Pierce’s laughter taunts me, reminding me of when he placed the blade against my skin and sliced his way over my stomach. Fear takes hold of everything, and my legs collapse beneath me. I become numb to the world around me. Roman’s in my face. I see his lips moving but I can’t hear what he’s trying to say.
My worst nightmare is coming true—facing the man who ripped by body apart. Rough hands grip my shoulders and I’m being shaken. Roman’s voice pulls me back to reality. “Elenore, pull yourself together,” he says softly. Without warning, he pulls me into his arms. Immediately, a sense of security surges through me. My arms close around him. I need the strength to get through this. I will survive. I’m a fighter.
Pierce steps around the car with a gun pointed at us. We both stand, and I release my grip on Roman but he keeps hold of my hand. It’s comforting.
“Well, well, it’s the prisoner and her captor. Get rid of your weapon, Blackwood.”
My eyes don’t leave the barrel of the gun. It’s as though any second it’s going to go off, and I’ll cease to exist. I hear Roman shuffling beside me then placing his gun on the ground.
“Come with me… Brother.”
Roman and I exchange glances.
Pierce laughs. “I thought you might come here, especially after your annoying friend got his nose in our business.” Lewis. My heart breaks for him.
“How did you know about me?” Roman grits through his teeth. I glance at him, and the vein in his neck is bulging again.
“Let’s just say we had a mutual companion.”
Roman and I walk up the stairs and through the front door, where it’s as though I’ve walked onto the set of a horror movie. Blood, fresh and old, smears the walls. Bits of furniture have been tossed around the room, curtains have been ripped, and blood has been dripped all over the floor. I’m sure my eyes are ready to pop out of my head at the scene before me.
I come to a stop.
“Ah… I see you’re admiring my work, and before you ask, yes, some of this is your blood. Ask this guy.” Pierce laughs.
My head swings in Roman’s direction.
“I didn’t do it,” he assures me, before continuing. “He did this as a message to me. I came back here after you were in hospital. This is what I found, although now I’m sure you have the missing girl here. How did you know that I wasn’t going to come back?”
Pierce laughs again. That laughter freezes my blood each time I hear it. “You were hung up on this girl.” He gestures to me with the gun. I remain stock still, not wanting to give him a reason to shoot me. “She should be dead. You didn’t keep to the plan so I had to step in.”
Plan?
“How did you know about what I do?” I hear the strain in his words, and it speaks volumes to me—all that anger and hatred he must be feeling.
“I’ll fill you in on that little piece of the puzzle later. Let’s go and see the guest we have down here.” His gun and eyes move off me and Roman turning toward the basement stairs.
Roman takes the opportunity to pounce on Pierce. Pierce notices and a loud bang makes my ears ring. A scream rips from my throat as I watch, horrified, as Roman’s large body falls to the floor, unmoving.
“Shut up, or you’re next!” Pierce roars.
I gape at Roman, hoping he’ll get up. Please be okay. I need you right now.
“He ruined my plan! Now you must die with the other tramp down below. I let you live one time, as a message to Roman, but this time you won’t be so lucky.” Pierce comes around behind me, shoving the gun deep into my back, pushing me to the one place I don’t want to go. The basement.
With each step, my brain is running in overload. I need to get out of here. Without Roman I don’t have the manpower to take Pierce on by myself. I have no weapon.
I continue to move forward until we reach the stairs to hell. I can hear moaning and sobbing coming from the darkness. The girl.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, trying to keep my tone neutral, not wanting to give away the true fear I have burning through me.
Pierce says nothing, just shoves me again in the back. I take one step at a time, and my chest vibrates with dread at what’s going to happen. Once we’re down the bottom, he tells me to go to the operation room. I struggle to lift my feet, as though they’ve turned to lead.
“You either move, or I shoot you right here, right now. I wanted Roman to see you bleed. To flare up what’s been instilled in him since he was a teenager.” This man has the blackest soul. There’s nothing I could possibly say that will change his mind about whatever he’s got planned. Regretfully, I step closer to that dreadful room.
Walking through the door, I’m paralyzed on the spot. There on the table lies the missing young woman. Her body is exposed, and blood seeps from what appears to be deep lacerations on her stomach.
Instinctively, my arms wrap around my own stomach. As I clutch myself, memories of feeling that blade tear through my skin come back. Shaking my head, I rush to the girl. Her sobs rip me apart.
“Hold on, everything will be alright,” I assure her, hoping to give her some positive vibes. Although I’m not entirely sure we’ll get out of here alive. Remain positive, Elenore.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Pierce tuts. “The only way you leave here is in a body bag. You see, I’ve called the police and given them this location. I’ll kill you both, and pin it on Roman. I mean, I’m a detective, and of course they’re going to believe that I took him down, in the middle of his killing process.” An evil smirk crosses his face.
“You won’t get away with this.” I remember all the information that Lewis gave us. Before leaving, I’d put it away back in Lewis’s apartment when I had a chance. Not the wall this time, because Pierce would know about that spot. Suzie will find the folder and set things straight. I know she will.
I take hold of the girl’s hand, and her grip is still strong, which is a good sign. My eyes scan the room around me. I’ve been in here enough to know the layout. Pierce stands in the doorway, still holding the gun at me, and the girl is strapped to the bed. On the other side of her is the wall of drawers and cupboards, and I’m sure that inside one of them is something that might help us get out of this alive.
“You see, Elenore, I will get away with this,” he sneers. “My father, who happens to be the now dead man upstairs’s father as well, had been really close with me. I found out about Roman when Dad started teaching me the family tradition when I was sixteen. I made my first kill without any hesitation. Oh, her blood on my hands gave me such pleasure that I needed to do it again and again! Father was so proud of me, he told me that I had a brother and he’d like us to meet one day. I wasn’t impressed, to say the least. I didn’t want to share my father’s time with anyone else.
“Time went on, and I continued to kill. Hell, I even killed my mother. It’s a part of me, as much as it’s a part of my brother. He was weak, though. Father had told me how my brother had fought against making his first kill.” Pierce begins walking to the table, and I slowly move around so I’m still near the girl but also near those cupboards.
Pierce pulls out a familiar pocket knife and presses it against the girl’s collarbone. She screams.
I grip her hand tighter, letting her know I’m here. “Stop!” I yell.
He’s like lightning as he backhands me across the face. The tip of the knife nicks my cheek.
“Oh, you look so pretty when you bleed. Do you remember when this was you? I kept you alive for a reason. I needed you to be the one I used to teach my brother a lesson. He became weak.”
“Father would be so disappointed. When Father didn’t come back and visit me one night, I came here. He told me all about this place. It was our families’ and he wanted me to be a part of it. Little did I know that when I came, I’d catch my brother carting a body out into the woods. I waited in darkness until he left. I went and sought out who he buried. Can you imagine the heartbreak and anger I felt when I dug up the body of a man I looked up to? Who taught me all I knew? He was everything to me. I vowed to get my revenge one day, and when he kept you I knew this was my opportunity.” The knife he holds is pressed against the girl again, and he slowly cuts her down her stomach in a line similar to my own scars. Looking around, I see a silver medical pan-thing the size of large mixing bowl. Glancing back at Pierce, he’s preoccupied harming the girl, whose screams feel as though they’ve perforated my eardrums. Reaching over, I pick up the pan and smash Pierce across the face with every bit of strength I have. He falters, releasing the gun as he doubles over in pain.
Dropping to the floor, I search for the gun. I spot it and go to reach for it, with my hand midair something sharps stabs me right through my hand. I cry out, attempting to pull my hand back against me, and it burns as it slides off the blade.
I clutch it to my chest. Tears sting my eyes. Glancing down, all I see is blood, my blood. I scramble toward the cupboard and begin rifling through drawers and cupboards until I come upon a drawer full of scalpels. I grab one. I spin around. Pierce stands before me with the gun aimed directly at my chest.
This is it. I’m going to die.