Chapter 20
Brynn
I wiped at my tears. There was no one who would get me out of this situation except for myself. I needed to buck the hell up, put on my big girl panties, and find a way out of this place. I wiped at my face and stood to my feet, dusting the dirt off my body. Then, I trained my ears on the sounds around me. And there was nothing. No laughter. No anger. No voices.
It was as if life itself had completely ceased to exist.
I grabbed my stick and walked out of the room. Turning down the hallway, I walked farther into the darkened abyss. I walked until I could no longer see the hands at my sides. I walked until I could no longer tell the difference between where my body stopped and the darkness began. It was as if I had stepped into another world. An entirely new dimension devoid of all light whatsoever.
I felt trapped, and I didn’t like that feeling.
I ran into the wall and I hissed at the pain. My nose hurt and my toes curled in anger and frustration. I drew in a deep breath as I listened out. Had I disturbed someone? Alerted them to my presence? I figured I would at least hear them whenever they went to check on their fallen comrade I’d pummeled earlier. Was I so far away that I couldn’t hear them?
How big was this damn place?
I looked around me, but there was nothing. No light, no stars, no moon. No Diesel. My back fell against the wall and I stood there, contemplating my next move. I could stay there until morning. Or at least until The Black Saddles came searching for me. But if I made myself a sitting duck, they would surely find me and kill me.
No, I had to keep going. There was no other way.
I went to push off the wall but found myself falling backwards. I tumbled to my ass while the stick I gripped went spilling out of my hand. I screamed out, fearful that I was about to fall into the arms of someone that wanted to hurt me. Or tumble down a flight of steps that would alert my station. Or fall onto something that would pierce me and kill me on the spot.
But none of that happened.
I did, however, find myself in the encasement of another stairwell.
I moved my feet just before the door slammed closed. Great. If they didn’t know where I was, they sure as hell knew now. I looked up and around me to try and get my bearings as I felt around for that stick. A nail jammed into the palm of my hand and I bit down onto my tongue to keep from crying out.
At least that thing hadn’t gone tumbling down the steps.
I dragged myself off the floor and figured the only way to get out of this place was to go down. Being on the second floor hid me, but if my goal was to run away from this place I had to find an exit. I steadied my way down the stairs, drawing on every single lesson my father and his club ever taught me. I kept my ears trained on every sound and minimized my footballs. I kept a tight grip on my weapon, but I didn’t lock my elbow in case I needed to react quickly.
I walked down two flights of stairs before coming face to face with another door, but I paused. Where did this door lead to? I didn’t see any exit signs, so it obviously wasn’t outside. What if this dumped me right by the guys? Or worse, into their damn room? I pressed my ear to the door and heard the faintest sound of anger. The first sound I’d heard since finding my way upstairs.
“Where the fuck is she!?”
“Wake up, Fang. Wake up.”
“Fuck, is he dead?”
“Find that bitch, and when you do? Put a bullet between her eyes.”
Panic filled my veins as I eased the door open. Their sounds grew, but not by much. I looked around the dimly lit space to try and find myself a way out, and grew discouraged when I didn’t find one. What the hell was this place? Why the fuck didn’t it have exits?
“You, with me,” Rex said. “The rest of you, circle around. We’re cornering that bitch.”
I slipped through the door and into the first room. I searched around for a vent or a window. Or a hatch leading down into the sewer line. Anything I could think of to crawl through and get out of this building. It was only a matter of time before they made their way upstairs. If I went all the way to the roof, they’d only corner me. Throw me off. Something like that. And dying today wasn’t an option.
I had a man to marry.
I darted in and out of rooms as their voices grew closer. My hands shook and the grip on my weapon loosened. I needed a window. Any window. Some sort of fucking exit I could utilize. But as each room passed, I grew more and more distraught. More and more desperate.
No wonder this damn place had been abandoned. No one could get out of it.
“In here!”
The voice was so close it gave me pause. I held my breath and tucked myself into a darkened corner. I heard footsteps rumbling past as shadows ran. But one of the bodies stopped. I held my breath as deeply as I could and squeezed the stick in my hand. I wasn’t below killing them. I wasn’t below beating my way out of this place. I watched one of the guys stick his head into the room, his features shrouded in darkness. He looked straight at me, and I knew I was done. I knew I’d have to kill this man and drag him into the room in order to get myself out.
“Bones! She in there?” someone called out.
“No,” the man said as he stepped back into the hallway. “Nothing but some fucking dust in this room. But no window, either.”
“Good. Then she hasn’t gotten far,” Rex said.
I waited until their footsteps receded, then I let out the breath I was holding. I panted, my lungs screaming for oxygen. I tiptoed my way out of the room and dashed down the hallway, running as quietly as I could. I heard another set of footsteps running up the stretch I was on, so I ducked into a room. I managed to wiggle my way behind the door as they ran past, seemingly not paying attention to my dusty footprints on the floor.
Then, something caught my eye.
A sliver of light?
My eyes followed the illumination and when my sight fell upon it, my heart leapt for joy. The smallest window, almost like a window in a basement, carved into the metal structure of the building. I raced to it and stood on my tiptoes, trying to see if I could hoist myself out of it. I dropped the stick and worked the window, trying to get it open. To slide it over or up. To pull it back or push it forward. I didn’t want to break it. I didn’t want to risk being heard.
But it seemed as if the window was locked.
“Shit,” I said with a whisper. “Of course, it is.”
I looked around for anything I could use to pry it open, assuming it was meant to open. But the only thing I had in my hand was my nail-pierced stick. I did find a box, however, so I scooted it over and stood on it. Now that I was eye-level with the window, I could study it.
But my eyes locked onto what was beyond it.
The yard of the warehouse was shadowed, but the object looked familiar. Very familiar. My soul surged with excitement as I watched it come to a stop against the building. That was my father’s truck. Better yet, that was Jace’s truck.
Holy shit, they had found me.
I watched Jace walk around to the back and throw the door open, then one by one, the guys jumped out. My father was among them and tears sprang to my eyes. Oh my gosh, they really had found me. A smile crossed my cheeks as I hung onto the windowsill, watching as more men continued to pile out of the back. They slid to the ground and stayed as silent as they could, and once my eyes fell onto him tears of happiness rushed down my cheeks.
Diesel.
He had come for me.