Conrad

by Emily Rose

  It was Kevin. I would know that voice anywhere and I knew better than to fight him, so I got up slowly until I was standing. He unlocked the gate and then waited for me to exit. I did and then he closed it, waving me to walk in front of him. Since I didn’t have a choice, I let my feet carry me forward, but then I heard him speak from behind me.

  “I hope you enjoy the show,” he said, and I didn’t have to see his face to know that he was smiling, clearly amused by what I was walking into.

  This should have worried me, but I refused to let him add to the fear I already felt burning inside my heart. So I kept my mouth shut and continued forward until I came through the door, stepping into the cage room.

  Everything made sense the moment I walked into this room, but it wasn’t like the other nights I had been in this room. There wasn’t a crowd of men putting their lives and their money on the table for a chance to take one of the girls home. Instead, I saw Marcus sitting alone in his usual spot at the long table. There weren’t any other girls in the room besides myself and then I saw inside the cage.

  There was a man on his knees with his hands tied behind his back with I could only assume was a rope. He also had a black bag over his head, so I couldn’t see his face. But I didn’t have very much time to examine him, because Kevin shoved me toward the long table. I walked forward and stopped at the end, but he pushed me again.

  So I kept going until I came to the seat right beside Marcus, who hadn’t looked away from the man in the cage to even notice me.

  “Sit,” Kevin ordered.

  With my heart in my throat now, I slowly sat down and tried to lean as far from Marcus as I could just as Kevin took the seat on his other side. Staring straight ahead, I studied the man and watched while he looked around, trying to figure out where he was even though the bag was still over his head.

  “Do you know who that is?” Marcus asked, speaking for the first time.

  I looked at him, but he was still watching the man. “No.”

  He pulled his gaze away slowly and met my eyes, “That is a traitor, but he isn’t important. This next part is though, so pay very close attention.”

  My pulse pounded and I looked away from him, so that he couldn’t see the fear in my eyes. It was clear that this poor guy had done something to piss Marcus off and he was about to be killed for it.

  And I was being forced to watch it happen.

  “Bring him in,” Marcus said and then I heard the other set of doors open.

  When I looked that way, I saw him. He wore all black, the same outfit I had seen on every other person that worked for Marcus, but that wasn’t all.

  He also had the skull mask on. My hands clenched into fists and I watched him steadily as he walked toward the man in the cage without even sparing a glance toward me.

  And then he stepped inside the cage, coming to a stop directly behind the man and facing straight toward us.

  “Do you have any last words, traitor?” Marcus asked.

  The man with the bag over his head spoke and I could tell that he was crying, “Boss, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to betray you. I will do better. Just give me a second chance,” he begged.

  My heart shattered for the guy. I had no idea what he had done or who he was, but it was clear that he still wanted to live if he was begging for Marcus’ forgiveness.

  “I don’t give second chances. You should know better than that,” Marcus said.

  “Please, I’m begging you! I have a family. A daughter. You have taken care of my family and I’ve always been loyal to you,” the man said.

  Marcus was silent for a moment and then he spoke, “And I will continue to take care of your family. Your wife and daughter are getting a visit at this very moment actually.”

  The man broke down and my heart couldn’t take it. I glanced sideways at Marcus to see the wicked grin on his face. He wasn’t taking care of this man’s family. He was murdering them, and he was making this the last thought this poor guy had before his death.

  Oh God.

  Tears welled in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall and looked away from Marcus to see him again. He continued to stand behind the guy on his knees, still wearing the mask and not saying a word during this whole ordeal.

  “Marcus, please. Don’t hurt my family,” the man pleaded.

  Marcus laughed, “Oh, that is not my choice. That is on you. They would have been fine if you had just listened and kept your fucking mouth shut. I give one warning and that’s it. Now I am done with you,” he said and then waved his hand in the air as if that were the signal.

  My heart stopped and my world shifted when the guy in the mask pulled out a sharp knife from where it had been stuck under his belt. He grabbed the man’s head, forcing his neck back as he begged for his life, and without a moment’s hesitation, he slid the knife directly across the man’s throat in one smooth motion.

  Everything about what I believed in came to a screeching halt as the man dropped to the ground. Blood poured from his neck and I could hear him struggling to take another breath. The sound made my stomach twist into knots and I felt the food I just recently ate threaten to make a sudden reappearance.

  But I couldn’t take my eyes off the man in the skull mask. He reached up with one hand and slowly removed the mask, revealing who I thought it was without ever seeing his face first.

  Miles stood with the now bloody knife still in his hand and the man he had just murdered in cold blood at his feet.

  Our eyes met and my breath stalled.

  There was absolutely nothing in his gaze. It was like I was staring at someone who had died. Everything about Miles was gone.

  “Miles—” I whispered as the tears fell down my face.

  That was when I heard Marcus’ voice in my ear, even as I continued to stare at Miles like I didn’t know him at all.

  “He belongs to me now, Lesley,” Marcus said.

  I didn’t want to believe it, but as I stared at Miles, I had a hard time thinking it wasn’t true. His eyes were so cold, devoid of any emotion even. It broke me and I wasn’t sure if I would ever see him differently now or get the image of him slicing that man’s throat out of my head.

  “I own him,” Marcus whispered.

  My tears slid down my face and I started trembling, because from where I sat right now, Miles Conrad hadn’t just killed that man.

  He had killed my heart too.

  “But there’s just one more thing I need to do before we can move on. This has been bothering me since I made the choice to bring him,” Marcus said and then nodded toward Kevin, who stood up and headed back toward the cellar room as if he knew exactly what Marcus wanted.

  My heart pounded and I stayed frozen in my seat as Miles stood patiently, like he knew what was about to happen.

  And then I heard the door to the cellar slam shut, forcing my gaze away from Miles long enough to see Luke being escorted toward the cage with chains around his ankles and wrists. It had been the first time I actually saw Luke out of the cell and my heart broke at how different he looked under the light.

  He was smaller. Like he had lost weight. His skin was dirty and there were dark circles under his eyes. On his wrists, I could see where the handcuffs had cut into his skin only to heal and then do it again.

  Luke met my gaze from across the room and spoke, “Lesley, what’s going on?”

  Tears formed in my eyes and I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn’t come up with the right words, because I didn’t know what was going on. About that time, Kevin shoved Luke into the cage where he hit the ground next to Miles before sitting up on his knees, eyeing the table where I sat.

  Marcus stood, “Alright boys. I knew that eventually it would come to this and I’m so very sorry for what is about to happen, but it must happen,” he said.

  Panic rushed through my veins and I looked up at Marcus as he continued to speak without ever breaking eye contact with Luke or Miles.

  “One of you will walk out of that cage, but o
nly one of you,” he said and then smirked, “I’ll leave that choice up to you two,” he finished.

  Miles and Luke met each other’s gazes, but for me, everything clicked into place in that single moment.

  “Marcus, please stop this,” I said quietly as I felt the tears slide down my cheeks at the thought of losing either one of them.

  He met my gaze over his shoulder and smiled. “There can only be one, Lesley and you’re lucky I’m even giving you that much,” he said.

  I heard the chains on Luke and looked up in a panic to see Kevin remove them before he pulled out a gun, aiming directly at Luke and Miles’ backs. “Get on your knees,” he ordered them.

  They both had their eyes on me and then slowly, they dropped to their knees. Luke’s expression mirrored fear, while Miles’ gaze remained cold, emotionless. Kevin, on the other hand, held the gun and smiled as if he were enjoying the idea of ending another life.

  Tears blurred my vision and I watched them. Luke’s blue eyes burned into mine with so many emotions that it crushed me and brought back so many memories. Flashes of the times I laughed with him, cried with him, played loud music in his car and sung along with the lyrics with the windows rolled down all hit me at once.

  “Pick a number between one and ten, Lesley,” Marcus said.

  My voice froze and my heart stopped. I couldn’t look away from them and a sob broke out of me as I realized that this was where all of those memories I’ve made with each of them ended. Slowly, I met Miles’ gaze and I saw that his jaw ticked as if he were trying hard to keep himself calm.

  “Fine, have it your way then,” Marcus said and then waved his hand.

  Before I could even blink or process that this was really happening, I heard it. That bang as the trigger on Kevin’s gun was pulled.

  “No!” I shot up from my seat, but Marcus grabbed me around the waist and kept me from running toward them.

  Toward him.

  Lucas hit the ground and blood poured out from the gunshot wound he had fallen victim to on his back. I could see him struggling to breathe as Miles stayed on his knees next to him with his fists clenched, his jaw ticking, and rage igniting in his eyes.

  “Luke—“ I cried as Marcus held me, but I couldn’t even find the strength to fight him off as I watched my best friend’s life slowly come to an end, taking a piece of my soul with him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Lesley

  All my life, I was taught to believe in the good in people and always trust God, but right now, all I could see was the evil. It didn’t matter how much I prayed or hoped for a better outcome, all of my prayers and hopes always went unanswered. My father tried telling me that even if you didn’t think God was listening, he always listened.

  But that was bullshit, because the only thing I knew for certain was that the Devil did exist, and God was nowhere to be found.

  I had seen the Devil in his true form. He was real and he was wrecking havoc, but still, the one person who could destroy him continued to let it happen.

  And that made me question everything I used to believe in.

  It had been days, weeks even, since I saw Miles. But nothing had changed. My eyes still only saw the cold, empty look in his eyes every-time I closed them. I had even lost count of how many times I had awoken with a scream and tears falling down my face, feeling the pain of losing Luke all over again.

  This was a never-ending cycle. I woke up, I stayed in this cell, I fell asleep, and woke up again with the same screams, the same tears. But the worst part was that the nightmares I have in my sleep were better than the nightmare I lived in reality. I had come to terms that this was my life now and it wouldn’t change.

  My young life would end here the same way Luke’s had.

  If Marcus or Kevin didn’t kill me, my very own mind would.

  And that was exactly what they wanted.

  I laid on the stone floor and like every other time I was here, I stared up at the ceiling lost in my own thoughts when suddenly, I smelled it.

  Smoke.

  Blinking, I sat up quickly and scooted toward the gate, straining my neck to see down the hallway when I heard a loud crash. It sounded like someone had literally kicked the door in and it smashed against the stone wall. My heart shot to my throat and my lungs froze as the smoke thickened inside the hallway.

  And then I saw him.

  He wore all black like usual and there was a black bandanna tied around his face, leaving only his eyes visible. That was enough for me though.

  The jade green color of his eyes ignited the fire in my soul the second I saw them and tears formed in my eyes as I spoke, “Dare!”

  Dare raced toward me, but he wasn’t alone. Another guy stood a few feet behind him with a gun in his hands. Like Dare, he also wore a bandanna over his nose and mouth, blocking the smoke from entering his lungs as he watched the hallway, like he half expected Marcus or Kevin to pop out of thin air.

  Dare pulled out a set of keys, unlocking the gate.

  “You came?” I cried.

  He yanked the gate open and I shot up quicker than I thought I could. My body crashed into him in a bear hug, forcing him back a few steps as my tears of happiness fell. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.

  Dare held me for a moment and then gently released me before he spoke, “We have to go. Where is Luke?” he said.

  My heart ached as I slowly shook my head. I didn’t have to say the words, I could see that Dare understood what I meant.

  “Damn, Lesley. I’m so sorry,” he said.

  Tears formed in my eyes and I spoke, “We have to get out of here otherwise, Lucas’ life will have been taken for nothing,” I said, forcing my way through the pain and anger, so that I could somehow find the strength to escape this hell.

  Dare didn’t respond as I looked at the other guy holding the gun and it wasn’t until his eyes met mine that my breath stalled. The whisky golden color watched me evenly. I knew those eyes. They were the same eyes that I saw at prom that night. The man who had tried to warn me. But I didn’t have time to ask him anything about that night, because Dare held out a bandanna to me.

  “Put this on and come on,” he said and then pulled out a gun he had shoved into his belt.

  I grabbed it from him and wrapped it around my face. Without another word, I followed Dare and the other guy. It wasn’t until I walked into the large room with the cage that I saw it. Flames engulfed every piece of the room that wasn’t stone, creating a heat so intense that I felt like my skin was literally on fire.

  Even with the material over my mouth and nose, I could still feel the burn as the smoke entered my lungs and I coughed. Bringing my hand up, I held the bandanna tighter to my mouth and nose as I raced to keep up with Dare.

  It wasn’t until we came into the room with the “C” carved into the floor that I saw all of it. More flames were engulfing the place, roaring with a madness. But that didn’t even scare me, because I could also see all the girls I had seen on Devil’s Night. Some of them wore bandannas like me and others used their shirts to cover their faces, but all of them were escaping.

  My eyes scanned the crowd in search of a certain pair of unique eyes, but he wasn’t there although I did see Jersey as she ducked her head to avoid the smoke.

  The guy with the golden gaze and Dare instantly went to work on getting the girls out of the house safely.

  Inside my chest, I could feel my heart skip a beat and I yelled toward Dare, “Where’s Miles?!”

  It was getting harder and harder to breathe with every second that passed. The heat was scorching my skin and smoke filled the large room at an alarming rate, but I still couldn’t bring myself to walk out of this house without knowing. I had already lost Luke, and I couldn’t lose Miles too.

  Dare met my gaze and yelled from where he continued to direct the girls out of the burning house, “He went after Marcus and Kevin. I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry, Lesley. I couldn’t leave these girls. I
have to get them out.”

  I didn’t wait on him to say anything else. Turning my back to them, I started shoving through the crowd of girls and raced back toward the cage room. I heard Dare call my name behind me, but I didn’t stop. My lungs screamed for fresh oxygen, but I forced it aside and tried not to pass out.

  When I reached the brick wall with the secret pathway, I felt around on the side like I had seen Jersey do and then a brick shifted. I pushed it and the door slid open, but before I could even take a step inside, someone grabbed my arm and spun me around. My heart raced as I came face to face with the golden-eyed man.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked as the flames roared around us angrily.

  I jerked my arm from him and spoke beneath the bandanna. “I’m going after Miles. I can’t leave him,” I said and then turned my back on him.

  For a moment, he stood there and then I heard him groan before he followed me into the dark pathway, leaving the door open behind him.

  “I don’t need your help,” I said to him as I rushed through the hallway, which didn’t have nearly as much smoke as the rest of the house did, even though I could still feel the heat.

  “Yes, you do,” he said.

  I stopped suddenly and spun around so quick that he nearly crashed into me. Instead, he took a step back and looked down at me.

  The guy was tall, but I wasn’t about to let that scare me. I had seen so much fear and pain during my time here that I wasn’t sure anything would ever be able to come close to it. “I know who you are,” I blurted, unaware that I had put the dots together until that moment, “Your name is Jax and you’re the guy who tried to kill, Miles, so if you really want to help me then stay out of my way,” I said with frustration.

  He didn’t respond and simply watched me, which was my cue to keep going. I turned my back on Jax and rushed forward. I half expected him to turn back around, but he didn’t.

  A second later, I heard his boots against the stone floors as he continued to follow me without a word. I had no idea what this guy’s deal was or why he would help me save Miles if he tried to kill him in the first place, but I couldn’t worry about that right now.