Chapter 25
Crash could hear echoes of conversations around him, but it wasn’t easy to lift his head. When he tried to move, he realized his arms were above his head, and his feet barely touched the ground. He tried to move, but it was as if he weighed a thousand pounds. When icy cold water hit his body, it made him jolt and fight against his restraints.
“There he is.”
Whoever spoke sounded familiar, but the accent didn’t. Crash shouted as another spray of icy water covered him. He shook his head and lifted his eyes to look at his surroundings.
Someone hung in front of him, and he had to blink several times to clear his vision. When he finally did, he realized it was Axel, and he was black and blue with blood streaking his face and body.
“He’s still alive, don’t worry.” The man spoke again.
“Who the hell are you?” Crash tried to yell, but his voice became raspy.
“I’m wounded that you forgot me so easily,” the man said.
Crash watched as two men stepped beside him and spun him around to face the man speaking. They kept a tight grasp on him, even with his restraints.
“It’s okay, my buddy B won’t hurt me.” The accent was gone, and the face clear.
“Snapper?” Crash growled through his teeth.
“That is one of my names, but my true name is Emir Hasan, and you stole Aya from me.” Snapper stepped closer, and his accent was back.
“I didn’t steal anyone.” Crash tried to lunge toward the man.
“Do you see these men? They are trained in several torture techniques I could think of.” Snapper crossed his arms over his chest.
Crash scanned the four men behind him. He recognized one of them as Snapper’s left-hand man when he was in Alberta. The guy was a mean bastard with a massive scar on his face. It looked like he’d been burned, and the scar pulled his left eye and mouth down.
“You remember Torch, don’t you?” Snapper or Emir motioned to the scarred man.
“What are you going to do, beat us to death the way you did, Otto and Perry, or drive us over a cliff like you did with Wyatt?” Crash pulled on the restraints over his head.
“Maybe,” Emir glanced at Axel. “This guy has a very foul mouth. He called me some nasty things.”
Crash looked at Axel. His friend was still breathing, but he wasn’t moving. Crash didn’t like the way his head was hanging at an odd angle. He wanted to call out to his friend but wasn’t sure if the man could respond.
“Now, help me get Aya, and I’ll ensure you don’t suffer.” Emir picked up a long stick.
“Why would I know where she is? Titus was the one who put them in hiding,” Crash lied.
He wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but a stick poked into his ribs, and his whole body convulsed. The guy stuck him with a cattle prod. Crash had seen them in Alberta because he’d spent time on a ranch for a couple of months while he was sobering up.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Emir pulled it back. “Titus will die a painful death when I find him, but I know you know where she is. Tell me, and I’ll let Torch kill you humanly.”
“Why would I tell you when you’re going to kill me anyway? Fuck you,” Crash spat.
Emir pulled out a gun from the back of his pants and turned toward the back of the room. Crash held his breath as another man dragged someone across the floor. He clenched his teeth when he saw the plastic surgeon come forward.
“Where can I shoot him that will be painful, but he won’t die right away?” Emir asked Witt as if it was no big deal.
To his credit, Witt looked mortified by the question. Clearly, he wasn’t there to hurt anyone, and from the way Torch shoved the man toward Crash, he wasn’t there of his own free will. Still, he seemed familiar with Emir.
“Julian, what the hell are you doing?” Witt asked Emir.
“Julian?” Crash was confused.
“Yes, another of my names. Julian is my hard-working pharmaceutical salesman. He is calm and tries to be a friend. He even took out that woman you care about so much,” Emir smirked. “She’s a little too, shall we say, seasoned for my taste, but I knew you spent a lot of time with her. I thought maybe she would lead me to Aya, but she knows nothing.”
Crash stiffened. The guy at the hospital the day Wyatt and Ellie died talking to Allyson. He seemed familiar, but Crash didn’t get a look at him with so much going on.
“So, where can I shoot him?” Emir turned back to Witt.
“You’re insane. I’m not going to tell you where to shoot someone.” Witt started to back away, but one of the men stopped him.
“Would you rather I shoot one of your hands off?” Emir aimed the gun at Witt.
“You’re fucking nuts,” Witt shook his head. “I was brought here against my will, and now you want me to help you torture someone? I’m a doctor, for Christ’s sake.”
“You won’t be if I shoot your hands off,” Emir glared at Witt.
“Why do you want her?” Crash tried to distract Emir.
“Since my sister wouldn’t fulfill her obligation to our family. It will be Aya’s job to marry in her mother’s place .” Emir sounded sadistic.
“This is not the eighteen hundreds. If she was raised in Canada, she probably has a mind of her own.” Crash knew she did.
“I will train her.” Emir stepped toward him and, without another word, lifted the gun and shot Witt in the chest.
Witt staggered backward and dropped to his knees with his hand against his chest. His eyes were wide with fear as he looked down to where his blue shirt was slowly turning red with his blood.
“If you’re not going to help, you’re useless.” Emir placed the gun on the table next to Axel.
Emir slipped off his suit jacket and started to roll up his sleeves. The guy was large, and Crash had seen him hurt people, so he knew the guy could pack a punch. Emir whispered something to Torch, and the large guy dragged Witt out of the large warehouse.
“Now, you’re going to see exactly what I did to your friends because even though I have men who do this for me, I wanted to be the one to hurt each one of you.” Emir pulled his fist back and slammed in right into Crash’s gut.
Punch after punch, Crash was held in place while Emir continued to inflict his punishment. He was sure at least two ribs were broken because it was hard to get air into his lungs. When a fist connected with his jaw, his head flew back.
It was difficult not to shout out in pain, but he wasn’t giving this asshole the satisfaction of seeing he was winning, but he was. Crash wasn’t sure he could take anymore and could feel himself lose consciousness, but Emir stopped and stared at him.
“Are all of you stubborn or stupid?” Emir punched him again.
Crash wasn’t sure how long he’d been out, but he jolted awake when icy water hit his body. He cried out as he tried to move away from the spray. He was feeling the beating he’d received, but when he opened his eyes, Axel was gone.
“Where… is… he?” Crash grunted out the words.
“He’s in the corner,” Torch smirked and turned Crash to where he could see Axel tied to a metal table.
Emir was pulling a knife from Axel’s stomach, and his friend cursed out in pain. Crash winced as Emir drove the knife back into Axel. He was going to kill them, but they couldn’t let him get his hands on Sidney. No matter what, she needed to remain safe from this lunatic.
“Dear God help us,” Crash whispered.