37. Phoenix
Chapter 37
Phoenix
W hen I walk into the café, I don’t see Eve anywhere. Ruby stands in the back, waving me over.
I glance past her into the hallway. The bathrooms are back here, as well as some storage rooms. “Where is she? Is she in the bathroom?”
My voice drips with frustration, although I know it’s not Ruby’s fault that I just got off the phone with my dad. He chewed me out for taking a vacation and said I’d never be successful with that lazy attitude. I never wanted to tell him to fuck off as much as I did just now. But as usual, he hung up before I could get a reply in. It’s always the same with him, and I’m sick of it.
Ruby shakes her head, glancing around the almost empty café while she toys with the hem of her shirt.
Unease trickles down my neck, and when her gaze finally meets mine, I stiffen.
Something isn’t right .
“What’s going on, Ruby?”
She blinks up at me once, twice, and whispers, “Something’s wrong with Evie, and I need you to come with me right now, okay? But you need to stay calm.”
My stomach churns, and I lean into her space. “Where the fuck is she?”
I have to clench my hands at my sides. It’s that or grabbing Ruby and shaking her until she tells me what’s going on. But I know I couldn’t be gentle, so I’d rather avoid that scenario, although I’m quickly getting to the point where I’m not sure I care.
Ruby jabs her thumb over her shoulder. “Out back. Come on.”
She doesn’t wait for my reaction, just spins on her heels, walks down the hallway toward the emergency exit, and pushes it open. Light filters in, momentarily blinding me until I follow her out, and my eyes adjust.
A quick look around makes one thing abundantly clear: no Eve.
Ready to rip Ruby a new one, I spin toward her. But this time, she’s holding a gun aimed straight at me.
I freeze, my heart racing like it’s trying to escape. “What the fuck is going on, Ruby?”
She swallows, her gaze flicking around the back alley. “We don’t have much time, so I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?”
I stare at her, not moving a muscle.
“We will get into the car behind me right now, and you’ll follow the GPS directions. If you don’t listen or try something stupid with me, something bad will happen to Evie.” Her eyes are glassy, her voice monotone .
I don’t hesitate for a second. I hold up my hands, walk toward the black Honda, and do exactly what she said. I could disarm her in seconds, but it’s not worth the risk.
Eve’s safety is my number one priority, and before anything else, I need to know where she is and make sure she’s okay. One thing is for certain, though: whoever took Eve will pay—with their life.
Ruby joins me in the car with the gun trained on me the entire time. I turn the key, and the car comes to life with a roar. We leave the back alley in the opposite direction of where Holden is parked. There goes my small hope of driving past him and alerting him somehow.
When we enter the freeway, I watch her out of the corner of my eye. “Why are you doing this, Ruby?”
She’s pushed against the door with her back, her right hand pointing at me with the gun. And I could be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure her entire arm is shaking. Is this her first time holding a gun?
“You know I will kill you if something happens to her, right?” I keep my gaze on the road, my hands crushing the steering wheel. “No one will touch her and get away with it.”
She doesn’t say anything.
We get off the freeway a few minutes later and enter a neighborhood with large properties, winding down road after road until the robotic voice says, “In two hundred feet, turn right.”
The GPS leads us to a modern two-story family home, and the garage opens as we approach.
Fuck. I don’t want to be so compliant, but what other choice do I have? I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Eve because of me .
The same thing Eve has done for years. Do things she’d never do otherwise to keep her loved ones safe.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
It can’t be.
Damn it. No.
That fucking bastard.
I drive inside the garage and park next to the family van.
“Empty your pockets and leave everything on the seat.” Ruby opens her door. “Eve is in the basement. Let’s go.”
Eve is in the basement.
Ruby just said Eve is in the motherfucking basement. If a single hair on her head is out of place, I will take my time killing her.
But first, I need to get to Eve.
I unbuckle and exit the car, leaving my wallet, phone, and keys on the seat. My body is taut. On edge.
Sometimes, you have to be patient and let the other player make their move first so you can destroy them.
My father’s words slice into my brain, and I clamp my jaw together.
Patience, my ass.
I’m barely holding on to my damn sanity but follow Ruby’s vague instructions toward the staircases that lead upstairs and downstairs.
She waves her gun to motion for me to go first. I want to sprint downstairs to find Eve and rescue her, but I also don’t want a bullet in the back of my head.
There’s no door at the end of the staircase, so I walk through the doorframe and into the unfinished basement. Gray concrete floor and exposed framing and insulation gives the impression it’s a construction site rather than the basement of an upper-middle-class house.
Unsure of where to go, I stop and scan my surroundings.
The left side of the basement is like an open area, whereas the right side has several unfinished rooms sectioned off, hiding them from my view.
Silence surrounds me, no matter how hard I strain my ears.
Where the fuck is Eve?
I’m about to ask Ruby when someone shouts, “All the way to the end and on the right.”
Ruby makes a noise behind me, but I ignore her and do what the person said.
That voice.
Why does it sound familiar?
I try to stay calm and keep my footsteps at a normal pace when all I want to do is charge. But I need to get Eve out of here, and I can’t do that if I’m dead before I ever get to her.
Trepidation fills every step I take toward the mentioned room. But I make it and get my first look inside the framed room. The fine hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end, followed by bile rising up my throat. I freeze, and Ruby bumps into me before peeking around me to see why I stopped.
I don’t see her response, nor do I give a fuck.
All I can focus on is Eve curled up on a large metal bed in the middle of the room. And she isn’t alone.
“Eve.” Her name is laced with icy panic, the same one that’s creeping up my hands and into my chest. “What the fuck did you do to her? I swear to God, if you hurt her . . . ”
My body is tense. Trembling. I take in the scene in front of me, not wanting to miss anything. The bed is a king, if not bigger, the headboard made out of metal slats that are attached to poles on either side. The mattress is bare, but from here, it appears clean. At least something.
Eve doesn’t seem to have any apparent injuries, but I can’t be sure she’s okay until I check.
She has to be okay.
If anyone deserves a fucking break from life, it’s this woman. She’s gone through so much already, and I will get her out of here, even if it’s the last thing I do.
A bead of sweat rolls down my nape as I step forward, a low noise erupting from the back of my throat when the person sitting on the bed beside Eve puts a finger against his lips.
“Shh. We don’t want to wake her up.”
He’s wearing a hoodie, and I can’t see his face since he’s watching Eve. He reaches for her cheek, caressing it in such a loving gesture that I see red.
I move before I realize what I’m doing, and he shoots up. I barrel forward until he aims a gun straight at my face and tsks .
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Warning bells go off, and I stop.
I don’t dare move while I take him in. He’s around my height, maybe an inch or two shorter, and not only is he wearing a hoodie but also a mask.
“Who are you?” My heart is beating like a drum. “And what the fuck is going on?”
He shrugs. “Just catching up with some old friends, that’s all. We’ll all have a great time together, won’t we? ”
That voice. Damn it. Where have I heard it before?
Eve lets out a little groan like she doesn’t feel good, and my gaze flickers to her in a panic.
“What did you do to her?”
The guy puts his free hand on his chest. “ I didn’t do anything. But Ruby gave her some drugs to help her sleep.”
Anger spirals up from the pit of my stomach, and I have to grind my molars to keep from reacting. If it wasn’t for the gun, I’d strangle them both.
The psycho peeks around me and winks. I don’t turn to see Ruby’s reaction because there’s no way I can take my eyes off Eve and this guy.
“Grab the handcuffs and put them on him.”
My gaze snaps to him, and movement behind me tells me he was talking to Ruby.
He watches her before lifting his chin toward me. “Hands up in front of you.”
Everything inside me fights his command, rage and fear struggling for dominance.
When I don’t immediately react, he lowers the gun to point it at Eve.
Tilting his head side to side to crack his neck, he stares me straight in the eye. “I feel a little trigger-happy today, so don’t tempt me.”
Clenching my hands into fists, I lift them. Ruby steps in front of me without looking up, solely focused on her task: cuffing one hand, then the other. There’s a long chain attached to the handcuffs, and the psycho grabs it. Without warning, he yanks me across the room to the other side of the bed, where he connects it to the side pole of the headboard. It’s on the opposite side of Eve, and I hope like hell I can reach her.
He steps back and waves his gun around. “Since I’m such a nice person, I’m giving you a few feet to move around. If you don’t behave, I’ll take that privilege away. Are we clear?”
His intense stare is burning into the side of my head, so I give him what he wants and nod. He’ll pay for all of this later.
“Good.”
He walks toward the doorway, and this time, I drag my gaze long enough away from Eve to watch him nod toward the ceiling with the gun and say, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. No, actually, please do. Either way, I’ll enjoy the show.”
His manic laughter follows him out of the barren room, and Ruby rushes after him when he calls her.
I scowl at the blinking camera in the top corner. That fucker is watching us.
For a moment, I just stand here, trying to get rid of some of this tension in my body. Every muscle is tight, every organ, my entire being on high alert.
Not understanding why we’re in this situation only adds to the turmoil, because why the fuck does Ruby and a guy I might have possibly met before kidnap Eve and me?
Do they want money?
No. That doesn’t make sense. Ruby comes from plenty of money too.
Eve groans again, interrupting my maddening thoughts. I stare at her limp form, wanting to climb on the bed and pull her into my arms. Badly. But I don’t want to disturb her. She needs to sleep off as much of the drugs as she can. I’m sure the aftereffects of whatever they gave her won’t be pretty when she wakes up.
As if she heard my thoughts, Eve rolls halfway on her back, and fuck. They handcuffed her too. The same way they restrained me, to the outside pole on the headboard. Damn it.
She mumbles something incoherent, and I throw all caution to the wind and get on the bed. I keep my movements as slow as possible in case she’s nauseated. The small moan that escapes her lips doesn’t make me hopeful.
“Angel, I’m right here.” I face her, reaching forward to brush the hair away from her face, but the chain stops a few inches away.
Fucking bastard.
I squeeze my hands so hard some of the newly formed skin on my knuckles stretches too much and splits open.
Shit.
I take several deep breaths, trying to calm the ball of worry and foreboding that’s currently twisting in my stomach. It’s impossible, but at least I’m as quiet as possible. Eve will probably freak out enough as it is when she finally comes around.
Instead, I mimic her previous position and lie on my side to watch her chest rise and fall in rhythmic succession.
I will get us out of here.
There’s no other option.
Nothing will happen to Eve, not on my watch.
She’s gone through too much already.
I stretch my arms as far as they go, the movement allowing me to touch her elbow.
It’s not much, but it’s enough until I can gaze into those beautiful eyes again. It’s enough until I can hold her in my arms again. It’s enough until I can spend the rest of my life with her by my side.
And so I watch over her, paying attention to every single movement she makes, while also staying alert in case someone comes back.
Eventually, her breathing quickens, and she smacks her lips. This time, she doesn’t go back to sleep like before but groans. Her entire body shifts, and she slowly opens her eyes.
Since she’s facing me, I’m the first thing she sees. One corner of her lip tugs upward for the barest hint of a half-smile before it falls again, her brain probably slowly catching on to something being wrong.
She blinks at me, the movement sluggish, her throat loudly working on a swallow. “Phoenix, I feel . . . funny.”
The words come out slurred.
“It’s okay, Angel. Everything will be okay.” Since I don’t know what or how much they gave her, I can’t guess how long she’ll feel like this. “I’m right here. Can you stretch your hands my way?”
It takes her a while, but she manages, and I eagerly touch her hands with mine. The contact calms me, at least a little.
Eve goes in and out of sleep a few more times until her gaze appears sharper and more alert, which is both good and bad.
Her eyes widen, and she takes in the scene before her. Me and my handcuffs, my attached chain that leads to the bed frame behind me, then back to her own, followed by a glance around the room.
“What’s going on?” Her voice is shaky, her breaths coming fast now. Too fast. “Where are we? ”
I squeeze her hands to get her attention. “Look at me. I need you to stay calm, okay? Can you breathe with me?”
She nods, and we take several slow inhales and exhales together until her breathing is mostly back to normal.
I hold on to her hands like they anchor me. “Do you remember how you got here?”
Her gaze moves away from mine, roaming all over the room like it helps her jog her memory. “Mmm, the last thing I remember is going to the bathroom at the café. I was washing my hands when someone came in and . . . and they grabbed me from behind and something pinched my neck.”
She tries to detangle her right hand from mine, probably to touch the spot, but my grip on her is ironclad. I can’t let her go right now. I just can’t.
“The person.” She pauses. “The person who did it said something to me.” She draws in a sharp breath. “It sounded like . . . no, no, that’s not possible.”
I already know how that part of the story played out. I don’t want to hurt her even more, but we’re not in a position where tiptoeing around will do us any good. The faster we can figure out what’s going on, the faster we can get out of here.
So I rip off the Band-Aid. “Ruby injected you with something. When I got to the café, she told me you were sick in the back, and I followed her outside. You were nowhere to be seen, of course, so she pointed a gun at me and made me drive to this neighborhood about fifteen minutes away.”
She shakes her head and stares at me, her eyes glistening with tears. “No, that can’t be. Why would she do that?”
A chuckle sounds around us. “Because Ruby’s a good pet, just like you are, Evie. ”
My gaze snaps up at the same familiar voice as before, and I freeze when I see who’s standing in the doorway.
No fucking way.
He’s a dead man.