RYDER (Slater Brothers 4) (26 page)

When my limbs involuntarily twitched, a sharp physical pain rocked through me, and out of nowhere, my head began to pound as if someone was using it as a drum. I made a small whining sound that drew entirely too much energy from me.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and was surprised to find everything was still pitch black. I blinked my lids a couple of times, but nothing changed. For a second, I thought it was the middle of the night, but when I lifted my head from where my chin was resting on my chest and felt the strain of fabric covering my eyes, I knew it wasn’t. I figured it was my bed cover over my face even though, logically, I knew I would feel the cover on every part of my face if that were the case instead of just on my eyes.

I knew then that something was definitely wrong, but I didn’t know what it was as my memory didn’t have any recollection of anything for me to be scared of. My worries were pushed to the side when a fierce pain in my neck suddenly took focus. I slowly rolled my head onto my shoulders and winced when it cracked. I didn’t like how restricted and tight my muscles felt. My head was very heavy, like a weight that I didn’t have the strength to hold up.

I rolled my neck around in a circle to soothe the pain and it was then that I noticed I could do it easily without a pillow stopping me. Almost instantly I knew that I wasn’t lying down on my bed. In fact, I wasn’t lying down
at all
. I was in an upright sitting position on a hard chair if the ache in my legs and behind were anything to go by.

There was an unholy creak in my neck from when my head hung downwards in my sleep. I didn’t understand it. Never in my life had I fallen asleep sitting upright, and I didn’t have any reminiscence of sitting on a chair and dozing off in the first place.

What the hell did I do last night?

I was momentarily annoyed with myself for falling asleep the way I did, but when I tried to arch my back and lift my arms into a stretch, I found that I couldn’t. Panic set in. I tried to move my arms once more and was shocked to find that they weren’t at my sides, instead they were behind my back, and something was wrapped tightly around my wrists, binding them together.

I struggled against the bond that held my hands in place, and this caused me to move my legs too. I whimpered when I couldn’t move them either. I felt the pressure of something around each ankle as I tried to tug them free. Whatever it was, it was hard, and secured my limbs to the legs of the chair I was sitting upon.

What is happening? Where am I?

I didn’t have answers to the questions that surged through my mind, and the not knowing was terrifying me. It didn’t stop me from trying to get loose, though. I searched my mind for answers, just as I searched for a way to wriggle free from the bindings that took away my free will.

“You’re going to chafe your skin if you keep struggling like that.”

I yelped with fright and swung my head from side to side in a desperate attempt to remove the cover from my eyes, but it was no use. Whatever the material was, it was tied securely around my head and completely obscured my vision.

My already pounding heart kicked into overdrive, and the fear that flowed through me was so strong I felt like I was going to vomit. I struggled to breathe steadily, and to remain calm, but it was immensely difficult not to let my fear take over.

Any plan formed to keep myself tranquil went straight out the window when I closed my eyes and thought hard about how I came to be tied to a chair, with a stranger who obviously had me held captive. For a few seconds, my mind was blank, then like the snap of my fingers, images came rushing back one by one.

Ryder was cheating on me.

His brothers’ knew what he was up to and never told me.

A man attacked me in my kitchen and somehow knocked me out.

The strange man who was
still
in my presence while I was blindfolded, tied to a chair and completely at his mercy… remaining calm was no longer on my fucking agenda.

“Who’s there?” I asked, my breathing laboured.

This has to be a nightmare.

“A friend of the family,” the man replied on a guffaw.

His accent was semi-similar to Ryder’s and his brothers’, and that scared me greatly. The only Americans I knew were either bright light, or pure evil. There was no in-between.

I felt like I was going to wet myself as I asked, “What do you want?”

The man hummed. “I have a debt to fulfil.”

What kind of debt?

“This is a mistake,” I blurted. “This
has
to be some sort of mistake. My family has no debts, I swear. You’ve got the wrong person!”

My captor sighed. “I’ll explain all
that
in good time, but first, I need you to confirm something for me. You’re Branna Murphy, right?”

A fresh surge of panic set in. This
wasn’t
some kind of mistake, this man knew my name, which meant he purposely was in the right house and came after me for a reason.

“Ye-Yes.” I stuttered.

“Then there is no mistake, you
are
the right person,” the deep voice responded. “I’ve been waiting a few months to get you on your own”

“Why?” I swallowed down bile. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“Which question do you want me to answer first?” he asked, sounding bored.

A sheen of dread settled over me.

“The second,” I whispered.

“Well, Branna,” he began, “my name is Philip, but I believe you know me as Big Phil. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

My world stop spinning, and it hit me that every moment throughout my life where I had ever felt scared or alone didn’t come close to the emotions I felt during
that
moment. I was absolutely terrified, and almost instantly began whimpering and trying my hardest to get free because this man… he tried to kill my best friend and her son, and once upon a time he tried to kill Kane too… and now… now he was going to kill
me
.

“Oh, my God.” I cried. “
Please
, don’t kill me.”

I heard movement, and every muscle in my body tensed as I felt the monster approach.

“Why would I kill you?” Big Phil asked me and I could hear the smile in his tone.

The sick bastard liked that I was petrified.

“Why else would you abduct me?” I asked, now hiccupping from crying so hard.

“To draw out Kane,” he replied. “Why else?”

I swallowed down my fear, which was no small feat, and asked, “Wh-why would I draw out Kane? I’m n-not with him… I’m not even with his br-brother anymore. Ryder and I br-broke up.”

“How devastating for you,” Big Phil said, sounding like he couldn’t care less.

I was shaking as my fear amplified.

“So you see,” I sniffled, “I won’t draw Kane out be-because—”

“If you
don’t
draw Kane out then there will definitely be no use for you so I suggest you stop talking.”

I clamped my mouth shut.

“I like you.” He chortled. “You’re obedient, not like that fucking Aideen bitch. She had a mouth on her.”

I couldn’t begin to imagine how Aideen could backtalk him when he had her, I was almost too scared to breathe in fear he would hurt me.

“I made a mistake with her. I wanted her to suffer, like my boy suffered, when what I should have done is put a bullet in her head and stomach. That would have
really
killed Kane.”

“You bastard!”

It was out of my mouth before I realised I said it.

Big Phil laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”

I continued to cry, and it grated on his nerves.

“Stop your blubbering, I haven’t got the patience for it. I’ve worn out every ounce of tolerance I have for your
fucking
family.”

I closed my mouth and tried my hardest to control my sobs, but it was difficult. It was like every ounce of strength I had up and left me, and I just accepted my fate like a coward. I wanted to be strong, but my body hurt, my head hurt, and my heart did, too—I honestly didn’t know how it was still beating.

After what I saw with Ryder and his…
friend
, I was positive it would never work right again. I thought for sure the shock alone would kill me.

I wasn’t stupid, in the back of my mind I knew we were all in constant danger from Big Phil. A man didn’t attempt to murder a pregnant mother for revenge then just disappear because he failed. No, Big Phil had an agenda, and it was obvious it was one he was going to fulfil no matter what—or who—it cost.

It was unbelievable, but the threat of him and what he was capable of faded to the very back of my mind when my relationship problems took centre stage.

To be honest, I just didn’t care about Big Phil, or the threat he posed to me when I thought about what my so-called partner did to me. I didn’t care about anything because I was so focused on Ryder and how much he, and our relationship, had changed.

It was then that I wondered
why
I was so scared. When I thought hard about it, Big Phil kidnapping me was kind of—in a twisted way—a favour to me. If he killed me, I would be at peace. No more sadness, no more bleeding for Ryder and the love we once shared, no more of anything. If he beat on me, maybe he would hit me so hard that it would erase my witnessing Ryder with another women. Maybe one solid knock to my head and he could wipe out all the heartache I carried and I could start over on a clean slate.

It suddenly became very tempting to anger him just to see if he would do it.

“You aren’t shaking anymore,” Big Phil commented, gaining my attention.

He was right. I wasn’t shaking anymore. If I was being completely honest, I didn’t really feel fear anymore either, what I felt was curiosity. This man could take all my suffering away, what the hell was there to fear about
that
?

“‘Cause I’m not scared anymore,” I replied, my voice firm.

This made him laugh before he asked, “Where are we, Branna?”

How in the Hell was I supposed to know?
I wondered.
I had a blindfold covering my eyes for God’s sake.

“Darkness?” I guessed.

“Why would I take you to a nightclub?” he curiously asked.

I managed to shrug. “It’s where me sister and friends were taken to when they were kidnapped, so I figured since you American arseholes and wanna-be gangsters are all alike, you would take me there, too. It’s unoriginal which makes it the best bet.”

Big Phil laughed loudly as I winced when I felt the sting of his slap as it tore through the side of my face.

Bastard.

“One of those American assholes you speak of was my friend, so watch what you say about him or I’ll make you bleed.”

There was a bro code between criminal scumbags, who’d have thought it?
My mind sneered.
Not me.

I wanted to make my thoughts know, but instead I grunted and kept my mouth shut because bleeding didn’t sound appealing in the slightest.

“We’re in my rented apartment.” He eventually said.

That surprised me.

“You took me to your place?” I questioned. “Why?”

I heard him move around.

“Because I want to spend time with you in a comfortable environment.”

Did that mean he wasn’t going to kill me?
I wondered and was surprised that the thought saddened me.

“How long do you plan to keep me here?” I asked, hoping the fear I felt didn’t show in my tone. He would probably link it to fear of
being
killed if he did pick up on it anyway.

He hummed. “As long as it takes.”

I furrowed my brows.
As long as what takes?

“What are you talkin’ about?” I asked in frustration.

I froze when I heard more movement close by and felt him approach me. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he stepped on them. I flinched then tensed up when I felt a rough pat on the crown of my head.

“You ask a lot of questions for a captive.”

I actually grinned as I said, “If you wanted peace then you should’ve kidnapped a mute.”

Things were silent for a few moments then Big Phil guffawed. I lost my grin, drew my brows together and glared at him through my blindfold. He was maddening.

“You’re amusing me greatly.”

I set my jaw. “Glad I can entertain you.”

Another chortle.

“Are you going to be silent enough for me to answer your earlier questions?”

I hesitated. “I kind of forget what they were.”

“You asked why you were here and if I was going to kill you, and I’m prepared to answer them.”

It was twisted that I got a tad bit excited at the prospect of knowing my fate. Would it end in freedom or death—in a perfect world, the latter would win.

“Oh, right,” I said. “Go ahead, I’ll be quiet while you speak.”

“Thank you,” he said sarcastically.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, just as sarcastically.

A snort or two later, the piece of scum began to talk.

“Originally, my plan was never to come for you, or even for Aideen, it’s always been Kane that I’ve wanted. You can’t catch someone like him off guard though. I created him, and I know first-hand what he is capable of doing when he’s backed into a corner.”

I gritted my teeth in anger. He was speaking of Kane like he was some animal he trained… I suppose for a time, he
was
that, but not anymore!

“Then I got to thinking,” Big Phil continued. “Who would it hurt if I managed to kill Kane? None other than his brothers, and I don’t want that, I want
him
to suffer. When I got here last year, I watched him for a while, to see if there was someone important in his life outside of his family, and that’s when I came to know about Aideen, and her pregnancy. It was like God Himself was gifting me the lives I needed to end that would finally break Kane and force him to live with the pain I do.”

Sickness swirled in my lower abdomen, and I fought with my body not to heave.

“You’re a ragin’ fuckin’ lunatic.”

“My son was murdered, of
course
I’m a lunatic.” Big Phil argued. “You think losing your child keeps you sane?”

Kane stumbled upon his ‘precious son’ violating a little girl; he deserved a medal for ending the waste of space’s life, nothing less.