Chapter 15 (Gunner):
“Anything else going on I should know?”
The worry in Dana’s voice is more than clear, but I appreciate the fact that she is trying to be strong for me.
“No D. It’s actually pretty boring.”
She snorts. “Oh yeah, I am sure you are just twiddling your thumbs down there. Should I send you some crossword puzzles? Maybe some sudoku?”
Now it’s my turn to laugh.
“I love you Dana.”
I hear her let out a sweet sigh, but before she can respond Alex comes barreling through the door, looking livid. Rex is behind her looking solemn and slightly out of place.
“Where the hell is Sam? I’m not fucking kidding here Gunner!”
I tell Dana I’ll call her later and turn to Alex, thoroughly confused. Alex marches right up to me and starts smacking me in the chest. I roughly grab her wrists and glare at her. No one hits me. Especially not a pissed off little girl.
“How should I know? At home in her mansion probably. Calm the hell down.”
“No! No!” she screeches. In this moment I realize something has gone very wrong. Very, very wrong. My face drops.
Rex turns to me. “Logan called me. He said he was worried about Sam. She apparently came here to check on Alex yesterday. She never checked on Alex, and Logan can’t get ahold of her. He’s flipping out man.”
“He’s flipping out! He’s flipping out! You guys don’t know Sam like I do. She’d…” I finish for as a darkness settles over us.
“Jump in front of a train for her friends.”
“Yeah! Or intervene in a plan that stupidly involved me getting kidnapped!”
“Fuck! Fuck!” I yell. I turn and smack my hand on the wall.
Of all the things I thought could go wrong this was not one of them. I should have seen this coming. I throw the nearest thing I can find. The memory floods me as I rage. Usually I have control. All semblance of it is gone now.
“I run through the halls of the familiar building, cursing Dana in my head.
‘If you ever cared about me you will save Sam’.
She was so firm in the way she said I knew she wasn’t kidding. I’m gonna lose my men now. I’ll be a traitor. Now that I needed them, it was just convenient, but still. I walk down the halls not even bothering to try and hide. They’ll know it was me in the end. The men either let me pass or I shoot them with the gun I am holding lazily in my hand. Finally, I get to the cell I know they would be holding Sam in. It’s the most thoroughly secured cell we have. I walk in, knowing how to crack the locks. Everything around me spins when I see her. I’ve never seen a human being so broken. So utterly destroyed. My heart temporarily stops beating in my cheat. The usual heavy thumps that fill my ears turn to dull ticks. How will she survive this? She is one of the few humans I respect. I immediately getting to work getting her out of there... and building up my defenses. I can’t care. That was a lie I wanted to believe, because this memory is cemented in my brain forever.”
Anatoli and Tobias come running in the room. Anatoli’s gaze snaps straight to Alex. I suspect he will always be protective of her. Guilt is powerful. Tobias, on the other hand, looks at the four of us, detached from the situation. He simply is looking to see what happened and how we feel about it.
“What happened?” one of them asks. I don’t even hear who. Alex is pacing the floor like a caged lion. She is very close to the edge of a nervous breakdown. I can see the fine line she is walking.
“I think Pytor has Sam Perkins.”
That does it. Alex’s legs give out before anyone can catch her and a choked sob escapes her lips. Rex runs over to her, and so does Anatoli. Tobias narrows his gaze at the three of them.
“Not Sam. Anyone but Sam. She’s suffered enough. I….” I watch as Alex’s eyes roll back in her head. Anatoli catches her before she hits the ground. I look at Rex and then Tobias. She fainted. She actually passed out from emotional stress. This plan is going to shit. Somehow that prick had managed to pull one over on us. Just like everyone said he would. That doesn’t fucking sit right with me.
“Is she going to be okay?” Rex asks. He’s not even freaking out. That’s how far gone we all are. Emotions have run dry.
“She fainted. Take her to the other room. Snap her out of it. Let us talk.”
Rex nods and picks Alex up and throws her over his shoulder. Everyone in the room raises their eyebrows. I had no idea he was that strong. She’s dead weight and he made throwing her over his shoulder look easy. Impressive. Once they are out of the room I turn to the other two men. I clear my throat. I have to reign in my emotions but it is proving to be difficult.
“I have to get Sam out of there. It’s personal.”
“It’s all personal,” Tobias says lazily.
“Sam can’t go through this. And fuck, Alex won’t survive this if Sam doesn’t. We need to get her out now.”
Anatoli is quiet. Thinking. Pondering. To everyone’s surprise it is Tobias who speaks up.
“Call Blaze. He’s on the inside. We can get her out, make a trade, something. Let’s confirm she’s there before everyone starts flipping their shit.”
I should have thought of that. I’m not thinking straight. I nod and dial his number.
“What?” he snaps, clearly over this whole thing. That makes two of us.
“I need you to do something.”
“Something else…” I ignore his sour ass attitude.
“Is there a young woman there? She should be in her early thirties. She’s brunette. Plain looking. Feisty. She probably is talking everyone’s ears off.”
“Yes.”
“Fuck! Fuck! Blaze we have to get her out. She’s innocent.”
“I don’t know how we are going to do that. She’s locked up in Pytor’s room. Dude, she practically offered herself up to him.”
“I fucking know that okay? That’s Sam. She’s trying to spare Alex.”
“Alex? Really? Why the hell would she do that?”
“That’s just Sam.”
“Damn that’s unfortunate. There’s no way you are getting her out of here.”
He doesn’t know me.
Sam’s getting out. I don’t give a fuck who goes in.