The door swings open to reveal a sparse room with nothing but a bed and a small table. The walls are bare concrete, and a single light fixture casts harsh shadows across the floor. My head is spinning violently, and my eyes can barely stay open. Their voices inaudible, and their laughter haunting.
I’m thrown to the hard, disgusting mattress. I kick and scream, and I hear my phone fly against the wall. I see two pairs of men’s legs in their stupid black suits from my angle as they hold my head down, trying as hard as I can to get them off me. And then a pinch on my arm makes me hiss. I can barely lift my body up from their hold when I see one of them holding asyringe. I want to go home. My heart races and I feel so scared, but I have to push through and be strong.
I try to claw at the man’s wrist, but I’m met with a backhanded slap to my face that makes me bite my cheek, blood on my tongue and tears threatening from the sting of it.
“You don’t want to mess with us,” one man says. I can’t even respond. I’m writhing, the heat from what they injected burning my veins, making me want to scratch my skin off.
Their laughter reverberates again, and I hear the clinking of a belt, a rush of movement, and fear surges through my entire being. One lifts my arms over my head, pins them violently, while the other spreads my legs apart.
No, please, this can’t be happening.
“Hurry up, I’m next,” the other man says, and I’m too drugged up to say a word. Tears leak onto my face. My body, in excruciating silence, begs not to be violated, to only have Liam’s hands ever touch me. Earn me. Love me. And I want these men dead.
I fight with my body's strength to push him away, but he’s too strong, too close. He reaches to unzip his pants when the door flies open.
“What the fuck are you doing?” a voice says, stopping the two men in their tracks, and they both release me.
“Get off her, you’re not supposed to touch her. Get out.”
I turn my head, heavier than a brick wall, and my eyes fall on Tyler’s. My breath is shallow from the drugs as he lifts me up into his arms.
“Fuck, my dad is going to kill me.” I hear him say.
I can barely make out the question, “Who’s your fath—” Before my eyes close of their own accord and I hear Tyler say, “Take her.”
My spine turns solid with fear, and darkness pulls me under, dragging me down into a bottomless sleep.
Forty-Three
Liam
Rage.
Pure blinding rage as I stare into the empty bedroom.
My bedroom, my bed and my fucking woman, in my fucking house. Vanished.
Pure fury engulfs me into spasms of pain, fear, anger and bewilderment. How did someone get through? The sliding window remained intact, this means…
They were inside the entire time. Watching us as I possessed every inch of her. Watching me take what’s mine and in the same breath — they stole her from me.
I’ve never felt more murderous. Someone is going to die tonight.
I look over at Joe, who is as astonished as I am, as he murmurs profanities and sits on the bed, his head wrapped in his hands.
“It’s my fault, it’s all my fault. I made some calls and… I think I…” he says, pained, and as much as I want to agree with him, nothing productive will come of blaming one another.
“Joe, this is not the time. We have to go find her.” I clasp his shoulder.
He stands up, jumping up and down to get his blood flowing, like we do before a boxing match, and I realize how I’ve missed the asshole. “Okay, the boys will be here soon.” He paces a few steps. “I have to go take care of something,” he says as he strolls out of the bedroom, leaving me with a torturous emptiness that I let her down.
“Fuck.” My fist punches the wall, my knuckles bleeding, but it doesn’t remotely soothe any of the pain I feel. Love, I love her so fucking much. It’s paralyzing. I’ll find her; I’ll bring her home. Home, this is her home. She’s, my home.
I head to my office and pull out from one of my drawers the maps Damien had drawn of the underground location Sara had described in detail. I know she’s there. I look at my phone and try to locate her, and the loading seconds are like a hot blade digging into my skin.
Until…
Bingo.
