29. Thea
29
Thea
T he muzzle of Torrance’s gun pressed against my lower back as he shoved me inside the rain-sodden barn. My breath steamed in the chilly air, but I barely noticed the cold. I was too busy trying to think of a way to get us both out of this mess without dying.
“Love what you’ve done with the place,” I quipped as I observed the wet straw on the floor, cobwebs hanging from rotten beams, and piles of empty snack wrappers. Rain dripped down from various holes in the roof. The building was even more derelict than the last time Torrance dragged me here.
Eden looked up and yelled incoherently around the dirty rag in her mouth. She seemed unhurt, physically, at least, dressed for a date in tights and a cute pink skater dress now stained with mud and worse.
“Mmmphhm,” she grunted while glaring at Torrance.
“Let her go,” I pleaded. “She’s of no use to you.”
Torrance seemed unmoved. “Not happening, troia .” How dare he call me a whore!
The misogynist bullshit spewing from his lips stoked my anger. “A whore is a woman who accepts payment for sex,” I pointed out as he shoved me down on the floor. “You’ve paid enough whores in your time. You should be more than aware of this.”
If he didn’t have Eden trussed up like a Thanksgiving Turkey, I’d have fought back, but the risk of her getting hurt was too great. And he knew it.
“Shut the fuck up,” he snarled, smashing the butt of the gun into my cheek. Pain exploded as blood pooled in my mouth, but much to his annoyance, I showed no reaction other than to spit red saliva out over his boots.
At least my teeth were still intact.
“Be careful,” I taunted. “Damage the merchandise and Marku won’t want me.”
“He doesn’t care about your face, troia , only your well-used cunt.”
His foot lashed out and I only just shielded my belly in time. Eden struggled like crazy, but Torrance had tied her to a wooden post.
As I breathed through the pain, he yanked me up and forced my hands behind my back. I tried to free myself, but my head spun, and I could barely focus on him, let alone figure out how to escape this shithole without risking Eden’s life.
Torrance snapped my wrists together with a zip tie and then pulled out his phone. As I watched, he tapped the screen before placing the handset to his ear.
“I have her…yes…” He looked over at me and grinned. “She’s a little damaged, but nothing too bad.” I hawked out another globule of bloody saliva in his direction, but he ignored me.
When I turned to face Eden, she shook her head.
“Mhhmmpppmmm!”
“I’ll get us out of here,” I whispered while Torrance made another phone call. I shuffled closer to her and leaned back so our hands were touching. He’d used a length of rope to tie her to the post, probably because he didn’t have a zip tie long enough.
I picked at the knot, and after a few moments, it loosened. Torrance wasn’t watching either of us, the arrogant fuck. Zip-tying me and giving me a concussion would not keep me down for long.
When he glanced back, I pretended to close my eyes, letting my head fall forward as blood dripped down my face. In truth, I really was close to passing out, but I knew that if I did, we were both fucked.
Satisfied I wasn’t a threat for now, he pulled out a cigarette. “Marku says he’s looking forward to seeing his bride again,” he announced in a conversational tone.
“I hope he enjoys it when I bite his cock off,” I replied.
“Don’t worry , troia , he likes his girls feisty .” His lecherous gaze slid down my chest. “Maybe I should ride you before I send you to him. Test the goods, so to speak.”
“Try it. I dare you,” I snarled, baring my bloody teeth at him, but he just laughed while flicking the safety on and off.
“Maybe I will, troia. ” Bile crept up my gullet as his hand moved to his belt. Fuck. I really needed to keep my mouth shut.
Just as he was about to unfasten his pants, his phone rang, the shrill ringtone jarring. He swore and moved away to take the call. Rapid-fire Italian followed. Something about a drugs deal, but I tuned out. The window of opportunity for escape was closing rapidly.
My eye snagged on the pile of scrap metal a foot away. The last time I was here, I’d lost my knife. My head throbbed as I trawled back through my memories. I remembered the knife sliding from my fingers. Was it still there, buried under the discarded scrap?
I shuffled closer. Eden watched me, a questioning look in her eyes. At least she wasn’t panicking or checked out. I tried to smile at her, letting her know I had a plan, but I wasn’t sure if she received my message.
Torrance stood in the doorway, still preoccupied with his drug deal gone wrong. When I was close enough to the scrap, I reached back with my fingers. It was awkward with my wrists tied. Something shifted, making a noise. Torrance glanced back and I let my body fall sideways, as if I’d passed out. He stared at me for a moment, then looked away again, apparently satisfied I wasn’t any threat. Since he was the one with the gun, he felt safe.
I pushed back, trying not to grimace at the thought of touching spiders and rat shit. Even now, I still hated spiders. Too many hours spent locked in small spaces with skittering critters.
Something furry brushed past my wrist and I flinched. Jesus. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eden’s hands move and then she nodded. She was free. Thank fuck.
My fingers touched something sharp. I stretched further, feeling the strain in my shoulders. Outside, thunder rumbled as the rain fell harder. Water dripped through holes in the room, puddling on the filthy floor, activating the stench of decades-old animal excrement.
I curled my fingers around the smooth handle of the knife, the one I dropped the night Torrance beat me as a punishment for failing to bring him Roberto Pesci. It took some effort, but I managed to twist the handle until the blade rested against the plastic cable tie. Blood trickled down my wrist as I sawed through the plastic, cutting myself in the process.
Just as the zip tie snapped in two, Torrance turned around.
He must have read something in my face. Some hint of what I had planned. The smug smile he’d worn since he dragged me in here dropped, revealing the true monster within. The evil creature who liked it when I screamed.
Time slowed down as he raised the gun and pointed it at my knees.
“Like I told you, Thea, Marku doesn’t care if you’re injured. As long as you don’t bleed out before I deliver you, we’re good.” Then he looked at Eden. “Or maybe I should start with the Kelly bitch,” he mused. “Perhaps you’ll think twice about escaping if I remove some of her body parts. I bet she won’t mind if I slice off a few fingers.”
Eden’s eyes widened in panic.
“Leave her alone. We’re both tied up! We’re not going anywhere!” I hated the thread of fear in my voice, but the thought of Torrance hurting my friend was too much. I’d grown to like her.
“I’m not sure I trust you, Thea,” he said, shaking his head. “I trained you, after all, which means I know what you’re capable of.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a vicious-looking switch blade. As he took a step forward, lightning lit up the place, followed by a crack of thunder so loud it sounded like the heavens had ruptured.
It was enough to distract Torrance.
I leaped forward at the same time as Eden dived sideways and grabbed a metal pole. Torrance tried to shoot me, but I was too close, and the bullet went wide. He slashed at me with his left hand. The blade caught my arm, slicing through my thin jacket.
Eden swung the metal bar, hitting him behind the knees. He lost his balance and dropped the gun, falling forward into the mud. Before he could recover, she smashed the bar across his head.
Blood splattered all over her and me.
“That’s for hurting my friend!” she shrieked, slamming the bar down again and again.
I watched as she split open his skull like a ripe pumpkin.
“I think he’s dead,” I announced eventually.
She dropped the bar and peered down. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
We looked at each other and started giggling like demented serial killers.
“Oh my god, my dress is ruined,” she bitched, frowning at the bloody mess all over her pretty pink frock. Then the tears came.
I pulled her close and rubbed the back of her head. My arm stung like a motherfucker, but I ignored it. We both needed a moment to recover.
“You OK?” I asked when she eventually stopped crying.
“I think so. Fuck, what are we supposed to do about that?” Wiping tears away, she grimaced at the mess. “It looks like Hannibal Lecter’s hobby shed in here. Maybe we should call Declan.”
“Are you sure you want Declan knowing about this?”
“Not really, no. But I also don’t want to end up in prison, so…”
Headlights flooded the yard outside. We both froze. Fuck, had Torrance been working with someone? Was this our transport?
I reached for Torrance’s gun as Eden picked up her metal bar.
“Are we doing the Thelma and Louise ending?” Eden asked, sounding panicked.
“Huh?”
“What the actual fuck?” Kyril appeared in the doorway with a gun cocked and loaded. His jaw dropped when he saw the state of us.
“ Cara ? What happened?” The guys lined up and stared at the carnage.
“You’re too late, boys. Me and the Pink Power Ranger here handled it.”
“Girl Power!” Eden giggled, giving me a fist bump. “Thank fuck we don’t have to drive off a cliff now.”
I had no fucking clue what she was talking about.
Ronan, Conal, and a clean-up crew arrived an hour later to deal with the crime scene, Torrance’s car, and the Mercedes I’d stolen. The twins had not been happy about Eden’s role in the show but agreed to play it down for her sake. She didn’t want Declan to force her back to Ireland.
“I’m going to need counseling,” she groaned as we sat in our underwear, wrapped in blankets.
“Probably.”
“I don’t feel guilty.” Her lip wobbled. “He was a bad person.”
“He was,” I agreed. “You did the world a favor. Thank you.”
“You saved me before, so I guess we’re even now.”
“Can we have no more saving of anyone, please.” Landon shuddered. “It was like walking onto the set of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I’m going to have nightmares for weeks.”
“There was a lot of blood,” Milo agreed from the front seat. “An average-sized man contains about 12 pints of blood.”
“Shut up,” Eden muttered. “I already feel ill.”
“Right, we’re all done,” Ronan announced, wiping his hands with a bloody towel. “We’ll take Eden and you guys go on your way.” Conal yawned in the background before stretching. The pair of them wore identical black tactical gear. If not for Conal’s slightly longer hair, I’d have struggled to tell them apart.
“You can come with us?” I told Eden.
“No.” She sighed. “I better head back to college and pretend I had a normal night.” Although it was still dark, she was right. There would be too many questions if she strolled through the main gate in her underwear with blood splatters all over her face. We’d both used disposable wipes to clean ourselves, but a hot shower was well overdue. I felt certain I still had brain matter in my hair.
I hugged her one last time and then she got out and climbed into Ronan’s car.
Kyril shoved Landon aside so he could pull me into his arms. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”
We were due a conversation about why I’d left them again, but right now, all I wanted to do was sleep for a few hours. Once I’d slept, we could talk.
I rested my head against Kyril’s chest and closed my eyes.