Love Renewed (Entwined Hearts #3) (27 page)

“Let her go,” I can hear his voice, but it sounds so far away. I want to lift my head, but it’s too heavy. It feels like I’m fighting gravity trying to pull it up. I rewind my brain over the last little while. I have no idea how long it’s been. I know the way my body feels, hurt and worn and like it’s been forever. Once we left Jenson on the floor, Ryan dragged me out and put me into a car and we travelled to this factory. He marched me into a room and locked the door leaving me in there for ages. Much like the other room, this one had no windows. Unlike the other room, this one also had no bed. Or any kind of seat for that matter…and no Jenson.

Just the thought of what happened to him makes me bite my lip, needing to stop the emotion. When Ryan finally came back to the room, he wasn’t nice.

“Unbutton your jeans,” he said standing in the doorway.

“What no!” I cried.

Stepping inside the door he turned and locked it from the inside.

“Let’s try this again. Unbutton your jeans, or I’ll do it for you,” he ground out. His black eyes narrowed on me. I shook my head no and chewed the inside of my mouth. Fear pulsed through my nerves, but I couldn’t bow down to him. Not anymore.

He strode over to me and caught my hips, so I pulled out of his hold. His eyes widened with surprise at my bold move. One I wouldn’t have made years ago. But he quickly regained his pace and reared back slapping me. I was surprised at this point that the left side of my face wasn’t hanging off, what with the amount of times over the last few days, I’d been punched and slapped.

“You will not defy me,” he roared. Still I made no move to unbutton my jeans. He punched me in the stomach and once again I felt like I was going to be sick. Grabbing my jeans he unbuttoned them. I wanted to cry. I knew what choices came next. Holding the waistband of my jeans, he ripped my top open with his free hand. Then finding my bra he pulled the cup down allowing my breast to pop out. The sudden cold made me shiver, then shake with fear.

I knew that was it. That was when I had to make my decision. When he started slipping his hand down the front of my jeans I decided. I raised my fist and punched him in the face, then I did it again, then a third time before he managed to punch me back. He hit harder, so I stumbled back and fell down. Once I was on the floor, he kicked me in the stomach and ribs repeatedly. I thought I was going to die. I heard someone shout through the door trying to get his attention, and it was at that point I figured it was easier to die so I just tried to block everything out. Then he suddenly stopped, and started shouting back at the man on the other side of the door. I almost whispered thank you when I realised he needed to go. Before leaving, though, he picked me up by my hair and gave me one last punch, that time he hit my ear and I’m pretty sure it was bleeding. Then he threw me away, discarding me. But he launched me hard slamming me against the wall and I fell back on the floor. I watched his feet leave and the door close before I slipped into the darkness.

I don’t know what happened between then and now. I just know, I’m now hanging by my wrists. They feel bound. Whilst hanging here, I’m also looking into Dane’s eyes, but he’s only just starting to become un-blurry, to the point where I’m able to recognise him, had I not have already known it was him from his voice alone.

He’s sitting on top of another man. He has a gun in his hand. The gun is covered in blood as is the man’s head. Dane looks horrible. Everything is black, blue or bloodied and I want to run to him. I want to hold him, make him better. His arm hangs limply by his side and he has blood seeping from both his legs and a cut at his waist. One of his eyes is practically shut and his face is almost unrecognisable. I feel the tears that have been threatening all day finally fall over the edge, gliding gracefully down my face. My heart yearns for him, I want to rescue him. I want to be his salvation.

“Let her go, I’ll do whatever you want,” I hear him urge again. It’s only at that point that my mind catches up with the situation and I realise there’s a cold, hard, object at my temple. I take in the look in Dane’s eyes. It’s not easy with one eye nearly closed, but I see what can only be described as desperation. It’s so startling to see that in his eyes, I can only conclude the item at my temple is a gun.

“It’s not that simple.” The man on my left side says then chuckles.

“Whatever you want. I’ll do it. Just let her go.” He’s begging now and it breaks my heart.

“Dane, don’t give yourself up,” I whisper and his eyes move from the gun to me. He says nothing just stares at me.

“You better shut up bitch or you’ll get another beating,” gunman says and I watch Dane stiffen. “So D, anything?” he taunts Dane.

“No!” I shout which gets me the butt of the gun to my head.

“Stop!” Dane shouts and makes me jump. “I’ve said anything, now let her go.” The man next to me laughs this time.

“Seems like I have the only thing you care about. Maybe I’ll just kill her for fun,” he says and my pulse picks up speed.

“No. Please,” Dane chokes out, then whispers, “Please don’t. Just…kill me. Kill me, please. Not her. Just don’t hurt her.”

“Dane,” I call, but he doesn’t look at me.

I can’t look at her. I feel like I’m about to fall apart. Everything I was taught, all the training, gone, just like that. Because Dex holds my life in his hands. One move on his part, even a mistake and she’s dead. Then I might as well be. I feel like I can’t breathe. I can hear a whooshing sound in my ears. I’m scared. The fear has taken me over and I can’t think straight. It’s clinging to every part of my body and I can’t wipe myself clean.

“Dex,” I mumble. “What do you want?” I plead.

“Honestly? I wanted the disk, but you don’t know where that is, so you’re kind of redundant. I’m thinking about killing you, but I’m wondering if it might be much more fun to make you watch her demise instead?”

“No, please. I don’t know what else I can say. She’s lightness, don’t you see that. We’re dark, damaged, dirty. She’s not like us. She deserves to live in the light. Please let her go.”

“Ahh D, I didn’t realise you were a poet.” I close my eyes. I know this is going nowhere. He’s not listening. I have the gun in my hand, the gun which holds no bullets, and there’s just him and me. Facing off. Everyone else is dead and gone. Normally, I would take the chance. But my confidence is choked. I can’t seem to think straight, and all I know is that my world is her. She is a gift. One that I know I never deserved and this is my punishment. Only she’s being punished too. The whole fucking world is going to be punished if her light is extinguished.

“Dane,” I hear her soft voice call me. It’s like a balm. The warmth that flows from it coating my pain. I raise my eyes to her, trying to ignore the gun still locked onto her head.

“Nova,” I say back, deciding that this is it. I don’t know what’s going to happen. “Nova, listen to me. I want you to know whatever happens, you need to know, I love you. I always have. You’re it for me. You’re my forever. My peace.” I watch as tears rush down her face and she sobs her chest heaving. The sight causes a hot fire to run through me and for the first time since she was pulled out, hanging like a piece of fucking meat, I feel the killer in me slip back, taking over. I keep my eyes trained on Dex as Nova starts talking. I should be watching her, but I can’t. As much as I want to she’s distracting him and right now I need that.

“Dane, I love you too. I remember—you…me…us. I know what we were and I know I was pulled away from you and you from me. I know it was a fictional tale spun by a twisted son of a bitch.” She stops and huffs. Dex looks at her and smirks. “Dane! I’m talking to y—” She doesn’t get the last word out as I throw myself forward and rush Dex. We both tumble to the ground, wrestling with the gun. Nova can’t move, her hands are still tied. The gun goes off just as I manage to wrench it out of Dex’s hands. Throwing it away, I smile as I pin him down. His eyes flit to where I threw the gun then back to me.

“Silly Dex, I don’t want to shoot you. That would be too easy. What did I tell you earlier?” His eyes widen and sweat beads appear along his hairline. Both things make me happy. Pulling him up by his shirt, I slam my head into his and the crack I hear from his nose breaking soothes an itch I had. Immediately, I push him back to the floor and punch him. Once for me, once for Jenson, and once for Nova before I pull him up. “You need to fight back, Dex. I’m literally doing this one-handed seeing as my right arm is dislocated. I have bullets in each leg and yet I’m here fighting. What do you have? A broken nose and some bruising?”

He sneers at me and I smile. As he lunges forward I step to the side, he manages to get a punch into my side, right next to my wound. Then rushes around the back of me coming toward me from behind. He screams when I lift my good arm and elbow him in his broken nose. My eyes make their way to Nova as Dex screams in pain, and it's then that I see the bullet hole. When the gun went off it must have hit her. She has blood running down her arm, her eyes are closed and she’s gone white.

I need to end this.

I stride forward grabbing the knife off the table. By a process of elimination, I have deduced that Dex stabbed me. This is going to be fun.

“I wish I had more time to make this slower. But I don’t, so lucky for you, your death will be quick. Still painful, just quick.” He’s heard those words from me before, although last time they were aimed at someone else. He remembers as I watch his hands tremble.

“Always the big man, huh D?” he jeers. But it’s all an act. The real fear is in his eyes, there for anyone to see. I step toward him and he turns to grab a gun. That’s the perfect position for me and in half a second I have him in a headlock.