find tears rolling down his cheeks. This guts me even more. Tom has always thought himself as our protector, a saviour and he feels guilty that he couldn’t protect her. He hasn’t started cussing me out or anything, yet. If anyone is to blame for this it is me. My past has come to bite me in the ass. One thing is for sure, whatever my dad was into all those years ago is making waves in my life now. I need to distance myself from everyone once I help Mel deal with her trauma. I will not put people I care about in harm's way.
“You can’t blame yourself, Ry.”
“I am to blame for this, Tom. If it wasn’t for me and my fucked-up past, this wouldn’t have happened.” All three of us have always been close since I met them as kids, but if I am truly honest with myself, they are closer to each other. They were both close when we met and I kind of wedged myself in there so two became three. Now someone I love has been hurt because of me.
“You have always said your dad was a good man, Ry.”
“I was wrong. He made a deal with a man that I would be his son's wife.”
“Yeah, the guy who took Mel. She was hurt because of me and I can never forgive myself for that.”
Wallowing in self-pity isn’t going to make this any better. Shooting to my feet, I turn to head to the door when I notice Mel standing there.
The look of defeat and sadness across her face tips my emotions over the edge and a tear escapes my eye. Slowly I approach her, waiting for a slap or something. We stand staring at each other until she wraps her arms around me. How can she even do this after everything?
“You saved me, Reika,” she whispers into my ear.
“I’m so sorry.”
Mel heads to the other chair next to Tom and motions for me to take a seat.
“What happened Mel?”
With a tearful look at us both, she starts to tell us what happened while she was kidnapped. I never knew my heart could break any more than it already has, but hearing what she has been through breaks it even further. I can tell she isn’t telling us the whole truth but I can't force her. After a couple of hours talking, we realize that we haven’t eaten anything yet. Tom heads inside to cook us dinner, as I realize the sun is setting and night is coming in.
Chapter Fourteen
Kane
“What you got for me, Fox?” He better have found her. She's been gone for three weeks. Three goddamn fucking weeks and nobody can find her.
“Nothing on Reika yet, boss. But I do have info on the people who took her friend.”
“What about them?” She has to be hunting down Mel, it is the only thing that explains her being unreachable.
“They're dead.” What the fuck?
Marcus enters the office as Fox tells me this, his eyes widen in surprise. Nodding to the seat in front of me, I hit the speaker so we can both hear.