Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Blair
When I come to, the world is blurry.
Even when I try to blink the haze from my vision away, it lessens, but not enough to pick out any real details. I do, however, know that I’m in a vehicle of some sort. The new car smell is a dead giveaway, as is the lack of space as I try to stretch—which is a horrible idea.
Every little shift is agonizing as my injuries begin to reveal themselves as I come to.
While the pounding in my head is the first thing that I notice, it’s not nearly the worst of the pain.
That comes from the bullet wound in my leg.
I can’t tell if the bullet tore its way through my leg or not, just that it hurts.
Or maybe it’s the bullet wound in my chest that hurts more.
Those are the major injuries, but the others make themselves known too. Like the burning along my hip and my… Crap, I hope most of my ear is still there…
Laying on my wounded hip isn’t helping the pain situation. I try to sit up to get my bearings and rub my eyes to see if that will help get rid of the blurriness, but when I move, I realize my wrists are bound behind me and my ankles are tied too.
“Shit…” I slur out.
“Hey, the girl’s awake. Go get Dixie.”
Oh, no! I have company. I didn’t even hear anyone. A hard shiver rushes through me as trepidation cools the blood in my veins.
There’s a shuffling of footsteps as someone walks away. A door opens and shuts. I know I’m not alone now so rather than lay there in terror, I figure it’s time to wake the hell up and figure out my next move.
Because if I don’t do something fast, I know what comes next won’t be good.
“Never get captured. It’s the worst thing that could possibly happen to you,” Dad used to tell me. “Death is better than being captured. Got that, Blair Bear?”
Dad’s words swim around in my foggy head as I twist my wrists to see if there’s any give in the rope wrapped around them.
There isn’t.
In fact, they’re tied so tight that my hands lack any feeling. That can’t be good. How long have I been out? I try to move my ankles but I’m in the same situation. My toes are throbbing from the lack of blood circulation.
Another tremor rushes through me as the reality of my situation weighs heavily on me. Fear threatens to consume me as my heart races.
Just as I start to breathe heavily and a hard trembling shakes my frame, I hear Dad’s voice in the back of my head.
“A clear head means a chance to see the sunrise.”
The mantra I’ve clung to my whole life comes rushing back, pushing away panic.
Now is not the time to freak out.
I need to focus on getting the fuck out of here.
With a groan, I blink rapidly again. This time, most of my vision clears.
Looking around, I find that I am indeed inside a car.
The trunk of a large SUV to be exact. To my surprise, the back door is lifted, open so that I can see the SUV is parked inside a garage and situated so that I’m staring out into the woods.
Judging by the position of the sun it’s about midday.
Unease pools in my gut as I realize I’ve been out for a long time.
Last I checked, it was nearly midnight when I went to free Dad’s hostages.
Shaking away those thoughts, I search for signs of the second man. I don’t see the individual but I can hear them as they strike a match. I smell their cigarette a moment later.
It smells nothing like Rhett’s and causes my stomach to roll.
Trying again, I tug at the binds wrapped around my wrists. Nope, still no give. I’m absolutely trapped. What am I going to do? How the hell am I supposed to get out of this? Lifting my head, I look over my shoulder to see if Dad is with me.
He’s not.
The only thing in the trunk is me.
My heart sinks. Where is he? Did he manage to escape once he fell out of the window or is he somewhere nearby in the same predicament as I am? I squeeze my eyes shut as I try not to picture him hurt and tied up like me.
For the entirety of my life, I always feared that Dad’s job would get him killed.
As the only member of my family, I knew if I lost him, I’d have no one.
Well, that’s not exactly true. Up until six years ago, I knew that if I needed him, Ledger would be there—no matter what.
It wasn’t until after that kiss that I realized I might’ve blown that solid, unwavering relationship into smithereens.
Ultimately, Ledger wasn’t family. Dad was… is.
I can’t lose him.
Please don’t be here… I beg in my head as I struggle to get free of my bindings.
The attempt is weak at best. My vision blurs again and my body wants so desperately to go slack.
Moving my arms jostles the wound in my chest and I fight the urge to cry out in agony.
It doesn’t help that the trunk feels like it’s spinning around.
Why do I feel so out of it?
I lift my head to look around, wondering if I’m missing something.
That’s when I realize beneath me, my blood has soaked into the carpet.
There’s a lot of it. That would explain why I feel so weak and lightheaded.
Sure, being struck on the back of the head might’ve been the original cause of the headache that’s pounding in my skull but this weakness in my limbs?
The grogginess? That’s because I’m slowly bleeding to death.
Choking down a whimper of fear at being so helpless and weak, I continue to attempt to rotate my wrists to find some sort of give to pull an arm free.
I give up as I start to give myself rope-burn.
Okay, if I can’t escape, I can at least try to get some answers as to where I am and what the hell is going on. I attempt to lift my head, but I can’t see out the tinted windows at whoever is lingering nearby.
“Hey,” I call out, my words a little slurred still. “Any chance you want to let me go?”
There’s a huff before the sound of footsteps alert me that someone’s coming.
A minute later, a man somewhere in his early twenties appears.
He’s got a buzz cut, clean shaven face, and a fit figure.
He probably is, or was, military. The tactical gear he’s wearing is covered in dried blood.
I wonder if it’s his, mine, or one of the bodies that lay in the Navarro house.
He pulls the cigarette from his lips and blows smoke at me.
“Naw, I think I’m good. Especially since grabbing you earned me a hefty paycheck,” he drawls. Tilting his head, he gives me a cold smirk. “But… if you give me a blowjob, I’ll stall the boss for another twenty minutes for you.”
I pretend to consider the offer for a minute before shaking my head. “Naw, I think I’ll die with dignity. Thanks, though.”
He shrugs. “Your loss.”
Is it, though? I roll my eyes.
“Is my dad around?” I ask, switching gears.
“Naw, fucker got away.” The guy takes another drag of his cigarette. “We’ll get him. Don’t worry. You’ll see each other in hell real soon.”
Relief floods through me.
He got away.
I won’t have to worry about him now as I face a bleak, and possibly short future.
“How many of your guys ended up dead?” I ask, curiously.
The question earns me a dark glare. “Too many.”
I smile, or try to, at least. I’m so fucking tired that I can barely feel my face. “You should be thanking me.”
“Oh yeah, why’s that?” he drawls.
“Because I weeded out the shitty ones for you.”
“Brent wasn’t a shitty soldier! Neither was Mikey or Jason!” he snaps. “God, I can’t wait to bury your fucking body and get the hell out of this shithole of a town.”
“Oh, so I’m just better than all the dead guys I left behind. Cool, good to know,” I taunt before letting out a weak laugh.
I’m not sure why I’m baiting this man.
It could be to keep from freaking out. Dixie’s about to show up and I’m unable to do anything to stop him from hurting me. All the training I’ve ever gone through with Dad doesn’t feel like enough now. How am I supposed to face this nightmare that’s about to unravel in my current condition?
And how am I supposed to accept the inevitable death that’s to follow?
The man scoffs before he flicks his cigarette at me. It lands on my arm. I bite back a hiss of pain as I’m burned. As I wiggle to get it off me, the man laughs and saunters out of sight.
As the cigarette falls away, I suck in a deep breath. Holding it, I try to push through the fog still clinging to my head to figure out a way out of this. First, I need to get out of these binds. I can’t run or fight like this.
I know what I need to do.
Letting go of that breath, I brace myself for pain.
I curl into a ball—choking on a cry of agony as every jostle sends shooting pain throughout my entire body—and bring my arms down in an attempt to pull my feet and legs through.
Sweat beads on my forehead and drenches the front of my shirt.
It mixes with the dried blood, causing the material to be tacky against my skin.
It takes a bit of finagling, but I manage to bring my arms around so that my hands are in front of me.
I take a second to catch my breath and for the pain to subside.
It doesn’t.
My vision blurs and for a moment, I think I’m going to pass out. The world starts to go dark and my body goes slack. As I slip away, I think of my guys. Wes, Santi, Rhett, and Ledger… I need to see them again. I just need one more second with them.
Which means I don’t have time to fucking pass out.
I suck in another deep breath and force it out. With it, I force away the darkness creeping into my vision. When the near-fainting spell passes, I bring my wrists up to my mouth and start to gnaw on the rope.
I have to get out of here fast. Once I’m free, I’ll find my way back to everyone and we’ll finish Dixie once and for all.
I’m not going to die today.
After all that I’ve been through, I deserve to find happiness with Ledger, Rhett, Santi, and Wes. My time with them was some of the best of my life. I’m going to fight until the very end.
My heart quakes in my chest as doubt threatens to squash my determination.