Chapter 6
Delilah
The haze of adrenaline and anger had officially worn off, and I was starting to freak out.
My mind was reeling with unimaginable thoughts, and with every second that passed, I felt more and more like the walls were closing in on me, smothering my every breath.
I was hoping for some small reprieve when Hawk came into the room with some coffee and breakfast, but instead, he only made matters worse.
He barely spoke, and when he did, it was clear that he was on edge.
I had no idea what had caused his change in demeanor, but it was impossible not to take it as a bad sign.
I tried to settle my nerves by watching some TV as I drank my coffee.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay focused long enough to comprehend what was going on.
My mind kept wandering to Danny and then to my mother and then to work.
I had no doubt that Janet was going to be furious with me for not touching base and letting her know I wouldn’t be coming in.
I liked my job and the people I worked with, and I hated the thought of losing everything I’d worked for because of something Danny had done.
I’d like to say that things had gotten better over the next few hours, but they didn’t.
With every hour that dragged by, I found myself glancing over to the door, hoping by some chance that Hawk would return and allow me to call into work.
When I finally heard the click of the lock, I got up, anxiously waiting for him to enter the room, but he didn’t.
Instead of Hawk, a different guy—a much scarier, more intimidating man—stepped into the room.
He had long dark hair and tattoos all over his arms up to his neck.
His eyes were dark and cold as he charged into the room with a handful of drinks and a sack of food.
I shifted to the corner of the room as I quietly asked, “Who are you?”
He placed the drinks and a bag of food on the desk. “Widow.”
“I thought Hawk was supposed to be watching over me.”
“He sent me.”
“Oh, did he mention anything about me getting in touch with my work?”
“Nope.”
“So, he didn’t say anything?”
“Nope.”
Without another word, he stalked out of the room, closed the door, and locked it behind him.
Damn. I wanted to bang on the door, scream and shout for them to let me out, but something told me it was best for me to just keep my mouth shut.
Feeling utterly defeated, I walked over to the desk, grabbed a bottle of water and a sandwich, then sat down on the edge of the bed.
I started to take a bite of food, but with the panic that was building inside the pit of my stomach, I simply couldn’t eat.
Looking for something to unlock the door, I decided to check the desk again, and found a small hairpin in the side drawer.
I held it in my hand and wondered if it would be possible for me to pick the door’s lock.
I’d never actually done it, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least try.
Even though I was eager to get started, I decided it was best to wait until dark.
I quickly slipped the pin back into the drawer, and for the first time since I’d been taken captive, I felt hopeful that I might actually get out of here alive.
I went over to the bed, and as I lay down, I started trying to devise a plan.
I thought back to the night before when I was brought to the warehouse and tried to remember every detail of what I’d seen: the long, dark hall; the bar with the jukebox and pool tables; the parking lot with the guards posted by the tall fence and gate.
Damn. It seemed as if these men were prepared for anything.
Even if I managed to pick the stupid lock, my escape wouldn’t come easy.
Every move I made would have to be well-thought-out, but I wasn’t going to let it deter me from trying.
Hours later, I was still mulling over my plan when I heard the lock on the door turn.
Moments later, Hawk stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
As I looked up at him, a warmth washed over me, and I silently cursed myself for my body’s reaction to him.
After the way he’d locked me in this godforsaken room, I should’ve been disgusted by him—angered at the very least. I hoped to hide my unwelcome reaction by saying, “You don’t have to keep coming to check in on me. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“Then, why are you here?”
He ran his hand through his hair with a troubled sigh. “Beats the hell out of me.”
“Well, since you’re here ... Did you say anything to Viper about letting me make a call to work?”
“It’s been taken care of.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean ... it’s been taken care of,” he answered sharply.
“Okay ... Then, what about Danny?” I stood up and took a step towards him. “Has he told you what you wanted to know?”
“Why do you keep asking when you know I’m not going to answer?”
“Because I’m hoping if I do, you might actually tell me what the hell is going on.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop asking.” Hoping I might be able to get through to him, I took another step closer to him and placed my hand on his arm. “Can you at least tell me if I have any chance—any chance at all—of getting out of here?”
For reasons I didn’t understand, I actually believed him when he replied, “If I have anything to say about it, you’ll have more than just a chance.”
“I really want to believe that.”
“Then, believe it.” His eyes never left mine as he whispered, “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
I nodded as I removed my hand from his arm.
He was still holding my gaze when a strange expression crossed his face.
If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought he was thinking about kissing me, especially when his eyes drifted down to my mouth.
With each second that passed, the tension between us only grew stronger, suddenly stopping when Hawk grumbled, “Fuck.”
Before I had a chance to even think, he turned and disappeared into the hall, locking me inside once again. Out of pure frustration, I threw my hands up in the air and yelled, “What the hell was that?”
Of course, I got no response. Simply more silence.
I was done with this insanity. One way or another, I was getting out of this room and as far away from the Sinners’ warehouse as I possibly could—even if that meant never seeing him again.
I forced that thought out of my head as I collapsed down on the bed and started thinking about my plan to escape.
I hadn’t been lying there long when the door flew open and Shotgun stepped into the room with a fierce expression on his face. “Time for you to come with me.”
“What?” Fearing the worst, I screeched, “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He reached for my arm and tugged me out of the room, leading me down the dark hallway.
Thinking he might come to my rescue, I looked around for any sign of Hawk, but he was nowhere to be found.
My heart raced with panic as the adrenaline started to rush through my veins.
I had no idea where he was taking me, but in my gut, I knew it wasn’t a place I wanted to go.
I tried to pull free from his grasp, but he just held on tighter as he yanked me forward.
When we stopped at a door, he looked down at me and barked, “You have five minutes.”
He opened the door and shoved me inside. Before I had a chance to figure out what was happening, he shut the door and locked it. I started banging on the door and shouting, “Hey! Let me out!”
“Delilah.”
The sound of Danny’s voice startled me. I quickly spun around, and the sight of him made my stomach turn.
He was sitting in the center of what looked to be some kind of garage with strange tools scattered around the room.
Danny’s arms were bound behind him, and there was blood all over his clothes.
With all the bruising and swelling, his face was almost unrecognizable.
I rushed over to him as I cried, “Oh my god, Danny! What have they done to you?”
“I’m all right. Trust me ... it could be a lot worse.”
“Who are these guys anyway? Please tell me these aren’t your new biker friends.”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Thank God for that.” I tried to fight back my tears as I knelt down in front of him. It broke my heart to see my brother like that. “Tell me what can I do.”
“Nothing. I got us into this mess, and I’ll get us out.”
“But how are you—”
“You’re just gonna have to trust me, Dee.”
“I want to, Danny, but look at you. You’re practically hanging by a thread here,” I fussed. “And they have me locked in this room and won’t tell me anything.”
“I know, and I’m sorry about that. I hate that you got pulled into this.” An anguished look crossed his face. “You gotta know I never meant for that to happen.”
“I do, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m here. Please ... just tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s better if you don’t know.”
“How can it be better? Don’t you know I’m going crazy here?” I argued. “I don’t see how it can get any worse, Danny.”
“You’re wrong. It could be a hell of a lot worse. They could have you in this room, torturing you like they’ve done me! Don’t you get that?”
“Yes, I get it, but they have nothing to gain from doing that to me. I had nothing to do with whatever is going on here.”
“Maybe not, but if they think you know something, then—”
“Danny, stop. I know what you’re going to say, and I understand why you’re concerned, but regardless of what might happen, I deserve to know the truth.”
“Damn. You’ve always been stubborn as hell.”
“No more stubborn than you are.” I softened my tone as I pleaded, “Just tell me.”
With a regretful sigh, he lowered his head in shame. “I got word yesterday that the take I’d delivered to these guys wasn’t the real deal. It was counterfeit, and they think I had something to do with it.”
“You were dealing drugs?”
He nodded, and just like that, my worst fears had been confirmed. “Dammit, Danny. You know better than to get involved in something like this.”
“I don’t need a fucking lecture, Delilah.”
“I just don’t understand why you would do something so stupid. You—”
“I fucked up. I know that. You bitching about it isn’t going to make me feel any worse.”
“Fine.” I sighed. While I didn’t like it, I knew he was right. The damage had already been done, so instead of berating him any further, I had to help him find a way out of this mess. “You said the drugs were counterfeit. What does that even mean?”
“It wasn’t pure coke. They had probably cut it with something to make it look like the real deal. Hell, I don’t even know what they did. The hit I took was legit, just like all the times before, but apparently, the rest of it was trash.”
“So, how is any of this your fault if you didn’t even know about it?”
“’Cause I’m the one who sold them the goods. Who else are they gonna blame?”
“You really didn’t know that the drugs were counterfeit?”
“Hell, no,” he answered without hesitation. “I’d have to be all kinds of stupid to try to pull one over on these guys. They don’t fuck around.”
“Obviously.” I lifted my hand to his face, and once again, I had to resist the urge to break out into tears. “What’s going to happen to you? To us?”
“I honestly don’t know, Delilah. It’s bad, really bad, and I had to go and make things even worse by shooting one of them.” I could hear the misery in his voice. “I gotta tell ya. I don’t think I’ll get out of here alive.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t look good, sis, but there’s still hope for you. Just keep your head down, do whatever they tell you to do, and maybe they’ll cut you a break.”
“No, there has to be something we can do. Some way we can convince them that you were innocent in all this.” I stood and started scanning the room. “Maybe there’s a way we can get out of here.”
“What are you not getting here?” Danny fussed. “You’ll just make things worse if you try to pull something. We have no choice but to ride this out.”
“We’re supposed to just sit here and wait for them to kill you?” I gasped. “I can’t do that, Danny.”
Showing little emotion, he replied, “You don’t have a choice. They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do.”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
Before he could respond, the door opened and Hawk stepped inside.
Shotgun was standing there next to him, and I knew my conversation with my brother was over.
I wanted to resist and stay there with him, but I could tell from their fierce expressions it wasn’t a good idea.
I stood up and then bent down in front of Danny to lightly kiss him on the forehead and whispered, “I love you. Please don’t give up hope. ”
He didn’t respond as he watched me walk over to the men who’d tortured him for hours on end.
I couldn’t even look at Hawk as I followed them out of the room.
I was too angry, too frightened for my brother’s life to even speak.
We all walked in silence as we made our way down the hall to the room where they’d been keeping me prisoner.
I walked in and kept my back to both men as they closed the door and locked me inside.
Unable to hold on to my emotions a moment longer, I dropped down on the bed and started to cry.
Actually, crying wasn’t the word for it.
I was a broken, sobbing mess, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
The only thing that kept me from completely losing it was remembering that hairpin in the desk drawer.