CHAPTER 49
MELANIE
DRIP. DRIP.
I stared mindlessly, counting the seconds between each drip. Stared mindlessly at the cause of the dripping. Blood ran down my arm and down to the floor in slow, thick drips. Bolt had loosened some of the rope to get more access to my body, so I was now slumped to the side of the chair with my arm hanging over it and dripping blood.
I wished I could close my eyes. I was tired, so tired. But I knew I should keep them open; there was no guarantee I would wake up again if I closed my eyes now. I refuse to die in a nameless location at the hands of a tiny man. I tried to pull myself out of the haze I was in, to take stock of my injuries and figure out a plan.
I began to move, very carefully. After confirming nothing was broken, I sat up straight in the chair. Pain accompanied my every move, but I needed to get out. Because the ropes were loosened, I managed to get my hands free and then start working on the rope at my feet. It was tied in a complex knot that made me take more time than I liked to get it done,
They finally fell off and I took a deep, shaky breath before attempting to stand. The urge to close my eyes and just rest got stronger but I fought against it and placed my palms on the seat to lever myself up.
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Once I was up I took a few trembling steps to get my balance back, then started looking for something I could use to get out of here. I spied a dull gleam out of the corner of my eye and turned to see a long, thin knife, one of the ones Bolt had brought in.
I tsked as I went over to pick it up. Careless musclehead.
I walked slowly over to the door and studied the lock. Then I carefully bent down, inserted the knife and started to work my magic. A few minutes later, just as I was starting to give up, the locks snicked open. I breathed out in relief and carefully opened the door, mindful of the silence.
I poked my head out first and looked both ways, spotting what had to be a guard outside my door. He had a gun strapped to his waist and was taking a piss near the corner of the building. I slipped out fully with the dagger and went over to him, burying it in the back of his throat before he could make a sound.
As he went down I followed him, stripping off his thick jacket before he could soil it with his blood. I put it on then wiped the dagger on his pants and pulled out his gun. I flipped the gun over and checked the chamber, satisfied with the number of bullets still left in it. I put on the jacket and stepped completely out of the building, looking around.
I was in a compound of sorts with different buildings spread out around the space. I almost screamed in frustration; Blaine was in one of those buildings and it would take me forever to find him.
I started my search with the building next to the one I’d occupied. Finding nothing, I moved to the next and the next. I continued down the line until I approached one with two men at the entrance guarding whatever was inside.
On my earlier inspection of the gun, I’d seen that it had no silencer. I didn’t want to attract anyone’s attention so I couldn’t use it. No need for them to see me coming. I walked stealthily on bare feet towards them and, ignoring the way my body protested, lunged at one. I positioned my body behind his with my dagger to his throat while the other one reached for his gun and I spotted the silencer on it.
He knew he couldn’t shoot at me without hitting his partner so he hesitated. In that moment of hesitation, I pulled my hostage’s gun and shot his partner, taking a gamble that it was silenced too. When there was no bang and the guy crumpled to the floor I slit the throat of my hostage in one quick motion.
I didn’t wait for his body to drop before moving to the door and opening it. My heart broke and I let out a gasp as I moved towards Blaine. He was strapped into a chair and looked so lifeless that for a moment I feared he was dead but I pressed my hand to his chest and found a faint heartbeat.
“Oh, Blaine” I whispered, tears threatening to fall for the first time since this fiasco began. “What have they done to you?” It was only then I noticed exactly how Blaine was strapped to the chair and the cold, lethal mode I’d been in since untying my ropes threatened to give way to hot anger. They fucking electrocuted him.
All because some guy was too lazy to work hard for his success like Jordan had and too greedy to be content with what he had. I began removing the straps, praying to whichever celestial beings were listening that Blaine should survive.
If he ends up brain–dead I swear I’ll peel the skin off that tiny man and make a soundtrack out of his screams. When I was
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CHAPTER 49
done with the last of the straps Blaine stirred and I took a startled breath. I tensed as his lashes fluttered and his eyes opened, revealing those pretty blues that had smiled at me so often but they weren’t smiling now, they were glassy and half–closed. “Are you an angel? Because you look a lot like this girl I know” he said, slurring his words. I managed a small smile despite the tears in my eyes that didn’t fall “We’re going to get out of here real soon, I promise” I whispered in response.
There was no logical way I could carry a grown man out while fending off an unknown number of assailants, especially with the injuries I’d already suffered. The best option I could see now was to take them out first then come back for Blaine.
Although I was reluctant to leave him again, that was the only way we could get out of this alive. “I’ll come and get you soon,” I said to him as he mumbled words that didn’t make sense. I turned to go but he grabbed me.
“Melanie? No, please don’t go. They’ll come and get me,” Blaine’s terrified voice pleaded.
I’d never heard him beg before, and there was no torture in hell worse than what I would do to the people who had done this to him. I tried to reassure him that I would be back soon but he just held on and continued to beg me to stay. Just as I was considering hitting him over the head with the gun to knock him out, the door flung open.
I immediately went back to kill mode and aimed the gun at the entrance, ready to shoot anyone who entered on sight.
When I saw who it was though, my shoulders slumped and I lowered the gun. The exhaustion swept through me again and I leaned against Blaine’s chair and regarded the person standing in the doorway.
“Took you long enough,” I said to Jordan.
