Wren
After our encounter, Ace slips wordlessly through the door, not once offering me any sense of explanation. He just pulled his mask back on and darted, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I stand against the wall, my chest rising and falling quickly with sporadic breaths as I fight to gain control over myself. I stare blankly through the window, my eyes watching the trees that dance in the wind, and I fight to regain a modicum of composure that Ace seemed to dismantle with a few orgasms. After a long silence, I finally snatch my towel from the floor and wrap it around myself, hiding the marks he left in his wake.
I peek through the door and make sure the coast is clear before I dart into my room, shutting the door softly before releasing a rattling breath, thankful for solitude. I turn on my heel, only to stifle a scream when I find Viper sitting on my bed, a butterfly knife in his hand. With a simple flick of his wrist, the blade flutters around and closes, only for him to repeat the process.
His eyes never raise to meet mine as he talks, "How was that?"
"My shower? It was...fine," I say, my voice coming out more ample than expected.
"Don't play dumb, Wren," He mutters, his eyes lifting to mine. I shift my weight on my feet, my fingers clutching the towel tighter to my body.
"I'm not—"
"I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing, but it won't work." He stands, and I instinctively step back, only to find my back against the door. He steps closer, nearly closing the distance between us with his eyes never leaving mine. He stops a few paces away from me, his gaze burning but never leaving my face.
"I'm not doing anything, Viper," I whisper.
"I could hear you across the damn house!" He roars, his calm exterior finally breaking, unleashing the man who hides underneath his mask. I flinch at his sudden change of tone, and he laughs, his eyes darkening. I want to believe Viper won't hurt me, but the truth is these men are cutthroat criminals, and who's saying Viper won't send that switchblade right into my eye socket or stab it into my jugular just to watch me bleed out?
He lifts his hand and, with his fingers clenching the blade of the knife, he swings it at me.
Oh god.
I close my eyes, my heart stopping inside my chest as he sends the blade hurdling toward me. I hear a loud thud! And flinch, expecting the pain any moment now, but it never comes. I pry open my eyes and look to my left, shocked to see the knife embedded in the door just beside my face. My ear stings from where the blade sliced across my flesh, and I feel the warmth of my blood as it drips down my neck.
"Ace is losing himself because of a woman, and it's not like him. He has more important things to worry about, not some disposable pussy." Viper stalks forward, and I don't cower away. Instead, I reach up, quickly snatch the blade from the door, and point it at him, my hand shaking violently. He just laughs and presses his hand down against the blade, forcing a gasp from me as his hand begins to bleed against mine, coating our skin in crimson. He doesn't flinch, doesn't cower away. His eyes remain trained on me as blood pools to the floor, his fingers wrapping around the blade tightly as he hisses but doesn't pull away.
What the fuck is wrong with him? I release the knife in horror and wipe his blood from his hand on my towel, and he chuckles, dropping his hand with blood trickling down his fingers.
"I'm not doing anything, Viper," I sputter, not able to take my eyes off the blood that's pooling on the floor.
Although this is part of my primary scheme to get Ace to lower his guard, an orgasm here and there never hurt anyone.
"You're beautiful, wren, I'll give you that," He starts, his eyes searching my face. "But Ace can't afford this, not now. Just know I have his best interest at heart. I care for him."
And he cares for me. I want to say, but I bite my lip.
"You're going to leave this home alive; we all promise it, but Ace is becoming dangerously close to losing everything when he already has next to nothing."
They think it's as easy as waiting it out, hoping that Derek will pay up or that they can keep me from Pakhan's clutches, but they know nothing of what Gloria threatened me with.
Either I escape, or I'm guaranteed death.
"Get dressed so I can shackle you."
"Can we just lose the shackles? I'm not going anywhere." I stalk past him, grab my clothes from the bed, and drop my towel, not caring that he's behind me. He sucks in a breath, and I hear him turn, and I smile to myself.
See, not a bad guy, after all.
Maybe a masochist with that whole knife incident, but we all have our crutches.
I quickly fasten my bra and pull on my panties, pulling on a pair of loose shorts and a tank top. After I'm done, I save him the effort and fasten the shackles around my wrists, the familiar weight pulling at me.
"We'll lose the shackles when you leave your room, and that's it." I nod, accepting his answer. Looks like I'll have to do this the hard way. Without another word, Viper stalks from my room and shuts the door behind him, leaving me alone.
I sit on the bed and lay back, my legs still weak and fighting to ignore the residual tingling between my center from the aftershock of Ace's tongue.
Not long after, I'm fast asleep.
♠♠♠
I awake in the middle of the night to a loud slam and hushed voices. My mind is instantly alert, and I sit upright, my eyes scanning the dark of my room and fighting to focus. I stand quickly and flick on the lamp beside my bed, my ears picking up on the hushed words spoken outside my door.
"...don't know who it is. They fled before I could get a good look..." I hear part of the sentence spoken by Viper. I stretch my chain as far as it'll let me, trying to get as close as possible to the door to hear more.
"They left once they saw me, but I want you guys to search the property to ensure nothing was left behind. I have a bad feeling. I'll stay with Wren." My heart hammers in my ears, and I think back to Gloria, who told me she had a man who would be leaving a burner phone on the tractor's tire. The man was probably seen and fled, hopefully holding his end of the bargain by leaving the phone behind. I listen more, but the conversation stops as I hear boots sounding through the house and out the front door. I jump when I hear my doorknob rattle, and as quickly as I can, I fling myself back into bed and turn over, facing the wall with my arms tucked into my chest. My heart beats so loudly, and my body is frozen in fear, but I stay as still as the dead and just as quiet.
I feel weight dip behind me as someone sits on my bed, so I shut my eyes, pretending I'm fast asleep. I feel a rough hand smooth hair from my face, and I focus on forcing my breath to come out naturally instead of in quick spurts like my fear so desperately wants it to.
It's Ace. I know, just by his musk.
He lays back and shuts off the lamp before he settles into bed, his body still and breath ragged.
I curse, wishing he didn't care so much and just left me alone.
I close my eyes and try to force myself to sleep, but they quickly open once realization strikes me.
This is my only chance.
The night Gloria's man left the phone for me is the one night my ticket to getting it lies right next to me.
After a while, I hear his breath become steady, and I carefully listen as Viper and Slash talk about how their search came up short. They found nothing. I pray that's a good sign and wait a few moments longer, hoping Ace soon falls asleep.
After what felt like an hour of monitoring Ace's breathing, I waited for another just to muster the courage to turn to Ace. After giving myself a pep talk, I finally bite the bullet and shift my weight ever so slightly. He doesn't stir. His body acts as a stone, and his breath is heavy with sleep. When my chains rattle, my breath hitches in my throat, and I freeze, my joints locking up with fear.
He shifts, turning his masked face toward me, but doesn't wake. Carefully, I slide my hand across his pants, slipping my fingers into his pocket, where I see the swell of his keys. Before I can chicken out, I grab onto them and carefully pull them free, stopping at his movement. Gripping the keys between my fingers to lessen the noise, I quickly find the bronze key for my shackles. I turn back over, cursing, when I feel him twist in the bed behind me.
I wait, my head against the pillow and eyes wide with my senses on high alert.
Once he settles back into sleep, I force myself to stick the key inside my shackle while my heart hammers in my chest so loudly I fear it'll wake him. One by one, they fall onto the bed. I rest the keys on the mattress and slowly army crawl myself down the bed, not daring to climb over him or sit up. Once my body slides off the bottom of the mattress, I crawl across the floor and rest my ear against the door, listening to any sounds indicating the men are awake. Once I hear none, I reach up and grab the handle, slowly turning and stopping when it groans with age. I flick my head toward Ace, and he stirs, but his eyes never open. I turn the handle the rest of the way and slowly pull open the door, pushing my weight on my heels and slinking around the door.
I close the door softly behind me and keep myself low, eyes scanning the living room. Viper and Tooth sleep on the couches, Slash taking ownership of a recliner on the other side of the room with beer bottles littered around them. I army crawl across the floor, my knees scraping against the harsh wood and dust coating my thighs and forearms. I don't flinch nor stop myself when I feel the ragged splinters cut into my knees; I just continue forward with my heart hammering in my throat.
Almost there.
I sneak past them, holding my breath, fearing that even one slight exhale will wake them.
I grab the handle once I face the door, knowing this is the hardest part. This door does not refrain from sound, and if I'm going to get out of this alive, I will have to be quick and silent.
I close my eyes, praying to the God I don't believe in, before I twist the handle and quickly jerk the door open, diving through and shutting it behind me with a soft thud. The door groans are quick, which is precisely what I wanted. I stop, my hand still clutching the handle as the summer night air assaults me. I peek my head up and look through the window. Viper sits up, his eyes darting around frantically, and I dip my head quickly before he looks through the window. I let the handle go, scramble to a bush, and hide behind it, pressing my back against the house siding and breath trapped in my chest.
He opens the door and steps outside, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a gun pulled and aimed downward, ready for action. I observe him before he huffs and heads back inside. I wait a few long moments, expecting him to check my room and race out, finding me instantly and killing me just as fast.
But he doesn't.
I peer back over the ledge of the window, my fingers clutching the edge and anxiety rolling through me like bile.
He's back on the couch, fast asleep.
I let out a breath and close my eyes, falling back to my ass on the dirt and finally letting the anxiety that holds my body in its cruel fingers go.
Once I collect myself, knowing my time is minimal, my eyes scan the darkness and instantly land on the tractor across the property. I lift myself into a crouch and dart across the grass, my bare feet snapping twigs and digging into stones and fallen pine cones. Once I reach the tractor, I check each wheel, feeling across the large grooves to find the phone. Finally, I face the last one that meets the gravel road that leads to God knows where, and I reach in. Almost instantly, my hands grip a small object, and I nearly scream with glee. I pull the phone out, and the screen lights up immediately, displaying a message.
Unknown: Hello Wren. Let me know when you find me.
My eyes flick across the screen frantically as I tap a message back.
Me: Found you.
I also make a note of the date and time. It's three in the morning, and the date is exactly three weeks from the day I was kidnapped.
Three weeks of being held captive, abused by men, smacked around, and treated like fucking garbage.
It'll all be over soon.
Part of my heart aches for Ace, but I push it down quickly. I don't have time for that.
I clutch the phone to my chest and fight the excitement that courses through me. I did it. I fucking did it. I tuck the phone into my bra and stare back at the house, the reality of the situation finally resting like cinder blocks on my shoulders.
Now I have to get back inside.
I gather all my courage and return to the window, lifting slightly to see everyone is still fast asleep. I suck in a breath and repeat the motions before. I quickly open the door and dart inside, and without a second thought and knowing the sound will most likely startle Viper, I sprint across the house, my feet as silent as feathers as I disappear down the hallway.
Once out of view, I press my back against the wall, trapping my breath in my chest as I peer around the corner. Viper doesn't wake; no one even makes a peep. I let out my breath and carefully slip inside my room, closing my eyes as I press my back against the door, calming my beating heart and finally opening my eyes. I jump from my skin when I find Ace sitting upright in the bed, his back pressed against the wall, arms folded, and eyes focused on me.
"Wren," He says, his voice dark. I freeze with my heart in my throat. He stares at me as if I'm a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar, but my punishments will be far worse; they might even cost me my life.
"Ace," I reply, my voice wavering. I stand tall, knowing I'm caught. I have to hold onto the belief that he doesn't know what he caught me of yet.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asks, his eyes not moving from mine.
"I had to use the bathroom," I answer simply, making my way toward the bed, attempting to appear nonchalant. "You wouldn't wake up, so I found your keys and tried each one. I found a match."
"I'm a retired Marine. Bullshit, I wouldn't wake up," He snaps, his hands finding my throat and pulling me close to his face, fingers gripping under my jaw painfully. I hiss, feeling the strength of his grip against my windpipe. He's mad. He's holding me down with anger, not with pleasure like he once did before, and the fear is paralyzing. Ace now looks at me like an enemy, and I know what he likes to do to his enemies.
"What. Were. You. Doing."
"Pissing."
"You're fucking lying." The spit from his acidic mouth splats against my cheeks, but I don't flinch.
"What, you think I unshackled myself, fled the house, and decided, 'no, I think I'm just going to come back'?"
He searches my face, the uncertainty apparent in his expression. He hasn't a clue what I did, and I know that despite his hand being wrapped around my throat, I have the upper hand. I push the strands of hair from his face, looking through his eyes. He stills at the touch, his mouth opening to speak, but no words surfacing.
"Next time you pull something as stupid as that, I'll send you to Pakhan with a bow tied around your throat. Don't test me, Wren."
"Got it," I say, the relief flooding my chest. He grabs the shackles from the bed and fastens them again, his eyes locked on mine as he does so. After he's finished, he snatches the keys from the mattress and shoves them back into his pocket, giving me a warning glance before sliding off the bed and standing above me.
"I came in here to protect you, not to be fucking blindsided. You can stay here from now on. I will decide when you can be let out again."
"Okay," I say, not having the mind or guts to say anything else.
He watches me for another long moment, then turns, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. I let out a breath and sink into the bed, pulling the phone from my bra once I hear his footsteps disappear down the hallway. I see there's a message back.
Unknown: Two days. Two a.m. I'll be waiting. Follow the road down the path.