Chapter 24
DECLAN
Everything hurts. My shoulders, my chest, my belly, my legs, my feet. Anywhere my captors found skin to hit, slap, cut, or damage in any way, they’ve done it.
It’s so dark and dank down in this basement, the air stale and smelling of mold. I cough and hack, feeling the state of my accommodations affecting me more than just the torture.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been down here…four days? Five?
The torture goes on and on at random times of the day. I have a hard time keeping track and that makes it hard to sleep. I don’t think I’ve gotten more than a few hours rest before someone comes down and starts the cycle all over again.
There are at least three tormentors—the one whose ear I almost tore off and two others that look around the same size and carry themselves in a similar way. They have to be brothers or related somehow.
My maskless captor? He’s done the most damage. I trace over the missing space in my mouth, where he pulled a molar. The pain was excruciating, but I made myself stay conscious, spitting my blood in his face. That earned me a punch so hard that I felt the bones in my cheek crack.
Fucking worth it though.
I try to adjust myself in my chair, pulling at the cuffs on my wrists, but it only causes a wave of pain so strong that I end up vomiting.
Which is only bile because I’ve only had a few bottles of water since I’ve been here.
No food, not even the hint of a meal. I’m hungry and cold and fucking exhausted, but my mind is clear.
All I keep thinking about is Nico, how he taught me to keep thinking no matter my emotional state—mostly when I’m angry, but this fits too. My head gets foggy now and then, but I shake that shit off so I can think.
Basements are common in Jersey, but this style isn’t.
I’ve seen enough of Kai’s plans and builds to know that this one is pretty old school.
Instead of it being an entire room or taking up the space of the bottom floor, it’s almost like a root cellar.
The floor is concrete and the walls give me old asbestos insulation.
Cataloging the interior of the basement isn’t important, but it keeps my mind fresh and keeps me awake. It also keeps me thinking about the very reason I need to stay alert so I can get the fuck out of here and get back to him.
Nico.
What is he doing right now? Is he keeping a cool head like he told me to?
I scoff, then wince at the pain. Of course he is. Nico is the calmest man I’ve ever met. Even with me missing, he’ll think past whatever he’s feeling to figure this shit out.
Even being in the clutches of the men that were blackmailing me, I still don’t know what I did. When they get down here for another round, I’ll try again to ask.
But the previous times I’ve asked questions, I ended up on my back, a boot against my throat, squeezing the air from my lungs until I passed out. When I came to, I was still lying on my back, sweat dotting my brow, and my heart thumping hard behind my ribs.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’m trying to be strong, trying to hold on, but with each hour that passes, the more discouraged I get.
I have to stop waiting for someone to save me. I have to do it myself. That’s the only way I’ll make it.
There could be more, but only three men have been down here to torment me.
They’re all large men, all heavily muscled.
I won’t be able to simply overpower them; I have to outthink them.
I’ve accomplished that with my unmasked captor, first getting in his head, then causing physical pain.
He won’t fall for it again, but the others might.
The door to the basement creaks open and my heart races anew.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, I don’t want any more pain.
I’m not a softie, but I’m not immune either.
I’ve been through pain that was fleeting in its execution if not its recovery.
This is altogether different. It’s prolonged, inventive, and fucking taxing.
Heavy footsteps drift down the stairs, and I know it’s my original captor. He favors his right leg more than his left. I’ve stored that information in the back of my mind in case I need it.
He ducks under the stairs and meets my gaze, smiling widely. Looks like a pound of gauze is wrapped around his head to keep his ear in place.
I grin back and, after a coughing fit, I say, “Figured you’d be healed by now.”
His face twitches and I see rage winning out. “Keep going with your fucking mouth…”
Other footsteps join his and my grin fades. Fuck, it’ll be one of those days. A day where they trade off on how they hurt me and make me feel more pain than any person should endure. The other two men trail behind Maskless, hanging back by the stairs.
Maskless steps in front of me, so close that I have to crane my head back to look him in the eye.
“If your brother don’t pay up, we’ll be twins like you wanted.
We thought after the first twenty-four hours he’d at least answer our demands.
Ain’t heard a peep from him or his queer husband.
” The other two men laugh as if he’s told a joke, but I’m not sure what the fuck is so funny.
My heart clenches. Why hasn’t Carter paid yet?
I mean, he’s not an idiot. He knows that if he paid the ransom, they’d just increase the amount until they squeezed every dime out of him they could.
But still, knowing that he hasn’t fucks with my head.
He at least could have responded to their demands with a fuck off or something.
“Have…” I cough again, my belly hurting so bad it’s almost blinding. “Have you said pretty please?” Fuck, Nico’s snark is rubbing off on me at the wrong fucking time.
Maskless’s hand snaps out, connecting with my jaw. Pain explodes in my face. I can practically feel the swelling in my cheek.
He rests his hands on my thighs and leans in close. “You think you’re so fucking clever, so fucking funny. Keep going with your bullshit and you’ll be really fucking dead.”
“Why am I here?” I ask in a garbled voice. Blood fills my mouth, but I lean to the side and spit instead of using his face as a landing pad. I don’t think I can take another hit like that. “What is it…you want?”
“We want you to pay. Either with your millions or with your life. I’m cool with either. After what you did, you deserve it.”
“What did I do? Specifics please.”
“You killed the wrong man.” He slaps me twice, almost gently, on the face, but that shit fucking hurts after the strong blow earlier.
“You didn’t think your shit would come back to you, because you’re a fucking powerful mafia son.
But you’re not untouchable.” He grabs my jaw tightly, making me cry out. “You’re not fucking invincible.”
I’m not, and I know it. But I’m also not a quitter.
It’s been days and Carter is ignoring their demands.
Either he has something up his sleeve or is still looking for me.
I can’t count on it being the former. I need to get myself the fuck out of here and I need to figure out how to make that happen.
“Now,” Maskless says as he threads his fingers in my hair and pulls my head back roughly.
I hiss in pain but try to maintain eye contact.
“What should we do today? I’ve taken a tooth.
You probably have a ton of broken ribs. Huh…
that ear is looking really good.” He turns my head to the side, grabs my ear, and pulls it so hard that I think he might rip it from my skull.
I clamp my lips together, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing my pain. He already got one involuntary cry out of me. He won’t get another.
One of the other guys walks over, holding out a pair of heavy-duty cutters. “No, let’s take something that will send a message. One that will get Carter’s attention. After all, he wants his brother and we want our money. This will let him know we’re not fucking around.”
My heart thuds hard as sweat breaks out over my entire body. What do they plan to do? How much worse can they make this?
“His index finger should do the trick,” a new voice says, walking down the rickety stairs.
A voice I recognize. A voice I was starting to trust. My stomach sinks and real fear lances through me.
“I’ve waited long enough to hurt him. I want my money so we can dump his body off the side of the nearest bridge. ”
Austin gets to the bottom landing, crossing his arms over his chest.
I swallow hard, almost choking on all the blood that’s filling my mouth. “What…”
“You know why you’re here now, don’t you?”
It all makes sense. I’m not sure why I didn’t think about it before. Loyalty is rewarded, but I would never remain loyal to the men that killed my father.
Both Carter and I overlooked that, and Austin was a good fucking actor. I don’t remember him and his father being particularly close, but that’s normal in our lifestyle. Not many fathers show their sons they love them publicly, even if they do.
I was so buried in my grief after losing Hendrix that I didn’t use my head.
Carter was right. If Hendrix was still alive, he would have made me question why Austin was still around, why he wasn’t even the least bit upset I shot his father in front of not only the Whitlock family, but the St. Clairs too.
Hell, Kai was pissed when the Fensters killed Charlie and Charlie was an outright dick to him, in public and in private.
Why didn’t I think Austin would come back for revenge?
My heart sinks as I realize that unless I do it myself, I’ll never get out of here. No one will think that Austin is the man that wanted me dead. He played the long game, played our entire fucking family.
Narrowing my eyes at Austin, I say, “Huh, you have a backbone. Unlike your father.”
Austin reaches behind his back and pulls his gun.
He storms over to me and presses the barrel of his gun to my forehead.
“If I didn’t want your brother and father to watch you fucking die, I’d shoot you right fucking now.
Just like I had to watch my father get gunned down, I’ll give them that same fucking pleasure.
But first, I want to send your brother a greeting, so he knows how serious I am about my money. ”
He holds his hands out for the cutters and gives me a sinister grin.
Instead of showing him any fear, I sneer and say, “Do your fucking worst, bitch.”