Chapter 35
The metallic taste of blood still lingers in my mouth. I’ve been here—wherever “here” is—for days. As much as my head pounds from the beatings I’ve endured, I’ve still tried to count the number of sunrises and sunsets I’ve spent sitting in this room.
I must be in a basement. It’s cold and damp, and the only window in the room is a small rectangle at the top of one wall. There’s just enough glass to let a small amount of light in, but there’s no chance of my large body fitting through it to get out.
Without very much food or water since I’ve been here, I don’t even have the strength to climb out if I could fit. Occasionally, some meathead busts through the door with a plastic cup of tap water and a slice of bread. I honestly don’t understand why they’ve kept me alive. The beatings have been brutal; sometimes two of them kick the shit out of me at a time.
Donovan was right. A lot can happen in five days. I wasn’t vigilant enough. My first mistake was getting spotted by Elliott while out suit shopping for the wedding. My next mistake was going for an evening run to clear my head. I should have worked out at home or hit a public gym where there are lots of cameras, not gone running alone at dusk. The details are blurry for me now, but I remember being grabbed, blind folded, and hit in the head just as I topped a hill at the park.
The sun rises through the small windows to illuminate the room again. “Three sunrises. It’s Saturday,” I mumble to myself. Today is Jade’s wedding day, and I won’t be there to stop it. I won’t be there to save her. Instead, I’m tied up, sitting on a concrete floor, and covered in my own blood.
The sun is completely up when the door swings open and two brutes stroll in. I don’t recognize either of them before my little vacation here. There’s been very little conversation with these two. They seem to be all beatings with nothing to say. All bite and no bark, so to speak. Mostly, they mutter things to each other which are unintelligible to me, but the two of them seem to understand just fine.
“What do you want from me?” I say through gritted teeth. I use what little strength I possess to push myself upright against the wall. They’re surely going to kick my ass again, but I won’t shy away from them like some little bitch.
“We don’t want shit from you. Vinny and Elliott, on the other hand…they want you dead.” The shorter of the two finishes his sentence with a sinister chuckle.
“Unfortunately for us, they don’t want you dead just yet,” the taller one adds before he kicks my legs out from under me.
I grit my teeth so I don’t yell out from the pain; I won’t give either of them the satisfaction. I force myself to a kneeling position, so I can push myself to standing. My hands are still bound behind my back.
Once I’m finally on my feet, I struggle to keep my balance. A combination of being battered to hell, malnutrition, and dehydration.
“Pull yourself together, Colin.” The taller one emphasizes my name, my real name. Fuck. They know who I really am. My heart races, but I keep a calm exterior. I steady myself and look the taller one directly in the eyes.
“Let’s go,” he says as the shorter one opens the door and walks out of the room.
The taller one gives me a shove to follow the shorter one. I turn back to face him, but he just laughs in my face. We both know I’m not strong enough right now to do anything. This isn’t over yet; I will get the last laugh.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask as we make our way to a staircase, confirming my earlier thoughts that they kept me in a basement. I still have no idea where we are though.
“We’ve got a wedding to attend,” the shorter one says nonchalantly without looking at me.
His statement throws me off initially, but by the time my feet are on the top step, I know I’ll use this outing as a way to escape. My only concern is getting back to Jade and keeping her safe from Vinny and Moore.
The light is bright when the door at the top of the stairs opens. I blink several times as my eyes adjust. The big guy behind me shoves me again, and I’ve got my bearings back now.
I spin to face him. “Don’t fucking push me.”
He leans in close to my face. “Or what?”
I turn away without answering. I won’t be baited into overreacting and cluing him in that my adrenaline kicked in the moment I realized we were leaving. I grow stronger and ballsier by the second. Fuck it, let him think he won.
“That’s right. You can’t do a damn thing. You’re a dead man walking. Keep your fucking mouth shut, do what you’re told, and maybe it’ll be quick.” He laughs, showing just how true he thinks that statement is.
I clench my jaw. Everything in me wants to beat his ass, but even if I could, that isn’t my priority. They’re taking me directly to where Jade is, and I need that to happen. Once Jade is safe and Vinny and Moore are behind bars, this big son of a bitch will get what he deserves.
The shorter one opens the front door, and I step out and look around to see if I recognize my surroundings, but I don’t. This isn’t one of Vinny’s houses I’ve been to before. I turn back to look around the house itself to take in any details that may help get the police back here. There’s no furniture and nothing hanging on the walls. In fact, nothing is memorable about the house at all. It looks like a vacant home. For all I know, these two could’ve broken into an empty rental or listing.
“You aren’t coming back here,” the tall one says.
“No shit,” I bite back.
Shorty holds the door open for Tallboy and me to pass through. The yard is large, open, and well maintained. There are no neighbors to be seen, which means we must be pretty far out of town. A sedan is parked in the driveway; the back windows are blacked out. Convenient.
The three of us make our way to the car, and Shorty opens the back door for me to get in.
“Sit in the middle, and don’t try anything stupid,” Tallboy orders.
As much as I want to lose it on this asshole, this is a means to an end. Jade is worth taking shit from a meathead if it means getting to her before she says “I do.” My stomach churns at the thought of her uttering those words while standing across from Elliott Moore.
Once I settle into the seat the best I can with my hands bound, Tallboy closes my door before taking the front passenger seat while Shorty drives. The zip tie they have around my wrists cuts into my skin. The pain has been there long enough I only notice it sometimes.
The second we’re on the road, I work my wrists to loosen the ties to free my hands. I tried while I was still in the basement to no avail. Now, I stand a better chance of getting away from these two than I did in that basement, so I’m spurred on to try again. My adrenaline helps.
I watch those two assholes the entire drive while working my hands back and forth against the plastic ties. My wrists are raw, but it feels like I’m close to slipping the left one free.
The car makes an exit off the interstate. We’re outside the city and headed toward vineyard country. I’ve never been to the estate where Jade is getting married, but I know where it is, and we’re headed straight for it.
The clock on the car dashboard tells me the ceremony is supposed to start in ten minutes but I really fucking hope Jade or Donovan were able to stall it or get her out of the whole damn thing.
My stomach flips when I think I might’ve failed her, but I stop myself from going down that rabbit hole. If I know one thing about Jade Foster, it’s that she won’t go down without a fight.
And neither will I.
Finally!I wiggle my left hand out of the restraints, but I’m careful to keep my face blank. I don’t need these two dumb fucks to do something stupid. Once the car pulls up to the estate I can make my move. With the pain searing my wrists, I don’t doubt I’m bleeding.
They drive for another twenty minutes before pulling into a sprawling country estate with hundreds of acres of grapevines. The actual house—if you can even call it that since it’s more like a damn mansion—sits back on a rolling hill overlooking its abundance of grapes.
It’s beautiful, massive, and one hundred percent out of my league. Just like Jade.
Dumbass number one exits the driver’s side and motions for dumbass number two to retrieve me like I’m a fucking dog. Tallboy follows his direction while mumbling under his breath. “Yeah sure, I can get him out of the car for you. No problem.” He shakes his head in annoyance as he yanks open the back door.
I’m careful to keep my hands together so he doesn’t notice I’m free. I quickly glance through the windshield and notice Shorty is about twenty feet ahead and heading toward a side entrance of the estate. He isn’t paying any attention to Tallboy or to me.
This is my chance. I need to work quickly because I won’t have much time before Vinny and more of his goons come after me. I’m sure he’s here, and he never travels alone.
There’s just one problem though. I have no fucking clue where they’re holding the ceremony. I don’t know if it’s outside in the garden or inside. I rack my brain to remember if Jade ever mentioned anything that could help me, but I come up empty. She never talked about the wedding details at all. Clearly, she was trying to block the whole thing from her mind.
Whatever direction I go, I have to be deliberate. I only have one chance to save her. I made her a fucking promise, and I plan to keep it. My adrenaline surges now as I prepare for what’s about to come.
My door opens wide, and Tallboy reaches in to grab me. I use his position to my advantage as I rear back and head butt him. The jolt dazes me for a second, but I shake it off and watch as my attack does more damage to him than it did me. He loses his balance a bit sideways, and I quickly reach out and grab his jacket before yanking him toward me.
He lands on me, his back to my front, and I use the perfect positioning to put him in a chokehold. His gasp is cut off as my forearm encircles his neck, and I violently pull back while using my free hand to hold my aching, bleeding wrist tight to apply as much pressure as I can.
My goal isn’t to kill him, but I will if I have to. I just want him to pass out quickly, but he won’t go without a fight. His hands grasp at my forearm, scratching and pulling to relieve the pressure, but it’s no use. I have shit to lose, which makes me desperate. He doesn’t. His legs thrash before he finally goes limp.
The maneuver took almost all the energy I had left, and at this point, I’m running on pure adrenaline. I shove him into the floorboard of the car and quickly look for Shorty. The side door to the estate is still open, but I don’t see him anywhere.
I slide out of the car and scan the area in front of me. I decide to head for the house, assuming it’s my best bet. The ceremony is supposed to be over at this point. My only hope is that Jade was successful in delaying it.
My feet carry me as fast as they can manage on little to no food or water. Right before I reach the doors, I hear cheering from the back of the house, and my heart drops for a moment before it races unrelentingly. She must be there. I’m so damn close.
“Yo! What the fuck is taking you so long?” I hear Shorty’s voice before I look back long enough to see him step out from around the house. His eyes zero in on the car. I left the car door open, and he seems puzzled as he walks toward it.
I creep toward the side of the house, heading for the porch. It’s large and wraps around each side so I hope it’ll lead me to where I think the cheering came from.
Just as I reach the corner, I hear a voice call out. “Stop right there, you fucker!”
I don’t hesitate. I break out into a full-on sprint as I head around the porch, praying the entire way that I’ve made it in time. My feet slide on the grass as I skid to a stop next to the aisle Jade walked down. My eyes dart up the aisle and land on her as she stands at the altar with her hands in Elliott’s. She looks breathtaking, but she’s standing there with the wrong fucking man.
“Jade.” Her name comes out loud and clear.
The sound of bodies shifting in their seats meet my ears as they look toward the sound of my voice in an otherwise silent ceremony. All their gazes land on me standing at the end of the aisle, bloody and bruised, but my eyes are locked on her.