Chapter 12
Suddenly the pressure was gone. My lungs burned as air filled them and I could breathe again. My ears were roaring as I came back to full consciousness. But there was something else, some other sound. A lot of sound, like shouting. I screamed as I saw a shadow of a body through my blurred sight.
”Hey, hey, it”s okay.” The voice was deeper than Alec”s and I recognised, as my eyes finally focused, Davis. My whole body flooded with relief as he looked down at me with a worried look, edged in something darker.
”You”re safe now,” he said. He looked back at my arms and reached up to the chains. I winced as he touched the tender skin that had been rubbed raw in my struggle. Then he turned to the room.
”Someone find me a fucking key for this, now.” He shouted the order with such command that I almost felt like I should jump up and follow it.
That was when I realised that there were a few people around the room, but the one that caught my attention first was Sebastian. He was kneeling on something on the floor, his face filled with rage. Davis followed my sight and let out a breath.
”Boss, don”t kill him. We need him alive,” Davis called over and Sebastian looked up, his eyes clouded in fury. Then he met my eyes, and it melted. He was off the floor in seconds and rushed over to me.
”Oh god, Lily,” he started, but stopped as I flinched away from his touch. I shook my head as a fresh set of tears sprang from my eyes.
”I”m sorry,” I cried. ”I-I…” I didn”t know what I wanted to say. I was so overwhelmed with relief, but I was still on high alert.
”Shh…” Sebastian soothed quickly. ”You don”t need to say anything. Where the fuck is that key?” I could tell the frustration in his voice as he shouted into the room. Someone I didn”t recognise rushed over with a full set of keys. I was suddenly aware of my lack of clothing and was feeling rather exposed.
”This was all I could find,” the man said, purposely avoiding looking at me. ”There are another six rooms like this, as well as another bigger room.” The man looked pale as he said it and I wondered in horror what the hell he had seen to cause the almost green look.
”Okay, start collecting everything that can be evidence and liaise with Killinham on what to do,” Sebastian said as Davis began trying the keys in the locks on my wrists.
Finally, one worked, and the locks sprang free, releasing my wrists. I sat up quickly and threw my arms around Sebastian. He stiffened for a second before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a tight hug.
”It”s okay darling,” he whispered into my hair as I burst out crying. ”I”ve got you, you are safe now.” I wanted to believe him, but I needed to know if I really was. I pulled away slightly and looked up at Sebastian.
”Where is he?” I asked. Sebastian nodded to the floor by the bed, and I looked over to see a crumpled bloody mess of a body.
”He”s alive, unfortunately,” Sebastian growled. ”But don”t worry darling, he”s going to fucking suffer for what he did.”
”It was him,” I whispered as I glared at the unconscious form on the floor. ”This whole time, it was him.”
”What?” Sebastian asked.
”It was him that had me kicked out of university.” I looked up at Sebastian. ”I blamed you, all these years, but Alec was the one manipulating me.” Sebastian nodded, almost like he knew.
”He has manipulated both of us, darling,” he said. ”But don”t worry about that now. We need to get you checked out.” I felt something on my shoulders and looked up to see Davis had taken his suit jacket off and was putting it over me. I smiled a thanks at him and shrugged my arms into it and pulled it around me like it was some sort of shield.
Sebastian helped me off the bed, and I clung to him while I waited to see if my shaking legs would hold my weight. The jacket was big enough to cover down to my thigh, but I could still see the blood from the brutality had run down my leg, and a flash of Alec entering me pulled a sob from my lips. I felt like I couldn”t breathe suddenly, and in my mind, I was back on the bed. Sebastian pulled me into him and held me tight again.
”Just breathe darling,” he soothed. ”It”s over, I promise. You”re safe now.”
”I-I need to get out of this room,” I sobbed, and Sebastian nodded quickly and began slowly guiding me from the hell behind me.
We were almost at the door when we heard something animalistic.
”Noooo, she”s mine.” A roar of rage that sent my blood cold. ”If I can”t have you, no one can.” I was slow to turn, but quick enough to see a blooded Alec rushing towards me with a look of pure murderous rage on his face. The world slowed around me as I saw the glint of metal in his hand. He raised the blade as he ran at me. He was going to kill me. In seconds, I found myself thrust into Davis’s arms and watched in horror as Sebastian stepped in front of me, between me and the knife.
”No,” I screamed as he grunted from the impact. He was quick, but Alec, fuelled by rage, was quicker and the knife sank into his side, before he ripped it away from Alec. Blood pulled around his shirt and I watched, frozen in fear as he grabbed Alec by the neck and slammed him against the wall. I tried to rush over, but Davis held me back. I looked up, and he shook his head.
”Listen clear you fucking piece of shit,” Sebastian had his face up to Alec”s as Alec tried to scramble to pull the death grip from around his throat.
”This woman has never, nor will she ever, belong to you,” Sebastian snarled in Alec”s face. ”The only person she belongs to is herself, and I will kill anyone who thinks otherwise.” Then I saw another flash of metal and Sebastian”s hand jerked, as he slammed the blade into Alec”s stomach. Alec”s eyes went wide with shock as Sebastian angled the knife upwards for one last thrust, and the light left Alec”s eyes.
Sebastian stepped back allowing the body to fall to the floor. He turned to face me, and rushed over to me, pulling me from Davis’s arms.
”Are you okay?” he asked. He felt down my body, like he was searching for something.
”Am I okay?” I asked, a hysterical laugh escaping from my lips. ”You just got stabbed and you are asking if I”m okay?” A grin tugged at Sebastian”s lips, and he shrugged. He tugged at his shirt, which was sticking to the wound in his side.
”I”ve had worse,” he said. He turned to look at Davis who nodded.
”Get you and your girl out of here, boss,” he said in his deep rumble. ”I”ll sort out this shit.” Sebastian nodded with a smile and took my hand.
”Come on darling,” he said, ”Let”s get you out of here.”
I felt a massive weight lifting off me as we walked out of the room. The hallway had much the same cement walls as the room.
”Where are we?” I asked, as Sebastian guided me down the corridor towards some stone steps. There were other rooms and people were going in and out of them.
”We are still on Ivory Crest Estate,” Sebastian said. ”This is some old underground bunker that McIntyre had converted to holding cells for his…” He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
”His what?” I asked.
”William McIntyre was running a trafficking ring,” Sebastian said as we reached the steps. ”He was holding girls here until they had decided where they were going to ship them to whatever hell they had planned for them. I had been called in to investigate after there was some suspicion.”
”Called in by who,” I asked. I was horrified. The thought occurred to me I was right when I had no chance of getting out of there on my own. Alec had the perfect place to keep me and do whatever he wanted to do to me for as long as he wanted. A shiver ran through me, and I didn”t know if I had the urge to cry, scream, vomit or a violent mixture of all three. Sebastian pulled me in tighter to him.
”Cold?” he asked. I shook my head.
”More like horrified,” I muttered.
”You”re safe, I promise,” he replied.
”Yeah, but how many aren”t?” I asked.
”That”s why I do what I do,” he said. I shot him a curious look, but he shook his head.
We reached the top of the steps and the small vault-like room seemed jammed with people. Sebastian guided me towards the exit which looked like a low metal door set in the stone. It was wide open, and I could see even more people outside. The first person I recognised was James Killinham as he rushed towards us. I flinched as he took my hand. Sebastian squeezed me closer to him, a somewhat comforting gesture.
”Miss Appleby, my dear,” James said quickly, ”I am so sorry this happened to you. And for my part in it.”
”Your part?” I asked, confused. Was he a part of the ring? I looked over at Sebastian.
”We are still piecing things together,” he said. ”But it seems that Alec has been pulling strings all over the place to fuel his obsession with you.”
”I was one of the board members that Alec convinced that you weren”t Regents material,” James said. ”I am afraid that if I hadn”t been so quick to act against you four years ago, that this would never have happened. It”s no way even close to making up for it but I will ensure that you are compensated for this misunderstanding.” I shook my head. This was all getting too much for me, the people, the revelations, the trauma. I needed space to deal with it all. Sebastian must have noticed because he guided me away from James.
”It can be discussed later,” he said sternly. ”Right now, Lily needs medical attention.”
”Of course,” James nodded. ”I will be in touch.” Sebastian nodded and led me down a little path to a clearing that was filled with cars and an ambulance. The paramedics rushed over to me, and I waved them off.
”Please, him first,” I said. ”He”s been stabbed.”
”Don”t worry about me,” Sebastian growled as he batted away one of the paramedics hands. I glared at him but let the other paramedic fuss over me. It wasn”t long before we were both in the back of the ambulance and being driven away from that hell place, hopefully for the last time.