I rushed forward as fast as I could and showed them the card that I had pick-pocketed. I couldn’t contain my excitement at the prospect of getting out of this place.
“What’s that?” Ava asked, leaning forward and touching it.
“Our way out.” I smirked and looked over at Lindsey. She didn’t look that bad, apart from a new bruise on her cheek.
Her eyes were filled with fire and I knew she wanted out of this place; right now. “Lindsey? You okay?” I frowned, my face hurting when I did.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Fuckers ain’t gonna get to me. Let’s get out of this shit hole.”
I nodded and crawled closer. We all huddled up and made a plan, we knew that it wouldn’t be easy but once we were out into the hallway then things would be easier. We just had to get out there first. If I hadn’t been so injured, I would have been able to disengage whoever opened the door. But I knew that I couldn’t do it, at least, not on my own.
“Teach us,” Ava said, standing up.
“You sure?” I raised my brow. I hadn’t expected her to say that.
“Yeah.” She nodded as Lindsey stood beside her.
“Me too,” Lindsey gritted out.
In the little time that we had, I taught them what I could. I couldn’t show them all the moves; my body just wouldn’t allow it. Once they had the moves down, we sat and waited for our daily dose of water.
We’d decided that this was going to be the best time to make a move. We always waited for this time of the day for a completely different reason, but this time, it would be our last. As soon as I got out of this place, I wanted a fresh bottle of water. I salivated at the thought, I swear I could almost taste it.
We all looked at each other with smiles on our faces when we heard the footsteps come closer. Standing, we waited for the key to come into the lock, and when it started to turn and the click sounded in the room, we all nodded at each other.
It was now or never.
The door swung open slowly and in walked a guy that we hadn’t seen before. It was always Max or the brute but this guy looked nothing like them.
He opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, they pounced on him.
Lindsey jumped on his back while Ava threw her arm out at him, hitting him in the throat with her fist.
Standing back, I watched him as he didn’t fight back and noticed the gun on his waist band. Taking the opportunity while he was distracted, I lunged forward and grabbed it. This is what would get us out of here.
“Girls!” They both looked over at me and stared with wide eyes. “Into the corner,” I barked at the guy, pointing the gun at him.
“You don’t understand-”
“I said into the corner!” I barked. “Girls.” I tilted my head at the door, telling them silently to go out of the room.
I watched him as he held his hands in the air and backed into the corner. I didn’t move my eyes from him as I stepped out of the door. I slammed it closed and turned the lock, making sure that he couldn’t come after us.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to face the girls. This was it. We were actually going to get out of here.
“What now?” Lindsey asked looking up and down the hallway.
“This way.” I pointed the way that the brute and Max had taken me. There had to be a way out through Serena’s office. Those big double doors had to lead somewhere.
We shuffled down the hallway, all of us on high alert and aware of our surroundings. There was no hiding, and if someone was to come through the doors right now, we’d be caught; I didn’t want to think about what would happen if we were.
Swiping the card, the doors opened and we rushed through them. Everything looked the same and I couldn’t remember how far I had gone to Serena’s office. After passing the same door five times, I started to get panicked.
Just as I was starting to wonder if we’d ever get out of here, I spotted the door and signaled the girls to stand against the wall. Moving forward, I opened the door and looked inside.
Empty. Just what I had hoped for.
“Let’s go,” I whisper-shouted at the girls.
Lindsey came past me as I held the door open, and I waited for Ava. When she still hadn’t come through, I frowned and looked back, screeching at what I saw.
“Go,” she whispered, her eyes glazing over from the hold that the brute had on her.
“Ava-”
“Hmmm, I wonder what she’ll do,” the brute said to Ava, his tongue coming out and licking up the side of her neck. He held her in front of him, making it impossible to shoot him without hurting Ava.
“Go get help,” Ava pleaded, her eyes begging me to go.
I couldn’t leave her here, not like this. I stepped forward to help her, just as the doors in the hallway flew open and men came running through.
Looking back at Ava, she nodded, telling me that it was okay.
It wasn’t okay, it was far from it. But if I didn’t get out now, I was afraid that I never would.
I’d come back for her. As soon as the guys came, I’d come straight back for her.
We were dressed and booted up within an hour, I was more than ready to go and get Kay.
Daley had made some phone calls and by the time we were ready, we had another thirty men turn up, dressed in combat gear with guns. Between them, and all of Charlie’s men, we had a small army. Both Daley and Charlie were trying to be boss of the whole operation, so in the end, I had to put a stop to it.
“Neither of you are in charge. This is my warehouse, my woman, my operation.” I raised my brows, just waiting for one of them to say something but they didn’t.
Something that they both did agree on, was going in the vans. I refused.
Me and my team would be going together.
We all piled up into two trucks and led the way to the location while Evan sat in the back trying to hack into all the security systems.
The twenty-minute drive there made me seethe in anger. She’d been this close all along and I hadn’t found her. Gripping the steering wheel, I took deep breaths, trying to keep my cool. Now wasn’t the time to lose it, now was the time to stay calm.
Pulling a little way back from the building, I could feel her closeness. I relished in the feeling, having not felt it in so long.
The vans pulled up on either side of me and they all jumped out in formation. We opened our doors and led the way to the wall of the building, I signaled Charlie and opened the door, letting him go in first and following closely behind.
Scanning the open space, I couldn’t see anything but a door off to the left. Tilting my head towards the door, I moved forward with Corey at my back while the rest filed in behind me and went to check out another part of the warehouse.
We both stood at either side of the door, signaling for him to pull it open, we both filed inside, guns raised.
There was nothing but empty space with another door off to the right. Tilting my head to the door, we repeated our maneuver again.
“Well hey there, husband,” Serena sang, her voice sending goose bumps over my skin, and not in a good way either. I had a feeling that I’d come face to face with her at some point today.
“Where is she?” I gritted out, stepping forward, knowing that I had my guys at my back. It didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest that she was cornered. In fact, she seemed to relish in it.
“Where’s who?” She smirked, leaning back on the desk that she was perched on.
I stepped forward, stopping a couple of paces in front of her, not trusting myself to be any closer to her.
“Kay. Where is she?” I scanned what was around me in my peripheral vision, not daring to take my focus off her fully.
She huffed and walked out of the door that we had just come from, her steps quick. Following her back into the main building, I stood and waited.
“You know I never wanted any of this,” she said, turning back to face me. “I just want you back,” she whined.
“Yeah?” I chuckled, leaning down into her face. “You never wanted our baby either did you? Didn’t take you long to solve that problem either, did it?”
Her face paled as I pulled away. I hated her for what she had done, what she had taken from me. She took away the opportunity for me to be a dad, she took away my choices. Everyone always raved on about women’s choices, which I fully believed in, but that baby was half of me and I didn’t have any say in the matter.
“That baby was never meant to happen,” she said, holding her hand up in the air and moving a step forward.
“Bitch, you take a one step closer to him and see what happens.” I swung my head to the voice, a voice that hit me straight in the gut.
My eyes scanned her barely clothed body, the bruises and dried blood scattered all over her. I tampered down my rage for now, knowing I’d do some real damage if I didn’t.
“What-” Serena gasped.
“I’ll shoot your face off if you move,” she growled. “You sadistic fuck.”
“Kay?” Another voice said from behind her. “Ava’s still back there.”
Lindsey.
“Who’s here?” Kay asked me. For a second I was speechless, she still hadn’t taken her eyes off Serena. “Ty! Who’s here? Get her in cuffs!”
Luke stepped forward, taking his cuffs out as I went to Kay.
“Sweetheart, you can put the gun down now.” I held my hand out for it but she shook her head and walked backwards, the way she had just come.
“I’m going to get Ava!” she shouted when I tried to stop her.
Rushing forward, I stopped her by walking in her path and holding my hands up. “Sweetheart, Corey and Luke can get her. You need to be checked out. Shit, you’re bleeding.”
“No, I need to get her.” She shook her head, moving to the side to get past me.
“Corey, Luke? Get this Ava girl.”
They came over to us, Corey kissing his sister on the head before going through the concealed door that Kay had pointed out.
“We need to get you out of here,” I said gently, taking the gun out of her hand.
“I…I…” She didn’t take her eyes off the door that Corey and Luke had gone through.
Moving into her line of sight, I bent down and cupped her face with my hands.
“Sweetheart, we need to get you out of here.” Opening my vest, I pulled my t-shirt off and placed it over her head. Shoving my arms back through the vest, I took her hand and led her back outside. Aware of her slight limp and flinches every time she took a step.