by Lisa Bilbrey
Sadie reached past Elle and pressed the up arrow for the elevator, but Elle found herself pulling away from them.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I can’t . . . I’m taking the stairs.”
“It’s ten floors, sweetheart,” Sadie said, reaching for her.
Anger filled Elle. “I’m taking the fucking stairs. If you don’t like it, you can go fuck yourself!”
And turning, she rushed through the crowd to the door marked stairs, threw it open, and let it slam closed behind her. Tears threatened to fall as she struggled up the first few sets of stairs.
Elle stopped when she saw Samuel seated on the steps between the fourth and fifth floors. He and Lydia had stayed with them for the first two days after they’d been ‘saved’, but then Lydia insisted on going home. Elle had called Samuel more than a few times, yet the call always went unanswered. Now, he was sitting there, his knees bent up in front of him, and his head between his hands.
“Hey,” she murmured. “I didn’t know you were coming in today.”
“I wasn’t sure the warden would let me,” he quipped. “Coming in to work is the only break from her I could get.”
“Yeah,” Elle scoffed. “Derek, Callum, and Sadie have been up my ass, too. Well, not literally.”
Samuel laughed and reached for hand, pulling her onto the step next to him. “You doing okay?”
“No,” she admitted. “You?”
“No,” he echoed. “I don’t know, Elle. I just . . . I can’t sleep, I can’t do anything without thinking about . . .”
“The girls are scared of me,” she whimpered. “They avoid me. All I wanted was them to be okay, yet I’ve made them scared of me.”
“Lydia blames me,” he said, causing Elle to gasp. “She hasn’t come out and said that, of course, but I can tell by the way she looks at me. She thinks I’m weak, that I should have been able to stop them.” Samuel paused, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. “She’s not wrong.”
“Maybe not,” Elle admitted. “But that just makes her a bitch, doesn’t it?”
“I’m going to lose her.”
Before Elle could comfort him, the sound of a door creaking open above them had Elle and Samuel scrambling to their feet, him moving so that he was standing in front of her, caging her against the wall. Heavy footsteps echoed and Elle curled her fingers around the back of Samuel’s shirt, trying to keep from screaming.
“Elle?” Sadie called out, rounding the top of the staircase and stopping when she saw Samuel. “Oh, hey. We got worried when you didn’t make it upstairs.”
Derek stepped up behind her, his arm wrapping around Sadie’s waist. “Didn’t think you were coming back to work already, Samuel.”
“Didn’t realize I reported to you,” Samuel groused, dropping his arms to his side, but not moving from in front of her. “Last I checked, you weren’t my boss, Derek.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Course you didn’t,” Samuel scoffed. “You never mean any of the asshole comments you say, do you?”
“Look, I’m sorry if I offended you,” Derek said. “That was not my intention.”
“Whatever,” Samuel grumbled.
“Why don’t we all just calm down and go upstairs?” Sadie suggested, walking down a couple of the steps, but stopped when Elle pulled on the back of Samuel’s shirt, dragging him away from them. “Elle?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I . . . I can’t . . . I . . .”
“You what?” Sadie asked, walking down two more steps, but stopped when Elle screamed. “Elle!”
“Just leave me alone!” Elle released the hold she had on Samuel’s shirt and started down the stairs. She started to stumble, and Samuel reached out, taking hold of her waist.
“Elle, stop!” Sadie called out. She placed her hand on Samuel’s arm, but he swung backward, knocking her into the wall, causing her to fall to the floor. “Jesus fucking Christ, Samuel!”
“Go, Elle, go,” he urged and the two of them took off downstairs, ignoring the way Sadie and Derek were yelling for them to stop. When they burst through the door to the lobby, everyone stopped and stared at them, which pissed Elle off even more.
“You’re all fired!” she screamed, grabbing Samuel’s arm as he pushed her toward the front doors. “All of you! Get out! Get out of my company!”
Leaving everyone gawking at them, Elle and Samuel fled, knowing there was no going back now. They’d lost everything.
Twenty-Two
Elle had no idea where they were headed, just that they couldn’t stay there a second longer. Her heart felt like it would explode as Samuel gripped her hand and dragged her down the sidewalk. He stopped at the opening to the alley that lead to the back of the building. Looking left, and then right, he tightened his hold on her and pulled her to the right.
“So fucking stupid,” he muttered, almost as if he wasn’t aware that she was right there and could hear him.
Elle didn’t respond. The image of Sadie falling against the fall and sliding to the ground, the hurt on her face, the betrayal in her eyes . . . Well, Elle wasn’t an idiot. A bitch, yes, but not an idiot. The moment she made the decision to leave with Samuel, she lost Sadie and Derek, and would lose Callum, too. She had made her choice and it hadn’t been them. They’d never love her again.
Samuel pulled Elle behind a dumpster, leaning his shoulder against it as he tried to catch his breath. He looked at Elle, his eyes wide and full of fright. It was the same look that he had the first time Trixie touched him.
“Do you have any cash?” he asked.
Elle bit the inside of her lip as she shook her head. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he murmured and peeked around the dumpster. “I’ve got a little, but it won’t get us too far. We’re going to have to walk, I think. Stay in the shadows, keep to the alleys. At least until tonight.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“As far away as we can.”
Without adding more detail, Samuel wrapped his hand around the top of her arm and started dragging her down the alley. Elle tried her best to keep up, glad she had opted out of wearing heels after all.
For the next few hours, Samuel and Elle wove their way through downtown San Francisco, mostly taking the side streets and alleys. Elle’s leg hurt, but she did her best to hide the limp, not wanting Samuel to get rid of her for slowing him down. She had to be strong.
They’d made it about ten blocks from the office, when Samuel suddenly stopped and dragged her behind another dumpster, pinning her against the wall with his body. He was so close, she could feel his breath.
She was about to question why he had her against the wall, when she heard someone say, “Are you sure you heard someone down here?”
The voice was deep and male.
“Yes,” another person, this one female yet still firm. “If you’d shut up, we might could hear them again.”
Samuel pressed his lips together, his fingers tightening against Elle’s hips. He begged her with his eyes to be quiet, and she tried. As tired as she was, she was even more scared of what would happen if they were found.
“I think you’re hearing shit again. Ain’t nobody down here,” the male said.
“Yeah, maybe,” the woman agreed. “Still can’t believe that we’re spending our shift looking for a couple of poor saps who can’t control themselves.”
“Rae, come on. That’s harsh. You’ve heard what happened to them.”
“Yeah, and I stand by my words. Have they been through hell? Sure, but come on. You can’t live your life without morals and then complain when someone treats you like a whore.”
“So, you think because she was in a polyamorous relationship, she deserved to be kidnapped, raped, and tortured?”
“No, of course not,” Rae quickly defended herself. “Just saying she might want to reconsider how she lives her life from this point all.”
“Whatever, Rae,” her partner scoffed. �
��Let’s get back to the search.”
Samuel waited until he was sure they were alone before he released his hold on Elle, taking a step backward. She turned her back toward him, leaning the left side of her body against the brick wall and tried to keep her tears from falling.
“Elle,” he said, softly.
“She’s right, you know? We wanted too much, thought we could live our lives without facing the harsh consequences. And what happened?” Elle turned and faced him. “Trixie and Leo happened.”
“So you think your relationship with Callum, Derek, and Sadie is why they came after you?”
“Not entirely,” she said. “I mean, Leo had already tried to kill me once and I sent him to prison, but Trixie had always accused me of taking Derek and Callum from her, of fucking you so you’d give me your company. I was dirty whore who used my pussy to get what I wanted. Maybe she was right.”
“She wasn’t,” he said, turning from her and looking around the dumpster again. “We should go before they come back.”
Elle sighed, but followed him. She may have ruined his life, but he was all she had left, and she’d hold onto him for as long as he’d let her.
—FA—
Night fell and the air turned cold. The pain in Elle’s leg had shifted from a mild throb to stabbing, streaks of pain that radiated down to her toes and up into her back and abdomen. She’d kicked off her flats hours ago. The red, oozing blisters on the back of her heels hurt and were covered in dirt from their trips down the alleys. Still, she didn’t tell Samuel that she was hurting. She carried on and tried to be brave.
Elle wasn’t sure how far they had traveled. She guessed several miles, but Samuel kept changing direction on her. They would walk east for a while, and then go north. After that, they went west and then south, then north again. More than once, they found themselves hiding behind piles of discarded trash bags and cardboard boxes as police officers scoured the area for them. Looking for the slutty whore and the crazy old man leading her astray.
“Where to go?” Samuel muttered to himself as they sat along the curb. The roads were empty, and other than the homeless who had started to search for food and water, not a soul was in sight. Elle had her knees pulled up to her chest, her head resting on top.
“Maybe try east again,” Samuel paused and looked from his left to his right, his eyes settling on her. “You’re probably hungry, aren’t you? I should have made sure you had something to eat.”
“I’m okay,” she lied, the quiver lacing her words betrayed her.
“Fuck,” he cursed and stood up. “I keep fucking shit up.”
Samuel wrapped his fingers around her arm, dragging her to her feet while muttering about finding her something to eat, but Elle had had enough. She was done, so she yanked her arm from his grip, causing him to stop and look back at her with a confused expression.
“Leave me,” she said.
“What?” he asked, his forehead crinkling. “We don’t have time for this, Elle. We have to keep moving, and I need to find you some food.”
“No,” she groused, once more pulling away from him. “Leave me, Samuel.”
“I’m not leaving you,” her snarled, grabbing her by both arms before she could react.
“Just leave me!” she cried. “Please just stop caring about what happens to me and leave me. You’ll be faster without me. Just go.”
“I am not leaving you. Do you fucking hear me?”
“Leave me, Samuel!” Elle screamed, grabbing the front of his shirt. “Please, just leave me.”
At the end of the block, two police cars came to a sudden stop, the red, white, and blue lights on top flashing. Two police officers stepped out of each car, one hand wrapped around a flashlight and their other resting on top of their guns.
“Elle Davis?” one of the cops — a male from the sound of his voice — called out. “Samuel Davis? We’re not going to hurt you. Just don’t move, okay?”
Samuel shifted so that his back was against the front of Elle’s body, his arms reaching backward to keep her shielded from the police. Her legs trembled and her heart was racing. Tears flooded her eyes and sprinkled down her cheeks. They were going to take her to jail.
“When I count to three,” Samuel muttered just loud enough for her to hear, “I want you to turn and run. I’ll keep them busy long enough for you to get away.”
“And then what? They’ll kill you, Samuel,” she whimpered.
“I can take them.” He sounded confident, yet Elle could hear that doubt in his words. “Okay, ready? One.”
“We need the two of you to put your hands up, and step away from each other,” the cop hollered. “Come on. Your families are worried about you. Let us take you to them.”
“Two,” Samuel whispered.
“We know you must be cold and hungry,” one of the other officer’s called out as they slowly crept closer.
“Three.”
Elle turned to run, but her thigh muscles gave out on her and she fell after only taking a couple of steps. Samuel, however, was already charging at the officers, yelling like a barbarian.
“Stop!” the cop yelled while another managed to block a kick to the stomach. Two officers tackled Samuel to the ground. They rolled him onto his stomach and pinned his arms behind him.
The other police officers slowly approached Elle with their hands up in front of them. She wanted to beg them to take her home, yet at the same time, she wanted to plead with them to just kill her now. Death would have been better than living a shattered life.
“Ma’am, we’re not going to hurt you,” the officers on the left said. He looked to be about eighteen, his face covered in pimps and zits.
As they stopped a couple feet from her, he knelt and gave her a soft smile. “My name’s Jay. This is my partner Steven. We’ve been looking for you all day. A lot of people are worried about you.”
“I . . . I . . .”
Elle looked around him, watching as Samuel fought the two officers who were trying to load him into the back of their squad car. He called them every four letter word she knew and then making up a few. Scrambling to her feet, she tried once again to take off running, but Jay and Steven were on her before she could make as much as a step. Jay wrapped his arms around her, while Steven grabbed her legs.
Screaming, Elle pleaded with them to let her go, begged them not to touch her, not to hurt her, but they didn’t listen. They carried her over to the same car that Samuel was in, and placed her in the backseat next to him, ignoring the tears of defeat that fell down her face.
—FA—
Elle expected to be taken to the police station, so imagine her surprise when they stopped outside the hospital, where a doctor was standing with security guards and two nurses.
The officers opened the back doors to the cruiser, each wrapping their fingers around Elle and Samuel’s arms. They pulled them from inside the car and dragged them to where the doctor was waiting.
“Bring them in here,” the doctor — a male in his early sixties — said before turning and walking into the emergency room.
The security guards and nurses flanked the officers as they followed, drawing the attention of the dozen or so people milling around the waiting room of the E.R. In the back corner of the room, both Callum and Lydia stood while the police dragged the two of them through the set of double doors that led to the back.
The doctor stopped outside of a large examination room and pushed open the door. The police officers shoved Elle and Samuel into the room, the door closing behind them. A loud click echoed throughout the small room, and Elle knew they’d been locked inside.
Blowing out a heavy breath, she wrapped her arms around her torso and looked at Samuel, who had slumped to the floor and crawled into a corner.
“What do you think will happen now?” she asked.
Samuel shrugged his shoulders. “Does it matter?”
“Guess not.” Elle sat next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning her
head on his shoulder. “At least we have each other, right?”
“Yeah,” he whispered. “We have each other.”
Elle wasn’t sure how long they had been sitting on the floor when a click filled the air and the door was pushed open. The doctor who had been outside the hospital filed into the room, followed by a young woman with chin-length black hair and large blue eyes.
“I’m Dr. Calvin Avery. Why don’t you get off the floor? Have a seat on the bed?”
“Why don’t you go to hell?” Samuel grumbled. “We didn’t ask to be brought here, you know? You’re holding us against our will. Probably want to fuck us over, just like everyone else!”
“Why do you think we want to hurt you?” the dark haired woman asked.
She sat on the rolling stool every examination room seemed to have. While the doctor was wearing a pair of green scrubs and a while jacket, she wore a pair of black slacks, black heels, and a teal swoop-neck blouse, leading Elle to believe that she was not a doctor.
“Who are you?” Elle spoke softly, yet felt everyone shift their eyes to her.
The woman smiled. “My name is Jo Tyler. I’m a psychiatrist. Your families have asked me to speak with you.”
“They did?” she asked, surprised they cared enough to make such a request. Especially after she had picked Samuel over them.
“Yes,” Jo said, quietly. “They’re quite worried about you.”
“They shouldn’t be,” Elle whispered, laying her head on her knees.
“Really?” Jo leaned forward, bracing her upper body by placing her elbow on her knee and resting her chin on the palm of her hand. “Tell me what happened this morning.”
“Why? So you can tell us that we’re fucked? Don’t you think we know that, already?” Samuel snarled. “No, you want us to bare our souls, share our feelings, and tell you why we cry. Well, that ain’t happening, so you might as well get the fuck out of here!”
“Can’t do that,” Jo said, shaking her head. “You see, your families aren’t the only ones concerned about you. The police, who spent the last ten hours searching for you both, feel the two of you are a danger to yourselves and to other people, as well. They think you should be placed on a seventy-two hour psychiatric hold.”
