by Lake, Rae B.
"Dumbass, what makes you think they aren't going to put a bullet in our heads the minute they get her? Why would they put us up after we stole from them?"
He chuckles and looks back at me. I don't know what the fuck he finds so funny, but just the sound of him laughing is grating at my eardrums.
"Tricks of the trade, kid. I might have just been a henchmen for Ruby and Harrington, but I learned my fair share. The Croats value honor. If they give their word on something, they honor it. If the deal we make is they can't kill us, give us sanctuary, and allow us to live in peace, they will honor that. We can set it up so the only way they will get her back is to set us up first. It's a good deal." Vale seems excited about the possibilities, but I don't. I know about the Croatians. Keeley, Wire's ol' lady, is the fucking princess. They are not the type of people you want to fuck around with. This game he is playing is dangerous, and I don't see a way for it to end without it getting real fucking bad for us.
"Vale, I don't want this. You don't want this." I shake my head but don't look at him. I'm afraid if I do, I'll see it's a lie. "This isn't you."
"The fuck it isn't." Vale stands up and hovers over me, so I have no choice but to look up at him. "This is what's happening right now. We aren't backing out; we're not just letting her go. We are going to see this through. We. The both of us. Don't fucking cross me, Storm. Brothers stick together unless you mean to tell me this gash is more important than me."
I look toward the door, and though I can't see the woman any longer, I don't want to put her over my brother. I couldn't do that even though something animalistic inside of me screams yes. I know I’m just thinking with my dick. "She isn’t, but we can't win at this fucking game you are trying to play."
"No, we! You need to come to grips with this shit, Storm. We are in this shit together. I want to get you out too, but if you cross me, I'll leave your ass behind for them to find. Don't forget that shit. There's no fucking backing out now." He glares at me and then walks off.
He wouldn’t sacrifice me. No matter what he says, I know it. Here I am, giving up my life to make sure he's safe, and he says he’s ready to let me go down for his crimes. Especially if it means he gets to be free. I can’t fucking believe that. I won’t.
"Fucking hell!"
I wake up to Vale screaming and throwing shit across one of the rooms.
"What the hell is your problem now?" I sit up on the hard bed. I don't know how the patients here before us got any sleep. These things are harder than most prison mattresses.
"They can't set up a meeting for us until two weeks from now." His body is tense, and the phone in his hand protests with a small cracking sound as he squeezes it.
"Two weeks? Why the fuck is it going to take so long?" I'm completely awake now.
"Her father wants to come for her personally. They’re probably going to try and find a way to kill us first. We just have to stay alive long enough to get to the meeting. Except no one knows where we are. We're still good.”
"What do you think the blowback from this will be?" I ask, trying to wipe the sleep out of my eyes.
"Like opposition wise? They could send the Wings for us, but they don't know our location, as I said. We’ve been so erratic it'd be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. They could put our information out on the dark web, which is what I'm more concerned about. Many hitmen would kill for a contract from one of the top players in that family. We don't know any of those bastards. They could walk right by us, and we’d never see the kill coming. There are a few gangs around, but I'm not worried about them. The same reason I'm not worried about the Wings. I think as long as we stay hidden, we’ll be ok." He nods his head, and I can see him calm down.
"What about her? What about the girl? We can't just have her locked up in the cell the whole time." I stand and stretch. I find myself thinking about her too much, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
"Why the hell not?"
"What do you mean? Have you seen this fucking building? It's old as fuck, and there’s no electricity. I mean, it’s lucky we have a few new burner phones because we wouldn’t have any way to charge them. We can’t stay like this." How can he not see where we’re staying is a problem? For fucks sake, humans have basic fucking needs, or they die. Everyone knows that shit. One of those needs is shelter. Just because she’s in the house doesn't mean she’s sheltered from the elements. It's wet down there and cold. She's naked. There is no way she will be able to survive for the next two weeks down there.
"I was just fine last night." Vale shrugs.
"You were up here where there is fucking insulation. It's cold as fuck down there."
He rolls his eyes and turns away from me, "You are so fucking soft. She will be fine. Always trying to be the goddamn hero. You know, to get ahead, sometimes you have to be the villain. Besides, it's way more fun." He smiles at me, and I know he truly believes that. He thinks himself a villain. I don't, and this is where we have our problem. When I got Vale out, I thought he was truly repentant for what he’d done to our family, sorry for what he’d put Vale and Angel through. He wasn't, and he’d do it again if it meant he would get ahead in the world. There was no sacrifice in his blood for anyone. I was starting to wonder if there was any in him for me.
"I don't give a shit about all that. You’re telling me we need her to get the fuck out of this shit, and I'm assuming that means we need her alive. She needs to not fucking die of hypothermia if you plan on making a deal with the mob." I stare at him and dare him to say something against that. My logic is sound. He wants to make a deal that involves her being a trade, so she needs to stay alive at all costs.
"Fine, I'll get one of the rooms up here set up so she can be warm. That's all she’s getting, though. If she needs anything else, she's shit out of luck."
"Whatever, just get it set up right away. I'm already fucking cold."
I walk out of the room and do a light visual sweep of the area. I don't think anyone had managed to sneak inside here while we were sleeping, but you could never be too sure when it came to shit like this. The last thing we need was for one of us to get caught off guard by someone who decided to jump out and cut our heads off. When I think it’s completely safe, I find myself walking down to the main area. There is absolutely nothing to do. No electricity means no TV or radio. No books. No one to talk to. Nothingness, just me and my fucking demons again.
I sit in one of the hard chairs and look out the barred window. I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on what could happen here. I'm trying to imagine every fucking way this could go down where Wire would take me back. It's the only thing I want besides making sure my brother doesn't fucking die. I want to go home.
I think back on my patch mates. First, I thought my brother and I would join the Spawns of Chaos, but we didn't because they were just too much of an outlaw crew. That was our reasoning for not going there. They caused too much chaos and destruction, yet here we are only a few years later, and my brother has us kidnapping and beating a woman like it's an everyday occurrence. I don't believe him when he says being the villain is who he is. He was never like that before, and I don’t think a few years changes a man that much. I walk over to the window, hoping I don't see anyone trying to sneak their way over the large overgrown field in front of us. The plantation is massive, and there’s no way I’d be able to patrol all of it, but the front windows give a great vantage point. I should be able to see anyone before they get too close.
I put my hands in my pocket, and the first thing I feel is the burner phone Vale gave me. There are no numbers in it, but in my wallet is the number for home. I want to call it, to reach out and tell them I had no choice, and beg for them to take me back. How the fuck do I plan on doing that shit now? Would Keeley tell Wire I needed to die too because we took that woman? After all, if she was Marko Juric's niece, that meant she and Keeley were related. Fuck me. Every way I think of this, it just gets worse and worse. I don't want to think about this anymore. I just
want the time to hurry the fuck up so we can get this fucking meeting over with and move on with our lives. I'm not meant for this shit. Not at all.
I stand from the chair, filled with all this nervous energy. I have to do something while I’m here, or I will go out of my mind.
I thought I’d check the perimeter, but it’s still very early. If they are already out there, they’d see me coming out of the front for sure. I would have to wait until it’s later in the day before making sure there are no places people can sneak through.
I turn and walk down the long hallway. My eyes look toward the door I know leads to the basement. I can check on her and make sure she’s still in one piece. Besides, the fact I just realized she’s Keeley's relative sticks in my mind. I love Keeley like a sister. I don't want to hurt her any more than I already have by mistreating her family. I hustle down to the basement and nearly bust my ass on the wet stairs. I don't know if there’s a leak or if they are just wet from the moisture in the air down here, but there is no way it's comfortable. I move over to the door, and when I look through the small viewport, I can see the woman is still tied down, in the same manner she was yesterday, and her body is shaking violently. She is fucking freezing to death, just like I said she would.
"Motherfucker!" I growl and try to pull on the door, but it's bolted shut. I look around for a key or something, but I don't find anything that looks like it could be the key for the lock. "Hey, just hold on, ok. I'm coming back with a blanket or something."
She moans but doesn't say a word.
At least she’s still moaning for now.
I run back up the stairs and try to find Vale. He must have the key on him. I find him in one of the rooms cutting up some drugs with a card. If I could drop kick him in the fucking face right now, I would. "What the fuck are you doing? We’re up shit fucking creek, and you think now is a good time to get high? Where the hell are you even getting this shit anyway?" I put my hand out to grab the small amount of powder from him, but he picks up the plate and moves it away before I can.
"Fuck you. I don't tell you what to fucking do, so don't get on my case. This is how I fucking relax. We're not going anywhere for a while. Might as well." He turns his back to me and continues cutting the drugs. "You want a hit?" He asks but doesn't look at me.
"No, asshole, I don't want a fucking hit. I want the key to the girl’s cell."
This gets his attention. "I told you there's no fucking backing out of this. If you fucking let her go, I promise you it will be the end of us." He growls at me. Vale said the end of us, but I'm sure he meant to say the end of me for some reason.
"And I fucking told you, it's freezing down there. You got her damn near naked in a wet, cold basement. She’s barely fucking conscious. The woman is going to freeze to death, and then what the fuck will we have? Give me the key so I can give her a blanket or some shit." I put my hand out and wait for him to put the key in my hand.
"Whatever. She's just playing you. She is a tricky one. Watch yourself." He hands me the key and continues fixing his drugs.
I search through each room on this floor for something to use. There is hardly anything in them except a few sheets and blankets. All of them are dirty and full of mold from years of just laying in one spot. I manage to get one that doesn't look too bad though it smells like shit, and head back down to her. I use the key Vale gave me, and the old door creaks open loudly.
Her lips are turning blue, and she barely has her eyes open. When I touch her leg, she wakes with a start. She tries to wiggle away from me, but she’s still tied down, so she can't.
"Hey, hey, relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise I won't hurt you." I try to calm her down, but she just whimpers and continues to try and get away. It's not until then I realize why she isn't talking. My brother put a gag in her mouth and taped it shut. I throw the stuff I found onto her and slowly pull the tape and the gag from her mouth.
"Please. Please. Just let me go. I don't know anything. Please." She begs, her voice nothing more than a croak.
"I can't. I just want you to get warm, ok. I'm not going to hurt you." I wipe some of the dirt and blood from her face. Her eyes stay on my face, and I can see the sadness and fear there. I hate that it's me who put it there. This isn’t me. I may be an asshole when it came to men, but hurting women has never been a part of who I am. She could be someone’s sister, someone’s mother, and I’m helping hold her hostage. I hate myself a little more because of it. "Don't scream, ok. If you scream, he will come down here and make me put the gag back in. You understand?"
She nods her head weakly, and her teeth chatter as she continues to shiver. I take the blankets and begin wrapping her up the best I can while she’s still in this position. I don't want to risk her breaking out if I take her out of the restraints.
"I know these smell like shit, but at least it'll help you get warm." I stuff them as far under her as I can before I grab some more and drape them over her.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" She asks, her eyes scanning over my face skeptically.
"I don't want anything, but my brother thinks you could be our ticket out of the mess we’re in. We need asylum. He thinks your father will do that for us to save you." I explain to her the important parts of the plan. There’s no reason to keep it a secret. Maybe if she knows what’s going on, she’ll be more likely to help us. I doubt it, but there’s always the fucking chance.
She laughs, "It'll never fucking work. That’s not how they operate. You won't even make it to the meeting."
"They have no idea where we are." I stand straight and stare down at her. This woman is laying here tied down to a metal slab in the basement of an abandoned plantation, and she has the nerve to fucking laugh at me. I may not want to hurt her, but I don’t need to be humiliated either. She's not the smartest fucking tool in the shed.
"You think they won't find you? Your brother killed my CPO, so my father and uncle already know they’re under attack. They’re just getting all their ducks in a row. They will send everyone they have after you, and there’s no fucking rock either of you will be able to crawl under where they won't find you. The second you both put your hands on me was the start of your journey to the grave. Now we just wait for the reaper to come and collect. It won't be long now." She smiles at me. Those two-toned eyes glint with her sinister words before she closes them and begins to shiver again.
“Yeah, they might find us, but before they do, Vale will kill you. I don’t understand what you don’t get about that. You think I want this to be happening right now? That I want to see you here stuck in this fucked up cell? I need to make this work to get everyone the fuck out of here alive.” I try to appeal to her. Maybe if she realized I was doing my best to get her out, she would help me.
“If he kills me, he kills me. My father will avenge me and everyone you thought was safe; all your family, friends, even your associates will be killed. I don’t want to die, but the second your brother took me, it sealed your fate.”
"Fuck this." I turn and walk out of the cell, making sure to close the door on the way out and bolt it shut. I don't want to think about what she said. I already know they’re capable of it. I just hoped we’d be the exception. She didn't think so.
The next day is just more of the same. Vale and I wait. On a count down until the meet with the delegates from the Croatian mob to set up a deal in exchange for the woman. He sleeps and does drugs but little else. By mid-day, I realize none of us had anything to fucking eat. No wonder I feel like shit. If I feel like this, I have no idea what the fuck she feels like down there.
"Vale, we need to get some food. There’s nothing here, and none of us will survive without something soon." I shake him.
He rolls over in the bed. "Can't go." He slurs before he tries to roll back over.
"Can't go where?" I pull him back, so he has to look at me. His eyes don't focus on any one thing, just flit from place to place before his lids close, and he’s snoring again.
He's high, and probably why he doesn't feel as hungry as I do. His body is living off the fucking drugs.
I’m not going to get any more information out of him. I think I know what he was saying anyway. There is no way I can go into town, though. Not now. Not since we already know more than just a few people will be searching for us. That leaves me trying to find something on the plantation grounds that may feed us. At this point, I would eat the fucking worms in the dirt just to get rid of these damn hunger pains. I grab one of his large hoodies and slowly make my way outside. I have my gun, but I don't know if I’d even have the chance to use it. I don't think a trained assassin is just going to jump out of the bushes and say, ‘hey, I'm here to kill you’. It just makes me feel better to hold it.
The yard is completely overgrown behind the mansion, but I see quite a few trees and crops looking to have self-seeded. I'm no fucking farmer, so I don't know what shit is growing there, but I can identify some berries and apples. A few plants are growing in what looks like an old garden bed, so I start pulling them up, and I’m relieved to find some sweet potatoes in the ground. Most of them I pull out are rotten, but a few seem good enough to eat. It’s the only food I can find, but I know we need more. I guess I can see if there’s any wildlife in the area, I could hunt, except I wasn't the best fucking hunter. The only time I went hunting was when I was told there’d be booze. I just stayed with the bikes and drank the entire time. Never actually shot anything.