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Present Day
“What the fuck are we going to do?” I scream, searching his pockets for another clip. Unfortunately, I come up empty. “Argh! Did you seriously not bring any more?”
“I wasn’t prepared to carry you back,” he retorts, finally turning another corner of the tunnel. “None of this was here in the plans,” he grunts, setting me down and pushing me further into the wall. More boots come pounding down the hall, and even more gunfire than before. It’s so loud it sounds like it’s coming from both sides.
Peeking from around the corner, I realize there are men coming from both sides. It’s hard to see anything past the haze, dust, and debris falling from the ceiling mixed with the powder of the guns firing off. Feeling around for Daryn, I realize quickly that he’s not with me. I want to scream and curse, but that wouldn’t do us any good. I will admit that I have never been one to run from a fight, but I’m extremely under prepared.
Just as I’m about to make a run for it, someone suddenly stands in front of me and swings. Swiftly dodging it, I manage to slam my head into the wall next to me and get an instant headache. My reaction time is sluggish as he grabs my hair and drags me out of my hiding spot. I struggle and try to break his hold, but the number I did on my own head doesn't help anything. The circle of gun fire ceases almost immediately as I scream and thrash to break free.
“Look what I have here,” he shouts as his arm wraps around my throat tightly. Squeezing tightly, I struggle to get air into my lungs. “She was hiding away like a coward, nothing new,” he tsks, holding his gun outward toward everyone else. Tucking my chin downward is pointless as I grapple and break the skin on his arm just to breathe.
“What do you want, huh? Your gang of misfits have pretty much all fallen or have surrendered,” Daryn shouts from his position next to Prez. I try to look, but that only prompts Heckles to tighten his hold even more.
“You think I care about them?” He spits, pointing the gun at my head instead. “They were simply extra hands to attain what I want. What I need! They knew what they were signing up for, and that’s on them!”
“What do you even want her for?” Prez shouts, his gun still aimed directly for me. Well, probably Heckles, but I’m the target currently as he uses me for a shield.
“She’s mine!” He roars, cocking back the hammer of the gun. I want to swallow, but it just pools in my mouth as his hold finally cuts off any flow. “If I can’t have her, none of you can!” Pleading with my eyes to my team, I try to tell them to leave me. If we can convince him that I’m not interested in leaving, I may be able to save myself.
“I don’t want to leave you,” I croak, rubbing his bloody arm soothingly. The team looks at me like I’m crazy, but I have to hope they can see that I’m just trying to live. His arm loosens a bit, so I keep going. “They didn’t know that we were in love.”
“They didn’t, did they?” He asks, and I swear I can hear the smugness on his face.
“Don’t listen to her, boss-” one of Heckles' men tries to shout, but Prez quickly silences him with a bullet to the head. Unfortunately for me, Heckles doesn’t like that, and his arm tightens around my neck again. This time, I’m able to tuck my chin into the crook of his elbow, and I wait. Keeping one arm clasped tightly around his forearm, the other tries to soothe him.
My heart feels as though it’s going to beat right out of my chest as I stare directly at Knuckles. He looks like he’s seen a ghost, which may be for many different reasons. I will guess it’s probably because my life is latched into the hands of a psychopath. I don’t want to startle Heckles and give him a reason to shoot me, and my eyes are failing to portray that I need them to stop stirring shit up.
“Don’t let them fool you, baby,” I coo, keeping my voice soft and gentle in an attempt to coax him into letting me go. Heckles still has a ton of men on his side even though Daryn and Silent Renegade have almost triple the manpower. All it takes is a single bullet before shit goes down hill.
“What the fuck is happening?” Daryn shouts, his voice carrying across the filled tunnel effortlessly. A few rocks come down off the ceiling, and it doesn’t take a genius to realize this place isn’t structurally sound. To be honest, I’m surprised it didn’t crumble during the raid. More voices start shouting, Heckles following suit. More pebbles fall, adding the noise of their clattering as they drop.
Subtly, I realize the ground is also starting to quake. Meeting Knuckles eyes, I flick my gaze between him and Prez, hoping he will get the hint. Thankfully, he nudges Prez who looks at me, and I look up at the ceiling. At that moment, it seems that he’s realizing what’s going on. None of us want to give way to what’s happening, yet if we don’t, we’re all royally screwed.
“Heckles, baby,” I say with a sultry tone and spin around as best I can in his arm. His grip loosens even more to accommodate me, and I realize just how easy it would be to kill him. Looking into his eyes, his pupils are dilated. Like a light bulb, I realize that he must be experiencing a sense of psychosis, and the fear he’s feeling of losing me has him reacting this harshly. Now that I have figured it out, it doesn’t help me much. He is still refusing to let go, and unless I can get him to willingly release me, there’s no hope. I would be better off sending the crew away from here and saving them instead.
I wonder…
“I think I should kill them for the pain they have put us through,” I mutter, crawling my hand up his shirt. It’s sweaty and sticking to his skin. Usually I would find that attractive, but the trauma really does riddle a person’s way of thinking. “Don’t you think that’s a great idea?”
“I’m not falling for that!” He shouts, his arm wrapping tightly around me like an anaconda. I pretend not to notice, instead looking over my shoulder at the stunned group.
God, they really are idiots. But they are all my idiots.
“Falling for what?” I huff, rolling my eyes overdramatically. “Can’t you see that I was kidnapped? I just wanted you to give chase to me, make me feel wanted again,” I sigh sadly, hoping my acting skills aren’t lacking me.
“This is a game to you?” Daryn asks, obviously not catching on.
“It wasn’t a game to me!” I shout, praying that they understand it’s all a ploy. With the real looks of shock on their faces, I’m guessing the chances are slim to none. Hopefully they are all just really good actors too.
“You want to prove yourself to me, baby?” He questions as he rubs his thumb over the revolver of his gun. Pondering for a few moments, he gives me the weapon and shoves me away from him. “Kill him.” He points to Prez who goes pale.
“Easy,” I scoff, walking toward him.
“From here,” he calls, grabbing my wrist and stopping me. More and more pebbles litter the ground as he shouts, and I’m just hoping to whatever higher power that I can get us out of here in time.
“I think getting them in the center of the eyes is more personal, don’t you think?” I quiz, pointing the gun at my head. His own face whitens as he takes a single step forward. “Nuh-uh-uh. You’ll stay where you are. If you had to right a wrong, would you simply kill them from afar? No! That’s too impersonal, even for you. When someone takes something away from you for so long, you have to take revenge by the horns. He kept me from you, don’t you see?” I plead and throw my arms outward. Circling, I showcase everything around us.
“I’m sorry, my love.” Like a child pouting, he takes a few steps back and rests against a wall. Him brushing against it shows how little time we have as the ground starts to audibly quake below us. “Darling,” he calls with a panic.
