Hers to Protect

by Nicole Disney

  “Well, luckily for everyone except you, we’re almost there,” Christina said.

  “I’m stopping here,” Anna said. “We’re remote. I want them tied properly and then we’ll keep on. If this bitch shoots at us again I swear it’s all your asses.”

  The van slowed and it felt like they were on a dirt road. She couldn’t imagine where they were going, but the chances seemed slim of being found by law enforcement now. Kaia’s eyes were flashing wildly around the van. Adrienne couldn’t imagine what she was planning, but she’d obviously entered a different frame of mind. Adrienne couldn’t read her face anymore. She tried to look around too, to find something useful. She tested her ropes, and while they were much less restricting in front of her, she still found no give whatsoever around her wrists.

  The van stopped. Anna jumped out of the driver’s seat and walked around. The back doors opened and the other members all jumped out.

  “Kaia.” Adrienne’s voice was weak and squeaky, fear taking it over.

  “It’s okay,” Kaia said.

  “They’re going to kill us.”

  Kaia’s eyes were soft. Adrienne saw her trying to work up to saying it wouldn’t happen, but she couldn’t. They had no idea where they were, they were outnumbered five to two, and they were obscenely outgunned.

  Anna grabbed Adrienne’s feet and dragged her out of the van. She landed on the ground before she even realized she was falling. She heard the scrape of them doing the same to Kaia. The air was shockingly cold against her skin. Her hands were numb and shivers crawled over her. Anna closed the van doors and grabbed each of their shirts, then yanked them so they were upright against the back of the van.

  Anna seemed to notice a pain in her arm from the effort. She touched her shoulder gingerly and held bloody fingers in front of her. She shrugged out of her jacket. A bullet had grazed her.

  “Look at that, you got me.” She turned to Kaia and laughed. “Goddamn, you’re a pain in my ass.”

  “You thought I was going to just let you kill us?”

  “Kind of.”

  “You’re a slow learner then.”

  Anna laughed. “I can appreciate a fighter, but I can’t abide one.” She kicked Kaia in the stomach, doubling her over. Anna crouched down and forced her to sit again. “All right,” she said. “Which one of you killed Gianna?” Anna’s eyes went back and forth between them.

  Adrienne’s heart pounded and her face got hot. She glanced at Kaia for guidance, wondering if they had any shot at denying it.

  “I did,” Kaia blurted out instantly.

  Adrienne was horrified. “No, she didn’t. I did.”

  Anna was still crouched in front of them. “That’s cute,” she said. “I see what you’re doing. But you’re going to tell me the truth.”

  “I killed her,” Kaia said again. Anna punched Kaia in the face hard enough that her head smacked into the van behind her. Adrienne cringed.

  “It was me, Anna,” Adrienne said. “Gianna wanted to kill me, you know she did. She came for me, we fought, I won.”

  Anna laughed. “You fought and you won, huh? That simple? That’s pretty hard to believe.”

  “I used the lid of the toilet tank. I hit her as hard as I could and she went down. I didn’t mean to kill her, but I did. I’m the one you’re looking for.”

  Anna turned back to Kaia. “What’s your story?”

  “That’s true, except it was me, and I did mean to kill her. She went after Adrienne. I found them and hit her with the toilet tank lid. That’s why the blow was to the side and back of her head.”

  Anna looked back to Adrienne. Adrienne just shook her head. “It was me. You know it was me. She’s just trying to save my life.”

  “How do I know you’re not just trying to save hers?”

  “She is,” Kaia said. “Adrienne, just stop it.”

  Anna laughed. “You can both stop. I’m killing you both either way. You were both involved to some extent, and you’re both going to die for it. Tell me the truth and I’ll make it fast.”

  Adrienne looked at Kaia, begging her to stop lying. Anna was already prone to believe Kaia. It made more sense to her since she thought of cops as killers, but Adrienne couldn’t let her believe it. She knew Anna had something special in store for the one who killed Gianna and she couldn’t let Kaia take that for her.

  “What’s it going to be?” Anna asked. “Can we get on the same page? Who did it?”

  “I did.” They both said the words again in unison.

  Anna was visibly frustrated. She stood up and paced, then came back and crouched again. “I guess I just have to torture you both then. I was only going to torture the one who killed her and put the other down quick, but since I can’t be sure, you both get it. How’s that?”

  She glanced from one to the other, waiting for one of them to change their story, but neither did. Anna directed the guys to hold Kaia while she retied Kaia’s hands behind her much tighter than before.

  When she was bound again, Anna took a knife from her pocket and flipped it open. She cut Kaia’s sleeve and exposed her shoulder. She put the blade to Kaia’s skin and dug in. Kaia only winced at first, but it quickly turned to screams as Anna dragged her blade horizontally, peeling her skin.

  “It was me!” Adrienne screamed. “It was me, it was me! Anna, you know it was me!”

  Anna finished dragging the blade through and held up the patch of skin she’d removed. Adrienne thought she might throw up. She looked at Kaia’s shoulder. Blood was pouring down her arm from the two-inch square of missing skin. Kaia was pale and her eyes were closed.

  “Well, pig? You ready to change your story? Plenty more where that came from.”

  Kaia opened her eyes and spit in Anna’s face. “It was me.”

  “No!” Adrienne yelled. “Damn you, Kaia! It’s not true.”

  Anna stood and kicked Kaia in the head. “I know you did not just spit in my face.” She knelt over Kaia and started punching. Kaia fell to the dirt, unable to protect herself. Adrienne heard herself screaming, but she couldn’t control it. A fist connected with her face.

  “Shut up,” Anna said. Kaia was unconscious on the ground, spatters of blood flung across the dirt around her.

  Anna paced in a rage, yelling at Kaia’s unconscious body. “Fucking shot me. Spit on me. Out of your fucking mind. Wake her up!”

  “Anna, she had nothing to do with it,” Adrienne said. “Please. It was me. I swear it was me. It’s all because of me. Just let her go.”

  “Let her go?” Anna walked over. “Let her go? Are you crazy? Even if I take your word for it that you killed Gianna this one’s still not going anywhere.” Anna crouched in front of her again. “You know, you were supposed to love Gianna. You were with Gianna. You were with her for years and then you two just kill her like she’s nothing. You don’t even shed a tear. How long before you were fucking the cop?”

  “I—”

  “Shut up! You’re a snitch. You’re a disloyal scheming bitch. You killed my best friend, who loved you, and you don’t give a shit, but you’re fucking falling apart for this chick? Why is she so important, huh? Guess what, I don’t care. If she’s the only way to tear your tiny cold heart apart, then get ready.” Anna stood back up and walked over to Kaia. She rolled her onto her back and slapped her face, trying to wake her.

  “Get her up, I said!” Anna yelled and stood upright again, pacing like a maniac. The members scrambled for water and splashed Kaia’s face until she stirred. “Get her up.”

  Sean and Jacob each grabbed one of Kaia’s arms and dragged her to a standing position. Kaia was covered in blood from the beating and the knife. Anna squared in front of her and started hitting her, over and over again. Kaia grunted from the impacts but didn’t say a word. Adrienne yelled until her throat was raw. Her cheeks were wet and hot with tears. Anna’s knuckles were bloody.

  Adrienne heard a siren. It was far in the distance and utterly useless to her, but it seemed to remind Anna
what she was doing. Kaia was limp in Sean’s and Jacob’s arms. Her eyes were barely open, her face was bruised and bleeding. Anna pulled her knife out again.

  “You ready, Blondie?”

  “No, Anna, please!” Adrienne screamed. “I’ll do anything.”

  Anna looked over her shoulder at Adrienne. “All I want from you is the look on your face when you see this.” Anna turned and stabbed downward, sinking the blade into Kaia’s chest. Adrienne felt herself screaming, but everything sounded quiet. Kaia looked at the knife buried in her and then met Adrienne’s eyes. They were still filled with that same relentless calm.

  Jacob and Sean let go of her and she fell to the ground. Anna turned back to Adrienne and walked over as if nothing had happened. She swung the van door open, grabbed Adrienne’s shirt, and yanked her up. Adrienne’s legs were numb and useless. Anna struggled with her weight but managed to drag her back up and into the van.

  “We’re going for another ride,” she said. “Where we can take our time with you.”

  “What do you want to do with her?” Christina nodded at Kaia.

  “Leave her,” Anna said. Adrienne felt like she was breathing fire. She couldn’t tell if Kaia was already dead, unconscious, or awake and struggling to breathe. Was she feeling death take her? Was she slipping out of life to a backdrop of blood and screams?

  “I love you, Kaia,” Adrienne yelled. She didn’t know if Kaia could hear her. She didn’t know if her words would even matter, but she had to try.

  “Oh, Jesus, shut up.” Anna shoved her farther into the van. Adrienne watched Kaia’s body on the ground, searching for signs of movement. She couldn’t see any. The door slammed shut.

  She felt the engine rev and the van take off. She had no idea where they were. Even if she could find a way to escape or get help somehow, how could she tell someone where to find Kaia? Even if she was alive now she’d bleed out or freeze to death overnight.

  “How you doing, girlie?” Anna beamed over her shoulder from the driver’s seat.

  “Fuck you.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  “You’re going to die for this,” Adrienne said. “I’ll find a way.”

  “Look at that, Gianna did teach you a thing or two, didn’t she? You can save it though. I’m not taking chances with you. There’s not a thing in this world you can do to stop me.”

  Adrienne couldn’t stop crying. The tears just leaked down her face even as rage became her primary emotion. She kept flashing back to Kaia, wondering if she died yet, guessing she probably had.

  “Hey, Adrienne,” Anna said. “Who killed Gianna? Your girlfriend is already dead now, it doesn’t matter anymore. Was it her?”

  Adrienne didn’t answer.

  “You were convincing and everything, but you were desperate to save her. So how about it? Who was it?”

  “It was the cop,” Christina said. “This one doesn’t have the sack.”

  “It was the cop, huh?” Anna asked.

  “You’re never going to know,” Adrienne said. “If that’s the only thing I can take from you, I’m taking it.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Kaia woke up on the ground. The freezing air bit at her skin. The stars were an explosion of glitter above her. Seeing so many of them scared her. She was too far from civilization. But as that fear started to grab her, she pushed it back. They hadn’t driven that long. It couldn’t be as bad as it looked.

  The tire tracks were fresh, leading back to what she assumed must be a paved road. It would lead her back to help, but beyond a main road, she wouldn’t be able to track Adrienne. She carefully sat up. The mixture of numbness and pain tingled through her whole body. She was stiff and sore. Her arm was bare where Anna had cut away her sleeve to peel her skin. The chunk missing from her shoulder was deep, but had stopped bleeding. The skin around it was blue. Her arms ached from being tied so tightly behind her, and she’d long lost circulation in her hands. More pressing, Anna had stabbed her and the handle was sticking out of her chest, near her collarbone.

  It was too high to have hit her heart, and judging by her ability to breathe, it had also missed her lungs. Just looking at it made pain radiate through her chest and shoulders, but she took a breath and breathed past it. She hadn’t even felt it a moment ago; it was all mental. She knew she couldn’t remove the blade or she’d risk bleeding out. Anna should’ve known to take the knife with her, but she had been too emotional to think clearly.

  Kaia staggered after the van tracks. Why would they take Adrienne to a second location? Why not just kill her here? Kaia suspected Anna knew Adrienne had been the one to actually kill Gianna and had a long, grueling session of torture planned. She wanted to scream thinking about Adrienne being tortured, but she knew she needed this to be true or Adrienne would be dead before she even found her way off this land.

  Her feet were throbbing, the cold was excruciating. She was quickly short of breath and became paranoid it was related to her injuries, that she was going to flicker out and die somewhere along the road. She couldn’t let that happen. She forced herself to keep walking. When the knife caught the corner of her eye, she decisively ignored it. She was going to survive. She was going to find Adrienne. Nothing else was acceptable.

  It was at least a half mile to paved road. She saw the trail of dirt from the tires veering left, but it quickly stopped leaving any trace, and her connection to Adrienne was severed. She followed the road searching for cars, street signs, or people. It felt like it took years before she finally saw a set of headlights coming her way. She walked into the middle of the street to stop them. The truck slowed all the way to a stop several yards away, like they were afraid of her. She imagined her silhouette did make her look like a serial killer since she couldn’t raise her hands and wave at them.

  “Help!”

  The driver’s door opened and a head popped out as the person stood half in the truck, half out of it.

  “What in the hell happened to you?” The voice sounded like it belonged to a teenager, but the headlights were blinding her and she couldn’t see him clearly.

  “I need you to untie me.” Kaia turned so he could see the rope.

  He stepped around the open truck door and jogged toward her. As he neared her, she saw she was right. He was just a kid. His hair was wild and his pale skin made his acne stand out like fireworks on his face.

  “Holy shit.” His eyes were the size of silver dollars. Kaia turned around.

  “Untie me.”

  “Right.”

  His hands were trembling as he tried to maneuver the knots loose. His fingers felt like fire against her skin, and she couldn’t be sure if it was because of the cold or the lack of circulation. In either case, she wasn’t sure her hands were going to work anymore once they were free.

  “What happened to you?” he asked again. “I should call you an ambulance.”

  “No,” she said. If she let him do that she’d be stuck dealing with the responders. She’d have to fend off demands for reports and be dragged to the hospital and drugged to sleep. She didn’t have time for that. “I’m a police officer. I’ll call myself.”

  Just as she felt herself about to lose her patience with him, she felt the rope loosen, and she was free. She glanced at her hands, but they were so blue she couldn’t let herself look. She couldn’t let anything distract her. She hobbled to his truck and slid into the driver’s seat.

  “Where do you live?” she asked.

  “Just up the road.”

  “Good, I need your truck.”

  “What?”

  Even the simple motion of putting her hand in her pocket and producing her badge was excruciating. The teen’s eyes flashed over her badge, but she knew he was too shaken up to really look.

  “You’ll get it back.” She reached out and grabbed the door handle and pulled it closed. The boy backed away as he nodded his head quickly, his eyes still round and wide.

  Kaia put the truck in drive and sped off as fast a
s she dared. She couldn’t shake the image of what would happen if she had to slam the brakes, or even worse, got in an accident with a knife sticking out of her chest. She couldn’t let that slow her down. Adrienne might not have much time. Her first urge was to try to find the van, to follow the last road she knew it had been on, but she knew she’d taken too long to wake up, walk to the road, and commandeer a truck. They were long gone. She’d never find them with simple blind driving, and even if she did, she’d be no match for them with no weapons other than the knife in her chest. She had to get to help.

  She finally found a street name she recognized and was relieved to find she had been right about the drive time. They weren’t too far out of town. She sped until she was parked in front of Reid’s house. She stumbled up his front stairs and banged on his door frantically.

  “Reid! Let me in!”

  She knew walking was still a challenge for him and he could well be on the way, but it was after three in the morning now, and she had to be sure she’d woken him up. She hit the doorbell several more times. Finally, she saw his silhouette through the glass in his door.

  “Reid!”

  “Kaia?” He opened the door. “Oh, my God.” He flung the door open and tried to help her in, but Kaia pushed his hand away, knowing he was barely standing himself. “What the fuck happened? I’ll call an ambulance.”

  “No, let me in.”

  “There’s a fucking knife in your chest!”

  “Let me in,” Kaia insisted, pushing past him. She went straight for the first chair she saw and slumped into it.

  “What happened?”

  “They took her. They have her.” Kaia’s teeth chattered. Reid limped to the couch and grabbed a blanket. He came back and wrapped it around her carefully.

  “Adrienne?”

  “Yes. Anna has Adrienne. She has her. She’s going to kill her. I have to find them.”

  “Honey, we have to take you to a hospital right now. We’ll call—”

  “No. I have to find her. She doesn’t have long.”

  “You have a fucking knife in your chest.”