by BL Mute
“But those girls…” I start, trailing off.
As terrible as it is, I know he’s right. We can’t do anything yet. We need a plan, a solid, thought-out plan. We can’t go in there and hope for the best. That’s how people get killed.
I follow the same routine I have been any chance I’ve had a minute of spare time.
Drive to the casino, stand outside and watch, light up a smoke, and wait.
I haven’t told anyone I’ve been back. I leave when everyone is asleep or wait till I’m already out running bullshit errands, but something about tonight just feels different. It’s almost like her essence is drifting from the basement, up the stairs, down the hall, all the way out the front doors, and hitting me in my face.
I can feel her—smell her. I need her.
I light my cigarette and inhale a slow puff. I’ve never been a smoker, but that’s changed. No one ever seems to question anyone stepping outside for a smoke, so I’ve used it as an excuse to be lurking around, but now it’s a need. The nicotine keeps me calm.
I pull my phone out and check it. Nothing from Lucas or Ilya. I roll my eyes and shove it back into my pocket.
Fuck them.
I take one last drag of my cigarette, then throw it on the ground and snub it out with my foot. When I look back up, I see Emil with the same scrawny guy from the other day exiting. It’s like fucking clockwork with them, always coming and going at the same times throughout the day. At least from what I’ve noticed.
I haven’t been lucky enough to get back into the basement yet, but it won’t stop me from trying. When I see them both slide into their car, I button the bottom of my jacket and shake out my shoulders. “Showtime.”
I walk across the parking lot and into the casino. I keep my head down and dodge all of the cocktail waitresses who may recognize me from plowing into their pussies. I make it to the hallway without hassle and follow it.
One foot in front of the other, I keep walking until I make it to the stairwell. I open the door and head down. Soft footsteps sound out behind me, so I slow my pace and act like I’m checking my phone. When a man passes me, I let him take a few steps before I follow. He makes it to the final door before me, so I stop and look over his shoulder as he punches in a code.
2161
The door clicks softly, signaling the lock is disengaged, and he steps in, holding the door open for me. What a dumbass. He doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t stop to look at me, nothing. He just holds the door open for me, then disappears into the dark hall to the right.
I glance around and study the place the same way I did the first time I saw it. Everything seems the same, darker, but the same. I start down the right hall and don’t stop until I’m at the last door. When I look through the crack between the frame and wall, I see the same blonde draped in a low blue light that only hits the bed.
Instantly, my anger flares. She’s bound by her wrist and ankles with rope that is practically burning her. I turn the knob and push open the door, surprised there is no resistance. As I walk further into the room, her naked body starts to thrash on the bed.
Muffled screams sound out around the gag in her mouth. I step even closer and bring my finger to my lips. “Shh.” When her eyes meet mine, her body stops moving. “I’m going to take this off, but you can’t scream. I’m here to help, okay?”
Her head nods vigorously as tears form in her blue orbs.
I tug the gag down, letting my fingers brush her cheek, down to her chin. “What’s your name?”
“Cat,” she rasps.
“Cat.” I nod. “I’m going to get you out of here—”
I’m cut off by the knob of the door turning again. Fuck.
“I’ll be back for you.”
“No. No. No!” she screams as I move the gag back to her mouth. “Don’t you fucking leave me, please!” Her teeth catch my pointer finger as I try to stuff the gag back in her mouth.
“Fuck!” I jerk my hand back, then use the other to force the gag back into her mouth. I inhale deep through my nose. “I’ll be back,” I whisper as the door opens.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” a fat-bellied man asks as I stumble away from the bed.
“I—” I hiccup. “Just looking.” I slur my words.
His lip curls as he grabs me by my suit jacket and pushes me out of the room. “Get the fuck out of here with your drunk ass. I paid, so it’s my turn.”
I hold up my hands and sway on my feet as he slams the door in my face.
I pace in front of the door for a moment, debating on busting back inside and taking Cat like I should have in the first place, but I can’t. It would be stupid—a death sentence. I’m armed, but I’m alone, and unfortunately, numbers matter.
I try to think of something—anything—I can do to get her out and come up blank. I need fucking Lucas, but he’s too busy with Charlie to even care. I love Charlie, I do, but he knows damn well nothing will happen to her. Between me, him, and Carl, she’s completely covered. Cat isn’t.
Running my fingers through my hair, I yank it and hold back a scream. I watched my mom go through this shit far too long to be okay with leaving her, but I have no choice right now. I need backup, and if Lucas won’t give it to me, I’ll go down fighting for her myself.
I leave the small place I’ll only refer to as hell and start back up the stairs, down the halls, all the way until I’m in the parking lot.
I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Lucas’s number, then hang up before it can connect. Fuck a phone call. He’ll have to tell me no in person. Luckily, I know Lucas is easily worn down. He can play bad all he wants, but I fucking know him. He’ll get tired of me pestering and finally give in. and I have a secret weapon… our mother.
I slip into the Challenger and start the engine. I’d like to call this car mine, since I’m the only one who uses it anymore, but I can’t. It’s still Teddy’s. A lot of things are still Teddy’s, or at least I see it that way even though I hated him. I miss him, sure. He did a lot for me and Lucas, but it doesn’t change the fact of what he did to Charlie. Shit like that is unforgivable, which is precisely why I want Cat out.
As I drive back to the cabin from the casino, thoughts I try to keep at bay start to invade my mind. Where are the other girls? The other victims? Every woman I’ve seen looked to be enjoying themselves. All of them other than Cat, which makes me think of my mother.
It’s probably fucked-up I associate a woman who makes me feel a certain way with my mother, or maybe that’s the thing. For years I watched my dad hit my mom, rape her, break her down mentally and physically, so now when I see it, I don’t care about anything other than putting a stop to it.
When I saw the picture of Cat in the file, all I could picture was what my dad did to my mom. Sure, my mom would never be classified as mother of the year. She spent more time trying to please our father than actually taking care of us, but I can’t blame her. Regardless she was still our mom, and because of that we loved her. She held a certain spot in our hearts even if she was never much of an actual motherly figure.
When Dad would rape her or beat her, we would take care of her. I can’t help but to think if he weren’t so terrible to her, we would have been brought up better. She would have done normal shit with us like sign us up for sports, come to all of our games, been our biggest fan, or whatever other normal shit parents and kids do. But she didn’t. Because of the bullshit my dad did, he robbed us of an actual mother, turning us into her caretakers instead.
I try and silence my thoughts as I pull into the cabin drive. I need to be clearheaded when I talk to Lucas and try and make him understand why this is so important, and I don’t care if I have to use the love of our dead mother to do it.
The door opens and Julius enters with a look of condemnation covering his features. Lucas stands from his spot on the couch beside me and starts closing the gap between them. “What did you do, Jules?”
Julius lets out a breath, then crosses his arms and
sucks his teeth. “I went back.”
“To the casino?” I ask, standing to join them.
“I saw her.” He doesn’t answer my question, but he doesn’t need to.
“What the fuck. What if someone saw you?” Lucas practically yells.
“I wasn’t seen, okay? And even if I was, what’s the big deal?”
“Are you fucking stupid?” Lucas asks, jabbing his finger into Julius’s temple. “We can’t risk shit right now. We can’t be reckless. We have to wait for Sebastian to make his move before we do anything.”
Julius pushes Lucas away with enough force that he bumps into me. “You know—” He lets out a sinister laugh as he runs his hands through his hair. “Mom would be on my side. She would fucking help me.”
“Don’t bring her into this,” Lucas hisses.
“Why? Because you know I’m right,” Julius bites back.
“No, because I couldn’t give a fuck less what she would think. She wasn’t a fucking mother, and you know it. So, why should her opinion matter?”
“Pretty fucked-up.” He shakes his head.
“Because it’s true?” Lucas asks.
Suddenly I feel the need to walk away. Like I’m interrupting a conversation they need to have alone.
“I’m going to go.” I point behind me to my door and start to walk away.
“No,” Julius calls behind me. “You claim to be a fucking queen, so be one. Do the right fucking thing, Charlie.”
I turn to face him, but before I can say anything, Lucas speaks. “Don’t talk to her that way,” he warns.
“Or what?” Julius waits for a reply, but it doesn’t come, so he continues. “When Teddy raped her, I didn’t even question shit. I followed you and did what had to be done to show him he fucked up. I wanted to kill him, but you stopped me.” He looks to me. “No fucking offense, but why is it you matter so goddamn much and Cat doesn’t?”
“Watch it, Jules,” Lucas warns again, stepping closer to him.
“Fuck you, brother. My respect for you is down to nothing since you want to turn your back on something so fucking important.”
“No one said it wasn’t important, Julius. We just need to think things through—” I start before he cuts me off.
“So now you’re wanting to plan things, to make sure shit is perfect? Maybe you should have thought about that before and Teddy would still be alive. We wouldn’t be in this fucking position to begin with.”
My mouth falls open as my heart starts to break. How could someone who was so fucking sweet, so fucking caring, turn into such an asshole. I’m about to question it out loud, but I snap my mouth shut. What’s the point? I knew these boys were just like Teddy. I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Fuck you,” I whisper as my eyes start to water.
Lucas looks to me, and it seems to fuel him forward. Before I can stop him, his fist flies into Julius’s jaw. “I told you to watch it!” he yells.
Julius raises his head with blood oozing from his mouth. “Too bad I don’t like to fucking listen,” he says through clenched teeth.
Everything that happens next almost moves in slow motion. Lucas tackles Julius, and they both fall to the ground. For a moment they roll around, fighting for dominance, all while throwing punches. My hands start to shake as I try and scream over all of the noise they’re making, trying to tell them to stop.
“Lucas!” I try, grabbing his shoulder and pulling as hard as I can, but he doesn’t budge.
Julius flips him and gets back on top, then starts pounding him mercilessly. A crunch sounds out every time his fist collides with his face or body. Blood smears the floor, and its smell fills the air, making my stomach turn.
“Stop!” I try again, but it’s almost like they can’t hear me.
Julius lands another hit to Lucas’s ribs. “Come on, is that the best you got, Mason?” He smiles with bloodstained teeth and swelling eyes.
For a second Julius stops. He’s completely still, blood running down his chin dripping onto Lucas as his chest heaves quickly. But then something snaps, and he starts again, only this time Lucas fights back even harder.
As they continue rolling around, breaking anything in their path, including each other, I sprint to the counter and reach into my bag. Probably not the smartest move, but I can’t watch them kill each other. I grip my gun, then pull it out and aim it toward the ceiling. I pull the hammer back, then squeeze the trigger firing a single shot.
The bang is loud in such a small space, but it gets their attention. They both jump and jerk their heads in my direction as small pieces of the roof fall down on me. The ringing in my ears is so loud I can’t even hear what they’re saying. I see Lucas’s mouth moving, but I can’t make out the words. I don’t know if it’s from the gunshot or the utter disbelief.
“Charlotte?” I finally hear Julius yell.
I bring my eyes to his. “Are you done?” I ask, completely ignoring the shock on his face.
He nods and picks himself up from the ground, then reaches for Lucas. “I feel that was unnecessary,” he mumbles.
“Yeah? And I feel that whole thing”—I point to the blood on the floor—“was unnecessary. I get you want to help the girl, but we can’t do anything yet. I promise we will save her; we just have to be smart.”
“Her name is Cat,” he remarks.
“How do you know?” Lucas asks, finally breaking his silence.
“I talked to her,” he says nonchalantly.
“What do you mean talked to her?” Lucas says, squaring his shoulders again.
I suck in through my nose and let it out through my mouth before stepping between them.
“I went inside, snuck into the room, and I talked to her. I told her I would be back.”
“Fuck, Julius.” Lucas seethes.
He shakes his head. “You know what, I don’t need your fucking help. I’ll do this on my own.”
He turns to walk out the door. I try and grab his arm, but he jerks out of my hold. “Fuck off, Flower.”
He steps outside and slams the door, shaking the walls. Lucas goes to follow him, but I tug him back. “Stop. Let him cool off.”
He shakes his head and bites his swollen lip. “I don’t want him to do anything stupid.”
“He won’t. Just let him have a moment to be angry. He’ll see we’re right and calm down. Until then, let’s clean you up and figure out a plan for when the other shit is over.” He stares at the door for a moment before finally nodding and letting me pull him into the bathroom.
He perches himself on the edge of the bathtub, slumping his shoulders with his head down. I rummage through the cabinets and find a first aid kit along with some gauze and antibacterial ointment.
I pull out everything I think I’ll need—cotton balls, Band-Aids, peroxide—then lay it on the small counter with the sink. As I’m setting up, Lucas stands. “Hold on.”
He leaves the bathroom then comes back with his phone in his hand. His fingers fly across the screen. “What are you doing?” I ask as he sits back down.
“Never got a chance to call Carl, so I’m just sending him a text with all the info about Cameron. The sooner we can handle this, the better.”
I nod and pour some peroxide onto a cotton ball. I dab his lip and the gash under his eye gently, but he still winces, letting a hiss break through his lips. “I’m sorry,” I say, moving my hand away from his face.
He wraps his fingers around my wrist and brings it back to the busted skin under his eye. “It’s okay. I like the pain.” He lets his phone fall to the floor.
Butterflies erupt in my stomach, and heat rolls over my cheeks as I drop my head.
He grips my chin and raises my eyes back to his. “I’m making you blush.” He grins. “What is making you hot, baby?” he whispers, moving his hand down to my throat, then to the back of my neck.
“I—” I cut myself off.
“Tell me. It’s okay to talk about what you like.” His fingers crawl over to my shoulder. �
�Or what you don’t like. Don’t be ashamed.”
“You,” I finally let out.
“Me? What about me?” He stands and turns me around, then pushes my hair over the front of my shoulder and starts peppering kisses along the crook of my neck.
My breath hitches as his tongue flicks over my neck. “Just you.”
His arm snakes around my waist, then moves up my body, between my breasts, and he grips my neck lightly. “What about this?”
I nod.
He nips my shoulder with his teeth. “This?”
I nod again.
His hand falls from my neck and moves to my waist. He hooks a thumb in the waist of my pants and runs it from one hip to the other slowly. “And this?”
I nod once again.
“Use your words, baby,” he chastises in a sweet tone.
“I need you.” I reach behind me and grab a handful of his hair.
“Pull it,” he demands, so I do.
The soft strands almost slip out of my fingers, so I grip them harder. I can feel his body go rigid behind me as he moans into my ear. I turn in his hold and face him, still holding his hair. His pupils are dilated with need, and I can practically smell the lust rolling off him.
I lick my lips and inhale, waiting for what I thought was the inevitable—for the visions of Teddy to flood my mind—but they don’t come. It’s just Lucas and me.
His eyes are on me as I move my other hand to his back and rake my fingernails down his bare skin. His eyes squint and his nostrils flare, but he doesn’t let out a sound and all it does is feed my need to give him more. To hurt him in the ways he wants.
Our eyes battle for a moment before I bring my lips to his. I kiss him with the same passion he kisses me with before I snag his lip between my teeth. I can already taste the copper from his blood before I bite down, but he urges me to continue by jutting his chin.
When I release him, a wicked grin pulls the corners of his lips. He swipes his finger under my lip, then brings it between us. Blood dribbles down his thumb before he brings it to his mouth and licks it. “You’re going to kill me, baby.”
