Chapter 15
Beth
Lila only sleeps for a few minutes at a time before startling awake.
Her breathing issues come and go. We use the inhaler to help her get through each episode.
I feel absolutely terrible for her. She took one rescue puff in the van before and had three more today.
Since her life depends on this one inhaler and we don’t know if or when we’ll be able to secure more, we need to make this one last as long as possible, especially as we don’t have her other meds.
I walk over to the door and knock. Raising my voice, I say, “We need water.”
He ignores me on the first ask. On the second ask, he opens the door and points to the far back of the room. “There is a sink for water and a mini fridge full of drinks and food. Help yourself and don’t bother me anymore.”
I glance down at my phone in his hand. It’s displaying a gambling app, so I guess that’s where his priorities lie. I mumble, “Thanks for the heads up.”
Truth be told, having food and water available is a huge advantage. I scramble to the back and realize there is a little snack area. I pull out some juice and crackers because I imagine it being easier on Lila’s stomach.
When I approach her and help her sit up, I say, “Here, have something to eat and drink. We have to keep our strength up.”
She eagerly takes the snacks from my hands and begins with a few crackers. “God, I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took the first bite.”
I nibble on a cracker. Nodding, I agree with her. “I’ve been almost too anxious to eat for days. Patch tries to make sure I eat regularly.”
Lila smiles at me, “You really like him, don’t you?”
Picking at the label on my juice bottle, I acknowledge, “Yeah, I guess I really do.”
“I thought you liked Mom’s friend’s son, that Solomon dude? Whatever happened to him?”
Lila has always loved talking about girl stuff. I told her all about him when I was younger. “Believe it or not, it’s the same guy. Solomon grew up, went to medical school, and joined an MC.”
Lila chokes out a strangled laugh. “It’s wild how that worked out.”
“You know, we were just supposed to be married on paper, so he could be my protector.” Glancing around, I say, “What a cosmic joke that turned out to be.”
“I think it’s kind of romantic,” she says. “Like you were meant to be.”
I smile at her, and we hear heavy footsteps above us. It reminds me that we are supposed to be trying to get the hell out of here. I get to my feet and Lila asks in a shaky voice, “Where are you going?”
“Exploring,” I tell her, waggling my eyebrows.
I don’t say ‘looking for a way out’ because of that camera sitting in the corner.
Instead, I look through drawers, pulling out a puzzle here and a book from there.
Hopefully, if someone is watching, it will seem like we’re bored and looking for something to do.
One of the guards comes blustering into the room without warning. “He wants you upstairs,” the man says without looking at me.
“Who wants me upstairs?”
“The boss.”
“Why? What’s up?”
“Maybe he wants to talk and maybe he wants more.” The guard smirks.
My throat goes dry at the suggestion that he might want sex.
I take another small sip of my juice and then I put the bottle aside.
I return to Lila and adjust the little blanket I found for her earlier.
Taking her hands, I notice they’re cold, so I tuck them under the blanket.
“Look, that Vincent guy wants to talk to me.”
An expression of panic jumps onto her face. “Don’t go,” she pleads. “Stay here with me.”
Glancing back at the door, I lower my voice. “I think I should go. We don’t want to make him mad right off the bat, right?”
“I don’t care if he gets mad. We need to stay together. It’s easier to stay safe if we’re together.”
I pat her arm through the spread. “Alright, I won’t go. I promise.”
She relaxes back down onto the sofa, and I tug the blanket up around her. She tumbles off to sleep in a matter of minutes.
The next thing I know, the door flies open again. I jump up from a kneeling position and rush across the room to speak with whoever it is before they wake Lila. Vincent comes walking into the room, looking annoyed as he glances around the room, to find Lila sleeping.
“Did you not get my message to present yourself to me?”
What a strange turn of a phrase.
I swallow thickly. “Yes, sir. I did, but my sister was scared to be left alone.”
“From now on, when I call, you will come immediately. Understand?”
I force myself to nod and sound agreeable, when all I really want to do is claw his eyes out. “Of course, sir.”
My easy agreement seems to calm his anger. “How are you settling in?”
Confused, I ask, “Is this supposed to be our new living quarters?”
He glances around the room and shrugs. “For now. Is this going to be a problem?”
“My sister needs her care team,” I tell him. “She won’t last long here.”
“Well, she’s going to have to make do. You will both stay until I release you from your obligation to me,” he snaps back. “Then you will be free to do as you like.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I say nothing.
He steps closer. “Your needs are being met at the moment. Don’t ask for more than that before you submit to me for the first time. It’s rude.”
“We need another inhaler or oxygen. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”
He frowns at me. “You don’t listen very well. We’ll have to work on that. If you listen and obey, your sister will enjoy better conditions. Defy me and she will go without.”
He turns and leaves without waiting for a reply. For a brief second, I almost lose hope of being able to save my sister. He’s going to use her to force me to do what he wants, that much is clear.
The guard yawns. He pulls out my phone and watches a silent video. I get the distinct feeling that I’m never getting that phone back.
***
Three hours pass. Maybe more. A soft chime sounds upstairs. It doesn’t sound like a doorbell, more like a security tone. The guard shifts, listening closely. There are more footsteps passing overhead. And the chime stops. The guard relaxes, but I don’t.
I lean towards Lila. “Time to wake up. We need to get ready. We’re leaving,” I whisper.
“When?” she asks, opening her eyes.
“Soon,” I tell her in a faint whisper.
“How do you know?” she asks.
“It’s just a feeling. When I left the clubhouse Patch and his club brothers were still trying to find out where you were being held.
I’m sure by now they’ll have gotten some leads.
” My voice is certain, but me? Not so. I’m still worried that if Roxy tells him the lie I told her, he might think I’m not worth the effort.
She sits up and stares me in the face. “Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
We sit there listening and waiting for any sign that Patch and his club brothers have arrived.
Not long after, we hear movement upstairs again.
Our guard doesn’t seem bothered, but the footsteps are different.
They sound more solid, like the men are wearing boots instead of the fancy leather dress shoes these men favor.
I feel my heart racing in anticipation. That can only mean one thing, the Legion is here, probably with Patch leading the charge.
Or it’s the alternative, it’s the Grave Diggers and they’ve come to take me away.
The door handle jiggles and I let out an involuntary gasp.
There’s a click, and before the guard can respond, the door flies open, and men slip into the room.
Patch is first. He flies at the guard, bearing him down to the ground.
I’m shocked when Patch wraps his arms around the guard’s neck and squeezes until he falls unconscious like that move that some wrestlers do.
I wasn’t expecting him to do anything like that.
I realize at some point that Tank, Dutch, Siege, and Rigs have slipped into the room behind him.
Patch leaves the guard and rushes towards us. I’m so pleased when he drops to his knees in front of my scared sister. Someone hands him a black duffel bag, and inside is everything he needs to stabilize Lila. The relief on her face is bittersweet.
He clips an oximeter on her finger. Then he takes her blood pressure and listens to her lungs and heart. “You’re doing okay, Lila. You’re gonna be fine.”
He slides an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and fiddles with the handle on the small oxygen tank. He opens the tank and sets a low flow. Lila closes her eyes and breathes through it. The number on her oximeter climbs, and color begins to flow back into her cheeks.
We hear footsteps upstairs, along with what sounds like conflict.
Rigs murmurs, “Sounds like the cops have arrived.”
“Let’s give them a minute to flush out all Vincent’s men, and then we’ll get the women out.”
Rigs jumps up to close and lock the door when we hear a gunshot. When Patch is finished with Lila, he picks her up and asks his brothers, “Are we ready to get the hell outta here?”
Tank jokes, “Hell yeah. I’ve been dying to get out of this hellhole since I got here.”
Siege lifts his hand and speaks into one of the comm devices their security firm uses. After a minute his hand drops. “Smoke says it’s all clear. Law enforcement has them all subdued.”
Patch lifts Lila into his arms, and I tuck the blanket snugly around her body. She folds into him without a sound. “Let’s get you back home,” he tells her.
She nods, smiling up at him. “My home, right?”
“Yeah, the one where your medical team can take good care of you.”
The others surround us as we move out of the room and into the long hallway.
We take the stairs up to the first floor.
When we reach the back hall, Tank scouts ahead and comes back to report, “Smoke and our police contact have rounded up all the stragglers and herded everyone outside. It should be safe to move around. Detective Jenkins wants to talk to us for a second.”