Chapter 26 Lincoln
Idropped Charlie back at the hotel since it was well into the morning now and she needed to get some sleep. She fought me on this, but I could see the torment in her eyes as she tried to stay awake. She wouldn’t be any good if she was exhausted, and she finally agreed. After dropping her off, I could feel the desperation taking over. I stopped at a few more addresses and didn’t suspect any of them to be in a location where Alek lived. The next address on the list wasn’t in the best neighborhood, but it was far from the repair business, and I wondered why they would take a job in Bay Ridge. I decided to make this my last stop before heading back to crash.
I pulled on the street and noticed the house had a red brick wall covering the front with a black iron fence on top. I didn’t see any cars parked on the street in front of the house, but I saw a light on in the window upstairs. Sneaking around was impossible for me because I was too tired. I grabbed my pistol and slid it into my waistband.
I banged on the door with the side of my fists and the sound echoed throughout the neighborhood like a coyote howling in the mid of night. No answer and no movement. My phone rang inside my pocket and I stepped back from the door. Unknown number.
“What?” I snarled, thinking it was Liam.
“Are you looking for me?” The thick accent echoed through the phone, and it sent repulsive bile to my throat.
“Are you paranoid?” I asked.
“I don’t get paranoid by scum on my shoe. I scrape it off and dump it into the trash, but somehow the trash keeps ending back up on my doorstep.”
I glanced back up at the window and noticed the light upstairs was switched off now. I dropped the phone and kicked in the door.
“Laynie!” I screamed. My voice echoed through the house. On top of a small dining table, I noticed smeared blood. With my gun held out in front, I kicked in a room door to the left of the dining room. I peered inside and saw sunflowers on the walls and a single empty bed that took up almost every inch. After searching the rest of the bottom floor, we didn’t find anyone. I went upstairs in search of the room where I had seen the light switch off. When I got to the top of the stairs, I heard a muffled cry coming from down the hall. But I knew it wasn’t Laynie because she would have come out to the sound of my voice. Part of me wanted to just leave the girl in there because I knew it wasn’t her, but she might have information that could help. I followed the sound to an empty bedroom and yanked back the closet door. I saw a girl with big blue eyes and blonde hair. She reminded me of J.C.
“Come on, I’m going to get you out of here,” I said. When I reached my hand down to help her, all she did was stare at me. I didn’t have time for this. I grabbed her wrist. “Don’t you want to go home?” My tone was harsh.
She burst into tears.
I wasn’t trying to scare her, but I was fucking annoyed that Laynie wasn’t here. I showed her a picture. “Have you seen her?”
She shook her head.
Fuck.
We rushed down the stairs, because I knew Alek was on his way. At least I had NYC traffic on my side, for once. But I needed to check the basement before I left.
“Wait here.” I left her at the top of the basement stairs.
The stairs were concrete with a metal railing on the side. I searched for a switch on the side wall and flicked it up. The room illuminated, and I saw the hot water heater sitting in the corner, exactly where it had been in the video. She had been here. As I moved farther down the stairs, I saw the bloodstains on the concrete floor and a 5-gallon bucket underneath a rope. My insides were turning. I wanted to murder someone.
I turned to head back up the stairs and a blow to the side of my head caught me off guard. I dropped my gun and stumbled backwards, grabbing the side of my head. Another blow hit me in my stomach. When I looked up, Eddie was smirking at me. I lunged for him, grabbing him around the throat and slamming him against the wall. I would have killed him at that moment, but a scream from the top of the stairs stopped me in my tracks. My attention averted, and Eddie kneed me in my groin. I fell to my knees, and he used his knee to hit me under my chin.
Adrenaline was pumping, and I leapt for my gun, but Eddie kicked it away. Two of Alek’s men were on top of me. I took my knife from my pocked and quickly slashed one in the throat. The gurgling noises caused the other man to hesitate, giving me a moment to stab him in the stomach.
“Stop!” Alek called from the top of the stairs.
I didn’t listen and charged after Eddie again. All the rage for what he did to my sweet, innocent Laynie tore through me. Eddie fumbled with his gun a second too long, giving me enough time to grab it when he pulled the trigger. The bullet went down and ripped through the top of his foot. He screamed in agony and dropped the gun. I grabbed it and aimed it at his other foot. I refused to give him a quick death. Pow. Another blow hit his left foot this time, and he screamed, scooting away from me towards the wall.
Another scream grabbed my attention. Alek had a knife against the blonde girl’s throat.
“Put the gun down,” he demanded.
I set it down, away from Eddie’s reach. I didn’t want this innocent girl to die.
“You see, you’re not cut out for this life because this girl should mean nothing to you and yet you have abandoned your weapon for her. Your little girl has been naughty. In 4 years, she has never disobeyed until now.” He tilted his head. “I wonder why that is?”
Three more men paraded down the stairs while Alek was talking. I knew they were coming for me. I stepped back and grabbed the 5-gallon bucket, swinging it towards one of their heads. The collision did little, but buy me a few more seconds. I ducked down and lunged for the gun beside Alek, but he stepped on my hand before I could reach it. The men picked me up and someone hit me again in the back of the head. For a moment, I was on the verge of losing consciousness. I stumbled back, and I felt them grab me and throw me against a metal beam. I saw Alek send the blonde girl back up and walk over to help Eddie make it back up the stairs.
He turned to me when he was at the top. “I have some plans for Laynie tomorrow, but after that I’ll bring her here, so she can see me drain the life from you. A girl with hope is a problem. I have to remove that hope.” He closed the door as the men chained my hands to the pole behind me.
Fuck.