Chapter 32
Harmony
I’m tied to a chair like I’m in some sort of action movie. Except unlike the characters in those movies, I have no clue how to sever my ties to get the hell out of here. My wrists are bound behind my back, and every time I tug on them, my skin rubs raw.
A single bulb hangs from the roof in the center of the room or rather, more like a storage closet. Rats scurry along the walls, trying to find an escape. Sorry fellas, but you’re out of luck. A layer of dust coats the floor and the few racks that are scattered around.
Noise erupts outside my room—a loud clash followed by men screaming—and I twist my neck to try to get a glimpse.
My head explodes in a burst of pain from when they slammed something against my skull at the cemetery.
I finally get the courage to try to heal and make peace, and they attack me.
I know who they are. They’re cowards—only a coward would attack someone in such a vulnerable position.
They didn’t even give me enough time to receive a call from Anita. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had my phone bugged. Did they expect me to take initiative and call, just to tell them no? I drop my head and close my eyes.
Elias will come. I have no doubt. He promised to protect me, and he will.
I pick my head up but keep my eyes closed. At this point, I’m not sure how much time has passed. Inside this room, there aren’t any windows, so I can’t even tell if it’s nighttime or daytime. If I had to guess based off of today’s actions, I’d say early evening.
Male voices start shouting again, and I can barely make out their words.
“Someone is here,” a man says.
Another deep voice says, “Make sure the fucker is alone or else we shoot the girl.”
My heart pounds against my ribcage like a battering ram. They must mean me. I’m the only female here.
I reopen my eyes as footsteps get closer and closer and gasp when a masked man enters.
He pulls off his mask and gives me a toothy smile. If I was standing, I’d collapse. Or punch him in the face. It could honestly go either way.
“Oh, good, you remember me. Don’t worry about Abigail. She’s safe.”
But something about his tone is off. A moment later, Abby is dragged into the room. Her wide, frantic blue eyes meet mine as she struggles to free herself from another masked man.
“Patrick?” I shake my head. “What are you doing here?”
“Abigail was the easiest way to you.” He waves his pistol around lazily as if he isn’t a maniac who had me kidnapped. “And I’ve been paid a lot of money to procure you.”.
“But …” My words trail off. “Wait, were you the one who drugged me?”
He grins. “That girl with the tubes was easy to convince when I slid her a few hundred dollars.”
“Y-you’re despicable,” Abigail says, her voice wobbling.
“Please, darling, take it easy. I need you here for her to cooperate. Don’t take it too personally.”
“We went on like ten dates.” Then she lowers her voice and says, “We had sex. How am I supposed to not take it too personally?”
“Does it make you feel better to know I think you’re hot?” He shrugs as if that’s all she needed. “Now come with me.”
Abigail doesn’t move an inch, so Patrick sighs loudly and grabs her by the arm. She struggles against him, but her hands are also bound behind her back.
“Let go of me!”
“You weren’t saying that last night.”
Abigail’s face drains of all color. “Oh, you mother fucker.”
I tug on my restraints, but all it accomplishes is me howling out in pain. “Shut your mouth, you prick.”
He keeps his gaze on Abigail, ignoring me. “Yeah, I bet your mom’s hot. I’d definitely fuck her.”
Abigail shifts and averts her gaze. That piece of shit had to drag up her so-called mother who left when she was only two-years-old.
She lashes out a leg, trying to kick Patrick, but he dodges her easily. Then she tries with her other leg but with the same outcome. He’s dancing around her so perfectly with that shit-eating grin I wish I could smack off his face. He circles her, chuckling, mentally fucking with her.
Another man, one of the “guards” that switched out with my real bodyguards at the cemetery, pops his head inside. “Can you stop playing with them? Someone is coming.”
As if we’re toys. These men don’t have an ounce of respect for woman.
“Fine.” Patrick jerks Abigail over to a chair on the other side of the room. He ties her to it just like me. “Stay here, and be a good girl. Then maybe when I come back we can have some fun.”
She spits at him, but he only smirks. “I don’t want you to touch me ever again.”
Patrick shrugs. “Your loss.”
He disappears out the door and closes it behind him.
A rat scurries out of its hiding spot behind the racks and across the room.
The light flickers, and Abby’s quiet sobs fill the air.
I try to scoot my chair like I’ve seen in movies, but it’s a lot harder than it looks.
After a few tries, my seat moves, and I get closer and closer to Abby.
Halfway to her, my breathing is heaving with the effort.
Just a little more and I’ll be next to her.
Once I’m beside her, I rest my head on her shoulder, my chest rising and falling more rapidly. Neither of us says anything for a moment. Her shoulders shudder, and I grab her hand, squeezing it, just so she knows I’m here for her.
My breaths come easier, and I finally pick my head back up.
“I’m so sorry.” Tears streak down her face, leaving trails on her cheeks. “I brought this on you. He was so nice and sweet. I feel so stupid.”
I shake my head. Abigail is one of the best people I know; she just likes to have fun. There’s nothing wrong with her. And I wish I could tell her so, but I don’t know the right words to say.
A man shouts outside the room. Abigail’s wide eyes meet mine. “Do you have a plan?”
I shake my head.
Gunshots explode, echoing into our room, and I jump within the confines of my restraints.
Abigail starts shaking, but her eyes are now dry, so I shoot her a questioning look and she says, “I’m trying to use my bracelet to cut the ropes.”
More yelling and shots pierce the air. One voice—the asshole—shouts above all the others, tossing out insults. My heart leaps. It has to be Elias and possibly Victor’s bodyguards. I knew he’d come for me.
Abby bursts out of her chair with a triumphant grin. “I can’t believe I did it! I thought that only worked in movies.”
She scurries over to me and unties me from the chair.
The moment I’m free, I bolt out of my chair. “Let’s go,” I say, my voice raspy from when I screamed earlier. Then I hurry toward the door.
Abigail stops me before I can open it. “We don’t know what’s going on out there. What if they pissed off someone else, and it’s not Elias?”
“It’s Elias.” He wouldn’t leave me here. “I know it.”
A gun shoots off a bunch of rounds. I don’t know enough about guns to know exactly what kind it is, but it definitely sounds like Abigail and I are outmatched. I glance around the room, praying there’s something we can use for a weapon, but all the shelves are empty.
Then the door bursts open, and I jump out of the way, backing closer to Abigail. Elias stumbles inside. Blood soaks the front of his shirt near his upper chest and shoulder. His normally light brown skin is paler than I’ve ever seen before.
I rush to him and push my lips to his. He deepens the kiss in a frenzy almost like he thought he’d never see me again. When I pull back, I try to lift his shirt to inspect the blood stain, but he stops me.
“Are you okay?” I ask in a hurry.
“Don’t worry about me. It’s just a flesh wound.” His movements are slow, and he flashes me a weak smile. “I managed to bandage it to stop the bleeding before I found you. I promise I’ll be okay.”
At this point, there’s no use in fighting. If he’s weak, he has to get to a hospital, and I can’t stand here fighting with him. “Do you have a plan?”
He nods. “There’s a back door really close to here. We need to get to the car.”
Elias moves to lead us, but his breathing is too ragged and his shoulders are hunched forward. Abigail meets my gaze and nods. We both wrap one of his arms around our shoulders, and he lets out a string of curses.
“Does it hurt too much?” I ask, trying to examine him again, but this time, I inspect his clothes. I find a hole in his shirt by his shoulder.
“Can you just help me on this side?” He motions to the non-bloodied side, and I nod. “I can still get you out of here.”
I don’t say anything. He came for me, and I can help him. We can save each other.
Abigail lets go, and I almost drop him. He has about a head on my height, and his muscles weigh at least fifty extra pounds.
We stumble out of the room to where John is waiting right outside.
Abigail’s eyes widen before she looks at her feet and mumbles, “Thank you both for helping us.”
John lifts her chin, so she stares directly into his gaze, and her cheeks turn pink. “I’ll always come for you.” Then he pulls away and glances between Abby and me. “Now, ladies, please get to safety. Elias needs a hospital.”
Tears fill Abigail’s eyes, and she nods. Elias points away from all of the commotion, and we head in that direction. I glance around our surroundings to make sure there’s no looming threats and find Patrick’s men closing in on a tall, feminine form.
Serenity.
I unwrap Elias’s arm from around my shoulders and say to Abigail, “Take him outside.”
I sprint in Serenity’s direction. Elias’s angry shouts follow me, but I ignore him.
No fucking way will I leave and get to safety when my sister is about to get killed.
I glance around for a weapon. Blood streaks across the floor as if someone was alive and tried to get away.
Several guns lay on the ground around dead bodies, and I almost double over at the sight.
I’ve only ever seen one dead body and that was at my mother’s funeral.
But these men still have fresh blood seeping out of their wounds.
One looks like he’s staring at me with his unseeing eyes open.
Shaking my head, I concentrate on finding a weapon I can use.
I’ve never even held a gun before, so I snatch up something that looks like a metal pipe and sprint over to one of the men aiming a gun at Serenity.
I take a big backswing and hit the man’s head.
Adrenaline shoots through me. He falls over and lands on the ground with a thud.
I charge over to the next man—the one who kidnapped me—but he levels his gun on Serenity.
“Drop the pipe, or we’ll blow this woman’s brains out.”