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“What is too late?” I demanded.
“He was planning on taking her away… to Gordon’s Run—”
“The field half an hour from here?”
“Yes,” Bryan nodded. “It’s miles from anything… No one will hear her scream.”
I wanted to scream and roar, but I willed myself to keep calm. “When is he planning on taking her there?”
“He’s already gone,” Bryan said fearfully. “This morning at seven. I left shortly after he left with her.”
I looked down at the time. It was almost noon. Five fucking hours. It had been five fucking hours since he’d taken her. He could have killed her a thousand times over. I felt my stomach fall, but I knew I had to try.
I jumped to my feet. “I’m heading over there,” I shouted orders to the boys remaining. “Get some answers out of him,” I told Red, who followed me to my bike. “Get him to tell you where Ghost was keeping Mila all this time.”
“I’ll come with you—”
“Send back up,” I told him. “You know where to come… Make sure you get the answers first.”
I whirled my bike around, revved the engine, and headed down the road. I was conscious of Red still talking, but I was done talking. It was time for action. I was probably already too late, but I wasn’t going to give up until I saw a body.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mila
The door opened, and I felt my heart jump in my chest. It was almost painful, like something heavy had just fallen right on top of me. Walter walked into the room and gave me a smile full of promise and excitement. I could see that he was looking forward to this so-called trip he had planned. It was just another exercise in mental torture, so I was determined not to let my fear break through my calm exterior.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” I replied, giving him a condescending glance that did not betray my fast beating heart.
“One of you get in here and un-cuff her,” Walter ordered.
One of the bigger men walked into the room with the tiny key and released me from the cuffs. For a giddy moment, I wanted to sing out loud. Having my hands free from the painful grip of the restraints was so beautiful that for a moment, I actually felt lucky. I had cuts all around my wrists. The skin there was red and throbbing, revealing little pockets of flesh where the skin had been rubbed away by the cuffs.
Before I could really examine them, the big man grabbed me by the arm and dragged me off the bed. My legs gave way, and I sunk to the floor, but he lifted me as easily as though I weighed a couple of pounds.
“Come now, Mila,” Walter said as his smile grew wider. “Do you want to walk out of here or be carried out of here?”
I didn’t let his tone or his expression get to me. Let him think I was weak… that suited me just fine. I actua
lly wanted him to think I was weak; maybe that would work to my advantage.
I was dragged out of the room, and I made sure to pay attention to where I was. I had been right all along. I had been kept in a basement. We had to walk up a short flight of stairs before reaching the first floor of the house, which turned out to be a pretty ordinary one. It almost looked like a happy family might have lived here at one time. I wondered how Walter had gained control of it. There was no sign of Steven, and I felt sad that I couldn’t say goodbye to him. There was a very good possibility that I wasn’t coming back.
I didn’t let myself think about what that really meant. I had to stay calm, and I had to stay focused. Otherwise, there was no point. I might as well just lie down now and let Walter kill me. But I had spent the last few hours thinking hard, and I had decided that since there was no guarantee about how this was going to turn out, the only thing I could do was try my best to fight back.
Even if I didn’t get myself out of this mess, then at least I died trying. I added ‘literally’ to the end of that sentence, and it almost made me laugh.
There were a few men standing outside where a car had been parked. Everyone looked towards me as I appeared at the entrance, but I didn’t make eye contact. What was the point? They were the ones that had kidnapped me; they weren’t about to offer me help now. I turned my attention to my surroundings, and I felt my breath catch when I realized that we were still in the heart of town, surrounded by suburban homes with well-kept lawns and minivans parked in the drive.
This particular house was hidden behind a red brick wall that had vines growing on it so that no one could see inside very clearly, and Walter’s men could come and go without people getting too suspicious about what they were up to. He had been hiding in plain sight this whole time. I had to admit; it had been a smart move.
I looked towards his men standing to the side, and then I turned to Walter. “Quite the entourage you’ve got there,” I said. “Are they all coming?”
“I like an audience when I play,” Walter smirked at me.
I felt panic choking me, but I had promised myself to try and manipulate the situation to my advantage. I needed to get my way without allowing Walter to know what I was up to. “Of course you do,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Typical.”
