The Exception

by Adriana Locke

  I heard my desk chair roll a few feet and stop directly above me.

  “It’s okay. I’m just waiting on your boyfriend to come home and then things will be better for you. I will release your bonds to that chair. I know it hurts, bonita. And I am sorry. It wasn’t you I was after. It was him.”

  He began to laugh maniacally.

  My nostrils flared, my heart almost leaping out of my chest. I forced myself to stay calm.

  Breathe, Alexander. Figure a way out of this.

  “I was paid ten grand to deal with Cane. You are just going to be a little bonus.”

  My entire body raged with fury and I had to clap a hand over my mouth before I yelled out in frustration. I paced a circle, pulling on my hair, trying to release some of the energy that was threatening to bound up the stairs.

  The joists creaked again as he made his way to the other side of my office and away from Jada.

  I was still standing beneath where I thought she was and I heard a small whimper.

  My throat closed tight, nearly suffocating me.

  Think, Alexander! Fucking think!

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it to silent. I found Max’s name in my text box.

  Me: Call the police and send them to my house. Can’t answer questions. Do it now!

  JADA

  Tears were flowing down my cheeks, getting caught in the bandana in my mouth. My hair had escaped my ponytail and was now stuck to the sides of my face, glued to my skin by the tears.

  My head was so heavy, the pain so bad that I had to force myself to stay awake. I had to be present.

  I had to find a way out of this.

  Cane will be home soon.

  The thought made me cry harder. I had no way to warn him.

  I felt beyond helpless, completely and utterly useless. I couldn’t do anything but be tied to this chair and pray that somehow Cane would not walk in to this unknowingly.

  The man in front of me was leaning against a wall in the shadows, watching out the window. He was watching the wrong way for traffic to be coming in, but maybe that would benefit Cane somehow.

  I gave up trying to openly struggle, I could barely concentrate. The pain was so bad, my energy so sapped, that I could barely move anyway. I did work my hands back and forth, side to side, against the restraint. It was sharp, thin, and really hard. It felt like the zip ties my dad used to hold ‘For Sale’ signs to posts. It probably hurt, but everything hurt, so it was hard to tell.

  “Bonita, you may as well stop. You won’t be getting away.” His voice was placating. His shadow moved against the floor as he changed positions, staying encased in the shadows.

  I tried to move the bandana in my mouth with my tongue, but it was useless. My tongue was swollen and dry somehow, despite the soaked fabric of the gag.

  “Your boyfriend will not take me long to sort out. I didn’t get paid to dispose of his body, so I just need to end him and then you and I,” he laughed, “you and I will have a little fun before I go.”

  Vomit surged up my throat and I began to choke on it, the bandana refusing to allow it to exit my mouth. The acidic taste of the bile caused my eyes to water again causing me to panic. It was the one thing I had tried not to do.

  I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear anything but the man’s awful laugh getting closer. He pulled the fabric out of my mouth and I spat the fluid all over his shoes, my tears now mixing with the vomit dripping down my chin.

  I tried to drag air into my lungs as my face hung pathetically forward, the fluids still dripping out of my mouth.

  “You little bitch!” he said in a very controlled tone. He took a step back and slapped me across the face, the loud smack against my eardrum causing it to pop and feel wet.

  My eyes began to close again, unable to deal with the pain.

  I’m going to die tonight …

  CANE

  I was losing control. All sense of rationality was slipping away.

  I heard her get sick and the sound of him hitting her. Each sound ripped through me and I winced as if I could feel it myself.

  My blood boiled with the need to make him—whoever he was—pay and to get to my girl.

  If they are in my office, I could get to the stairs and down the hallway. But there was no way to get to Jada with him in the room.

  Fuck!

  Even if he was after me, he’d kill her in a fucking second. Me not going up there was saving her life. As soon as he realized I was in the house, we were both dead unless I could kill him first. And he was obviously prepared for war.

  I just needed a distraction.

  Where was the fucking police? Please, Max, please have gotten my text!

  The chiming of the doorbell caught my attention and I heard him move above me.

  “Doorbell, bonita? Are you expecting someone?”

  I moved quickly to the end of the staircase, realizing that Lucy’s little connection may provide just the opportunity I needed. The ceiling began to creak as whoever was in my office made his way to the front of the house.

  Quickly, I went upstairs, my heart pounding in my chest. I had to get to her while I could.

  I had taken my gun off and put it in the glove compartment on my way home and, like a dumbass, hadn’t grabbed it when I got out of the Denali.

  What the fuck am I going to do? Think!

  I made it to the top of the staircase before pausing, listening for any clues as to where the intruder was. The doorbell chimed again and I heard the click of his gun in the foyer. I padded quickly down part of the hallway and into my office.

  And.

  My.

  Heart.

  Fucking.

  Broke.

  What had this motherfucker done to her?

  I had thought a few times before that if I had a heart it would have cracked. Well, I fucking knew I had one now because I could feel it splintering into fucking tiny little jagged pieces. It felt like shrapnel blistering its way, ripping its way, through my chest.

  Through my life.

  Through my fucking soul.

  My eyes filled with tears as I made my way across the room. She sat there so broken, so helpless and it killed me.

  It slaughtered me.

  It fucking incensed me.

  As her eyes began to lift to mine, I knew one thing was for sure. This was going to fucking end my way.

  JADA

  My head hung against my chest like weights were tied to my neck, pulling it down. My eyes were so swollen from the hits that I couldn’t see.

  I couldn’t even fucking cry.

  I just wanted to close my eyes and let go, get a respite from the pain for a few seconds.

  The scent of cedar and a touch of tobacco caused me to slowly lift my heavy head. I struggled with my eyes, understanding the urgency but not able to focus on anything. It was all a haze. But I knew he was there! I could sense him like I always could.

  I have to find him!

  I have to warn him!

  He has to know what was going on before it’s was too late!

  I began to struggle against my bounds again, not nearly as forcefully as I had originally, but with everything I had left in me. I wanted to yell out, but my throat was too raw.

  Suddenly, his beautiful face was right in front of mine, his breath warm on my face.

  “Shhh, Jada. I am here. It’s me, baby.”

  I began to struggle harder, trying to tell him the things he needed to know.

  Listen to me, damn it!

  Tears felt like they were trying to pool in my eyes, but there was nothing there. There was no room for even a tear beneath the swollen eyelids.

  “Sit still. The police are coming but he can’t know I’m here. Do you understand? Sit still, Jada.” Cane’s voice was nearly a whisper but stern.

  My chest rose and fell quickly. I wanted to grab him, to hold him, to protect him from whatever evil plan the bastard in here had devised.

  But I was bound
, beaten, and unable to even cry out.

  Hell, I couldn’t even cry. There were no more tears. Only pain. So much pain.

  Cane kissed me quickly on the forehead before whispering one final time, “Be still,” before stepping out of my sight.

  CANE

  I stepped back towards my bookshelf and into the shadows. Shit was about to get fucking real and I didn’t even have a weapon, but I’d use my fucking body as a shield to protect her if I had to.

  No more pain would come to my girl as long as I was still breathing.

  I heard heavy footsteps crossing the wood floors, making their way down the very same hall I had just come from. They grew louder with each step. I searched for a weapon, something to even out the playing field.

  I tucked myself into the side of the bookcase. My eyes made out the shape of the antique sword my Grandpa Ben had given me before he died. He had gotten it during a trip with my grandmother to Greece in the 1970s. He had told me it was a real sword, used by real Greeks in battle.

  Let’s hope this motherfucker has one good battle left in it.

  I gave a last look at Jada. Her head was slumped forward, her body only held up by her hands tied behind the back of the chair. I wasn’t sure she was even conscious.

  My heart fell briefly before I found my focus.

  I grabbed the golden sword, took a few steps to the side and stood by the doorway, my back pressed hard against the wall, my heart pounding in my chest as the footsteps got closer.

  Regardless of what happens to me, please let her be okay.

  “Someone ordered pizza.” A man’s voice said right outside the door. “I would like to get it. You and I could have a bite to eat before we end our little time together. Aye, if your boyfriend had been fucking home when he was supposed to have been, maybe we could have had dinner before I fuck you and kill you. Too bad.”

  I clenched my jaw, gripping the sword with all of my strength, willing myself to shut the fuck up.

  His black boots crossed the doorway before his body, head to toe in black. A glimmer from the street light hitting the metal of the gun at his side caught my attention.

  At least I knew where it was.

  “This is taking longer than expected. I am going to have to ask Mr. Powers for a bonus for my time.”

  Holding the sword tightly, I took a step forward before twisting and slicing across the man’s abdomen with every bit of fury, rage, and strength I could possibly find.

  The blade ripped through his shirt and into his skin, bright red blood oozing out, dripping off the ridge of the blade as it cut across him.

  The gun dropped hard against the floor as his hands flew to his stomach. A whooshing sound escaped his throat as all air left his body and he stumbled into the light, eyes wide.

  I took a step forward and his eyes widened further as they found me. He looked down and saw his internal organs beginning to spill outside his body.

  He frantically began patting his stomach, his chest heaving, hands sticky with his own blood. He stumbled another step farther before falling onto the floor face first in a heap of his own blood and organs.

  I breathed heavily and looked around the room, ensuring there were no accomplices, before landing on Jada. She was struggling against her restraints, her sounds weak and muffled.

  I walked across the room, my body shaking with the effects of the adrenaline. Sirens began to come into earshot.

  You are a little too fucking late.

  I knelt down in front of my girl and set the sword next to me. Her eyes were frantic and swollen so much that I knew she couldn’t see me.

  “It’s me, baby. He’s gone,” I said softly.

  I pulled the gag out of her mouth and up over her head. She began working her mouth up and down, trying to swallow.

  “Cane,” was all she could make out. I kissed her forehead before moving behind her. I worked at the ties around her bleeding wrists.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  My front door burst open and I continued to fumble with the ties.

  A swarm of officers descended upon the room, guns drawn, in police formation.

  “The light switch is by the door.” I said, still fumbling with the ties. “And there’s a guy bleeding to death under the window if you give a fuck.”

  The lights came on and the noise level in the room went up immediately as the scene in the room became apparent. Police began to bark orders to each other, ordering ambulances, drug teams, and K9 units.

  Everything but Jada fell to the wayside as I freed her hands. She began to fall forward immediately, the pain and exhaustion too much for her to hold herself up. I caught her against my chest, pulling her hair back away from her face. I could see the pain in her eyes, the green laced with so much agony that it fucking hurt me. It killed me.

  Tears began to build in my eyes as I was finally able to wrap my mind around everything that had just happened.

  “Sir, I’m going to need you to step back,” an officer said behind me.

  “I’m going to need you to shut the fuck up,” I growled, not bothering to turn around.

  I looked at my beautiful girl and wrapped her in my arms, holding her close. “Are you okay, baby?”

  I smoothed her hair back as an officer unfastened her feet.

  “No,” she groaned. “I hurt so much.”

  I kissed the top of her head before picking her up and cradling her like a baby.

  “Sir, you can’t take her anywhere. An ambulance is coming.”

  My eyes flashed to his, causing him to blanch. “I’ll put her in the ambulance myself. But there’s not a chance I’ll be putting her down before then.”

  He nodded uncertainly before grabbing the little radio on his collar and turning away from us.

  “Cane?” Jada muttered against my chest.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Please don’t leave me.”

  I squeezed her tighter. “There’s not a chance that will ever happen again.”

  JADA

  I looked at Cane in the driver’s seat of his Denali. We were pulling out of the hospital and he looked in total control—sunglasses over his eyes, one arm resting on top of the steering wheel. It was the most relaxed I had seen him in the last three days. He had never left my hospital bed. Kari had brought him clothes and he had showered in my room. He slept in a chair next to my bed every night.

  The hospital kept me for tests and observation, but luckily no permanent damage was done. It was going to take some time for me to heal completely, but at least it would happen. My eyes were still black and my face was still swollen, but the ringing in my ears started to wane.

  A counselor had come to see me in the hospital and explained that I may feel some sort of post-traumatic stress. He encouraged me to make an appointment with someone to discuss my feelings if I became overly anxious or scared.

  The thought of going back into Cane’s house terrified me and I didn’t think I would ever be able to go there again. But otherwise, I wanted to try to live my life without looking over my shoulder. If at all possible, I didn’t want to become a victim. I made a couple of appointments with a therapist at Cane’s urging, just in case … and because he wasn’t to be argued with.

  Cane grabbed my hand and sat it on his thigh, covering my hand with his. He chewed on his bottom lip as we made our way across the Valley towards Kari’s.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

  I shrugged, wincing a little. “Okay. My head hurts, but I think it may hurt for a while.”

  “Yeah.” He furrowed his brow. “Can I show you one thing before we go to your sister’s? If you don’t feel like it, baby, just say so.”

  “I’d like to see whatever you have to show me.” I smiled widely as I tried to readjust my sunglasses on my swollen face.

  Cane turned on the radio and John Legend came on. “Hear this?” he asked, turning it up.
“This is me to you.” He grinned shyly, making my heart burst. “I love you.”

  “I loved you first,” I whispered.

  His eyes found mine and I could see the wheels turning.

  “What’s the matter?” I swung my ring around my finger.

  He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said as we passed the exit to Kari’s.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Patience is a virtue.”

  “Funny, I’ve heard that before,” I laughed. I relaxed back into the soft leather and felt some of the tension float away. Maybe things were getting back to some sort of normal.

  He took his sunglasses off and chewed on the end. “I think I’ve said that to you before,” he said, thoughtfully. “And I think it was the last time we came out here.”

  “Are we going to your mountain?” I asked him, wondering what the city looked like from there with the sun still up.

  He grinned.

  “So that is where we are going!” I exclaimed and he shook his head at me. “I really love it out there, you know. I’m excited to see it in the daytime.”

  “I hope you are.”

  I watched the scenery float by, everything so colorful. After everything that had happened, every color, every flower, every single thing looked more beautiful, tasted better, smelled better.

  “So what do we do now?” I asked.

  His eyes flashed to me in a panic.

  “Not like that, Cane. We can’t live at Kari’s forever. Where do we go? I just can’t go back to your house.” I looked to the floorboard, a little disappointed in myself that I couldn’t get over that. “I just feel so … homeless. And you won’t go home without me and I can’t go there and it’s just—”

  “Home is wherever you are, baby. That place my shit was at was just a structure. That wasn’t a home.”

  I tried to suppress the ridiculous grin on my face to no avail. “So what do we do?”

  “That depends,” he said softly, sticking his sunglasses in the top of his shirt.

  “On what?”

  He nodded ahead.

  I looked up through the windshield and realized we were making our way to the base of his mountain. Sitting at the top was a building. I couldn’t make out much as we pulled to the back and made our way up the hill.