Chapter 21 #2
Bringing it to my still-restrained hand, I cocked it back and fired three shots into the three men aiming to attack.
Before I could hit the fourth, the gun flew from my hand, and pain erupted in my wrist. I didn’t have time to cater to the hurt as the man swung with his knife.
I leaned hard into the back of the chair, barely missing the tip of the blade.
I bent my free leg to the side, hooking him behind the ankle, and pulled with all my strength. He stood firm, laughing at my attempt. A breath later, he grabbed my neck and squeezed, arching it back at an uncomfortable angle as he spit in my face. “I always told her you were too feral for the job.”
Recognition hit with his voice. It was the man from Club Fourteen. The one who’d told me to be a good pet and do as I was told.
The realization only made my next move all the more sweeter.
I pulled his gun from his waistband—dumb of him not to use it to begin with, honestly—and pressed the tip into the soft part directly under his jaw.
“Say hi to your friends for me,” I croaked out. And pulled the trigger.
Blood splattered in every direction, his hold on my neck dropping away. I gasped in a breath as his body slumped to the ground with a thump.
Fuck, that felt good.
Without sparing him a second glance, I untied the rest of the ropes holding me to the chair and stepped over his body.
I didn’t bother surveying the utter chaos I’d left in this room as I headed for the door.
My leg pinched in pain with every step—likely an injury from the wreck. I could worry about that later.
I made sure a bullet was in the chamber as I opened the door and stepped into the hall, scanning the dim space.
On either side of the hallway, there was a door every ten feet or so.
I had no idea where Henley could be, but I didn’t have time to ponder.
I’d go in every single one and kill whoever got in my way.
I didn’t allow myself to think twice as I slammed open the first one, fully prepared to shoot whoever was on the other side of the door. I cleared the room, finding nothing inside but a large couch and a TV. What the fuck was this place?
I threw open the second, but stopped myself from pulling the trigger as two women shrieked on the bed in the center. My brows furrowed, finding them nearly naked and in the middle of an intimate moment.
I aimed the gun at one of them as I stood in the doorway. “What is this place?”
“Club Fourteen,” the girl answered, voice shaking. The other one wrapped her arms around her tightly.
I’d never been in this part of the building, but based on the absence of windows, I assumed it might be the basement.
I lowered the gun at the same time as I closed the door.
Had they not heard the gunshots? I hesitated in the hall, listening.
I got the feeling Tyler’s mother had gone in search of Henley, if her parting words were any indication, so I searched for sounds of a struggle.
But I heard nothing. Not even the thumping of music, if the club really was above us.
The whole place had to be soundproof. It made sense, if the rooms were meant for sex or other…things. But that only made it more difficult to find him.
This was taking too long. He could be dead by now.
I opened door after door, only needing to put a bullet in two men’s heads after they charged for me. I tried to shoot one of them twice after seeing his chest still rising and falling as he bled out, but the gun clicked, indicating it was empty.
Shit.
I hoped I didn’t run into any more trouble; otherwise, I’d have to get through it with my fists. I regretted not grabbing the man’s knife from the office I’d been tied up in. My thigh sheath was empty, so either they’d taken mine when they brought me here, or it had disappeared in the crash.
I was completely unarmed.
This’ll be fun.
I gripped the gun, in case I needed to pretend it was loaded or hit someone in the head with it, and tried the handle on the next room. It turned, and I slowly cracked the door open, taking more caution now that I had no ammo.
The hinges were silent as I opened it fully, and what I saw in the middle of the room had my heart stopping.
“Henley.” His name was a relieved breath on my lips.
I dropped to my knees before his slumped form, his wrists bloody where the rope dug into his skin. He was in a chair much like the one I had been in, but he was in way worse shape.
My hands slid up his knees to his thighs before I frantically began to untie the ropes. “Henley, baby. Are you awake?”
He groaned, slowly lifting his head. One eye was swollen shut, a gash bleeding on the side of his head. Once the restraints were off, I pressed a gentle palm to his cheek. He leaned into my touch, his good eye slowly closing. He whispered my name like I was an angel.
“I’m here,” I choked out. I swallowed to clear the lump of emotion from my throat. I could cry later. Henley was alive, and I needed to get him the fuck out of here. “Can you stand?”
Slowly, he nodded. He braced his hands on the sides of the chair like he needed the help to get up.
I slid my hand down his cheek, over his jaw and neck until I slid it under his armpit. Wrapping both arms around him, I stood and let him lean on me until he was on his feet. He looked down at me, and concern washed over his features.
“Grace, what did they—”
I shook my head, quieting him. “I’m okay.”
“Baby, you’re bleeding.” His voice was so full of breath, so full of worry. He lifted his hand to brush my hair away from my forehead. The movement stung a cut I didn’t know I had.
“I need to get you out of here,” I told him, glancing behind me to the door.
His hand slid deeper into my hair, cupping the base of my head to turn me to face him again. He scanned every inch of me, then pressed his forehead to mine.
“They hurt you,” he stated.
I closed my eyes briefly, allowing myself a moment to simply feel him against me. “I killed them all.”
A bloody smile bloomed on his face. “That’s my girl.”