14. Chapter Fourteen #2
We’re still laughing an hour later when Donnie opens the SUV door for us. His eyes snag on the crop poking out from one of the matte black bags, but he wisely says nothing, just shuts the door behind us with a quiet, “Ma’am.”
We opted for the scenic route home. No city traffic. No watchful eyes.
Donnie grumbles from the driver's seat, “Longer drive, but I guess it’ll be smoother.”
Catching my eyes in the rearview, he adds, “Sorry, ma’am.”
Margot smirks, leaning her head against mine. “Wow. They really are all afraid of you.”
I laugh. “As they should be.”
The world explodes sideways. Metal screams. The SUV lurches violently as something slams into the driver’s side.
My stomach plummets. Margot screams. I grab for anything.
Her, the seatbelt, air. We flip. Everything is weightless.
Glass shatters, steel groans. My shoulder hits the door, the air is yanked from my lungs, and I think I hear Donnie curse before the windshield explodes inward.
Then… black. Silence.
I wake to the sting of cold air on my skin and a sharp burn in my shoulders.
My arms are stretched wide, lashed between two thick tree trunks with rough rope that bites into my wrists.
My feet barely touch the ground; I’m missing a shoe.
Every muscle screams. My head pounds, my lip is split, and blood is starting to crust on my cheek.
The woods are quiet, too quiet. Just the faint whistle of wind through the branches and the occasional chirp of birds that sound more like warnings than song.
I twist my wrists, testing the bindings, but the knots are solid. Whoever tied this knew exactly what they were doing. A low laugh cuts through the stillness like a knife. Cold and cruel.
I lift my chin, eyes locking onto the source of the sound as Sebastian steps from behind a tree, grinning like this is some game he’s winning.
“Well,” he says smoothly. “You’re awake. Good. I was starting to worry I hit you too hard.”
“Fuck you,” I rasp.
He strolls closer, hands in his pockets, every inch of him radiating smug satisfaction. “Now, now. That’s no way to talk to your loving brother.”
“You’re nothing to me.” I spit at his feet.
He moves in a flash grabbing my throat. It's tight, slowing every breath I draw, and enough to bruise. Enough to remind me he can stop my breath at any moment.
“I used to wonder for hours at a time, what you’d look like all grown up,” he murmurs, leaning in taking a deep breath of me. “And damn. Worth every second.”
“You’re fucking sick.”
He just grins wider. “And you’re so goddamn pretty when you fight.”
His hand tightens even more, enough to make my head buzz. He releases me, stepping back.
“You know, I don’t want to kill you.” He says, pacing now, weaving between the trees like a predator circling a wounded animal. “I like to play with my food before I eat it. That’s part of the fun.”
“You won’t win this.” I hiss. “They’ll kill you for this.”
That laugh again, empty and sharp.
“Maybe. But they won’t do it today.”
He hits me. Fast and brutal, my vision whites out.
“You will be mine, but first I want to see what happens when I finally peel your world apart.” He says. “When your husbands find what’s left, I want them to know they can’t save you.”
Another blow. My lip splits again. My knees buckle, but the ropes hold me up like a crucifix.
“I will never be yours.”
“You already are, you have been since the day you were born.” His voice drops to a whisper, almost gentle. “You just don’t realize it yet.”
He hits me again, and it’s just darkness.
Twilight bleeds through the trees as I stumble out of the clearing, every inch of me aching, caked in dirt, dried blood, and sweat.
My wrists burn where the rope had been, and the taste of copper still lingers on my tongue.
I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but the sun is sinking fast, draping the forest in shades of violet and gray.
I brace myself against a tree. My chest heaves, vision swimming. I won’t collapse. I can’t. Not until I find Margot. I push off the tree, gasping as fire lances through my ribs. My hands shake. I keep moving. One foot, then the other. It takes what feels like forever, but I find the wreckage.
The car is mangled, twisted metal, broken glass, the scent of gasoline lingering in the air. My stomach turns. I stumble forward and find her. Margot slumped just outside the vehicle, blood crusted at her temple, lips parted slightly as she breathes shallow and slow.
Alive.
I drop to my knees beside her. Relief floods me. I choke on a sob I don’t have time for. I whisper her name, gently shaking her. No response, but she’s breathing. She’s breathing.
“Donnie,” I rasp. No answer.
I force myself up again, calling for him again. I circle the wreckage. There’s blood. Drag marks. A trail leading away from the road, into the trees. I follow it with dread clawing through my ribs. When I reach the end, it’s just his hat and sunglasses. No body.
My hand clutches the base of my throat, as I can still feel Sebastian’s fingers there. Bile rises as I stagger back. Back to Margot. I check her again, still breathing. I dig for her phone, for mine. Nothing. Everything’s gone. Stolen or destroyed.
I slump on the ground beside her, body shivering, mind slipping.
I see headlights. Twin beams cut through the trees like a goddamn miracle. Tires skid. Doors slam. Boots thunder on asphalt. “WRENLEY!” A voice, familiar and frantic, shouting my name. “WRENLEY!”
Max? Liam? I can’t tell. All I see is silhouettes sprinting toward me, all heat, shadow and desperation.
Relief crashes into me. The tension holding me upright breaks, and I crumple to the earth. A sob rips from my chest as darkness drags me under again, but not before I whisper, barely audible. “I’m here.” The world fades to black.
The hum of tires on pavement is the only sound I register at first, that, and the bone-deep ache blooming behind my eyes. I blink slowly, the world spinning before it sharpens just enough to reveal the soft interior of an SUV and Liam’s face hovering above mine.
His palm cups the side of my head, calloused and warm, steadying me as everything tilts sideways again.
“Mags?” I rasp, voice cracked and raw.
“She’s here too,” he says, gentle but firm, like he’s afraid I might splinter if he speaks too loudly. “We’ve got you, baby. We’re getting you to Doc.”
I try to sit up, but pain slices through my ribs in my chest. “Where’s Donnie?’
Liam squeezes my hand, his grip grounding even as dread churns in his eyes. “We’re going to find him,” he says, voice low but sure. “But I need you to stay awake for me, okay?”
That’s all he says, that’s all he needs to say. Even as the darkness tries to pull me under again.