Page 68 of Point Proven
“Fuck. Broken leg, head injury that’s still bleeding, lacerations on his wrists from the cuffs, two wounds covered with gauze on his thigh, and needle pricks on his neck. I’m assuming some form of drug was administered, but that’s all I can visibly see.” Matt lowered his body, quickly lock picking the iron holding him to the cot. “Hey, Liam. It’s me, Matt. You’re going to be okay, buddy.”
Liam sobbed, his timbre rasped like he’d been strangled. “N-No more… no more… no more… no more?—”
“No more,” Matt repeated, sliding his arm underneath his shoulders. Carefully placing his other arm beneath Liam’s thighs, he hoisted him from the bed, and his visceral gasp spiked my heart rate. “Bruising… Significant bruising around his throat. I think he was collared.”
The word slipped from me before I could stop it, my horror flooding the line. “Collared?”
“Collared?” Simon shouted, keyboard slamming to the side. “He… He…”
“They put a collar… on him?” Oren whispered, almost undetectable.
Matt turned around, tears streaming down his cheeks, unaware of my mistake. “Thorne. He needs medical attentionnow. Let’s go.”
“Move,” I commanded, ushering him out of the cell before I spoke through the earpiece again. “Levander. How far is your nearest med unit?”
“Roughly a few miles.”
I glanced at Matt. “Get him out of here.”
“Yes, sir. Follow behind?”
I dipped my chin, and he took off, cradling Liam to his chest with a tenderness that man had not received for as long as he’d been here. Staring at their departing figures, it was too late for me to follow before I heard panting behind me.
Pain ruptured up my spine, the kick impacting with a force I knew belonged to only one person. But before I could elicit a response,hebroke through the line.
“Matt… Matt, did Thorne stay with you?” Oren’s panicked voice broke through.
Silence.
“Baby, are you with Matt? God, tell me you didn’t stay behind.”
My rasped breath was my only reply as I struggled to catch myself on the wall. Hissing sharply, I clenched my jaw, drawing in a shuddered breath through my nose.
“I was waiting for you to make your appearance,cunt.”
Stefan snarled. “I thought that bullet killed you.”
His fingers tangled in my locks, shoving my face against the concrete surface in front of me. Knee digging into my thigh, the pressure he applied was relentless.
“As my fiancé says…” I growled, slamming my elbow into his stomach. “…I’m a stubborn fuck.”
“Thorne? What’s going on?”
“I-I don’t know, Oren. I’ll see if I can tap into the cameras down there,” Simon answered.
Stefan grunted, his hold loosening as he stumbled back. “F-Fuck!”
Pivoting on my heel, I grabbed the pistol from my thigh, raising it in his direction. Firing off one round, the bullet pierced his thigh. “That’s for Levander, you fucking prick.”
A shout billowed from his lips, palm covering the wound. Where one expected pain to follow, a sickening laugh rupturedfrom him, coating him in a thick layer of mania. “Oh, fuck, this… this will be fun.”
Lips lifting with a sneer, I spat at his feet. “Yeah? I suppose you’re correct. I’ll enjoy gutting you, bitch.”
“Got in!” Simon yelled. “He’s… S-Shit. He’s fighting Stefan.”
“Stefan? Baby! Get out!” Oren blurted, but I was too occupied with the motherfucker in front of me.
Stefan grinned. “Yeah? And I’ll enjoy gutting that fiancé of yours?—”
