Buttons and Pain

by Penelope Sky

Button wasn’t in the bedroom. Pissed off, she left and probably went outside to get away from me. I would apologize to her when I woke up. I set an alarm on my phone, and the second my head hit the pillow I was out cold.

  I didn’t even have a dream.

  ***

  My alarm didn’t wake me up.

  It was supposed to go off in two hours but the annoying beeping never came. I opened and realized it was dark outside. Instead of taking a short nap I slept for most of the day. My hand reached for my phone to see the time but I couldn’t find it on my nightstand. I kept groping in the dark but couldn’t find it. Irritated, I turned on the lamp.

  My phone was nowhere in sight. Instead there was a note.

  And Button’s wedding ring.

  I nearly jumped out of bed as I grabbed the note and read the words in her beautiful handwriting.

  Crow,

  I’m sorry. He’s your only family in the world and I can’t let this happen. I know you hate me right now, but please understand I did this for you.

  I love you for always,

  Button.

  My hand shook as I read the note and a loud scream issued from my throat. I grabbed the nightstand and threw it across the room until it shattered against the wall. Her wedding ring fell to the floor with a distinct clank. That wasn’t enough to satisfy my rage so I destroyed everything in the bedroom, everything that was hers and mine.

  I couldn’t believe this.

  I couldn’t.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Pearl

  I drove down the road in one of Crow’s cars and was thankful they drove on the right side of the road. Otherwise, I would be completely clueless. The tears were still pouring from my eyes after I left Crow sleeping in the bed we shared every single night. I kissed him on the brow and told him I loved him even though he couldn’t hear a word I said.

  Then I took off my wedding ring and set it on the nightstand.

  If I took it with me, Bones would just destroy it. He would decimate it and burn it. I loved that ring as much as Crow and I couldn’t stand the sight of its destruction. I would much rather leave it behind.

  I completely understood my actions, and while I was scared, I knew it had to be done. Crow picked me over his brother, but I understood how much he needed Cane. He pretended to be indifferent but I knew he was a wreck deep down inside. He loved his brother as much as he loved me—he just showed it differently.

  I wouldn’t be the reason he lost the last Barsetti.

  I wiped my tears and kept driving, pained at the feeling of leaving my husband behind. Crow would do everything he could to find me again, but I had to figure out an escape myself. I wouldn’t stop until I found a knife or a bat. I wouldn’t stop until I was free again. And I wouldn’t stop until I killed Bones myself.

  Crow’s phone rang and I answered it. “Pearl.” I kept my voice steady and refused to give into my tears when that fiend could listen.

  “On the road?”

  I hated speaking to him. My intestines tied up in knots and made me sick. “Yes.”

  “Alright. You know where the meeting point is?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is what we’re going to do—”

  He spoke like he controlled the situation but he was wrong. I controlled the situation. “No. This is what we’re doing.” I silenced him with a single sentence. “You’re going to meet in front of the Church on Plaza street. It’s old and abandoned. When I see Cane released and inside the car, I’ll come out to you.”

  “No. We do this my way.”

  “I don’t trust you,” I snapped. “If you want me, we do this my way.”

  “And why should I trust you?”

  I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “Because a Barsetti’s words are law. And I’m a Barsetti.” I tried not to cry again.

  Bones paused over the phone. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. When will you be there?”

  “Ten minutes.”

  He hung up.

  I set the phone down and felt the tears flood all over again. By the time Crow woke up and realized what happened it would be too late. The exchange would be over and done with. I would never the chance to tell him I loved him again. And the last time we spoke, we fought. It wasn’t the way I wanted to say goodbye.

  My phone rang a moment later from a number I didn’t recognize. My gut told me who it was. With a shaky hand I answered it. “Pearl.”

  Crow’s voice came over the phone with restrained ferocity. He didn’t yell but he his tone was just as terrifying. “Turn. The. Fuck. Around.”

  I kept my foot on the gas and the wheel straight.

  “Button, do as I say or I swear to god—”

  “I’m sorry. I have to do this.”

  “No, you don’t. He’s going to kill Cane anyway. You’re sacrificing yourself for no reason.”

  I kept my voice calm because I didn’t our last conversation to be this terrible. “Crow, I’m going to do this. I have to save him. I’m sorry you don’t approve, but frankly, it’s my choice. But while I have you on the line I want to tell you I love you and I’ll do everything I can to escape.”

  “Button…” His rage disappeared, and his voice shook. I’d never heard the kind of emotion in his voice. He might be crying. I didn’t know. “Don’t do this to me.”

  “I’m sorry…”

  “Button.”

  “I love you, Crow.” I muffled my tears with my hand and remained as silent as possible. This conversation would be the death of me.

  “Please turn the car around.”

  “I have to go.”

  “Button—”

  “Tell me you love me before I hang up.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter so I wouldn’t crash off the side of the road.

  Crow gave in because he knew he wouldn’t get his way. “I love you, Button. And I’m going to get you back.”

  I had no doubt those words were true. All I had to do was fight and never give up until he rescued me. I did it once and I could do it again. I would do anything for this man and his family—because his family was my family. “I know.”

  ***

  I arrived at the abandoned church and parked the car on the opposite street. The keys were left in the ignition and the phone was left in the cup holder. The church was mostly rubble, caused by an earthquake that happened nearly a decade before. The community didn’t want to tear it down because it was still a historical relic for the city. I thought it was the perfect site for the exchange because there many places to hide.

  The phone rang right on cue.

  I answered. “Where is?”

  “The question is, where are you?” His voice was full of hunger, desperate to sink his claws into me. I could feel his arousal through the line, his desperation to claim me as his all over again. He wanted to wash away any trace of Crow that lingered on my skin.

  “Parked on the south side. When Cane makes it to the car, I’ll get out.”

  “If you drive away we’ll blow up the car.”

  “I know.” Actually, I knew that was a lie. Bones would never hurt me, not when I was more valuable alive than dead.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing you. It’s been too long.”

  “I wish I could say the same.” I saw the round the corner, greasy men with rifles and machine guns. In the center was Bones, wearing a black suit and looking like a nightmare. Cane stood with his arms tied behind his back. He spotted me in the car and shook his head.

  “Now we make the trade.”

  “I’m waiting.” I wasn’t getting out of the car until Cane was safely in the passenger seat. Crow told me not to trust him, and I took his advice very seriously.

  The man holding Cane untied him then shoved him forward, practically making him fall to the ground. He was thinner than he once was and much weaker. He slowly walked to the car, sporting an obvious limp in his stride. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, the aftermath of his ten days of torture. After
an eternity he finally reached the car and got into the passenger door.

  I stared at him, taking comfort in knowing he was alive.

  He stared at me like he hated me. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Saving you.”

  “You shouldn’t have done this,” he hissed. “I’m not worth it.”

  “You are to me.”

  His eyes immediately softened. “Sis, don’t do this.”

  “You’re the only family he has left. I had to.”

  He shook his head. “You’re his family too.”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “Pearl…” He shook his head, the tears in his eyes. “Don’t do this. You don’t deserve it.”

  “I know. But sometimes…life isn’t fair.” I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. “I’ll escape. Somehow, someway.”

  “Crow and I will get you. I promise.”

  I pulled away then turned my gaze so I couldn’t see him. Saying goodbye to him was much harder than I thought it would be. “Drive away. When you’re gone, I’ll walk over there.”

  Cane didn’t agree, but his silence was agreement enough.

  I finally got out of the car and shut the door behind me. I stared into the driver’s door and waited for Cane to start the engine. He did a moment later, and after a sad look he turned around and drove away. Once he was a safe distance away he would get a hold of Crow and tell him where I was. If they acted quickly enough, perhaps I could be spared.

  Now there was nothing else to do but fulfill the bargain.

  Bones whistled and beckoned me to him like a dog.

  And I wanted to kill him right then and there.

  “Now your end of the deal.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to the road underneath his feet. “Get your ass over here.”

  My legs didn’t want to comply with his disrespectful manners. What I wanted more than anything was to stab him in the heart and watch him bleed out and die. The sight of blood wouldn’t gross me out. The thought of being alone with a corpse didn’t scare me. In fact, it thrilled me.

  I began the long walk across the battlefield, taking my time and enjoying the last moments of freedom before I was a slave all over again. Bones’s eyes grew in size the closer I came, his desire taking over his logical thought. I was close to being in his grasp and he could hardly breathe.

  I despised him more than before.

  I finally ended the long walk and came face to face with the culprit of my nightmares. He was just as grotesque as I remember, terrifying and sinister. His face was thicker from the weight he put on, and the look in his eyes was just as evil as before. He probably entertained himself with a line of hookers and slaves before he claimed me once more.

  “More beautiful than I remember.” He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me until I was against his chest. He crushed his mouth to mine and gave me the most disgusting kiss I’ve ever had.

  I pushed him off then kicked him in the balls. “You’re disgusting.”

  He bent over and cupped his balls, moaning at the pain in his groin.

  His men immediately grabbed me and hooked my arms behind my back.

  Bones recovered after a moment, but a sinister smile was on his face. “I’m going to enjoy training you again. And after the way you tricked me, I’m going to love getting my revenge for that.”

  “Crow will save me. And when he does, he’s going to make you suffer.” I knew he would never give up until he found me. He would search day and night, Cane alongside him, until I was returned to my rightful place beside him.

  “Not where we’re going.” He motioned to his men. “Search her and make sure she’s not packing.”

  The men ran their hands down my body, groping me as they searched for hidden weapons and knives. They wouldn’t find anything but they did a thorough examination, even feeling the area between my legs through my jeans.

  I shoved them off. “If I had something you would have found it by now.”

  Bones smiled at my feistiness, growing hard in his slacks. “Gentlemen, let’s go home. Pearl and I have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Crow

  “FUCK!”

  I’d never been this furious. Not once in my life had I been this destructive. If I had access to nuclear weapons I’d be threat to this country and the entire world because my rage was doing all the thinking for me.

  I piled every gun I had in the trunk of my SUV and the backseat for easy reach. A bullet proof vest was attached to my chest so a flying bullet couldn’t stop me from getting my wife back.

  I was going to kill Bones.

  My car screeched into the driveway at eighty miles an hour before Cane slammed on the breaks. The engine was just inches from running me over but the proximity didn’t faze me. If it collided into me I would have totaled the car without a scratch on my body.

  Cane hopped out without turning the car off. “Did you know—”

  “Found out ten minutes ago. She snuck out when I was sleeping.” I shoved the pistol into the holster at my hips. “Where did they keep you?”

  “I don’t know. I was blindfolded when they moved me.”

  I grabbed him by the neck and I squeezed him so tightly he could barely breathe. “My wife is on the line right now. You will tell me every goddamn detail you can recall. She sacrificed herself for you. And better be worthy of that.” I threw him back against the hood of the car. “Now speak.”

  Cane didn’t bother with a smartass remark because now wasn’t the time. Every minute counted. “Concrete everywhere. Every room I was in was made of concrete. My meals were brought in on Styrofoam with plastic utensils. The drains for the toilets the sinks moved up, not down. The men were different than Bones’s usual crew. They looked Russian or German. The men tortured me while suspending me from the ceiling. They never broke my body but tried to break my mind. My cot was made of plastic, not cotton.” He finally fell silent when he ran out of details. “That’s all I can remember.”

  I shifted through the information in my head and tried to draw a conclusion. “Russian, German…concrete…pipes go up.”

  Cane waited for me to crack the case.

  “It sounds like you were underground.”

  Cane nodded. “The walls were made of solid with the exception of the pipes.”

  “German or Russian…it was probably the Germans. During World War II they built barracks here.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

  “I just do,” I snapped. “They’re probably holding her in a barrack where she can’t be seen by satellite. That would explain why I couldn’t find you.”

  “Don’t you have a tracker on her?”

  My eyes snapped open so wide I nearly passed out. I wanted to shoot myself in the head. “Please tell me she left my phone in there.” It was synced to her tracking device and couldn’t be accessed any other way.

  Cane retrieved it from the dash and tossed it to me.

  I quickly opened the app and prayed her little red dot was somewhere on the map.

  But it wasn’t.

  “What does that mean?” Cane asked.

  “They either removed the tracker, the battery died, or the signal can’t be detected.” I shoved the phone into my pocket and tried not to have a meltdown.

  “I doubt they already moved it. I just left the meeting.”

  “Then that means she’s underground.”

  “And the barrack is within thirty miles of the church.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to think.

  “What do we do we do now?”

  I pulled out my phone and called the only high official German I knew. “I might have a plan.”

  ***

  It cost me a fortune but I got the coordinates to the last working barrack in Italy. It was purchased by a private citizen nearly ten years ago, and the name of the buyer remained anonymous.

  It must be Bones.

  We roun
ded up all of our men and dispatched them to the coordinates. Breaking into the underground base wouldn’t be easy. We couldn’t break down the walls and just walk inside. If we pulled from underneath, the whole facility would collapse on itself—killing Button.

  The thought of her made me want to scream.

  He could be touching her right now—fucking her. It made me so angry that my hands shook. My throat went dry and I couldn’t breathe. I had an anxiety attack right then and there—something I never experienced before.

  It was Vanessa all over again.

  Every person I loved wound up dead—and Button was next.

  Cane glanced at me as he drove to the coordinates. “We’ll get her, Crow.”

  I stared out the window and purposely avoided him. If I talked about her I would snap. My emotions were already all over the place and I couldn’t think clearly. If I lost her I would kill myself right then and there. I found someone I couldn’t live without, and that idea was terrifying. Without her, there was no me.

  “Don’t forget how strong she is,” Cane said. “If anyone can get through this, it’s her.”

  I clenched my jaw and stared out the window. Waiting for the vehicles to finally arrive was the worst part. I needed the cars to go faster. I needed to get there quicker. I needed to save my wife from being a plaything to a monster.

  “Crow—”

  “Stop trying to make me feel better. Until she’s safe I won’t be able to do anything but think about it. So shut the fuck up and drive.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Pearl

  Bones shut the door behind him and locked it before he turned to me. “Two guards are posted outside. So don’t try anything.”

  The room was made of solid concrete. A bed was against the wall and a private bathroom connected to the main bedroom. Even the floor was concrete. I knew we were underground so it looked like a war base. “Nice place…” I crossed my arms over my chest and watched him closely. “I’m guessing business has been slow.”

  He grinned from ear to ear, but not in a handsome way. It was a look of pure and conniving evil. It made my stomach drop because his intent was clear. He was going to pin me to that mattress and fuck me until I screamed. “I just want to make sure we can’t be followed. I know your husband will stop at nothing to get you back. Well, he’ll have a hard time tracking you here. No signals go in or out of this place.”