Reece was left locked in the basement for a week, alone to treat his wounds.
His torso was riddled with bruises, along with his jaw and face. There was a large cut above his left eyebrow and his split lip was throbbing. Brighten was also kind enough to come down with a knife, which resulted in a nasty cut on his chest and left arm.
Reece had managed to fight him back, or he would probably be dead.
Jim was the one to bring down food and water for him, and he even left a small first aid kit. He was always very quiet, but he didn't need to speak as he followed orders. Even so, Reece always knew that Jim was good deep down, and they had always shared moral views. It didn't change the fact that he listened to Mr. Graves. But it gave Reece a small amount of comfort that Jim wouldn't let him die easily.
Reece's body ached with every movement, so he stayed on the couch resting while he could. Once he found the strength, he was going to find a way out of here.
Jim brought a small TV down and set it up for Reece to have as entertainment since there was nothing else. Then he silently left after tossing the remote to Reece.
At first Reece ignored it, but he eventually turned it on since he was losing his mind. The silence only brought his thoughts to Lynn.
That night he was forcefully taken upstairs and pushed into his room. He didn't question it, he was just glad to sleep in a bed instead of the overly uncomfortable couch. He had a dreamless sleep but he was wide awake hours before sunrise.
Mr. Graves came into the room not long after the sun came up and Reece kept his gaze out the window, refusing to look at the horrible man. He didn't want to look at him.
"I do hope you've learned your lesson, Reece. You obey me no matter what."
He didn't move.
"If you're not willing to cooperate, you can spend another week in the basement."
"It's far preferable." Reece muttered bitterly.
"Fine." Mr. Graves snapped. "Brighten, take him down. He can stay there for the rest of his days for all I care."
Reece didn't fight as Brighten took him back down to the basement. And for the rest of the day he sat on the couch and ignored everything around him.
Until Jim came down that night. He turned the TV on and switched it to a news channel. He pointed at the screen and then disappeared up the stairs.
Confused, Reece turned his attention to the television. It was showing the weather at the moment. Did Jim really think he wanted to know about the weather?
He leaned forward to turn it off but stopped short when a breaking story came on.
"Tonight it has been confirmed that the daughter of Gordon Caine has been taken. Last night Adalynn Caine reportedly vanished from her back yard. Her long time nanny, Lianna Sanders, called the police when she discovered her missing. It was suspected that Adalynn ran off, but after a day of investigation, the police have confirmed that she was taken."
Reece didn't hear the rest. His ears were ringing, his body frozen in worry and fear for her.
Lynn.
He looked at the stairs. Jim knew about this, that was obvious. Was he telling Reece to escape and go find her?
Reece was on his feet, and he ran up the stairs. The door to the basement was locked, but he didn't care. He threw his body against the door, breaking through it easily. He stopped when he saw Brighten and his grandfather sitting in the main room.
"How much do you think it's worth?" Brighten was asking. In his hand, he held Adalynn's diamond bracelet. Her mother's bracelet.
Anger burned through Reece's veins. "Where the hell did you get that?"
Mr. Graves and Brighten turned to Reece. They both laughed.
"Oh this?" Brighten held the jewelry up mockingly. "I just grabbed it from a little girl with green eyes. She doesn't mind at all."
"You son of a bitch." Reece lunged at the snivelling man, tackling him. His fists pounded the man down.
Reece was yanked off by Jim and Mr. Graves within seconds but he still fought. "You kidnapped her?! You bastards!"
"What? It was fun." Brighten sneered. "And it will be more fun once I get the little wench to myself."
"We get the ransom first, Bright." Mr. Graves said calmly. "Then you may do as you please."
"You sick, twisted, old men!"
Brighten spat blood onto the floor and then got to his feet. "You've got some nerve talking like that. Boss, I say he joins her."
Mr. Graves slammed his fist into his grandson's stomach, knocking the air from his lungs.
Reece doubled over as his cracked ribs protested. Jim then hauled him to the basement and over to the back room that was always empty and never used. He pushed the door open and shoved Reece into the dark room.
Reece froze and his heart slammed against his ribcage as he saw Lynn gagged and laying on the floor at the back of the room, her hands and feet tied.
He ran over to her, dropping to his knees as the door was closed and locked. "Lynn. I'm so sorry."
She tried scooting back, her whole body trembling. Her eyes were red and brimmed with tears. She didn't know what was going on, or why. But she didn't want to see Reece. She was scared of him.
His heart squeezed as he saw the terror in her eyes. He held his hands up. "It's okay, Lynn. It's okay." He slowly reached forward and his thumb gently brushed her cheek as he wiped away a tear.
Lynn couldn't bring herself to move, frozen by the look in Reece's eyes. It seemed... real. She was terrified, and seeing him right now was a comfort she desperately needed.
Reece took that as a good sign and he slowly reached behind her and untied the gag. "It's okay." He repeated.
Lynn took in a small gasp. "What happened to you?" She whispered, reaching up and tracing the cut above his eyebrow with her bound hands. She still cared even after what he did.
"Nothing." Reece whispered. He grabbed her hands, looking over the tight ropes binding them together.
"I can't get them off." Lynn whispered, still afraid to use her voice.
Reece picked at the ropes, which were layered thick around her wrists. Brighten must have tied her because the knots weren't exposed. Instead they were wrapped around in a way that they would be near impossible to get to. "This is tied really well." He murmured. "But I'll get you free."
"Reece. What is happening?" She asked, voice shaking. "Why am I here?"
He met her eyes, squeezing her hands gently. "You're here because of my grandfather. He didn't get money from the con, so I guess he decided that taking you and demanding a ransom was the best step."
"Did... did you know?"
Reece swallowed and shook his head. "No. And he has taken things too far. I'm sorry, Lynn. I wish I could fix this."
Lynn's throat tightened. "You broke my heart, Reece."
"I know. I'm sorry. I never wanted to. I said that I wasn't going to hurt you." He wiped away another tear from her cheek. "I never meant to hurt you. But I never meant to fall in love with you either."
Lynn went still as those words hung in the air between them. "What?" She whispered.
"I was supposed to steal your money, anything that could be of value." His lips twitched. "But instead, you stole my heart."
Her breath hitched. "You... you mean it?"
"Lynn, I have lied enough times in my life that I know that I am telling the truth." Reece swallowed, not expecting this to be so hard. His voice broke. "I fell in love with you, Adalynn. It was impossible not to."
Lynn covered her mouth, waiting for him to finish as emotion washed through her.
"I tried backing out of the job so many times. I knew that I couldn't do that to you. My grandfather basically had me on a leash, so I was stuck." He sat back a bit. "You asked what happened to me? Well, he had his men teach me a lesson."
"Reece." Lynn sat up and looped her bound arms over his head, pulling him into a hug.
He melted at her touch, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close as he buried his face against her shoulder.
"I had no idea." Lynn murmured against his chest. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."
"You had the right not to, Lynn. Don't apologize. I was stupid. I never want to hurt you again. I wish I never did."
Lynn let out a breath. "I missed you. More than you know."
His hold on her tightened. "Me too, Lynn. I hated myself for how things happened."
"Did your grandfather have you beaten up after I found out?"
Reece didn't want her to worry, but he didn't want to lie to her. "Yeah. I've been trapped in this basement for a week. I had no idea they had you."
Lynn closed her eyes tight. "What's going to happen?"
"I don't know." He answered truthfully. "But I won't let them do anything to you. I promise." He could feel her shaking, and he hated that.
After a time of sitting and holding each other, Reece pulled from Lynn's hold and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay?"
She nodded silently.
Reece started working on untying the ropes on her wrists. He was going to kill Brighten for this, and his grandfather would be next. Lynn didn't deserve this. Any of it.
*Important* this last part gets pretty intense. If you are sensitive to violence I suggest you skip to the end. (Nothing too horrible and graphic happens, this is just a warning)*
She tensed. "Someone is coming."
Reece moved so that he was between Lynn and the door. "It's okay." He assured. He wished he could believe himself.
Lynn felt like a coward, but she was scared. She jumped when the door opened and the tall man that had tied her stepped in and closed the door behind him.
It was dark in the room, but light enough that Reece could see that it was Brighten. The need to protect Lynn was overwhelming.
"Back off, Brighten."
"I don't listen to little rats." He snapped. "Get out of my way."
Lynn didn't dare move, afraid of what this man would do. Reece didn't budge, glaring the man down.
"Move, or I will move you!" Brighten bellowed, making Lynn flinch.
Reece didn't hesitate. He turned to Lynn and pushed her down. "Trust me." He moved on top of her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, shielding her body completely with his.
Brighten yelled and something heavy hit Reece's back and clattered to the floor. A wrench.
"Reece-" Lynn tried, though she could barely be heard as she was smothered by Reece. A snap rang out and his body jerked. "Reece!" She cried. "Move! He's hurting you!"
He didn't move a muscle, only gritting his teeth against the pain as Brighten whipped his back with the belt again. Lynn pushed against him, struggling to get him off but he refused to move.
"Stop! Stop it, please!" Lynn screamed as tears flowed down her face. "Stop! Reece, move, you don't need to protect me!"
"You heard the girl. Move!"
"I won't until you leave, Brighten." Reece growled. His head was swimming but he wasn't moving. "You will not touch her."
"Reece, don't. Please." Lynn begged. "Just listen to him. I'll... I'll be okay."
"No you won't." He whispered. Brighten would ruin her. He couldn't see that. "I told you to trust me."
"I can't watch this, Reece. Please, he'll kill you." She was trembling but she had to stop this. He was already hurt because of her.
"Trust me." He whispered.
Brighten was still yelling and he continued using the belt on Reece several more times. Then, as Reece had expected, he left in a tantrum.
The moment he was gone, Reece fell to the ground, groaning in pain as his back moved.
Lynn sat up. "Reece." She winced as she saw his back. His shirt was torn to shreds and he was bleeding badly. "Oh, Reece, why?" She whispered, lightly touching his back.
Reece flinched. "I couldn't see you go through anymore. You've had enough to deal with."
"You shouldn't have protected me." Lynn managed to pull her shirt off and she had to rip it to get it past her tied hands. Luckily she was wearing a tank top underneath. She grabbed the small water bottle that the other man had put in here for her a few hours ago and dumped it over the shirt, soaking it completely.
"What are you doing?" Reece rasped from where he lay on the floor.
"Just hold still." Lynn pulled his shirt up and over his head, making him hiss in pain. "Sorry." She then used her wet shirt to clean the blood from his back carefully.
Reece let her work, grateful for her gentle touch. "Thank you."
Lynn swallowed tightly. "Don't do that again." She whispered.
"I will if I have to."
-------------------
So... This was more intense than I thought it would be. But I'm happy about how it turned out. Stay tuned to see what happens.
Thanks for reading (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)