Relinquished (29 page)

The steady rhythmic sound of someone inhaling and exhaling roused me from my sleep.  My eyes popped open and darted around, taking in the limited view I had from where I laid next to Holden. That extra set of breaths wasn’t coming from him.  The low illumination filtering in through the window allowed me to take in the halfway opened door, but I couldn’t see the other side of the room.

Just like when I was younger, I laid there as still as possible, hoping my intuition was wrong, but it never had been in the past. My heart beat in my throat as my eyes searched for the source of my panic. I brought my mouth to Holden’s ear and whispered in an unsettled tone, “Babe, I need to use the bathroom. Where is it?”

“Hmm?” he mumbled in his sleep, turning on his side to face me. 

Lightly shaking him, I licked my dry lips. “I need you to wake up and show me the bathroom.” I placed his hand on my chest so he could feel my erratic heartbeat as adrenalin raced through my body.

I felt his eyes on me, asking if that meant what he thought. When we got to this safe house last night, he and I agreed to use that exact phrase as our code if we were in danger. 

Reaching under the blanket, I squeezed his arm with my trembling hand.

“Okay, let’s go.” He moved closer, kissing my forehead in an attempt to calm me.

Simultaneously, we threw off the covers and scrambled toward the foot of the bed. We assumed our fight stances quickly and glanced around until we found Abel shadowed by the dim light from outside. He held his index finger up to his mouth as he glanced from us to the window.

What the fuck is he doing in here?

He spoke softly, “Something’s wrong. I went to get Marcus to switch with me, and he’s not in his room. I didn’t want to leave you guys unarmed, so I came in here and have been watching the door ever since.”

“Why’re you looking out the window then?” Something wasn’t adding up.

“I thought I heard a car pull up.” His eyes darted around the room, and there was a pained expression on his face, almost like he was regretful about something.

Angry, Holden hissed, “Maybe Marcus is getting something to eat downstairs. You didn’t have to come in here.”

The room was freezing so when a bead of sweat dripped down Abel’s forehead, I was positive something wasn’t right. If this guy had been sitting in front of our room, he would’ve seen Marcus leave or if someone had gone in after him.  This idiot had either fallen asleep while on duty or was lying through his ass.

I pretended to relax as I tucked my fingers under Holden’s arm, tapping there to alert him. “Maybe we should go look for him together.”

Holden studied me, trying to decipher my message, and I was relieved when I saw it click on his face. “Here, put these on first. There are lots of sharp objects around that you can step on.” Leaning down, he handed over my shoes while slipping on his own and keeping a casual eye on the nervous guard.

Maneuvering me in front of him, he took large steps out of the room, then slammed the door behind, separating us momentarily from that betraying asshole. Then we took off, zooming
down the stairs

“Run for the entrance,” Holden whispered. “No matter what happens, get out and keep running.”

We were almost to the stairs when Abel leaped toward us, landing on top of Holden. “You can’t leave!”

I felt helpless, backing into a corner as Holden struggled to push him away. “Go, Jules! Get out!”

I only had a split second to make up my mind.  He’d told me time and time again to get away if we were in a dangerous situation, that I was the one they were after.

You can do this.

There was no time to look for Marcus so with renewed determination, I stumbled down the stairs on a mission to get the fuck out and find a phone to call the cops. A handful of steps before the bottom, I vaulted forward, my legs and ankles throbbing on impact. It didn’t matter, though. There was no time for pain.

Changing directions, I rushed for the door when I spotted one of the guards I’d seen with Raymond at the event last night, positioned by the exit. In a flash, I turned and headed in the opposite direction, knowing there were a few additional ways out on the other side.  My feet slapped against the concrete floor, and I felt a large presence rapidly approaching. He was catching up too quickly. I had to come up with another plan.

Remembering the cafeteria layout, I darted in the kitchen with only seconds to spare as I ripped open a cabinet. Every canned food imaginable lined the shelves, so I picked up several and started chucking them at the guy’s head.

He threw his hands up to protect himself. “Fuck!  You crazy bitch.”

Throwing as hard as I could, I took advantage of where his hands were and nailed him right in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.  It was exactly the distraction I needed as I grabbed two more cans and took off running again.

I came to a screeching halt at the sight of Raymond standing in the entryway, his arms across his chest and an evil smirk on his lips. A second later, I felt my arms being secured from behind by the asshole I’d just run from. He had my elbows locked to my sides, and I dropped the cans, hoping they would land on his feet, but no such luck.

Going with my instincts and recent training, I jerked my head back, but he turned to the side, not losing his grip on me. “You think I don’t know about head-butts, little girl?” His condescending tone added fuel to my fire. 

I’d trained for this exact moment, and he was making fun of me like I was some stupid little girl who couldn’t handle herself?

Fucker had something coming to him.

I just had to figure out what that would be.

Think, think, think…

I watched Raymond as I took calming breaths so the guy clutching me would have a false sense of my surrender.

Raymond clapped his hands. “Bravo, I’m impressed. You can thank me later for putting that fighting spirit in you.”

When my father told us about how Raymond had manipulated people in school, I couldn’t imagine it.  To want to destroy another person, bring them to the point where they had to either give up and die or fight like hell to survive. But that arrogant comment of his dropped my blinders. I got it now. 

And I wanted him dead. Not just hurt, but gone. Forever.

Sensing his grip around me lessening, I lifted my feet and used my weight to slip through his arms, and dropped to the floor. He reached for me, but I spun around and rolled over, retracting my leg then slamming the bottom of my foot directly against the side of his knee. He yelped in pain as I heard the bones snap.
Serves you right, scumbag.
I scooted away on my ass while he was falling to the ground, screaming in agony.

Glaring at the monster blocking the exit, I yelled out, “I’ll never thank you for a fucking thing, you sick son of a bitch.” Then I jumped to my feet, frantically searching for another escape.

He simply looked bored. “Can someone competent please capture this little bitch and bring her up to the loft?” As he turned away, two more men entered carrying zip ties.

Noooooo.

I tried my best to make a run for it, but one grabbed my legs while the other slammed an arm across my shoulders and pushed me face down onto the concrete.  My hands and feet were quickly bound with the plastic ties. 

I screamed as the restraints cut into my skin, causing the dreaded sensation I’d tried to block from memory. Not being able to feel the only weapons I had was terrifying. 

One of them picked me up like I didn’t weigh a thing, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me out, leaving the poor schmuck with the busted knee to suffer alone in the cafeteria.

Since my hands were behind my back, I couldn’t do anything but let my head bob with every step, which diverted my attention from trying to break free. As we passed a closed door, I concentrated on the moaning and sounds of flesh beating flesh. My mind raced, praying they didn’t have Holden in there.

Mumbled voices echoed from above when we got to the reception area where we’d come in last night.  I caught a glimpse of the exit, yearning to escape and find help. The stairs vibrated, and the wobbly metal handrail shook as we made our way up the stairs to the loft above. My face smacked into the guy’s back with each gruff movement. My neck was already getting sore.

“Jules, no...” Holden’s voice came from behind, and I struggled to look around the guy that had me slung over his shoulder.

My hip rested near his throat, so I felt the reverberation of his words when he asked, “Where do you want her?”

I didn’t have a plan, but there was still a little fight left in me.

Opening my mouth, I thrust my head forward and chomped down on the fleshy part of his waistline.

“Fucking bitch!” he yelled, tossing me in the air.

Pain shot from my shoulder to the base of my skull when my body hit the ground, right in front of Raymond’s feet.

The guy spat obscenities as Raymond looked down at me. “Damn, you really are a fighter, aren’t you? I’ll keep that in mind.” His grin was the most evil thing I’d ever seen.

It didn’t matter what this prick said or how much pain I was in. All I could see was Holden with his arms above his head and a chain looped through the zip ties around his wrists. Blood was dripping from his lips. I wanted to run to him, but I knew it would be useless.

Our eyes made contact for a brief moment before I was dragged along the floor toward the wall and yanked to my feet not far from Holden. The bastard I’d bit, shoved a dirty rag in my mouth and tied something around my head to keep it secure. I wanted to spew hateful words at him, but the disgusting gag kept me from doing so. This bastard wasn’t going to get away with this.  I thrashed against the person gripping my wrists. No use. I was no match for his strength, and every muscle in me was aching.

The asshole snatched my arms above my head and bound me next to Holden.

“Please, let her go,” Holden begged, probably thinking anger would do about as much as mine did. “I’ll do anything you want.”

Raymond’s eyes blazed. “Good. I’m counting on it.”

The two guys that had captured me downstairs were parked by the stairwell, and Sam was standing next to Raymond with a shit eating grin on his face.
Gang’s all here,
I thought sarcastically.

I took in the chains above, feeling that helpless sensation sweep over me. These chains were the exact same type that Travis had used on me so many years ago, except these were rusted and much older…