29. Chapter 29 #2
“I want to stop her. You know that, right?” He admits as he locks his eyes with mine. I try to give him a smile, but my teary eyes probably give me away. I try to swallow, giving myself a second to voice what I need.
“Watch out for him. Promise me?” I choke out.
He nods firmly. “I swear. Nothing will happen to him.” He glances over his shoulder, checking to make sure that we’re still alone before turning back to me. “I have a plan. If I even get a whiff that they’re going to do something, then I know what to do. He’s going to be safe. Don’t worry, okay?”
I nod, not sure what he could possibly do to stop them, but grateful that he’s even trying. That he even cares.
He leans down, checking my ankles before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper that’s been folded into a tiny square. “Open your mouth. You’re going to want this to bite down on. Trust me.”
I’m confused, but I do as he says, using my tongue to push the paper between my teeth. My mouth is dry and sticky, making it much more difficult to get where it’s comfortable.
“Lance,” he begs for my attention, so I look back up at him.
“I love him, okay? And… and I love you. Don’t forget that. Promise me?”
My eyes are blurry, but I nod at him, because I know he does. I’m positive of that.
The sounds of heels returning echoes through the hallway, so he pushes to his feet in front of me and starts to back away. “And I’m really sorry for what’s about to happen, but I have to do it. It’s for him, okay?” For Gatlin.
I nod again, a little more confidently, as I grind my teeth into the paper. Blaine knows what he’s doing. He’s picking and choosing his battles right now, and this battle… it’s necessary for him to win the war. For us to win.
The door squeals open as she pushes inside, looking more annoyed than she was when she left.
“Your brother seems to have disappeared.” She directs at no one in particular, making me wonder if she’s talking about Mathis or Gatlin.
My eyes dart over at Blaine, who meets my gaze for a sliver of a second, telling me exactly what I needed to know.
She wanted Gatlin to be here, but Blaine made sure that he wasn’t.
Despite my current predicament, a sense of relief washes over me in knowing that Gatty is going to be in good hands.
I slump back against the chair as she walks back over to the furnace and pushes the doors open wider.
She turns to Blaine expectantly, and he walks to her side with a sense of confidence I doubt he’s actually feeling.
He grabs a glove off the hook on the wall before grabbing the poker and spinning it around in the coals.
He looks to her for direction, waiting for her to give a command.
A wicked smile grows on her lips before she steps back and turns her attention to me.
“We’re going to miss you, Lance.” She whines with a faux pout.
I grit my teeth down, shifting the paper between my teeth to make sure that it’s between my molars.
It, admittedly, took far too long for me to realize what was about to happen, but I still won’t cower.
I meet her gaze, giving her a smartass smirk in return.
I hope she eats her own fucking words one day.
Blaine turns on his heels with the brand, not poker, but he doesn’t show a shred of emotion.
He’s completely stoic as he steps toward me.
I don’t know if I’ve just overlooked it, or I just haven’t seen him enough lately, but he’s become the perfect puppet master.
Learning to bury his feelings to do what needs to be done.
He’s completely detached himself from the person that’s being forced to do this.
The strength to do what he’s doing, it’s commendable.
He stops in front of me, raising a single eyebrow in question. A silent ‘are you ready for this’?
I lock eyes with him, nodding firmly just once. He leans forward, forcing my head against the back of the chair, which is probably for the best. I close my eyes, calm and collected as I await the inevitable.
“For Gatty,” he whispers.
“For us,“ I reply through my teeth.
My plan was to take it silently. I was going to grit my teeth and breath through the pain.
I wasn’t going to give her a shred of satisfaction or amusement from this.
I wanted to face her afterward and see the disappointment in her eyes.
I wanted to win. Just this once. That’s the problem with plans though, they never go quite the way you want them to.
For a split second, I think that I’ve got this, that I’ll be able to pull it off.
That moment passes before I even have time to open my eyes, every muscle in my body pulling tense.
A guttural scream rips from deep within my chest as I try to double over in pain.
Blaine’s hand on my head holds me in place as my arms and legs pull tight against the restraints.
The smell of my own burning flesh stings my raw throat as it fills my lungs.
I try to lift my hips, thrashing, as the pain radiates through my entire body.
I’m on fire from the inside out, sweat trickling down my skin.
My jaw is clenched so tight that the paper between my teeth is barely enough to keep them from cracking against one another.
As Blaine goes to pull the metal away, where it’s embedded itself into my skin pulls at my flesh, causing me to scream again.
I can feel myself on the verge of passing out from the pain.
My vision bounces between reality and blacking out, only seconds between each glimpse, as if I’m just blinking.
I look up at Blaine with tears in my eyes, but even that can’t hide the remorse staring back at me.
We both turn our heads when we hear the sound of heels moving on the pavement.
She circles around the chair I’m tied to and stops just a few feet away from Blaine.
The way his brows pinch together tell me that this wasn’t a part of their original plan, and whatever is about to happen, he wasn’t aware of.
“I have to say, that was a wonderful show. A little on the loud side for my liking, but aside from that, it was truly a pleasure to witness. It’s a shame I don’t have time to repeat it.”
I grind my teeth against the thinned paper between my teeth, trying to bite back from saying anything to her. I flip the paper up, moving it back and forth to distract myself.
“I would normally call it a day, but I was reallllllly hoping this would be the bittersweet goodbye I wanted, but…“ she waves her hand between me and the furnace. “This didn’t really do it for me. I’m glad that I prepared another gift for you, as well.”
She smiles directly at me before pulling out a pistol and pointing it directly at Blaine.
My brain is so fucking confused that I can’t even comprehend what’s happening.
I turn my face and spit the paper to the concrete, before turning to Blaine.
We’ve all had more weapon handling and self-defense classes than I can even count. Why isn’t he doing anything?
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell at him as I pull at my restraints, making the chair screech across the floor. “Take that shit from her, Blaine!”
She laughs before pulling the pistol back to her chest and racking the bullet into the chamber. Still, Blaine stands there, glaring at her.
“You see,” she says as she walks a circle around him. “I knew he was helping you and Gatlin all along. Mathis is a lot smarter than he looks.”
“Liar!” I bark at her. “We beat him at every fucking test. Every sport. Every training course. Everything.”
“And yet, you’re there.” She says as she lazily flops the gun in my direction before pointing it back to Blaine. “And he’s here. Ironic, isn’t it?”
“I’m still leaving. You’ll just have one less son.” I try to argue.
“Oh, bother.“ She pouts as she shrugs her shoulder. “What a pity.”
And then she pulls the trigger.