Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
The smell of disinfectant hits my nose as I wake up groaning. My whole upper body aches. My arms feel stretched, and something is cutting into the skin of my wrists. A tingling sensation spreads through my fingers and my head throbs.
That van is coming straight at me. I need to get out of the way. Shit, shit, shit. I can’t make it! Glass shatters and my forehead hits the steering wheel. Then everything goes black.
Shit, shit, shit.
Slowly, I open my eyes, fluttering my eyelashes. It takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the brightness before I can see where I am.
I’m spinning slowly, like I’m hanging from something.
Frantically, I tug at the rope that binds my wrists and holds me up to the ceiling.
Come on, come on, come on. It has to come loose.
Now. My heart’s racing, and I’m breathing fast. Where the fuck am I?
My eyes dart through the room. Gray concrete floors and bare concrete walls create a stark space.
I swallow. There’s a large grate under my feet.
Patches of reddish-brown discoloration appear on the silver steel in places.
Blood. The disinfectant partially masks the smell of urine and mold, but every now and then a whiff passes by.
My first thought is, as long as they don’t have Rebel.
I tug hard at the ropes again, but it’s useless. I take a deep breath and hang my head.
The room’s only door bursts open with a loud bang, sending my heart racing once more. I look up with wide eyes, but say nothing. For a few seconds, no one appears, until a woman stumbles into the room. Jen.
Again, I tug at the ropes.
She falls to her knees, her blond hair falling around her face, and she breathes heavily. A lot of mumbling comes from behind a scarf tied around her mouth. The sound of heavy footsteps is getting closer; they’re coming from the hallway.
My whole body shakes uncontrollably when I hear that sound.
Without warning, Jen is pulled to her feet by an arm, and a moment later a broad, bald man enters the room.
His facial expression urges me to hold my breath in a foolish attempt to make myself invisible.
Which is pointless, since I’m hanging in the middle of this room and someone brought me here. Probably the same guy.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I close my eyes and try to control my breathing. Meanwhile, I hear Jen struggling fiercely in an attempt to get free.
When I open my eyes again, a blond man enters the room behind the bald man. A stoic look remains on his face until he comes to a halt beside me. Jesse. The man from the parking lot. He fixes his gaze on me and a nasty smile appears that sends shivers down my spine.
His hand rises, and I brace myself against the impending touch.
Holding my breath, I wait for it to happen, but it doesn’t.
Instead, there’s a sudden sharp rattling sound.
Glancing up, I notice him bringing down a similar hook next to me.
I struggle to push myself away, my feet dangling, causing me to wobble uncontrollably.
They pull Jen toward the hook, and fasten the rope. With a tug, Jesse raises the chain, leaving Jen suspended next to me, just as I am.
My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest as I continue to shake uncontrollably. Our eyes meet and I gaze at her.
“Well, well, well, Mrs. Hayes,” Baldie says as Jesse leaves the room without saying a word.
My ears are ringing, making it hard to concentrate on him.
“It was difficult to get you here, thanks to your friends from that motorcycle gang.” He flashes a crooked grin that sends an extra shiver down my spine.
Did you and your boyfriend figure out who you’re looking for yet?
Did my friend reveal the secret?” He approaches me with a menacing look, and I shrink back.
“I don’t even know who you are,” I stammer. I pull myself together as best I can and, miraculously, manage to look at him.
He raises his eyebrows and chuckles. “Connor never told you who I was?”
“You probably weren’t important enough.” Somehow, my voice remained steady as I speak.
The bald man’s mouth drops open for a sec. “So he never told you what he found out at work? About his boss’s activities?” He tilts his head and stares. “What a shame.” He leans toward Jen and loosens the scarf that is gagging her.
She immediately starts screaming. “Let me go, you lunatic. Do you have any idea who my husband is?” She spits the words at him with an angry look on her face, but if you look closely and know her better, you can see the panic and fear in her eyes.
And I know her better than I realized a few weeks ago.
A glimmer of the girl I vaguely remember from my teens shines through in this insecure woman.
The man bursts into thunderous laughter, causing my body to shake even harder. “That’s half of the fun, Mrs. Paisley.” With an amused grin, he tilts his head. Jen turns pale and goes silent.
Shit, shit, shit. Why Jen? I understand why they want me, but why her? She and Brooks got nothing to do with this, and Brandon… Oh, God, Brandon. My breathing quickens. Rebel.
“Then you know damn well you shouldn’t have done this.” Her shoulders are straight as she speaks, yet a wavering voice gives away her fear. She pulls at the ropes and makes a futile attempt to break free. ”I have a son. I have to go to him.”
Baldie ignores her and turns his attention to me. My eyes burn, but I’m not going to cry. No way. I lift my chin and take a deep breath in an attempt to calm my heart.
“So neither Hayes nor Young ever told you who I work for?” He rubs his thumb and index finger along his jaw, where stubble is visible. “Interesting.” Then he turns his attention back to Jen. ”Ballistic?”
Jen presses her lips together but says nothing. It’s obvious that she doesn’t know anything either and that Brooks hasn’t said a word.
“You’d think they would have informed their key women. So old-fashioned and so easy.” Suddenly, he turns around and disappears through the door, slamming it behind him.
“What’s going on?” Jen screams at me. Her eyes are wild and she’s swaying dangerously back and forth.
I close my eyes and try to concentrate on my breathing.
He’s gone.
We’re still alive.
I repeat it like a mantra in my head.
When I open my eyes again, I stare straight into Jen’s panicked gaze. “I have no idea, I swear,” I whisper. “I don’t know who he is or who he works for. Connor’s death is the only clue I have.”
“Your husband?” she screams. “Damn it, Layne. I have to go home. Brandon…”
“I know,” I interrupt her, my thoughts turning to Rebel.
“I know. We have to go home, so shut up and do what they tell you, okay? They’ll come get us.
” I try to reassure her even though I’m scared to death myself, but someone has to do it.
I know one thing for sure: they’re coming for her. Brooks is coming for Jen.
We hang in silence for a while, my thoughts with Rebel and Kyler, when suddenly the door opens again. Jesse appears in the doorway. My heart immediately leaps into my throat and I start panting. The loud, thumping footsteps send shivers down my spine, and when his hand reaches up, I inhale sharply.
Suddenly, I can stand, and my shoulders relax. I’m yanked forward.
“Walk,” he growls at me.
As I make my way to the door, another broad man enters, wearing a Knights of Mayhem cut. Shit, that’s the biker club Ky was talking about. I glance over my shoulder, where he’s walking toward Jen.
Jesse yanks the rope again. “Keep moving, stupid bitch,” he mutters, and I do as he says.
We walk through a dark, musty-smelling corridor where the sound of our footsteps echo.
It’s damp and stuffy here, as if we’re underground.
Entering a large room with high, narrow windows confirms my suspicions.
The windows are covered in moss. I cautiously survey the room, noticing it’s divided into small, barred cells.
A shiver runs through my body and my eyes widen.
I gasp for breath and my stomach drops. Bile rises, but I manage to swallow it back.
Several women huddle together in each cell. What the fuck is this?
Unconsciously, I pull on the rope, and Jesse spins. I don’t feel the blow until he’s already walking away. Tears spring to my eyes and I do my best to hold them back. Fear takes root deep inside me and almost completely paralyzes me.
We come to a halt at a cell door, where he inserts a key. As soon as he opens the door, he gives me a hard shove that sends me tumbling inside. Somehow, I keep myself upright.
A chill runs down my spine as the door slams behind me. I don’t look back, because I know what I’ll see. That guy walking away from me.
In the corner of my cell, a woman with long, dark coils is crouched down. She looks up at me with wide eyes. As I watch her, a close-by door shuts. The footsteps die away, only to be replaced by the sound of another door closing farther down the hall, followed by sobbing and gasping.
“Psst, Layne,” Jen hisses from across the room.
I reluctantly tear my gaze from the woman and look up. “What?”
“What do we do now?” Her hopeful gaze weighs heavily on me, but I’m at a loss for what to do. So I shrug.
“I don’t know. Sit down?”
She nods, looks around briefly, and then does as I say. I do the same, because what else can I do? “Hi,” I whisper to the woman. “I’m Layne.”
For a moment, she just stares at me with those piercing brown eyes, until she finally whispers softly, “Norah.”
I give her a faint smile and then lower myself onto my side. With my eyes closed, I try to stay strong. All I can see is Rebel’s smiling face.
Please let her be safe.
I bury my face in my hands and let my tears flow silently.
She’s the only thing that matters. Rebel.
I can’t sleep, though, and I find myself sitting up again shortly afterward. “How did you end up here?” I ask Norah.
Her eyes widen and her mouth opens and closes as if she doesn’t know how to answer. When she finally responds, I ask her about the men and this place. I absorb everything she tells me until exhaustion forces me to sleep.