Chapter 27 Tyson
TWENTY-SEVEN
TYSON
I don’t like parties.
The music is always too loud, people are sloppy, and you can always find kids dry humping each other on any surface available, but I came down here for Carter.
She’s been gnawing at the bars, desperate to feel a sense of normalcy, and of course, Massi can never say no to a few drinks.
Watching her dance is hypnotizing, the way her body naturally moves with the music, and the smile on her face is genuine, one of the many things I adore about her.
Surprisingly, Massi has let her a few feet away from him, and I’m shocked that hasn’t cut in yet, his hands always itching to be on Carter.
“Hey, you’re Jasper, right?” A kid approaches us, beer in hand as he smiles.
“Massi. Who are you?” He states, his eyes narrowing at the stranger, likely sizing him up.
He hasn’t glanced in my direction, but I take him in, noting that he’s almost as tall as us, muscular too, and something about his energy seems off.
He’s not from the frat, that much I know.
“Nick. I’m from the neighborhood, but you were a few grades ahead of me. I know your father,” he says, and Massi’s eyebrows raise, the mention of his dad throwing us both off guard.
“What do you want?” I ask, not liking where this is heading, and certainly not looking for a fight.
“Just saying hello. You’re Tyson, right? Tyson Kelly?”
“You’ve got about two seconds to walk away, before I let my brother kick your ass.” I step toward him, my protective instinct kicking in, the skeptical part of my brain not trusting this idiot’s motives in the slightest.
“Shit, okay man. Sorry.” He swigs from his beer bottle, a smug smirk on his face but before I can give Massi the green light, he’s walking toward the middle of the room.
“Ty! Carter’s gone!” He shouts over the music, and I race to where she was dancing, a red solo cup lying on the ground.
Where the fuck is she?
Someone took her, right from under our noses, and I feel my anxiety spiking, the panic taking control over all else, but I push it away, needing to help my brother find our girl.
Massi pulls a gun from his waistband, not wasting a fucking second, and I do the same, my heart racing at the thought of losing her.
In a split second, he aims at the ceiling, shooting off a round as screams ring throughout the house.
It’s a bit dramatic, something we’d never usually do, but drastic times call for insane fucking measures, and I’ll wring every person’s neck if it means getting Carter back.
“Turn the fucking music off!” he orders, his voice booming off the walls as the kid running the DJ table immediately complies.
“Everybody on the ground. Nobody leaves!” I yell, watching as each person slowly crouches down, but none of them are Carter, or her friend.
With each passing face, the disappointment morphs into rage each and every time I realize that it’s not her.
Painstakingly slowly, the sea of people reduces, the sound of crying filling the otherwise silent room, and suddenly, the front door swings closed, the slam of it causing blood-curdling screams to ring out, but amid the chaos I call out to Massi.
“Door! She’s outside.” We both run, guns aimed as we yank it open, scanning the front yard, and relief floods my body when finally I see the blonde from earlier helping Carter walk, her feet dragging through the grass.
“Let her go, or I will fucking shoot you!” Massi stands on the porch, not moving an inch as the girl jumps at the sound of his voice, her steps slowing gradually.
While he takes aim, I stalk closer, scouting the surrounding bushes and trees, fairly certain that this bitch isn’t working alone.
Normally, I don’t get violent, but I’d end a thousand men tonight just to stop that girl from taking Carter anywhere besides back into our house.
Our fucking house.
Someone came into our home and took our girl, like they had any fucking right, and when I find who sent them, their death sentence is already signed, dated, ready to be delivered.
Just as I’m about to slip to the side of the house, I see a shadow in the grass, and I peek back at Massi, still standing firm with his finger on the trigger, aim pointed at the girl holding onto Carter.
“Drop it.” I press the barrel of my gun into the back of a man’s head, catching him lurking behind a tree, and silently, he tosses it on the ground, raising his hands.
“Ellie, right? Come on, let’s talk about this. I’d hate to stain that pretty blonde hair with your brain matter,” Massi taunts, and finally, she stops walking, slowly turning to face us.
“I didn’t want to do this! Someone approached me, saying they were going to hurt my mom if I didn’t deliver Carter by the end of today,” she sobs, and I race to Carter’s side, dragging the accomplice with me as she collapses to the ground.
“Both of you, walk.” Massi commands, his eyes shifting between our new victims, and a very drugged Carter.
“I’ve got you, baby girl. Come on,” I whisper, following the leader as sirens begin to wail in the background, but we’ll be long gone before they reach us.
She’s back in my arms, unconscious but alive, and I silently thank every God I can think of for allowing me to have her back safely.
Massi and I finally make eye contact, and without a word, I can see the murderous look on his face, one I’ve seen countless times, but tonight, every ounce of the beast is going to be unleashed on these poor suckers who came after the one thing we’d die to protect.
He slams the front door open, some kids still laying on the ground, most of them cleared out by now, likely taking the back exit, and I follow Massi until we reach a metal door, his fingerprints unlocking it as he motions the gun toward the stairs.
“Move. Now.” He waits as they steal a glance, both Ellie and her friend looking like they’re going to pass out, but she takes the first steps, while the man follows.
“Hey, my little ice princess. We’re going to get you better, okay? We’re going to find out what the fuck is happening, I promise,” he says softly, kissing her cheek before I carry her down the stairs, her head resting on my shoulder.
Whatever they gave her is strong and fast-acting, but we keep medical supplies down here, the basement serving as our personal playground.
To the left, we have a small home gym, equipped with weights of all sizes, a punching bag, and a treadmill.
In the middle, we set up a relaxation area, a couch and small TV line one wall, while the other houses cabinets full of medicine and first aid supplies.
The third room is where things get dark, the walls and floor are stainless steel, resembling an operating room.
There are chains, various tools, and one lone table in the middle, making this the torture room – as Massi so graciously calls it.
Once we’re all through, he activates the lock, flicking the fluorescent overhead lights on, a very loud buzzing echoing off the concrete walls as Ellie begins to cry, likely seeing what the rest of the night has in store for her.
I’ll leave the torture to my brother – his maniacal laugh already ringing in my ears – instead, taking care of Carter and nursing her back to health. I prop her up on the sofa, covering her with a throw blanket while I dig through the cabinets, looking for narcan and fluids.
When she wakes up, she’ll feel like she has a nasty hangover, but we need to flush these drugs out of her system first and foremost.
Luckily, we have an IV stand, bags of saline, and a heavy stash of narcan, never knowing when you’ll need it, especially around these frat kids.
After having to patch Massi up so many times, I’m basically a pro at inserting an IV, but still, the sight of blood turns my stomach, Carter barely moving as I stick a needle into the protruding vein in her arm.
Once the fluids are set, I open the narcan, pressing the tip into her nostril, pushing to release the nasal spray.
After a few moments, she starts to stir, her heavy eyes opening and shutting as the medication works its way through her system.
“Hey, baby girl. It’s me, you’re okay.” I stroke her hair, the messy curls framing her face, falling out of the bun she’d set on top of her head earlier.
“Tyson. She … she drugged … me,” she stutters, her words coming out slow, like she’s still a bit high from whatever was given to her.
“I know, we’ve got her. Massi’s got her,” I say, and she starts to stir, but I press her back into the couch, not letting her get up yet.
“You’re attached to an IV, so let’s just rest up a bit, okay? You’re going to feel nasty if we don’t,” I explain, and she opens her eyes, looking down at the needle in her arm.
“Fuck me. I’m so sorry, Tyson. I thought I could trust her.” She scoots until I lift her up, her body going limp as I place her on my lap, her head resting in the crook of my neck.
We’re both quiet, the sounds of crying, screaming, and yelling coming from the room next door, but down here, everything is sound-proofed, and nobody upstairs can hear a thing.
Massi’s doing what he does best – extracting information – and I know that he’ll get to the bottom of who wanted Carter, the why likely being our main focus moving forward.
It has to be the Ricci’s, looking to hit us below the belt, and I wouldn’t put it past them to have been watching her with us over the last few months.
“I’ve never had a real friend,” she sighs, the color coming back into her face as she sits up, looking into my eyes.
“Me either, baby girl. I have you, and Massi. That’s all I need,” I tell her, swiping at the tears trickling down her cheeks.
“I need to talk to her. I need to know how long she’s been spying and pretending to be my friend.” She tries to get up, doing everything in her power to push me off, but I hold her tight, not ready to let go just yet.
“I thought I’d lost you, baby girl. You have no idea how scared I was,” I breathe, inhaling her scent and thanking my lucky stars that we were able to find her so quickly.
It was only minutes, but during that time, I was terrified that I’d be forced to live without the one thing that makes every day worthwhile, and that was a dark fucking place.
“I’m sorry, Tyson. I’m … never this careless.” She settles against me once more, her body still weak from the drugs, but the fight that lives in her heart still ever-present.
Before we can say anything more, Massi bursts into the room, his body immediately relaxing once he sees that Carter’s awake.
“Oh, come here, Principessina.” He holds his arms out, and I pass her fragile body to him, tugging the tube on the IV so she doesn’t rip it out.
“Thank you for finding me. Both of you,” she whispers, settling against his chest while he hangs onto her for dear life, the emotion displayed on his face.
He was being tough before, taking the brunt of the violence while we were looking for her – and subsequently scaring his fresh victims – but now that he’s reunited with Carter, all that bravado has gone out the window.
“I’d literally search heaven for you, my priceless little devil. Don’t ever scare me like that again. Please,” he begs, burying his face into her hair, and I swear, a sob leaves his chest.
“I won’t, I promise. You smell like blood,” she laughs, tipping her head back, the light returning to her body now that we’re both back in her orbit.
“The participants weren’t very willing. Comes with the job description,” he jokes, placing her back into my arms, pressing kisses along her forehead and cheeks.
“Was she really involved, Jasper? What has she said?” Carter asks, her curiosity never-ending, but I understand the urge to destroy those who have wronged you, the betrayal cutting so deep that your bones rattle with each and every breath.
“She will only talk to you, Carter.”