Page 112 of Pure Silence

Once Lin got the chair out of the way, he hit Day in the back of the head with his gun.

Day grunted in pain, clearly stunned.

Goldie gasped, waiting for Day to get up, tofight, to do fuckingsomething, but he watched helplessly as Day went limp and flopped on top of Jack.

“You little fucker! Ugh!” Jack shoved Day off of him, and he cursed, holding his bleeding face. “He fuckin’ bit me! This is gonna get fuckin’ infected for sure!”

“Get the damn chair!” Lin shouted. “Quit your bitchin’!”

Day was facedown on the floor, still reeling from the blow, but Goldie could see he was trying to get back up.

Come on, come on, come on!Goldie chanted inside of his head.Baby, please! Come the fuck on!

Maybe this was it.

Maybe Day was just waiting to lull these assholes into a trap, make them think they had the upper hand, and then he was going to take them all out in a nasty surprise attack.

“Uh-uh,” Lin taunted. “Stay put, little bitch.” He dropped his knee down on Day’s neck, pinning him to the floor as he grabbed some of the rope to tie his hands behind his back. “There we go. Come on.”

Jack had righted the chair, and he joined Lin in lifting Day up. Together, they dragged Day to the chair and dropped him there. Goldie couldn’t tell if Day was even conscious now, and any hopes of Day saving them were evaporating like smoke.

Day’s head tipped back and then forward, and there was fresh blood on the fabric of the chair from where he’d been hit.

“Fuck.” Goldie pulled against the ropes holding him in place. “Baby? Hey! Day! Can you hear me? Day! Baby!”

“Oh, what can wash away my sin?” Day sang hoarsely. “Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” He laughed weakly. “Precious is the flow…” His eyes fluttered. “White… as snow…”

“How hard did you fuckin’ hit him?” Jack mumbled, cutting his eyes at Lin.

“Shut the fuck up,” Lin snapped back.

Lionel had remained surprisingly calm throughout the entire ordeal, though he didn’t approach Goldie again until he appeared certain Day wasn’t going to pounce. He feigned a polite smile, saying, “So, how about we try this one more time?”

“Fuck you,” Goldie snarled.

“I would like to know where my money is, please.”

“Why the fuck should I tell you?” Goldie spat. “You gonna let us go if I do?”

“No, but I did promise you a quick death,” Lionel replied sweetly.

“Yeah, no, I don’t think so.”

“I think you might be more agreeable once we start removing parts from your boyfriend,” Lionel said. “He’s already not doing so well. Perhaps we could take off an ear, maybe his nose? I am afraid it wouldn’t take much before—”

“Okay, okay! Fuck!” Goldie gritted his teeth.

Lionel smiled coldly.

Goldie took a deep breath. He had to lie. He had to think of something that could stall these assholes and maybe buy him and Day a bit more time. There was nothing to stop them from blowing them both away once he told them this, but maybe they’d keep them alive a bit longer to verify their story.

Which, of course, was a big fat fuckin’ lie, but Goldie had run out of ideas.

Day couldn’t save them, so he had to try and come up with something on his own.

“At the gym,” Goldie replied. “I left it in a bag in my locker, okay? In the employee lounge, it’s number sixteen.”

“Where’s the key?” Lionel asked.