Fifty-One - River
Concrete weighs down every molecule inside me, refusing to let me move an inch. No matter how hard I try, nothing cooperates with me. I’m stuck.
A dense fog swirls deep in my mind, clouding my thoughts and erasing all rationale.
Every ache pulling at my nerves awakens, throbbing into existence the more my mind comes back to the land of the living.
What the fuck happened to me? And why do I feel like I got hit by a damn bus, backed over, and hit fucking again?
A softness encompasses my back like a mattress cocooning my body in a soft embrace.
I grunt, trying to move again. Nothing fucking works. My arms are useless. My legs fucking tingle. Fuck! Sludge moves through my veins toward my frantically beating heart, trying to break through my ribcage.
I have to move, or I’ll die here. Wherever that is…
My breath hitches when I’m finally able to lift a finger. Fucking finally! That’s one finger of many. Only nine to go. Tingling encompasses every digit, slowly waking up from the deep sleep I was in the more I move.
My breath hitches in my throat again as desperation claws at me to get moving. The faster I’m off this bed, the faster I can skedaddle out of this fucking nightmare I’ve been put in.
One by one, I’m able to shake off the heavy feeling weighing my limbs down and freely wiggle my fingers and toes. Thankfully, clothes rustle with every move. So, I’m not naked. That’s a plus.
I blink several times through the grit crusting over my eyelashes, letting my sight adjust to the absolute darkness before me.
It’s nothing but shadows. No lights. No sounds. Desolate. A fucking void of nothing.
Have I died and gone to Hell? God, I hope not.
A chill shudders my body as a cool sweat forms on my palms. Through heavy breaths, I manage to force my body into the seated position at the edge of the mattress I was left on. Or, I think it’s a mattress. If I could fucking see to figure it out, I’d know more.
I groan as the darkness swirls, forcing my eyes to squeeze shut. What in the ever living fuck is happening right now?
My eyes dart around the fucking blackness, trying to latch onto anything I can. A shape. A light of any kind. But there’s nothing. It’s like I’m lost inside a damp basement that’s a maze of corridors.
I inhale, trying to use my other senses to guide me in the right direction. Nothing but a sterile bleach scent filters through my nose. So, a clean basement? That doesn’t make any damn sense. Basements are notorious for a mildewy stench. Has someone created this space just for me?
I shake my head, running my numb fingers over my tired face.
Goosebumps erupt over every inch of my body as I ground myself in the heavy darkness blanketing the entire room.
“Hello?” My brows furrow when my voice echoes through the room like a cavernous space lies before me.
Right. This is how every serial killer movie starts. Poor girl left in the basement. Next, a man with a chainsaw will pop out of the wall and grind my body to pieces as I scream. How fucking morbid… I shake those thoughts out of my fucking head. I don’t have time to get all mopey about my newfound situation. I have to think and get the hell out of here.
Now, if I could only remember what the fuck happened to get me here, I’d be in a better place.
“Rivey, I knew you’d wake up soon.”
My entire body freezes at the sound of his voice. I run a shaky hand over my forehead, wiping the cold sweat breaking out over every inch of my flesh.
“So glad to see you sitting up! We have so much planned today…” His voice echoes again with a manic laugh from somewhere in the distance. Yet, he sounds like he’s all around me.
My fingernails dig into the edge of the mattress, grounding me to the spot. How the hell…
How did Van get to me? Where…
Like a whirlwind of memories, it all comes back to me at rapid speed. Nearly knocking me back from my seated position. My lips flop open, gasping for air.
The birthday party.
The needle at the rollercoaster.
The goddamn gunshot…
Asher!
“What did you do?” I shout through my sudden rage, shaking with every move I make.
I jump to my trembling feet, swaying like a tree in the wind. Fuck. Everything swirls again. I rub my temples, begging for relief from the constant wave of vertigo.
I grunt, stumbling through the darkness with my hand out in front of me. Come on, asshole. Show yourself so I can beat you to a bloody pulp.
My fingers prod my pockets, hoping without fail I brought my knife. Hope blossoms in my chest. Quickly popped by the reminder that I didn’t have it with me. Why would I? It was my child’s birthday party. I shouldn’t have felt unsafe there. Liv was there. Jordy was there. A whole slew of Veritas agents attended as well. Somehow this psycho broke through all the safety precautions we had in place and smashed them to pieces by getting to me.
My brows furrow when his confession rings in my mind. He was Trevor. The elusive boyfriend of my PA. How could we have been so trusting and blind?
“I brought you home!” His voice rings out again from all around me, sounding like an ever-present entity haunting all sides of my life.
“No,” I cry out in desperation. “This is not my home! Let me go, Van!” My fingers curl into fists.
Every ounce of fog dissipates into nothing, giving me back my sound mind. Replaced by massive amounts of rage boiling through my system.
I’ll fuck him up before he touches me. There’s no way I’ll let him get his hands on me like he promised. Fuck that. Fuck this. I’m River goddamn West. No one is taking anything from me again. I’ll claw his fucking eyes out until he’s bleeding on the ground.
“Pretty Girl.”
My chest heaves as my eyes dart around the darkened space. Where is he? God, where is he in this darkness? His voice caresses me through the shadows, knocking me back a step. Rad? Is he here to save me from Van’s clutches? Or is he a prisoner, too?
Van shot Asher. Will Rad be next?
“Run,” I rasp with tears streaming down my cheeks. “Don’t come any closer. He’s got a gun,” I plead, nearly dropping to my knees as they knock together.
“Pretty Girl,” he says with a sigh. I swear the faintest touch against my cheek has me jerking back.
My fingers graze against the phantom touch, instantly relaxing me.
“Mine!” Van’s voice echoes through the space like a menacing ghost, growling the word. “You’re mine! You’ll always be mine!” My ears ring at the sound of his frantic shouts.
“No. No. No!” I hiss, covering my ears. “I’m not yours. Let me go!”
“Come on, Pretty Girl!” Rad’s voice echoes through my skull with desperation. “You’re having a nightmare. You need to wake up. Please wake up. It’s been twelve hours already.”
Twelve hours? Of what? My unconsciousness? My imprisonment?
I blink several times until a blinding light pierces through the veil of shadows. Squinting against the brightness, I gasp, jolting forward.
My eyes snap open, greeted by the bright lights and a loud beeping sound filling the room. Several articles of clothing rustle beside me, getting closer as I come back online.
“Little Star.”
A yelp leaves my throat when I jerk back into a warm embrace. Heavy hands hold me steady, wrapping around my front side. A drum beats in my chest, moving toward my ears and taking over my hearing. My breaths shudder when the unknown hands travel up and down my arm in a soothing manner.
“We got you, Pretty Girl.” His voice cracks with emotions, murmuring in my ear.
“Rad,” I croak sharply, turning to look over my shoulder.
Warm brown eyes filled to the brim with concern and exhaustion greet my vision.
“Rad,” I confirm with a sob, falling apart as he embraces me more. His fingers wipe the rogue tears escaping down my cheeks.
He’s here. He’s safe. Fuck. I’m safe. There’s no longer a stark darkness holding me captive. Just this room. My boys.
“We’re so glad you’re finally awake, Little Star,” Callum says with a quivering voice. His bottom lip trembles when he looks me over, checking for more injuries.
Callum rests in front of me with dark bags blooming under his eyes from lack of sleep. The faintest smile tugs at his lips when his fingertips brush the hair from my face.
“Thank fuck you’re finally awake,” he whispers with relief sagging his entire body on the bed.
“Awake?” My eyes dart around the room, taking in my surroundings.
“It’s okay, Pretty girl. You’re safe. You were having a gnarly nightmare,” Rad whispers right into my ear. My body trembles from the rumble of his voice, vibrating through my back.
“Nightmare?” I croak, shaking my head.
The never-ending darkness crowds my mind, but I shake it away. I will not be a victim of my fucking memories.
“You were mumbling and twitching in your sleep. It was…” Callum trails off, putting his fist in front of his face.
“Fucking scary as hell. But you’re here at the hospital with us. You’re safe.” Rad softly kisses my hair, squeezing his arms around me as we lie tangled in the hospital bed.
My body jerks when the door to my room swings wide, displaying a new face.
“Oh good! We were beginning to worry about you, Miss West. Your assailant really did a number on you.” My muscles stiffen when a woman dressed in all-white scrubs saunters through my room like she owns it.
A mess of brown hair rests on top of her lifted head. A stethoscope rests around her neck, and glasses perch on the end of her nose. A warm smile crosses her lips when she takes the three of us in, easing my initial worry.
“A nightmare,” I confirm again, remembering the thick darkness I was just in with Van’s menacing voice and… “What about Van? Did they get him? Oh my god…” I trail off as the nurse resets my IV bag and turns off the beeping machine. “My daughter?” I rasp.
The need to see Lyric and make sure she’s okay overrides everything. I’m ten seconds away from climbing out of this bed and hightailing it out of this stupid hospital. She’s probably freaking out without me. I’ve been here for God knows how long, and she’s been by herself. No. Not alone. She’s had the four of them.
The nurse sends me a sympathetic smile, humming under her breath.
“I’ll send in the agents stationed outside your door. You should be okay for a while. The doctor wanted to monitor your vitals and make sure you got fluids while the drug was in your system. I suspect he’ll want you here for another day to make sure it didn’t have any other lasting effects on you.” She smiles one last time, squeezing my arm before she walks out the door.
As soon as she exits, Olivia bursts in with a frantic look. Normally, she hides her emotions behind a thick wall of professionalism. Not today. Her eyes glide all over my body, taking me in.
“Bestie,” she murmurs, a hint of emotion filtering through her voice.
“Liv. What happened? Where’s Ly? Asher? Where’s Van? Did he…”
“Don’t worry, Dollface. I shot him in the dick,” Jordy quips, strolling in casually after Liv with a cocky grin plastered. “Don’t give me that disapproving face,” he says, pointing at Olivia, who huffs in response.
“He’s on Devil Head Island with the rest of the Veritas prisoners. They mended his…” She pauses, twisting her face. “His uh…manhood.” She grimaces, pointing between her legs.
“His dick. You can say it. D-I-C-K. Or what’s left of it. He’ll be permanently limp from now on.” He beams with pride, setting his eyes on me. “You missed, by the way. But that’s okay. Thankfully, Liv and I stormed the castle before he could drag you away to his lair.” He shudders at the thought, looking away with a head shake. “You were a lucky girl, Riv.”
“Super fucking lucky,” Liv murmurs through a breath.
“What the hell is happening?” I mutter, rubbing my temple. “So, he’s gone?”
“In prison for a very long time. The good thing about Veritas is he doesn’t need a damn trial. Besides, thanks to Asher’s quick thinking, we have his confession on tape. So, Van is there forever.”
“With sickening pride, too. Where the fuck did you find this guy, Riv?” Jordy asks, shaking his head.
“He was my ex, but he dumped me,” I groan, trying to process what they’re saying about him. “So, what is he saying?” I question with curiosity.
Olivia sighs, having a silent conversation with Jordy. Eyebrows raise. Hands move. But their mouths never open.
“I’m assuming everything he told you. From the admittance to what he did to you at that party and to stalking you since that moment ...” Olivia trails off, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Rad stiffens behind me. His breath picks up and heaves at the mention of the party so long ago. Rad, my hero. The man who scooped me up and took me to the hospital after Van and his little friends had their fun.
I squeeze my eyes shut, vomit rushing up my esophagus. Van fucking raped me. He took advantage of me by dumping drugs into my drink and luring me away from the mass of people and witnesses. Then, as a love-sick teenager, I fell under his spell and into his bed. Again. He took advantage of me more than once.
“We went through his house, Riv. It’s apparent he’s had a thing for you for a long time. Probably has been following you for longer than the three years he let on. We found the pictures, the videos, and everything in between to help him get to you. We also found his security companies shit all over the place, too. The same company in charge of your safety. Overall, it’s another dangerous criminal off the streets. He won’t see the light of day for the rest of his life.” As Jordy speaks, more anger seeps into his words. A red tint crosses his cheeks, and his muscles turn rigid.
“And Ly? Asher? Are they okay?” My heart pounds against my ribs at the last images I have of them running through a loop in my mind.
Her screams. His anguish. The gunshot. The threats. It’s all right there at the forefront of my mind, reminding me I couldn’t save anyone. Not even myself.
“Ly’s fine. She’s snuggled up with Asher right now, Pretty Girl,” Rad says reassuringly, running his hands up and down my arms again.
“He got out of surgery hours ago. He’s fine. She’s fine. Although Ly might be a little shaken up. She hasn’t really mentioned it. But Kieran took her to that therapist you have for an emergency appointment to make sure she’s okay since you were out for twelve hours, and he said they had a good talk about everything. She wants to continue to see Lyric on a regular basis. Something you might want to keep in mind,” Liv says with gentleness as she eases forward. “Shoo,” she rasps, waving Rad and Callum off me.
“Only this one time,” Rad grumbles, kissing my cheek. “We’ll snuggle soon. I’ll go check on the asshole next door. He’s been worried sick about you but couldn’t get out of bed.”
“See ya soon, Little Star.” Callum brushes his lips against mine, finally breaking away and removing himself from my hospital bed.
“I’ll beat feet and check on our little captive. I wonder if he had anything else to say. My boys can be so creative with their torture,” Jordy says, grinning as he manically rubs his hands together as he, too, exits the room. Leaving me alone with one of my best friends, fighting back tears.
“Oh, girl,” Liv murmurs, wrapping her arms around me. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. That asshole blew up my damn car!”
“Fuck, Liv. Your car?” I wheeze, strangled by her tightening hold. I don’t even remember hearing an explosion of any sort.
“We thought there was a security breach on the outside. Little did we know it was on the inside.” Pulling back, water pools in her dark eyes, slowly falling down her cheeks. “I almost lost you,” she hiccups.
“You didn’t, though. You got there in time. Right? Everything is so damn hazy. All I remember is him cornering me, and then he injected me…”
“Yeah, just in the nick of time. We found Ash and called an ambulance and reinforcements as your gun went off. We… God, I was so goddamn scared he had shot you. I raced in there with my gun in the air with Jordy right behind me. He hadn’t moved you yet. But he was getting ready to take you away. I shot a round in his back, but it didn’t stop him. It only made him face us with a gun in his hand. So, Jordy shot him in the dick without hesitation…” She grimaces at the thought.
“He really shot him in the dick?” I ask, trying to hold back the laughter bubbling in my throat. It feels so damn inappropriate to want to laugh, but I can’t help it. It bubbles out of both of us as we sit embraced on my bed.
“Yeah. Give Jordy any opportunity to shoot someone where the sun don’t shine. He’ll do it. We wanted some real answers. The ones we thought died with Adrian… Who happens to be his cousin, somehow.” She shakes her head, disappointment pulling her expression down. “I’m so sorry, River. I don’t know how he eluded us for so long. All records showed Van Drake was in Europe on business… I’m so fucking sorry we brought you home without further investigation and thinking it was only Adrian. I should have smelled a setup a mile away.”
“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t know. But he was Trevor here, right? He said he was Kat’s boyfriend. Jesus, how is Kat?” I swallow the razorblades in my throat, burning with every fucking swallow. This whole situation keeps getting worse and worse by the second.
“Well, she’s staying with Rocco right now. Much to his delight. He and Christian are supporting her in any way they know how. She’s shaken up. I’d be, too. The man she thought she loved was only using her for you.”
I rub my hand along my chest when she pulls away, staring me up and down.
“Well, good. I’m glad she has them. I’ll have to check in with her soon and make sure she’s okay to come back to work or take some time away from me. God, I’ll even give her a raise.”
“Well, the good news is the doc should release you soon. You’re awake and looking good.”
“Is it possible to go see, Asher? Was there much damage to him? I just can’t get the image of him lying on the ground with blood pouring out of him out of my fucking mind,” I rasp as tears burn the back of my eyes.
“He’s fine. They cleaned up the damage from the bullets to his calf and upper thigh and put him in a cast. Thankfully, it didn’t do much damage, besides the blood loss, which he’s being treated for right now. But other than that, Asher is fine. He’s been so worried about you. So, I think a reunion would do him some good. You should see Ly. She hasn’t left his side since. She really loves them… I’m so happy you gave them another chance.”
“Me too,” I murmur.