Page 53 of Like An Animal

THE GHOST

I drag Cheryl over to the door that was probably locked when we came in, but the explosion must’ve knocked something loose because it opens right up.

“Where are we going?” she asks, her voice full of panic.

“We need to find Jeremy.”

“And, that’s your husband?” Her eyes flare with recognition. She remembers his name from that phone call I made to her five years ago.

“Yeah.”

“What does he look like?” she asks, pressing for more.

“Five-eight, muscles, tattoos, short black hair, brown eyes…constantly looks like he wants to kill everyone.” That about sums up Jeremy Borza.

“Bu-but what if they catch us?”

My eyes widen as I look at Cheryl. She’s been here so long that they’ve beaten her down. She’s so scared of what they could do. It would stop her from doing what’s necessary to survive.

Taking her face in my hands, I force her to look at me. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. Do you trust me?”

After a minute, she nods her head as I hear another explosion on the east end of the compound.

“Come on.” I take her hand in mine as we slip out of the cell. People run up and down the halls, but no one seems to notice us.

“Hide! We’re under attack!” Someone screams and a devious smirk pulls at my lips.

“Do you need me to slow down?” I ask and she slowly shakes her head, even though I can tell she’s not used to moving around much.

Her face is full of pain so I pull her behind me in the middle of the courtyard.

Looking around, I see some men in blacked out gear, but they’re not one of The Fathers’ men. The hardware isn’t right.

Dropping Cheryl’s palm, I cup my hands around my mouth to project my voice and scream, “Jeremy!”

Maybe he’ll hear my voice if he’s close enough.

I call his name a few times before I finally hear a response.

“Bronwyn!” It’s not Jeremy’s voice though. No, but it is one I know. I scan the crowd until my gaze lands on Xavi, carrying a gun, sufficiently armed with a bulletproof vest over his shirt.

I grin when I see him and wave with both of my hands.

“Xavi!” A relieved smile pulls across his face as he heads toward me, but he’s cautious as he takes in his surroundings. He lifts his gun and fires off twice at two different masked men who had their guns aimed at him.

He waves me over and I grab Cheryl’s hand. “Come on. Xavi will take us to Jeremy.”

Her gaze is full of fear and caution, but she follows my instruction regardless.

We move into the walkway with the others trying to move away from all the flying bullets, mostly those held captive by The Fathers.

I make it ten feet from Xavi as he looks around for other shooters. Suddenly, I lose Cheryl’s hand and she tumbles to the floor with a scream before my hair is grabbed. My back slams into a chest as a blade is pressed to my throat, digging into my flesh.

I freeze as Xavi’s eyes narrow, aiming his gun at whoever has grabbed me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, pretty boy. All I have to do is twitch and she’ll be lost to everyone.”

Isaac.

Xavi holds his aim, pointing it at Isaac, as he grabs a radio off his hip, lifting it to his face. “Jer, Bron is in the courtyard. Get here now. A dead man is holding her hostage.”

“Isaac, please, don’t hurt her!” Cheryl cries on her hands and knees.

“Aw, isn’t that sweet, darling? And to think you said blood doesn’t mean anything.” Then, Isaac runs his tongue up the side of my face and I cringe.

Gross.

Xavi’s eye twitches as tension sets in his jaw. “So, you’re Isaac? Just the man I was hoping to find.”

“Why yes, I am. And this…” Isaac runs the blade on the underside of my chin, tilting my head back. “…is my property. She always has been. She was supposed to become my wife four years ago, but…she ran off with my kid.”

I cackle and Xavi smirks, getting the joke Isaac is unaware of.

“What is so funny?” Isaac growls in my ear with irritation.

“Breaking news. It wasn’t your kid. A DNA test proved that.

I didn’t have a kid that was yours or any other fucker that raped me.

My child’s father is my husband, my real husband, not some disgusting pedophile with an unrealistic fantasy.

One more thing… I will take great pleasure in watching him rip you apart, limb from limb.

” I laugh like a damn psychopath because he deserves whatever Jeremy has planned for him ten times over.

He deserves way worse than my devoted husband could do to him.

“You’re lying,” Isaac hisses in my ear.

“I have the paperwork to prove it, but I didn’t need it to know who got me pregnant. One look in those pretty brown eyes and I knew.”

Isaac tightens his arm around my waist in a way that is painful, putting pressure on my injured back door.

A groan of agony leaves my mouth as I squint from the discomfort.

“I’m going to leave you black and blue in places you never thought were possible when this is over, you filthy whore.”

“Get your hands off my fucking wife!”

Twenty men flank out behind Xavi as everyone in white moves against the far walls, trying to blend in. Then, Jeremy walks into view, a rifle in his hand, aimed directly at Isaac. The rage on his face is to be expected.

“Are you okay, baby?” Jeremy asks and I contemplate my answer for a moment.

Jer knows about what I have had to experience in these walls…

well, most of it anyway. However, I don’t think he can handle knowing what Isaac did to me as soon as we got here.

At least not when we’re already in a high stress situation.

“Can’t complain, emo boy.”

A smirk pulls at his lips, but then Isaac lets out a loud laugh.

“Oh, my Lord. This is priceless! With all your free will and the freedom you gained with your escape from my clutches, darling, you chose to settle down with your step-brother? I shouldn’t be so surprised. You always did have a knack for being the sluttiest version of yourself.”

Isaac trails his blade along my neck, lightly nicking the skin. I jump from the sudden cut and Jeremy’s eyes narrow in on the move.

“Jer…” Xavi grabs his attention. “…this is Isaac and based on what he said, he thinks our Bron is his property.”

“Is that so?” Jeremy’s eyes darken, his brows dropping in anger. “Just the man we wanted to see.”

“Have you been talking about me, darling? I’m touched.”

My chest rises and falls with every sharp breath I take, feeling my anxiety spike, as I catch the sight of masked men lining up on the second level balcony overlooking the courtyard.

“I haven’t thought about you once.”

“Ah, ah, ah. Be careful. My hand might slip,” he threatens.

It has gone from Jer having the upper hand to it being even.

“Jer,” I gasp his name which gives me back his attention.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m gonna get you out of here.”

“Not likely. You see, this is mine and I’ve taken her back. This knife will slice open her pretty neck if anyone makes a move on me. So I’m going to take my property and leave. You can do what you want with the rest of the place.”

“Not fucking happening.”

We’re at a stand off and the longer we stand here, the worse Jeremy’s odds get. He’s already outnumbered because they know this is where the leader of the ambush is.

“Jer.” I grab his attention and give him a bittersweet smile. “The only thing that matters is making sure Charlotte never has to go through what we went through. All that matters anymore is keeping her safe. She actually has a chance. You need to keep her safe, okay?”

I know he won’t understand why I’m telling him something he already knows. We’ve discussed it plenty of times. It’s one thing we can agree on.

His eyes narrow with confusion as I turn my eyes to Xavi, who is just as puzzled.

“Make sure he gets back to her, okay?”

Then, I do the one thing no one could possibly expect out of me. Leaning forward, I press my neck against the knife and pull on Isaac’s wrist, feeling the blade tear through my flesh.