Page 59 of Ever After
“What’s wrong? Why are you in the panic room?” Winston’s voice fills the small space.
“Winston, he’s here. He’s found us.” I’m shaking. I bury my face in my knees.
“Where’s Grayson?” Panic is evident in his voice. It’s not reassuring when he sounds that way. He’s supposed to stay cool under pressure.
“He’s outside. H-he made me hide here and lock myself in.”
“Shit. What happened? I need to know everything.”
I wipe my eyes and try to steady my breathing. “He got a call from his cousin, Sarah, and she said she could help us—”
“Sarah? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, she came to the door. When he saw her, he pulled her into a tight hug. It must have been her because he wasn’t alarmed. He was relieved to see her. They were hugging, and Chris cocked his gun and aimed it toward Grayson. He told me to go, so I ran in here and locked myself in.”
“Shit,” he says quietly. “Did you take one of the pills this morning like I told you to?”
“Yeah. What are they?”
I hear a pounding on the door, and I jump, tossing my hand over my mouth to stop from screaming. My body shakes as I fight the onslaught of tears. I rock back and forth as I listen to Winston and try to remember everything he’s telling me.
“Trackers. They stay in your system for about seventy-two hours, so we have to move fast to get you out of there. There should be another bottle in there and some water. Do you see it?”
I stand on shaky legs and look at the items on the single shelf in the room. There’s a small bottle of pills and a few unopened water bottles, along with a gun and a small knife. “Yeah, I see them. Does the gun work, too?”
“Don’t worry about the gun… unless you know how to use it?”
“I’ve never fired one before.” I pick it up anyway and test the weight in my hand. It’s heavier than I expected it to be, and the metal is cold in my grasp.
“If you don’t know how to use it, don’t try. All we need is for you to get hurt or shoot someone you didn’t mean to. Take another pill. It’ll give us an extra day to get you out of there. I have a plan. Understand?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
I hear a muffled gunshot on the other side of the door, and I gasp, the contents in my stomach shifting. I think I’m going to be sick. My mind jumps to Grayson, and I panic.Has he been shot? Is he dead?
“Winston, I heard a gunshot. Grayson’s out there.” My voice raises a few octaves as the fear grips hold of me. “I need to get to him.”
“It’s a ploy to get you to come out. Grayson’s head is on the chopping block. There are a lot of criminals from Chicago interested in him. Chris is planning on selling him to the highest bidder. I promise you he’s alive.” He takes a deep breath. “Make sure to take that pill and go with them. I have people in New York already working on getting you both out of there. If we are going to take him down, this is the only way.”
“Grayson said not to leave here, no matter what.”
I hear the sadness in his voice. “And I’m telling you now, you have to. Play along. I’ll get you out.”
I take a deep, steadying breath. “Winston, I can’t go back with him. I can’t be forced to do that again.” Tears drop down my cheeks, and I try to swallow past the baseball sized lump in my throat.
“I promise. I’ll get you out. This is the only way to shut the whole operation down once and for all. Please, Finley. Do it for Grayson.”
His words cut deep. I know Grayson would do this for me in a heartbeat.
I agree and take one of the pills. Another gunshotboomsfrom the other side of the closet door, and my trembling fingers race to the keypad, pressing each key with enough force to not mess up the code. My breathing is shallow, and every nerve is tingling with fear. The door slides open, and Chris is standing there, a victorious smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
He runs his index finger along his bottom lip. “Crimson, how nice of you to come out and play.” He takes a step closer and runs his fingers through my hair. “I like the blonde better, but this color fits your name.”
I shrink back from his touch. “Where’s Grayson?”
His voice is smooth, unwavering, and it terrifies me. “Alive. For now. I don’t like when my pets run. It means I haven’t done my job of breaking them. Why’d you run, Crimson?” He holds my jaw tightly between his rough fingers, forcing me to look into his eyes.
Play along. Don’t fight him.I avert my eyes down and speak. “I didn’t. I was kidnapped from my room and then brought to New York. I didn’t have a choice.”