Page 30

Chapter Thirty

Vivian

The feeling of being watched has me snapping my eyes open. I remain still and try to calm my racing heart. You know the feeling you get when someone is standing behind you? Yeah, I have that feeling right now. My stomach is in my throat, fear is clutching me in its vice-like hold, strangling the air from my lungs. I draw on all the strength I can muster and sit up but keep my gaze ahead trying to garner myself some time to prepare for what is about to happen. I don’t need superpowers to know this feeling isn’t a figment of my imagination, I know I am not alone in my bedroom.

I exhale slowly, then turn my head. I bite back my scream, I knew he was there but a part of me still wanted to doubt my gut feeling. I can’t do that now that I have locked eyes with the monster. His sinister smile is filled with pure malice. He steps forward and is illuminated by the moonlight trickling in through the windows.

His green eyes look hollow, soulless. His black hair is a mess and just adds to the unhinged aura he has clinging to him. I run my gaze over him and instantly regret dropping my gaze. My breath hitches and lodges in my throat.

“You scream. We die.” I swallow audibly and nod. “Do you know what this is?” he asks as he waves his hand. I nod as terror envelopes me. “Say it,” he demands.

“I-it’s a suicide s-switch,” I stutter out. The devil just smiles. He’s wearing a vest wired with explosives and has a suicide trigger in his hand, his thumb is on the button. If he releases that thing, we’re all dead.

“You do as you're told and I won’t kill everyone in this house.” Horror splays across my face as I think about Nova sleeping next door.

“Okay.”

“Get dressed. You try anything and you won’t like what happens,” he threatens.

“I won’t, I swear.” I climb out of bed and rush into my wardrobe. I ignore him watching me as I change quickly into a pair of yoga pants and a random shirt, then I pull on some trainers.

“Lead the way.” I do as he says and slip out of my room with him right behind me. I shoot a glance at Nova’s closed door, grateful that she is a heavy sleeper and hasn’t woken. The silver lining through this whole thing is that he doesn’t seem to want her. I don’t doubt that he knows she is here. When we reach the living room he shoves me toward the front door. Hope fills me. Nial and his partner are outside, they may not be able to shoot him but surely they would have been trained for a situation like this and at least know how to subdue him.

My hope dies when we step outside. A scream lodges in my throat at the sight of Nial and his partner laying on the ground in a pool of their own blood. Both their throats have been cut. Tears fall instantly, they died trying to protect me. I look around wondering where the fuck the night time guards are, there should be more of them but then it hits me.

The guards are loyal to Thomas.

As we round the corner I spot a car idling there with the back door open. “Get in,” he snarls. I do as he says and balk at the sight of the person in the driver's seat.

“Leo!” I screech in astonishment. I haven’t seen him since my brother and the guys beat the shit out of him and he was forced to take the remainder of the season off and missed out on playing in front of scouts.

“Shut up, bitch, this is payback,” the asshole spits out as Thomas climbs in beside me. I press against the door as far away from him as possible. Leo drives like a fucking lunatic and I’m forced to grip the door handle or risk slamming into Thomas and his finger slipping off the trigger. I keep watch and make sure to stay alert, as we exit the city limits panic begins to take root inside me.

“Where are we going?” I ask. Thomas strikes out and back hands me right in the mouth. I cry out as the metallic taste of my own blood fills my mouth. I cup my hand over my mouth and turn to him.

“You stay fucking silent, cunt.” He sneers, I flinch away from him as tears fill my eyes. I didn’t think this through. I thought I could handle him finding me and finally taking him down, but I was wrong. I’m fucking terrified and no one knows where the fuck I am. David and Nova are the only two who will know I am missing and that won’t be until they wake which is hours away.

I close my eyes and picture three faces, their smiles bring me some comfort. A pang hits me as guilt swims inside me, I won’t get the chance to tell them how much I love them and that I did all of this for them. All the lies and secrets, it’s all for them.

When the car jerks, I snap my eyes open to see Leo has taken a dirt road, I can’t see anything aside from trees and open land. We are in the middle of fucking nowhere, even if I do escape where the fuck can I run?

It feels like this road goes on forever but he finally comes to a stop out front of an old hunting cabin that looks like it has been vacant for years. Leo kills the engine, then climbs out. I don’t dare move even when he opens my door. I cry out when he reaches inside the car and drags me out by my hair. I try to lengthen my strides to keep up with his longer ones but it’s no use, I can feel strands of my hair being torn out. We stop for a second as he opens the door, then I’m being dragged by my hair again. The inside of the cabin is dark and I can’t make anything out, but Leo doesn’t seem to need any light, he yanks me forward and I cry out but then he releases me and I fall to my knees.

“You’ll get what’s coming to you,” Leo vows before slamming the door closed. I hear a lock click into place and whimper. I look around the dark room trying to see but my eyes have barely adjusted as I hear something move. I shuffle backward and try to slow my breathing.

“Who’s there?” I rasp out.

“Vivian?”

I gasp and begin crawling on my hands and knees across the room. When the tips of my fingers brush against something I stop and slowly run my hands up her legs. “Tate?”

“Y-yeah,” she stutters out.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I whisper shout.

“When David and I left we were run off the road, when I woke up I was in here.” I inhale sharply as horror washes over me.

“Where’s David?” I snap as I grip her arms and shake her, a stifled whimper escapes her and I force myself to release her and calm down. “Tate, where is he?” I ask in a calm tone.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him or anyone since I woke up. I don’t even know where the fuck we are, Vivian!”

Fuck!

Oh my God, our rescue now relies on Nova who has no fucking idea what to do in a situation like this! No, that isn’t true, she would call Vox and my guys, they will find me. I just need to keep us all safe until they get here. I shuffle over beside Tate and lean my back against the wall as a resigned sigh escapes me. Why the fuck did I have to go and play hero? Why couldn’t I just tell them the truth instead of trying to prove to them that I am strong?

Oh, that’s right because you had to try and prove you were able to fight your own battles so they wouldn’t see you as weak!

I close my eyes and try to breathe through the melancholy. I put myself here and there is no one else to blame except for myself. I shouldn’t have tried to play savior, I should have just trusted in my guys to have my back but I let our past cloud my judgment. Now my error doesn’t only affect me, it has cost two other people I care about.

“What do you think our chances of getting out of here alive are?” Tate’s softly spoken question pulls me from my inner turmoil.

I release a loud sigh and lull my head to the side, I can just make out her silhouette. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure both you and David get out of here.” My stomach twists, not knowing if David is safe or if he is actually here is making me feel sick with worry. The old man has become someone I truly care about and dare say… been a father figure I never knew I wanted or needed. He has always been by my side and trusted in me to make the right choices and lead The Brotherhood in the right direction. Now he may face a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone I care about.

“You’ll be fine, you have money and a family that will want you back.” The edge of bitterness I hear in her tone has me feeling sorry for her and the situation she is in. I may fight and bicker with my mom and brother but I can’t imagine not having them. Family means everything to me.

“I won’t leave you Tate, I promise.”

“Yeah, everyone always promises not to leave until they do.” I reach over and place my hand on her arm, choosing to ignore how she flinches.

“I’m not everyone and I will never leave you.”

“You don’t even know me, Vivian!” she bites out in a harsh tone.

“Then tell me.”

“Why, because now you suddenly care?”

I balk at her cruelness. “Tate, I have always cared about you.”

“No, you have just cared about how I run your hotel. You and I aren’t friends, you’re my boss.”

“Fine. I admit I have done a shitty job of proving to you that you are more to me than just an employee. But, there is so much more happening that you don’t understand.”

“Given the fucking situation we are both in, I believe I deserve the truth.” I debate for a half second about telling her everything, then decide she is right.

“What I am about to tell you is going to blow your mind and you cannot tell anyone about this. I mean it Tate, not a fucking single soul.”

“I swear.” So, I tell her everything about the Saints and who Thomas is and what he has done. I even told her about Alexander and the deal I made with him. The part I struggled with was admitting that the masked men are my brother and my guys. To my shock, learning about the Filthy Few shocked her more than anything else.

“You see, someone will find us. I made sure of it, we just have to survive until they arrive,” I say quietly.

“Jesus Christ, of all the towns I could have run to, I chose the wrong freaking one!” Tate exclaims.

I snort. “Yeah. Hollow Hills isn’t exactly what everyone thinks it is, especially if you have a certain last name.”

“So you and this Alex guy and the Filthy Few plan to kill every Valerian?” The hint of… remorse I hear in her tone staggers me for a second until I realize not everyone is used to murder like most of us.

“Yeah, it's the only way to be sure that we will all be safe. Alex’s terms were clear, he helps me with Thomas and I make sure the Filthy Few don’t touch Nexus.”

“Does this guy Nexus know about all of this?”

Something in her tone puts me on edge. “Yes. He knew from the moment I banished the guys and his father that his end was coming, he just doesn’t know it won’t be by the hands of the man who’s sister he drugged, raped and murdered.”

A soft whimper escapes her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I ask.

“I just… Vivian, I lied,” she blurts the last part.

“About what?”

“I’m not twenty-three.”

My brows raise. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” she whispers.

“What the fuck!” I shout.

“Shhhh!” I clamp my mouth closed and snap my head toward the door to make sure no one rushes in here to silence me, for a solid minute my heart continues to beat faster than a racehorse can run.

“Your ID and social security number say you are?—”

“I know what they say, they are fakes.” I fucking gape at the lying little shit. I knew she looked young but I never thought she was lying about her age.

“Oh my God! I made you manager of my fucking sex club and you aren’t even legal to drink. I’m going to fucking prison and I’ll lose everything!”

“No, you won’t.”

“How the fuck do you know that?” I snap.

“Because after we get out of here, I’ll quit and you can find someone else. I’m sorry, Vivian, but I really needed this job.”

“So you thought lying was the best option?”

“Would you have hired me if you knew how old I was?” she claps back. I take a deep breath and hold it a moment to try and calm myself down. There is no point worrying about this now when we have more important things to deal with like getting the fuck out of here alive.

“We’ll figure out that shit later but for right now, I need to find a way to alert Alex.”

“And how the hell are you going to do that?”

“I may need your help with that one?” I admit guiltily.

“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

“Because I need you to break my arm or something so they are forced to move us so Alex can track them on the cameras.”

“What fucking cameras?” she hisses.

“The Brotherhood has the entire town wired with cameras so we can keep an eye on everything. Alex can’t hack them all but I know the ones on the way to the hospital he has access to. I need you to hurt me enough they take me there, it’s the only way we are going to get the fuck out of here.”