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* * *
Iwoke up tied to a chair, blood dripping from my pinky finger.Ithad been poorly bandaged with a rag, the scent of anti-septic difficult to deny.Therancid taste in my mouth left it dry, craving water.Myeyes peeled open with great effort to take in my surroundings.Therewas no outside light coming in, and it smelled damp and moldy.Wewere in some sort of basement.
Devcircled my chair with a bat in his hand.Hisclothes were disheveled, and his wild eyes looked out of place on his grief-stricken face.
“Lookwho’s finally awake,” he spoke tauntingly.
“Howlong haveIbeen here?”Myvoice was coarse.
“Twenty-four hours.”
Shit.
Lukewas instructed to check onPoppyifIever went missing for more than six hours, and he was given specific instructions not to let harm befall her unless he wanted to pay with his own life.ButIhad a sinking feeling that after hearing the gunshot over the phone,Poppywouldn’t sit pretty.
WhenDevapproached me in the parking lot, gun in his hand,IknewIwas facing a man who was on the brink of insanity.Nonetheless,Isaw something in his eyes thatPoppycouldn’t see through the phone.Thebleak emptiness of a man who had nothing left to lose.
Ihad helped many like him before.Ifthere was somethingIunderstood, it was the deep isolation that led people down a dark path.PerhapsIhad no problem ripping someone to pieces if they touchedPoppy, but for some reason,Icouldn’t exercise the same wrath toward someone trying to hurt me.
Devneeded a second chance.
Correction.Devwanted a second chance.Hejust didn’t know how to ask for it.
Devshot me but had no intention of killing me.Thebullet hit the side of my hand, grazing over my ear to knock theBluetoothoff.IfIhad to guess, he hired men to sedate me and throw me in a car whileIwas momentarily out of commission.Hecouldn’t have dragged someone my size down to this basement alone.
Allowingmy eyes to sweep the room,Irealized no one else was here.Devwasn’t cocky enough to think he could take me with just a bat.Whichmeant he had a concealed weapon that he planned on using.
Butif he wanted to kill me, why fix up the gunshot wound, albeit somewhat poorly?
Ithit me then.Hewanted me to feel the same desolation he had been experiencing.Becausesomewhere deep down, he was someone’s father, and murdering someone else’s son was difficult for him to stomach.
Butthat didn’t stop him from swinging the bat into my stomach.Itsunk in, hurting like a bitch.Iclenched my teeth, holding in the pain.Hedid it over and over, hitting me with the bat.However, a part of him was holding back.Hepurposefully avoided my head and vital organs.
“Idon’t hate you,Dev,”Iwhispered. “You’regrieving.Whathappened to you was terrible.Noparent should have to watch their children suffer.”
Devleaned down to meet my eyes.Iexpected to find hatred in them, but allIsaw was more of the same loss and destitution.Itquickly vanished.
“You’reright.Andnow, you’ll never be able to do that to someone else again.Iwon’t let you.”
“Ididn’t hurt your daughter.”Ishook my head, closing my eyes. “NordidIhurt your son.”
Devfroze, not having expected my knowledge of their sordid family secret.Rayyanwas his son.
“Poppytold me,”Iexplained carefully. “Wegot married a few weeks ago.”
Hiseyes widened as ifIhad said the apocalypse was coming. “Shewould never betray us like that.”
“Itwasn’t about betrayal.Ilove her more than anything in this world.Andwhat she loves the most is her family, includingRose.Iwouldn’t hurt anyone or anything thatPoppycares about.Deepdown, you knowI’mtelling the truth.”
Devsaid nothing and just watched me with the agony only a parent could feel.
* * *
Overthe next two days,ItalkedDevdown from the brink.He’dhold up a gun when he let me use the bathroom or brought me food.Therewere times whenIfound him tending to my wounds.Hewas a broken man with no outlet for his pain.Andin an impulsive move, he had decided to kidnap me.
Ipitied him.
Regardless,Ineeded to get back to my wife to ensure she was okay.AfterDevfound out thatPoppywas in the hospital, his conscience got the better of him.Hetentatively released me, hanging his head in defeat, probably expecting me to lunge for the gun.Hewas shocked whenIasked him for a ride to the hospital instead to see my wife.
