by Terra Kelly
After dinner was passed under the door last night, we both sat and talked more about how to get the fuck out. I was hopeful my brother would approach us again with another deal. Brooks wasn’t feeling as positive. I figured Mason would give us a week to sit in the hell hole. After the week, he probably thought we would cave and give him my bank account number. Unfortunately, he and my father were going to be sorely disappointed.
“When we get home”—I held up some mashed potatoes on my index finger—“I never want to look at potatoes, burger, or carrots again.”
He held up his finger. “I can pinky swear on that one. Like even a burger on the grill makes me gag.”
There was commotion on the other side of the door which caused us both to sit up. I heard the normal two clicks and then a pull. “Looks like they’re going to talk to us sooner than we thought?”
“Maybe because of our good behavior.” He laughed and leaned his back against the wall.
We sat there, waiting as they opened the door slowly. The first asshole who loved to hurt me stepped into the room. “Put your hands out.”
“No hi or how are you doing?” I had a problem with being a smart-ass sometimes.
Brooks and I had a feeling there were only two or three men on the property. Which meant they had no fighting chance against us. I kept my cool and held out my hands. My head was not one hundred percent, but I had to get my big girl panties on for this adventure. If my best friend could fight with a broken jaw, I could fight for our survival with a head injury.
“Funny,” the guy said and bent down at the same time as the other guy to tie our wrists together. “We figured you may want to get out of this room. Have dinner somewh—”
Before my favorite asshole could finish his sentence, I had pulled him down into a headlock. He tried to fight me, but I had my one arm wrapped around the front of his neck and my other arm looped around to the back of his neck. I was done fucking around. This guy needed to go down by submission and immediately. His hands were flailing and then they stopped. The moment he stopped fighting, I dropped back down to the floor and fell against the wall.
Brooks was having a tougher time getting asshole number two into a submission hold. They were grappling on the floor for several long minutes. Somehow the guy managed to take control and loom over Brooks, attempting to punch him. I jumped up, twisted in a circle and landed a perfect high kick on the guy’s jaw. He fell back immediately.
“Think we should leave eating instructions, because here’s hoping his jaw’s broken,” I teased and helped Brooks up. “Hell, we all became pro’s when poor Lily was recovering.”
“Nah, let him figure it out on his own.”
We kept our hands clasped together and ran out of the room. “How is it possible they are the only ones watching this place?”
“Your family got cocky and didn’t take your fighting skills into consideration.”
“They’ll regret that decision.”
Brooks pulled us toward the door he had been talking about for the last several days. There was a stairwell behind the door, and it looked like it led to the outside just as he’d described. The moment we were outside, I stopped when my feet hit the grass. “Wait.” My instincts kicked in, and I knew we weren’t alone. “We need to take cover.”
“What? How do you know that?”
Right as I was about to say something, a bullet whizzed by my face. I pointed in the direction of where it came. “I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that way.” Brooks pulled me down to the ground and tried to use himself as a human shield. “Hey,” I mumbled from below him.
“We need to find some place to hide.”
“You need to get off of me.” As he pushed up, another bullet was shot in our direction and this time grazed my thigh. “Fuck me.” I was done with this bullshit. “My father wants a war, I’ll give him a war.”
“Should I be scared?” he said and grabbed my hand.
“No, but my father should be.”
Twenty
We both jumped behind a large oak tree. Brooks tore off the bottom of his shirt to wrap around my leg. “So about your dad,” he said and knotted the fabric together tightly. “Did you know about the whole gangster-style approach when he wants something?”
It was hard not to laugh. I sat there for a moment and thought about my life before I left my parents’ house. Never once did I see any actions that showed my father’s mob mentality. I knew he had a temper but not to this extent. The part I was still struggling to compute in my brain was my brother. I never expected Mason to fall in line with my father to this extent.
“No,” I finally said and pushed my back against the tree. “He’s an asshole, sure. But capture, almost starve, and attempt to murder one of his daughters? That is a whole separate can of worms.” I held my hand up the moment I heard twigs cracking. “Someone is walking this way.”
Brooks cautiously peeked around the tree. “Four guys, all with guns. One is your brother.”
“My training in the octagon never prepared me for this.” I massaged my temples feeling the onset of another lovely headache. “Lily’s father never even taught us how to fight someone with a gun.”
“Charlotte, give up. You know you’re surrounded.” Mason’s voice echoed loudly.
“C, last time I checked, you don’t give up on anything,” Brooks whispered.
Give up? Fuck that. Yeah, that option wasn’t even in my vocabulary. I was struggling to think, but we needed to get out of this mess. Too much was happening all at once. I knew my money helped pay my bills, but it wasn’t the root of my happiness. My father obviously planned to take extreme lengths to push his own daughter away and ride off into the sunset with money that was never his.
Instead of saying anything, I stood up on shaky legs and stepped around the tree. “Is this really what Dad wanted?” I tried to seem calm but inside was on the verge of peeing my pants from fear. “He supports all this?”
“Dad just likes to get what he wants.”
“No matter the cost?”
I watched Mason drop his handgun a fraction. “Charlotte, you left the family a long time ago.”
“So that’s what this is about. I left so he feels I owe him now?”
“There’s a cost for everything.”
“Even if it involves killing a blood relative.”
He finally dropped his gun to his side. “Would you still be considered a relative after all these years?”
It was like a knife was driven through my heart. His words cut deep. I stood there unsure what to say next. Whatever I said, it didn’t matter. My father or whoever that man was in my father’s body—he’d lost all sense of reality. My dad had let greed and power take over. His family stayed at the bottom of his list of what was important to him.
I tried to let go of those thoughts and focus on the here and now. “Why attack me here? You could’ve just made an easy trip to Las Vegas.” Then it dawned on me. “You bugged my place.”
“You’re always at that damn gym. It was an easy in and out.”
“Attacking us here meant no Lily and less fighters around me.” My father must’ve been planning this for weeks. He found a way to bug my place. Fuck, he probably had a mole at the gym for all I knew. “So, what now?”
“This,” Mason said, and suddenly an arm was wrapped around my neck. I placed my hands on the mystery arm, trying to fight the hold.
“Charlie,” Brooks yelled from beside me.
“Brooks,” I said and finally gave up the fight. My tears I held in fell one after another. I looked right into Mason’s eyes. “This doesn’t involve him. Let him go.”
“Are you going to give us what we want?”
“Yeah, whatever. Just don’t hurt Brooks, please.”
I heard a body fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. “Charlie, don’t you dare give up.”
“What am I supposed to do? We’re out numbered here.” The guy tightened his grip on my neck, causing me to
struggle to take a breath. As I attempted to fight my attacker, I watched my brother approach me.
“You’re out numbered. So let’s just get this over with, Charlotte.” He took the last few steps and was inches from my face. “Account number?”
I tried to see Brooks in my peripheral vision, but he was too far away now. Fuck. Finally, I lifted my eyes to meet Mason. “You’ll regret this.”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Six, five—” Before I could finish the last eight digits, Brooks yelled and then a gun went off, and the guy holding me let go of my neck. I was standing in front Mason, nose to nose. We both glanced at the gun resting at his side. I think my brother knew there was a slim chance he could pull that gun up before I threw a kick in his direction. “What now?” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t care about the pain in my leg from the gunshot wound. All I cared about was taking my brother down.
“Finish your account number and I leave.”
“When did you become the second in command in Dad’s mob business?”
“Shit doesn’t come easy. We have to fight for what we want.”
“Or in your case, threaten and kill people.” I looked down and noticed a red beam on the center of my chest. “You’re both sick you know that, right?”
“Numbers?” he said and sounded annoyed.
“Eight, zero—”
“Really, Charlie,” Brooks yelled again. “You’re going to cave just like that?”
“Brooks, I—”
“I know Lily well enough. I’ve even watched every fight with The Punisher.” Brooks finally came into focus in the corner of my eye. “I seriously doubt he didn’t teach you to tap out when shit seemed too hard.”
I closed my eyes and let my mind wander back. Lily’s father loved training us both. He told us how he looked forward to the day when women would kick ass in an octagon. I could remember the time when he said it may be a man’s world now, but you just wait. The Punisher believed in fighting for what was yours. In this case, here and now, my money, my life, and my pride.
“Did he tell you to fight till the very last second?” Brooks continued.
“Yeah, he did.”
“So what’re you doing?”
I lifted my head. “Letting this man win.”
“It’s time you won the fight, C.”
Before anyone had a chance to register my next move, I threw a punch right in the center of Mason’s jaw. When my brother fell to the ground, I attempted to straddle his body, wanting to lay a few more punches on that shit-eating grin he loved to display.
“We need to bail, sunshine,” Brooks said and reached down to grab Mason’s gun.
As we ran in the opposite direction, there was gunfire going off, but somehow each bullet missed us by a long shot. One of the guys we had just knocked out must have woke up, which meant we needed to hide and fast. There were green trees and rocks in every direction. My instincts told me we were fucked. “Brooks.” I reached for his arm, feeling completely out of breath. “Wait.”
“Baby, we have to keep moving.” My headache was back and my damn leg was throbbing. I was struggling to catch my breath. “Here,” he said and lifted me onto his back. “Let’s find a place to hide for the night.”
I knew Brooks was not any better. He had been nursing a possible fracture for several days now. As a fighter, we’re taught to move past pain and take our mind somewhere else. There’s an end game we’re working toward. That had to be the case with him now; he didn’t care about his forearm. His goal was to care for me. I rested my head on his shoulder, struggling to stay awake. My fucking headache was back and my head felt like it may explode.
“Sunshine,” I heard Brooks say and then my body moved. “Baby, you have to wake up.”
“I hurt.” It was easier to keep my eyes closed. Looking at anything made the pain stronger.
“Fuck, we need to find a hospital.” I could feel Brooks’s hands on my head and soft touches on my face. “You could be bleeding in the brain.”
“I’ll be okay. Just let me sleep.” I reached out my hands. “Lay down with me.”
“Hey, C?”
“Hmmmm.” I made a sound that I was listening.
“We’re sleeping under the stars just like you predicted.”
“I had something better in mind,” I whispered.
“Let’s get you healthy, and you can show me what that was, okay?”
I lifted my hand and gave him a thumbs up.
Twenty-One
“Charlie,” I heard Brooks whisper beside my ear. “We need to go.”
I struggled to open my eyes. When my lids finally flew open, Brooks was looming above me. “Why are you on top of me?”
“Your brother’s goons are not far away.”
I stretched my arms out above my head and felt a sharp pain shoot through my neck. “Fuck.” Throwing my hands to my head, I quickly lifted my body to a sitting position. “My headache is still hanging on.”
“There’s a house about fifty yards that way.” He stood up and reached for my hand. “We need to see if anyone is there.”
“Have you been exploring?”
“I woke up when I heard twigs breaking.”
“And?” Glancing around, I noticed we were in what looked like a cave. “Um, are you sure we didn’t raid anyone’s home? Like say, a bear.”
“We didn’t have a choice last night; our options were limited.”
I slowly walked around the enclosed space. There were piles of leaves and twigs, but no sign of life. Well, not of the big brown cuddly form. I turned to face Brooks. “Think I can get to this house you’re discussing in my state?” I knew my head was not getting better, which concerned me. We took some time to look at my leg last night and I knew from the way it appeared walking or running was going to be difficult.
“I’ll carry you.” He turned his back toward me. “Your chariot awaits.”
“But your arm?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.” He patted his back. “Come on.”
I hopped up and wrapped my arms around his neck. “This sucks.” My eyes were closing. “I wanted to have this awesome vacation with you.”
“It started off good.”
“True.”
“Charlie, are you falling asleep again?”
“Just for a few minutes.”
In my dream, it felt like someone kicked me. I tried to see who was there, but there was only darkness.
“Get your fucking hands off of her,” a man screamed from off in the distance.
“You left her alone,” another man said from what felt like right next to my ear.
“You wish,” the first man said. He sounded closer this time.
Why can’t I open my eyes. There is grunting and loud sounds. Are the two men fighting? I try to say please stop but nothing comes out.
“Charlie?” A woman this time and her hands were on my face. “Oh God, C.”
Is that…no, it couldn’t be.
“You promised Dad you would never leave me.” It was Lily.
Are we home? Am I safe now?
“Brooks, she’s not moving.”
She said my boyfriend’s name. He is okay, too.
“Is she still breathing?” I heard Brooks say, his voice sounding more familiar.
“Yeah, but barely.”
“When she sleeps, it’s like that. Just keep watching her. I’ll be back.”
Wait, I tried to yell. Where are you going? Why couldn’t I talk to them? I started to feel scared. I knew they would take care of me, but I wanted to talk to them.
“Charlie, if you can hear me. Hang on.”
I can, Lily. Fuck, I won’t ever give up again. I promise.
“C, Julian and Brooks are waiting for the police.” She kissed my forehead, and I felt water fall on my face.
Is she crying? It’s okay, Lils. I’m here.
“Jeez, you scared the shit out of us,” Lily said. “When we didn’t he
ar from you for three days, I got concerned.” There was a soft brush down the side of my face. “Your hotel told us you were going to explore Lulworth Cove. Which seemed odd since you were so excited to see Durdle Door. So Julian made a game-time decision and took the exit for Jurassic Coast instead.”
It felt calming to have Lily talking to me.
“I noticed something on the side of the road. C, I found your journal.”
You did? It must have fallen out of the car when the men grabbed us. The pain I had for the last several days was stronger now. I was struggling to hear Lily.
I tried to push away the light shining in my eyes, but I couldn’t lift my arms.
“She’s reacting to the light.”
Of course I am. You’re shining something bright at me.
“What does that mean?” It was Brooks beside me. He was the one holding my hand.
“She’s conscious but unable to wake up.”
That must be the doctor.
“But she will wake up soon, right?”
Calm down, Brooks. I promise I’ll wake up soon.
“She suffered a pretty severe head injury. It may take a few days or longer, but she should wake up.”
I felt someone kiss the top of my head. As the stubble brushed across my skin, I knew it was Brooks.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
Good, because I’m not ready to be alone. I started to feel sleepy. As I drifted off, I felt Brooks lay his head next to mine. Then suddenly my body was falling. When I looked to see where I was going, there was only black all around me. I started to scream, hoping someone would hear me.
“Charlie, wake up. If you can hear me, wake up.” Brooks was yelling at me.
I wanted to yell for help, but I knew he wouldn’t hear me.
“You’re okay, C.”
How would you know that? You’re not the one falling into nothing land. Then my mind went blank.
Twenty-Two
“Grab another pillow,” a male voice said and carefully lifted my body up.
