Epilogue
Maxim
“ I ’m scared, Max.”
Talia’s soft voice is nothing but a whisper in the basement that’s so dark I can’t even see my hand if I hold it right in front of my face. It’s the kind of pitch-black darkness that once I get out of here I’m going to ensure I never experience again. Even though we’re cloaked in shadow, it always makes me feel completely exposed.
Scooting closer, I slide my hand across the rough concrete floor until I feel the warmth of her arm. Relying solely on touch, I slide my hand down until my fingers can wrap around the wrist that’s slowly growing smaller with each passing day. She rests her other hand on top of mine, clinging to me like I’m her lifeline, and it breaks my goddamn heart, because I can’t get her out of here. My ass is hooked to the brick wall behind us just like hers is. I’ve never felt more helpless in my life. I want nothing more than to pick her up and carry her out of here, but I can’t.
“I’m right here,” I whisper back, giving her the only thing that I can—a comforting presence in the dark, someone to share this particular hell with. It’s not much, but it’s all I have to offer.
I’m not surprised when I hear her scoot closer right before I feel the warmth of her body against my side and then the weight of her head on my shoulder as she leans against me while still clutching my hand. Even though we’re trapped and my body still radiates with pain from the last beating Miguel gave me, it’s nice to feel her body next to mine, to know that she’s taking comfort from me, and to know that for at least a few seconds, I’m able to give her something.
“They’re going to find us and get us out of here,” I tell her while my thumb caresses the back of her hand. “We just need to hang on a little bit longer.”
I say it as if it’s truth, a fact that’s soon to be proven, but I’m not entirely sure I believe it anymore. For her sake, I hope it’s not some pathetic lie that I keep telling myself, but the truth is we’re in the middle of nowhere, in a country that no one in my family is familiar with, and we’re being held by a cartel who’s made it abundantly clear they don’t give a shit if we live or die. Things are not looking good. I don’t even know if Val made it out alive. For all I know, they took him out of here and shot him in the jungle and he’s slowly rotting in some shallow grave that will never be discovered.
The thought makes me feel like I’m going to be sick, and I force the images away because I have to believe that he’s alive and with our family and that right now they’re finding a way to come and rescue us. I know my dad and brother, I know the relentless, obsessive mind that they both share, and I know there’s no way in hell they’re going to give up. They will find us, and they will come for us. All I need to do is keep us alive long enough for it to happen.
As if reading my thoughts and determined to shoot them all to hell, the basement door opens. I squeeze Talia’s hand before dropping it as she scurries as far away from me as she can get before the lights are switched on and we’re both blinded by them. We agreed early on to not show how close we’ve become. It’ll only be used against us, and I can’t let that happen. I can withstand a lot of things, but watching them hurt her isn’t one of them.
Squinting against the bright light, I see Miguel come sauntering in, and my stomach drops at the sight of his smug grin. Ever since Val was taken away, he’s turned all his anger onto me. My body still aches from my last beating, and I’m certainly not ready to take another. I brace myself for it anyway, knowing it’s coming whether I’m ready for it or not.
Juan steps into the room, gun in hand, making sure I don’t do anything stupid, like punching the asshole who’s grabbing my chain while he gives Talia a wink. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind, but there’s always at least two of them in the room, and one always has a gun in hand. I’d be lucky to get one punch in before the bullet hit me or, worse, Talia. As satisfying as the feel of Miguel’s nose breaking against my fist might be, I can’t take the risk.
One day, though, I think as I meet his dark eyes, but, unfortunately, today is not that day. With Juan’s gun trained on me, Miguel drags me to the center of the room and secures my wrists above me so I’m standing helpless before him.
He says something to me in Spanish. I may not understand the words, but the tone and body language translate it well enough.
“I need to learn some Spanish, Miguel,” I tell him with a grin. “That way I can tell you to go fuck yourself in a way that you can understand.”
His mouth lifts up in a snarl, and I wait for the punch that I know is coming, and when he makes sure to hit a spot that’s already covered in bruises, I hiss out a breath and swallow the vomit that threatens to rise. Each hit is harder than the last, each one strategically placed to cause the most pain, and there’s a part of me that just wishes he’d let Juan use his gun and end this once and for all, because I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.
When a punch to my jaw has my head swinging to the right, I lock eyes with Talia. Groaning, I let my head drop as tears run down her cheeks. Miguel is too focused on hitting my kidneys to notice Talia’s reaction. The pain in her eyes kills me, but I can’t look away. She’s the one thing making this bearable. She’s the beauty in this darkness, and I cling to it until my vision grows fuzzy and I know I’m about to pass out.
My last thought is of her, the woman I’m helpless to protect, knowing all too well that a rescue operation is our only hope. I just need to make sure we both survive long enough for that to happen.
Right before everything goes black, I hear her scream my name.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading! In case you missed the original Melnikov series, you can read their books here ! This series must be read in order, so please start with Roman’s book Paved in Blood.