42. Forty-Two
Forty-Two
Sara
Liam’s body against me and inside me is making me dissociate into a moment I wish to never end.
Terrified, I hold on to him, kissing him as though it might be the final time, mesmerized by the light in his eyes and lost in a paradise I’d die for.
I would give my life up for him. Liam is all that matters, all that ever will.
He’s dug too deep in my soul. Each of his thrusts propelling me into a loop of pure ecstasy as I feel every inch of him owning every part of me.
I’ll always love Joe, I wrote our story in my head a thousand times, with a thousand different endings.
His eyes on me, watching Liam consume me, is cathartic and painful, but I have to let him go, even though he’ll always own a part of me.
Joe was my first love, but his brother is my last and no matter the version, it always ends the same way—with me standing here, loving Liam, choosing him, and I have to pray that this will not be the last time he ever sees me.
When I woke up, the lights were off, and an eerie silence in the bedroom besides the pounding rain made me panic. I looked around the house before stepping out the front door, looking for Liam and Joe.
Someone instantly whirled me against the wall, pressed a blade to my throat, and pushed a hand against my mouth.
“You scream. You die.” My eyes met Tyler’s. I nodded frantically against his hand, keeping me quiet. Fear keeping me immovable.
“You’re going to let me come inside. I’m going to find the money and the poker chips Joe took from us, and then you will leave with me.” Tyler delivered the command, deliberately enunciating each step.
I tried to pull away, but he pressed his knife deeper, and his hand moved away from my mouth to let me speak, “It’s not there, Tyler. You won’t find it.”
“Then I’ll make Liam tell me where it is.” He let out, anger rushing through him.
“He’ll kill you.” I spat.
“I’ll wait until he’s asleep, next to you, vulnerable and —”
“No. No. Don’t hurt him, please. What do you want?” I pled with him, shaking, trembling against him.
He laughs mockingly. “You. Just you then. You say one word and I’ll slit your throat before Liam even expects your last breath.”
I accepted, shaking and desperate to do anything I could to keep Liam safe. Tyler finally let me go and walked right into the house.
I’m so sorry, Joe, and I’m so sorry, Liam, I’ve let the devil inside.
“I love you. The words are too simple, but I love you.” His words shatter me inside. He’s right, the words do feel too simple. They’re bigger than what I can express with my voice. I hope to show him with all my heart how much he means to me. I owe him that much.
“I’ll always love you, Liam, no matter what happens,” I whisper. I truly hope I’ll get to tell him how much more I’ll love him day after day once this is all over—once I lead him to who’s in charge and he stops them.
I watch him pause, then I lay back down.
I just need him to walk a few more steps.
He takes them, clicking the bedroom door shut, leaving me wondering if I’m taking a risk that will cost me my life away from him.
I sit up, the cover falling down to my lap, and I reach for my clothes on the nightstand.
“You can come out now, you piece of shit,” I whisper not too loudly, but with a bite I hope will choke him to death.
As I get dressed, the sound of the closet door behind me opens.
My heart sinks into my stomach. I wanted to tell Liam that Tyler was in the house, but I didn’t know where he was hiding until I noticed some water from the rain at the bottom of the closet.
And at that point, Liam was unharmed, in my arms, lost in each other.
I stayed quiet. Tyler had his knife, probably a gun, and I knew he was ready to do something I couldn’t survive if he hurt Liam.
I hear his footsteps approaching as sweat pools on my forehead, and every instinct tells me to run. I’m scared, I’m trapped. I could scream, but Tyler is already at my side when I feel the cold metal against my skin as the tip of his knife finds my chin, forcing my face up to meet his eyes.
“You're such a pretty, brave little thing,” Tyler says, his voice carrying a mock admiration that makes me feel sick. I swallow hard, tasting fear like copper in my mouth.
“I love that you're making it easy for me. I had to bring something back, if it’s not the money, it’ll be you. Hurry up.” He jolts me upward.
My hands shake as I pull on my clothes. Every second feels like an eternity, every movement deliberate so as not to provoke him.
I feel like a little girl when an unsafe adult asks to keep a secret, one that rusts in your veins.
I saw Liam’s exhaustion tonight, in the office with Joe, at how he needed all of this to be over…
I know he’ll come looking for me, armed and ready, and once and for all, I’ll lead Joe and Liam right to them.
I can no longer sit around while those cells underground are likely occupied by frightened women.
With some luck, Tyler will bring me back there, and they’ll know where to find me with the map I drew for them.
“That's it,” Tyler whispers, as I button the last button on my shirt, put my shoes on and slide my phone into my back pocket. Tyler gestures toward the sliding glass door that leads out to the front of the house with a quick jerk of his head.
I try to steady my breathing as the rain pounds against the glass, the sound similar to the pounding fear in my chest and head.
Tyler pushes me forward, and I unlock the window to slide it open.
The wind and rain hit my face as I step out into the downpour, instantly soaked, and Tyler pauses for a moment as he grabs the nightstand lamp and shatters it on the floor.
I don’t have time to make sense of his action when he shoves me further outside and from a distance I hear Fiasco barking.
His fingers clamp around my wrist as he drags me toward a black Mercedes parked down the street. I want to scream for Liam, each step further from him is making me regret this decision.
What am I doing?
He yanks open the passenger door, towering over me as he pushes his wet dark hair away from his face, revealing a soul too evil for being so handsome.
His youth softening his features, but his green eyes carry so much anger and something painful.
Something he never truly wanted a part of him and had to survive.
He hustles me inside the car, my elbow hitting the center console as he slams the door shut behind me.
Before I can contemplate escaping, he slides into the driver's seat and throws the knife into the console, and looks up at me, his gaze full of anguish and regret? It’s so fast it could be my prayers playing tricks on me.
“Don’t fuck around, Sara,” he grunts, and I nod, waiting for the next horrible thing to happen.
The car lurches forward as he starts the engine, his green eyes darting between me and the rearview mirror.
Rain hammers against the windshield, and I wonder if it's the last storm I'll ever see.
I can feel panic rising as we speed through the darkened streets, each turn taking me further from Liam and Joe. My Home.
We're heading toward the warehouse I first discovered the poker games with Artemis and those underground cells right below us. This is what I wanted, isn't it?
Tyler glances at me, his jaw tight. “You're surprisingly calm.”
“What did you expect? Screaming? Begging?” I keep my voice steady despite the terror coursing through me.
“Most would,” he mutters, turning down a narrow street lined with closed stores and restaurants. “But you're not most people, are you, Sara?”
“You would know, you’re the one who’s been stalking me this entire time…
Aren’t you?” It’s barely a question; I already know the answer.
I’ve pieced it together from the moment Tyler approached me.
It was too coincidental with Joe’s death and his obsession with getting closer to me and pretending to want to date me.
Clearly, it wasn’t under the lure of attraction.
There was always something else, and seeing him at the poker game simply confirmed it.
I wait for his reaction, but he doesn’t flinch, so I continue.
“What will happen to me?” I ask, whispering.
Tyler's lips flatten as he speeds down the street. “He’s going to…” He looks over the driver’s window and smacks the wheel with his palm, making me jump. “For the record, I didn’t have a choice. And yes, I stalked you… I…”
“We always have a choice, Tyler.” I cut him off, my voice brittle and confined in sadness.
“Maybe you're right,” Tyler mutters, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. “But it's too late for that now. Liam shouldn’t have blown up the Velastra and Joe should’ve stopped digging.”
“How can you let women get trafficked, Tyler. How?” I raise my voice, but he doesn’t respond, his jaw tightening, focused on the road.
The car slows as we approach the area near the lighthouse, and memories flash of Tyler chasing me on the wall, the ocean much angrier tonight with the storm.
My heart hammers against my ribcage as he cuts the headlights and parks the car.
For a moment, we sit in silence, the rain drumming on the roof.
“Look,” he says, turning to me. “Just do what they say and—”
The door beside me yanks open, and a large hand grabs my arm, wrenching me out of the car.
I stumble, my shoes slipping on wet concrete, and with no time to gather my surroundings, something slips over my head and my vision turns dark.
The hood is rough against my face, scratching my skin as I'm manhandled forward.
I can't see a thing, but the grip on my arm is brutal, fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to leave bruises. The ground beneath my feet changes, descending deeper and deeper, and I bump my shoulder on the narrow path. My breath comes in shallow gasps at the suffocating fabric.