Page 19 of Scarred Redemption

She’d been so happy. So very happy. I shuffled my feet and pressed my hand to my mouth, now trying desperately not to cry. I’d cried so many tears, most when she’d been sleeping. I needed her to believe everything was going to be okay.

Even when I thought otherwise.

Noises were rare, the silence killing me as much as the incarceration. But there were sounds, loud and clanging every so often. I thought I’d heard the rumble of trucks a few times, but I couldn’t be certain about anything.

Every day I forced myself to recount what I could remember. Every single fucking detail so that when we were rescued, and we would be, Maxsim would be able to hunt down the monsters who’d done this.

He had to be looking for us. Wasn’t he?

I leaned against the wall, fighting the constant tremors. My stomach remained in knots, churning from what little I’d bothered to eat. I wanted nothing more than to remain alive to watch the freaks suffer.

We had a bed in the sparse room, but it appeared more like an office than a house. When the light had been on, I noticed the trim around the base was vinyl, another indication we were being kept in something more industrial. If I had to guess, I’d say the building was at least thirty years old.

At least there was carpet on the floor, but it was certainly office grade. There were no sounds of traffic, but whatever had awakened me had been metal against metal.

Several bloody images swept through my mind, all of them violent. Full of torture. Cinching my eyes shut, I thought about Maxsim. He had to be looking for us. Right?

What did I remember?

Say it. Go through it again.

Mina had asked to go to the bathroom just as Maxsim had left the restaurant to take a call. I’d often wondered why it had been so important he’d left.

We’d made it down the hallway toward the restrooms then…

Men had erupted from the shadows. Hands had gone over our mouths and while I’d fought them with everything I’d had, somehow they’d managed to drag us from the back door, tossing us into the back of a van. Right? There’d been no windows. Nothing. I’d screamed, even punching at least two of the assailants and that’s when I’d felt a prick in my neck.

All while Mina was screaming.

And popping sounds. And something bigger.

Like a horrific explosion.

I touched the spot where I’d been injected. After so much time, I shouldn’t feel anything, but my skin continued to itch. When I’d awakened again, we’d been inside this room.

With no way of telling where we’d been taken.

Oh, God. I couldn’t imagine what Maxsim was going through. I had to find a way of getting out of here. No one had said anything, providing us with what to expect. There were guards outside, someone in a mask bringing food.

There was a half bath in the room, leaving no ability to shower. I’d given her a couple of sponge baths, but we were in the same clothes.

I’d never felt so filthy in my life.

A couple of the guards had leered at me, another almost touching me intimately until someone had stopped him.

What were they holding us for and who were they? I bit my lower lip until I tasted blood. A single tear slipped down my face. I’d asked for clothes. A shower. Better food. Information, for fuck’s sake.

I’d been nice, then angry. Then incensed. Maybe it was time to get violent.

I wiped the tear and just as I did, I heard the lock clicking. Mina knew the sound as well and instantly, she struggled with the covers, gasping for air.

“Izzy. Izzy. Izzy. Izzy.”

“I’m right here. I’m right here. Okay?” I rushed to her side just as the door opened. They controlled the fucking light from outside, always flicking it on and making certain I wasn’t standing behind the door to ambush them. With what?

I stood on her side of the bed. She’d crawled off, now standing behind me with her arms wrapped around my legs, and I couldn’t help but remember the very first day I’d met her months ago. Doing the same goddamn thing, protecting her from goons.

In walked two soldiers instead of one. There was no mistaking what they were, both with assault rifles strapped around their massive bodies. They wanted to intimidate me, but I was fresh out of the ability to be anything but pissed off.