30
The building anxiety within my body makes my hands shake, I’d like to say I am not afraid of Valentine, but I’d also be lying. Of course, the man scares me, the things he did, the things I heard, there’s no going back from that.
We walk silently towards the destination, a row of guys in front and a number behind and Lex never lets go of my hand. The building comes into view, an abandoned motel by the looks of it, deserted and run down with the old sign hanging from a pole.
Litter and debris is scattered across the parking lot, being disturbed by the gentle breeze but other than that, it is quiet. No lights shine from within the depleted building, no sign of life and for a minute I doubt the intel Lex has received.
Was Valentine even here?
Was it a trap?
Lex silently orders his men to scatter with a flick of his finger and then it’s just me, Lex, Ryker and Kingston. I look around, searching for the others but they are out of sight, having merged with the shadows, disappearing. Lex steers me towards what would have been the front entrance of the building.
The front doors are off their hinges, dangling from the frame and Ryker moves one aside so we can enter. Inside smells like rotting wood and dust, a stifling smell that makes my throat close up and eyes water.
“Wren,” Lex hisses, “behind me, Ryker and King take that hall.”
I don’t say a single word as they follow his orders, vanishing down a long, dingy hall way that cuts sharply right and I drop in behind Lex, following blindly down a corridor that’s darker than the pits of hell.
It’s silent between us other than the steady rate of our breathing but a slight creak in a door frame to the left has my feet pausing on the threadbare carpet. Lex doesn’t hear it but I do.
I pause, turning my head towards the sound, my brows pulling low.
I can hear Lex walking further and further away from me but I’m so focused on this sound that I can’t help myself, like sleeping beauty drawn to the spindle, I turn and make my way towards the source of the noise.
A barely there glow from beneath a door has my hackles rising.
I know, Iknow, Valentine is there.
I press my hand to the handle, prepared to push down but a sudden body behind mine stops me.
“Hello, daughter,” Valentine’s rancid breath huffs passed my nose as his hand comes around my throat, pressing the edge of a blade to my windpipe.
I expected to be paralyzed with fear, with dread, with a doom so stifling it would stop my heart, but I just feelpissedoff.
My nostrils flare and my teeth grit as he steers me away from the door, back towards the corridor where Lex continues to search, the razor edge biting into my skin. He isn’t alone either, there’s two guys with him, silent with guns drawn, going ahead before the two of us do. Searching for Lex. I swallow, the movement of my throat making the edge of the blade cut into my skin.
The two guys suddenly raise their guns, aiming ahead of them as Lex’s footsteps draw closer.
“No!” I scream, knowing they’ll shoot first. Lex’s steps stop and silence settles around us.
“You stupid bitch,” Valentine bellows, pressing the edge in hard enough to cut into my skin. I feel blood rolling down my throat, seeping into the collar of my sweater. “Go,” he orders his men, “I want him alive.”
They silently obey his order, their steps careful as they advance down the corridor, avoiding the glass and debris scattered across the floor.
Valentine keeps the blade on my throat but moves the other to the back of my head, roughly grabbing a fist full of hair and yanking my head back hard enough I feel my neck crack.
“Move,” He hisses, shoving me forward, towards a closed door. “Open it.”
I do, nostrils flaring as I try to figure out a way to get the fuck out of his hold without him slicing me open.
Once inside the room he just pushes the door to, leaving it slightly ajar and positions us in the centre, holding me tightly against him, my back to his front. His breathing is heavy and uneven, his heartbeat erratic, giving away his fear. I feel myself smile, just a small tilt of my lips knowing in these last moments he would know nothing but fear.
The silence around us is abruptly shattered with several loud gunshots. The shots echo through the depleted building, bouncing off the crumbling walls and ricocheting inside my head. My heart pounds harder, my fear for Lex making my eyes sting with emotion.
Valentine’s hold tightens on me as footsteps begin to approach, a slow and even pace, casual and yet with each thud of their foot, the tension around us seems to get tighter, like a rope is being pulled and any minute it’ll snap. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The steps stop outside the door and it feels like minutes pass before anything happens. Valentine’s breath puffs chaotically at my ear and even my own increases, wondering what the fuck is about to happen.