Page 81 of Mutual Obsession (Rivals of Blackthorn #2)
I t takes an hour for Kellan to get back to us, and I feel each fucking second tick by at an agonisingly slow pace. I must have walked miles in the last sixty minutes, as I continuously paced the length of Miles’ office, struggling to remain still.
I want to do something, anything, but I know Bree was right when she said there really is nothing to do. I’d be running around aimlessly, like a headless chicken, achieving nothing more than I’m doing right now. But I have to do something, or the fear and anxiety will get the better of me.
I gave up on my heart returning to a normal rhythm over thirty minutes ago. No amount of calm, deep breaths is going to help me claw back control at this point, only Indie will be able to do that.
The mere thought of her name sends me into a shame spiral as guilt overwhelms me. I was here to watch over her, to keep her safe, yet she’d been gone for almost ninety minutes before Miles realised something was wrong.
Had he not arrived and demanded to see her, would I have even checked on her? She continuously asks me for her freedom while she’s at work, as she doesn’t want her work colleagues to think she gets special treatment.
She wants to just get on with her job, and because she fluttered those perfect eyelashes at me, I let her.
In reality, I’d been lost in my own head. I thought she was working in the back, and was safe, which is why I allowed myself time to think about how I was going to tell Mum and Dad about my relationship with Indie and Miles.
I was going over scenarios in my head, playing out how the conversations might go when I tell them, and it was getting me wound up.
I know I have to tell them, and I’m not ashamed of the people I love, but the unknown fallout scares the shit out of me. So much so, for just a brief moment, I considered having an alcoholic drink to dull the thoughts.
Luckily, that’s when Miles arrived, and I could distract myself from everything, until it all went to shit. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t consider having a drink more than once over the past hour, but I need to keep a clear head if I’m going to be any help bringing Indie home.
Miles seemed to realise what was going on in my head, and he gave me space when I needed it, but made me talk when I was getting lost in my thoughts. He’s been my sober companion for a while, and thanks to him, I made it through the hour without taking a drink.
I breathe a sigh of relief when Marcus strides into the room, his phone on loudspeaker, so we can all hear Kellan on the other end of the line.
“We’ve confirmed it is Gregg that has Indie.
I’ve tracked them to an old abandoned farmhouse about forty minutes away from your current location.
As far as I can tell, only Indie and Gregg are in the house. ”
“Let’s go,” I shout, grabbing my coat off the back of the chair I threw it on when I came into the room.
Miles reaches over and takes my hand, pulling me to a stop when Bree’s voice echoes through the phone.
“I know this is a difficult situation for you. We need Gregg alive, if you can, but Indie’s safety has to be the priority.
If he has to die for you to save her, then so be it.
But if you can bring him in alive, that would be best for everyone overall. He’s our best way to find The Count.”
My face wrinkles with disgust that she’d even have the balls to ask me not to kill the man who dared to put his hands on my girl. I’m even more surprised when Miles responds to her. “We understand. We’ll try to keep him alive. Thank you.”
I look at my boyfriend like he’s grown a second fucking head, unable to keep the scowl off my face as I pull my arm from his grasp. I’m distantly aware of Marcus hanging up the phone, but my anger is focused on Miles.
“How the fuck can you promise to keep him alive, knowing what he might have done to her?” I yell, a sob catching in my throat at the end.
Miles takes a step closer to me, but I back away, not wanting any kind of comfort from him right now. His face falls, and I feel guilty for just a moment before my rage takes over.
“I said we would try, because it’s what’s best for Indie in the long run. While Gregg is a threat to her right now, The Count is a much bigger problem, and we won’t be able to do anything about him without Gregg.
“I want nothing more than to rip every inch of flesh from his body, keeping him alive so he can feel every bit of pain, and he will get that ending, it just won’t be today.
“Today, we’re going to capture him and use him to bring down the man he sees as a father figure. Then we’ll kill him, when the time is right.”
Every word that comes out of Miles’ mouth is true, and it’s the most logical plan, but all good sense seems to have left me when Indie did, leaving just pain, anger, and fear.
Before I can say anything more, Marcus speaks up. “I have the coordinates. Leo is waiting in the car.”
We don’t hang around after that, we all rush to the car. Marcus sits in the front with Leo, giving him the directions he needs, along with an update of the situation. I slide into the backseat with Miles, and this time when he takes my hand in his, I let him.
I take comfort from his warm hand tightly grasping mine, and we draw strength from each other as we prepare for whatever is to come. There’s only one acceptable outcome—Indie sitting between us on the drive home.
We spend the forty minute drive analysing the house’s blueprints that Kellan sent to Marcus.
Given that it’s three against one—since Leo will stay in the car to make sure we can make a quick getaway—the odds are in our favour.
But he has our weakness in the palm of his hand, and I doubt he’s scared of using it.
As we arrive at the end of a long driveway that leads up to the house, Leo cuts the engine. We will have to go on foot the rest of the way, as he’ll both see and hear the car coming, and we don’t want to announce our arrival.
Despite having more than enough time to prepare, we’ve decided we’re just going to break in, get Indie, and keep Gregg alive if we can. That’s as much as we have in terms of a plan, and I can tell Miles doesn’t like it.
He’s a planner, a strategist, but there’s nothing else we can do without delaying things any longer, and that’s not an option.
We argued for a while over whether we should split up or stick together, and eventually, Miles forced us to agree that not splitting up would be the safest option, even if it’s the slowest.
As we arrive at the side of the farmhouse, we walk around the perimeter, assessing all of our entrance options as we go. Miles is checking out the surrounding security, while Marcus keeps us safe. My job is to look for anything out of the ordinary that may hurt or help us.
When we reach the back of the farmhouse, there’s a gap in the curtains covering the window, and it’s just enough for me to see inside. I crouch down beneath the window, giving me the least chance of being caught, and I slowly stand until I can see inside.
All the other windows we’ve passed have either been to empty rooms or the curtains have been fully closed. This is the first time I’ve been able to see inside, so I’m not expecting much.
I let out a hiss, drawing Miles and Marcus’ attention to me when I realise what I’m looking at. My heart pounds loudly in my ears and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Indie’s chest rising and falling.
She’s alive!
I push the relief to one side and focus on my job, detaching from my emotions so I can assess the situation fully. Indie is tied to a chair in the middle of a bare room. She’s only wearing her knickers and bra, which fucking infuriates me.
Her hands are tied together with rope, secured behind the back of the chair. Her legs are each tied to a chair leg, and there’s rope around her stomach, securing her to the chair.
Her head is flopped to the side, her long blonde hair still in the messy bun she pulled it into before starting work, but lots of strands seem to hang free, like she’s been in a scuffle.
Her pale milky skin is covered in cuts and bruises, with both dried and fresh blood visible. There’s a cut above her eye that’s oozing down over her cheek, but the blood is being diluted as it mixes with her tears.
Her eyes are red and sore, like she’s been crying for a while, and her right eye looks like it’s starting to close thanks to excess swelling. She also has cuts and blood all over her arms, chest, and stomach.
With each wound I see, my vision grows hazy as a red mist descends, rage overwhelming me as I think of Gregg laying a finger on my girl. I’ve never felt such an all-consuming need to murder someone before, and I know it’s going to take all of my self-control not to kill Gregg today.
“What is it?” Marcus asks, when he sees me looking in the window.
I take a step back, my voice cracking as I say, “Indie.”
Miles rushes to the window, letting out some very colourful swear words when he sees the state Indie is in. “Motherfucking cuntwaffle. I’m going to cut his cock off and shove it up his arse, before ramming it down his bastard throat.”
Marcus pulls out his phone, and after pressing the screen a few times, he opens a picture of the farmhouse blueprints. He points at the room where Indie is being held, and we discuss the best way to get to her.
As we’ve not been able to see in some rooms, and we’ve not located Gregg yet, there’s no way of knowing where he is. So we have to be ready to confront him at any point, no matter what plan we come up with.
Eventually, we agree on the best route to take, and after we’ve all checked our weapons, making sure they’re ready, we move towards the entrance closest to Indie.
My heart is pounding and I can barely hold my gun properly thanks to the sweat on my palms, but there’s also an element of relief that we’re finally doing something. We have her in our sights, and she’s very much alive. All we have to do is keep her that way and get her out of here.