Bosses and Butterflies

THIRTY-EIGHT

"What's stopping you?" I whisper, and she shoves me back, my head banging against the metal tub behind me. I wince and exhale with a shaky breath.

She walks over to a set of computers at the same time an explosion sounds above us.

"What the fuck?!" I just about hear her mumble, and I watch as she orders her men to check all the tunnels.

My heart rate begins to spike at what could be happening outside. However, I'm pulled out of my thoughts as I stare at the end of a gun. "You're going to die here," Chloe smirks and smacks the barrel of the gun into my head, knocking me out.

The next time I awake, my head pounds and my whole body feels numb. I'm in a different room, and I'm sitting over a massive drain. Panic begins to build in my body as I listen to the sound of water beneath me. I'm in a cell.

"No, no, no." I whimper, and it's only then I release that I am handcuffed to the pipe on the wall.

The sound of gunshots in the distance has my breathing increased. I don't want to die. I can't die. I can't leave them.

"You've got a chance to save yourself, just tell me where the safe is, Callie." I go to say 'I don't know' for the hundredth time but pause.

"It's located at the office, down in the basement." I sob, putting on an act. "Please don't, Chloe. They'll kill me if they find out I told you." I plead with her and watch as a satisfied smirk etches onto her ugly fucking face.

"I guess that's your problem." She shrugs. My face falls when she turns her back and begins to walk away.

"Where are you going?! I told you where the safe is now let me go!" I exclaim, pulling against the restraints, the metal digging harshly into my skin.

"No. My son, I look at him and all I see is his father. It makes me sick. I told him one day I'd ruin his life, and that's exactly what I'm doing." Chloe admits, and my heart breaks for Everest.

"He's been through enough. He doesn't deserve this, Chloe!" I plead with her, tears beginning to pour down my face. This isn't an act now.

"No." She pushes a button and I watch with wide, panicked eyes as a metal door begins to come down, blocking my view of the horrible witch.

I'm left in pitch black.

"Please, God, no!" I cry, resting my head against my arm.

And I know I've reached my end, especially when water begins to rise from the drain.

•••

Phoenix

"You've sent us the wrong fucking way! Why is it taking so long, we've been walking for a whole hour, Everest!" I yell in anger.

The longer we take, the longer I'm away from my girl.

"Damn, you always this moody?" Mason speaks up behind me and I stop walking. "Sorry." He mumbles as I look over my shoulder and glare at him.

We continue to walk for another twenty minutes when I finally see some source of light. However, a man steps into the light and aims his gun towards us.

We all step to the side and watch as the bullet flies past us, skimming my cheek and I hiss. Then Ellis —like the crazy psychopath that he is — steps ahead and shoots the man with a clean shot.

"The fact you stopped him from joining us disgusts me." Mason opens his fat mouth again, and I have to hold back from shooting him in the head myself.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" River exclaims at us, throwing her hands up in the air. She's covered in blood, probably the blood of the men that lay on the floor by her feet.

"What's happened? Where is Callie?" I question, looking around the room. There are computers with CCTV footage of the ground above us as well as every room in the bunker. There's something in the corner that catches my attention. The light reflecting off of it.

I slowly walk over to it and crouch down.

Callie's ring.

The one I got for her.

"What are you doing here?!" I hear River yell at her brother, but I couldn't care less. Ellis can fend for himself, and we should never have doubted him.

We all begin to look for clues, but I make my way to the computers. I'm pretty sure this shows the footage to every single corner of this bunker, so I rewind an hour and instantly freeze when I see a man carrying my baby girl. I switch cameras to see from a different position and watch as he places her in a cell.

"Fuck." I whisper.

"What?" Miller steps up next to me and watches as the scene pans out in front of us.

Chloe comes into view and begins to speak to Callie.

"Turn the volume up."

"You've got a chance to save yourself, just tell me where the safe is, Callie."

Safe.

"She knows about that fucking money." I grit my teeth, pick up a glass from the table and throw it at the wall.

"What the fuck?!" Miller's panicked voice has my attention in an instance.

"You see those drains, Nix." I nod. "They fill with fucking water." My blood freezes and I find myself rubbing at the ache in my chest. Focus.

I fast-forward the footage and watch with a distraught face as a metal door begins to close, blocking our view of Callie. Chloe walks off with a smug smile on her face.

"How long ago was this?" Miller questions and I check.

"Fifteen minutes ago."

A/N
Just so you know, I ain't ever gonna stop with the cliffhangers 😏love you and thank you for 700k reads 💙