Chapter 22 Everly
EVERLY
Even though I opened my eyes, there was still darkness all around me. I was tumbling around in an encasement and my head was pounding. I felt sick to my stomach and I couldn’t move my feet. Nor could I move my hands.
I looked all around me and tried to get my bearings.
But once we hit a bump in the road, I knew what was happening.
I was in the trunk of a car. My feet and wrists were bound.
I could feel the rope cutting into my skin as blood dripped down my ankles.
Tears formed in my eyes as my searing headache trickled into my vision.
It was growing blurry again, and I begged my body not to give out.
Not to give into the pain I was experiencing.
I could feel the car moving. Every bump we hit sent my body careening into the roof of the trunk.
I was rolling around, my ribcage banging into things stuffed in the trunk with me.
Sometimes I could feel something cold and hard against my skin and sometimes I felt something warm and wet.
The trunk smelled rancid, and I feared for what I was placed in there with.
Was someone else in here with me? Were they dead?
Was the wet stuff I was touching my own blood? Maybe someone else’s?
But it was the vibrating of my phone against my hip that caught my attention.
I tried to wiggle my arms free. If I could just get to my phone, I could call Grave and he would come get me.
I knew he would. I pulled against the restraints and tried to free one of my hands, but the more I struggled the more tired I became.
My arms were killing me and my back felt like it had been tossed down a rocky ravine.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I bit down onto my lower lip to try and keep quiet.
If they thought I was unconscious, then I wanted it to stay that way.
That gave me the greatest chance at the longest amount of time to figure something out.
When I knew I couldn’t get my hands free, I stopped.
I needed to conserve my energy. I couldn't expect anyone to come after me. They probably didn’t know where I was.
Hell, I didn’t even know where I was. My phone kept vibrating in my pocket.
Two rings, then nothing. Two rings, then nothing. Two rings, then nothing.
Was it a signal?
Was my phone dying?
Was someone messaging me?
Maybe there was something in the trunk to cut my hands loose.
I wiggled around, my feet pressing against the side of the car so I could maneuver my body.
My arms reached out as far as they could go and I began to feel around.
My hands knocked up against something cold and metallic, with a sharp corner I almost cut myself on.
Perfect. A sharp corner. I could saw my way through the rope around my hands.
But we ran over a bump and it catapulted me to the other end of the trunk.
The car started going up hill and I rolled all the way to the back. Then, I heard the sliding of something coming towards me. I braced myself for the impact and felt the cold metal siding of a toolbox crash right into my spine.
I squeezed my eyes shut and bit down onto my tongue so hard I almost drew blood.
It hurt to breathe. I was gasping for air, trying to pay attention to my body. Could I wiggle my toes? Could I move my legs? Was I bleeding? Did the corner cut me open?
At least I was near the corner again.
I reached my hands out to try and move the toolbox. I had to be quiet. I couldn’t alert them to the fact that I was awake. That would only make things worse, and they would probably kill me on the spot. But before I could get the box out from my back, the car started going downhill.
And the box and I went sliding again.
I crashed into it again, but I couldn't conceal my yelp of pain. Everything in and around my body hurt. My back was aching. I was bleeding at my ankles. My head was throbbing. It was hard to breathe. I could feel bruises already forming along my spine. My damn phone kept vibrating twice before shutting off and I was fucking done with it. The vibrations only added to the pain in my ribcage, and I didn’t even think something like that was possible.
Then, the car came to a sudden stop.
I braced myself for the worst. I didn’t know how long I’d been riding in the back of it, and for all I knew I could be deeper in those damn woods.
For all I knew, this was my execution. This was how I was going to die.
With a body in pain, my arms and legs bound, and a bullet to the back of the head.
“Grave,” I said breathlessly. “Help me.”
The trunk popped open and my eyes whipped up to see who it was. And I recognized those maniacal eyes instantly.
“You,” I said.
The man grinned down at me before he reached for my body.
I scooted away from him and somehow managed to sit myself up. I kicked at him with both my feet, but he caught my ankles in his hands. He pulled me from the trunk, my head slamming into the edge of the car before being piled onto the ground.
“You sorry sack of shit. I’m going to kill you!” I roared.
“Feisty. I can see why your boyfriend wanted to fuck you,” the man said.
“He’s going to kill you. When he finds me, he’s going to have your head.”
“They won’t find you,” the man said as he grabbed my hair. “You mean nothing to them. But you do mean the world to your brother.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
My brother was behind this?
I didn’t want to believe it. Grave had a theory about it, but it wasn’t possible.
That was my brother. My own flesh and blood.
I raised him. Fed him when my own parents couldn’t.
I was the one that kept that roof over our heads once both Mom and Dad passed away.
I was the one who worked my ass off so he could come home to a comfortable bed when he wasn’t out trolloping around with whoever the fuck he was running with.
I threw my head back into the man’s face and felt his nose crack.
“Stupid bitch. I should kill you right now,” the man said.
“Stop being an asshole, Crank.”
I looked up and saw a man I didn’t recognize. But I did recognize where we were. I was at The Black Saddles clubhouse.
Holy shit. I was still in Redding.
I was closer to civilization.
“Help me!” I roared as the man walked towards me. “Help me! Somebody!”
“Please let me knock her out,” Crank said.
“We have orders,” the other man said.
“Help! Grave! Somebody please hear me!”
“Man, she can scream,” Crank said.
“No wonder that boy of hers likes fucking her the way he does. Little whore. You like sex against that cabin wall? I could’ve given that to you.”
Then, the man’s face finally came into view and I was stunned to my place.
“Rich?” I asked.
“Hello there, beautiful.”
He ran his hand down the side of my face as Crank held my hair in his hands.
“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly.
“Following orders,” he said. “And I hate that it’s you. I really do. We made a good team, back in the day.”
“We were never a team,” I hissed.
“We could’ve been, if you weren’t so repulsed by my scars. You know I got them fighting for you, right?” he asked.
“You got them because my brother didn’t want you dating me and he slashed your fucking face off, you creep!”
“And now he’s ordering your death. It’s a bit poetic, right?” he asked.
“My brother would never do that. He’s many things, but he wouldn't kill one of his own. His own damn sister!”
“You lost the right to be his sister when you ran to that pussy ass club and spilled your guts, you little bitch. I could’ve fucked you right. Provided for you things that measly grocery store salary won’t ever be able to. But in a little while, you won’t have to worry about that,” Rich said.
“You wouldn’t kill me,” I said. “You were in love with me at one point.”
“You were beautiful,” he said as his hand cupped my cheek, “until you became a rat.”
Then he grabbed my face and wrenched me over to his side.
“Stop it! Stop it right now! Hel-!”
He planted his lips onto mine in order to stop my screaming and I bit down onto his lip.
Rich was disgusting. The worst of his kind.
He was vile. Arrogant. Crude in all the worst ways.
His treatment of women was intolerable, and I frequently told my brother that Satan could court me better than he could.
Rich was in love with me for years. Tried to convince my brother to let him have me.
Like I was fucking property.
I drew blood from the man’s lip and he wrenched back. His grip on my face was strong as Crank held tightly onto the bonds at my wrists. Rich drew his hand back and cracked it across my face, sending me plummeting to my knees.
“None of us have any use for you now,” he said. “You aren’t even worth the energy. Crank, take her inside. Throw her in the room until we hear about our next move.”
“Sure thing, boss,” he said.
“Boss?” I asked.
“Oh, didn’t you hear?” Rich asked.
My eyes panned up to his as Crank ripped me to my feet.
“I’m Vice President now,” he said as a sickly smile crossed his face.
That was it.
I was going to die.
I felt myself being dragged into the clubhouse as I kicked and screamed with all my might.
Someone had to hear me. Someone was around to hear my screams. Crank tossed me to the ground and I tried to get up, but it was no use.
I could hardly move. I could hardly see from the blinding pain rushing through my veins.
I was dragged along the wooden floors and slammed into walls.
I could feel the darkness overcoming my vision again as tears flooded my cheeks.
“Grave. Help me,” I said with a whimper.
“Pathetic,” Crank said as he tossed me into a room.
I curled up onto the ground and began to sob as the door slammed shut. My phone was no longer vibrating on my hip and every movement I made hurt. Breathing. Stretching. Crying. Heaving. It all hurt.
After what seemed like hours of fighting, I was able to get myself onto my knees.
I reared up and tried to get my eyes to focus, but the room around me was dark.
Dank. Smelling of disinfectant and old mop water.
I scooted along the floor until my knee crashed against something, and I waited for some sort of impact.
Or someone to come storming down the hallway.
Or anything to happen because of the commotion I’d just made.
But all I heard was raucous laughter that sounded very far away.
I placed my head down, trying to feel around for what I’d run into.
And I realized it was a chair. There was a chair in the room I could sit on.
I pressed down onto my head with all my might and scooted my feet underneath me.
I was panting and sweating bullets, but I managed to turn around and get myself into the seat.
My ass hurt and the pain around my ankles was white hot.
But the second I leaned against the back of the seat I felt some sort of relief.
My body was stabilized in a position it knew to be safe.
I closed my eyes and tried to place Crank.
But I didn’t recognize him. He must’ve been new.
A prospect or something like that. Which would explain why he was so willing to torture and possibly kill a woman he didn’t know.
I couldn't believe Rich was Vice President.
That man was everything wrong with the world.
He was entitled. He was an abuser. He took what he wanted without giving a second thought as to anyone or anything else.
He was heavy-handed with his words and heavy-fisted with his punishments.
My brother hated him.
Why would my brother be working with him?
It didn’t matter, though. When a club got orders, they followed them to the letter.
That was how things worked. It was why Grave left me at the cabin all along the first time.
He knew he didn’t want to do it. He knew it wasn’t safe.
But he had gotten orders from someone above him, so he followed them.
As much as I wanted to be upset with Grave, I couldn't. Had he not left me alone at the cabin, none of this would’ve happened.
But then again, had my brother not committed murder right in front of me, none of this would’ve been happening either.
It didn’t matter. None of it did. Playing the blame game was a waste of energy and I had a strong feeling these men had no intentions of feeding me or giving me something to drink. Which meant I had three days at the most before my body started to give out. If they didn’t kill me first.
I hung my head a silent tears dripped down my cheeks.
More water expended, but I didn’t care. I couldn't. My emotions were getting the best of me and I saw no way out.
I couldn't free my hands and I couldn't feel my feet any longer.
I felt bruises swelling and etching themselves into my skin.
I was in a familiar place, and if I could get free I could get out.
But if I wasted my energy trying to get out and it didn’t work, I could kill myself faster than they ever could.
I was alone.
And I was going to die.