Page 44 of Bishop

Not for long.

After closing down the computers and putting the file cabinets back in place, I find myself happier than I've been in a long time. I finally feel like I'm making headway.

I rush down the tunnel now that I know that there are no active tripwires, and make my way back upstairs.

"Venom, I'm through-"

Before the words could get out of my mouth, something hard hits me on the back of my head.

I fall to the ground, my head spinning and a loud ringing in my ears. Rolling over to my back, I look up and see one of the men I've been so desperately searching for.

Shade stares down at me with a sinister grin on my face.

"We knew that you'd find your way back to Maine, but we'd figured that we'd have to take out the entire clubhouse. Imagine my surprise when our surveillance cameras picked up motion in our bunker. There you were alone and just ripe for the picking. You've made this so very easy for us, Bishop." With a growl, Shade leans down and picks me up to the floor. I reached for my gun, but I'm still dizzy from the hit.

Shade realizes what I'm doing and he quickly disarms me.

"Don't get crazy on me, Bishop." He tsks before he secures my weapon in his waist. "No, be a good dog and let's go back home."

Shade pushes me through the room and I let my eyes sweep the area. In the corner tied up and unconscious in a chair is Venom. There's blood dripping down the side of his face. I hope he's still alive. I don't think I can handle another dead person on my conscious, especially one who's only been trying to help us.

"I don't care where you take me. Your time on this earth is limited."

Shade has the nerve to laugh at my threat. "Don't you know, all of our time is limited. The difference between you and me is your time will be a lot more painful.

Before I can respond, he hits me on the back of my head again and this time everything turns black.

Twenty-Four

Bishop

Here we go again.

The next time I open my eyes, I'm in the back of what looks like a large shipping truck. There's nothing else in here with me and thankfully I'm not tied down. But that's the only good news.

The truck is moving and from the way the bumps feel under me, we're moving fast. I crawl as best I can toward the door and try to pull it open but it doesn't even budge. It must be locked from the outside. There's no way for me to get to the cab of the truck either.

After all the work I've done to be stuck right back here in Shade's grasp, I feel like a wuss. How can I have been so stupid. I bang my head against the metal wall and slide down until I'm sitting on the ground. I drop my head into my hands and resign myself to my fate. I'm not going to get out of here any time soon and I'm sure the next time I see the outside of this truck will be when Shade and his goons are taking me back to another underground hell.

The only silver lining to this is the fact that I sent all that information over to Brendan and that both Gabrielle and April aren't here to be hurt again.

Gabrielle.

I may never see her again. This could be my final day on earth, and I never got the chance to tell her my whole truth. Te truth that I love her. Not just because of what we'd been through, but because of who she is. I thought I'd be with her for the rest of my life. I had dreams of her riding as my backpack down the coast. She's destined to be my old lady but I may never get the chance to tell her.

That's unacceptable.

I get back up and try once again to open the door. Digging so hard into the cracks that the metal cuts right into the skin of my fingertips.

"Shit!" I bang my fist hard against the metal before resting my forehead against it.

Just as I was about to start trying to pry open the doors again, I heard what sounded like a separate engine. This one coming from the back of the truck. Of course, this could be just more of Shade's guys, but my gut is telling me this is something different.

Whoever is behind this truck is here to help me.

I say a silent prayer, something I haven't done in a long time. I'd given up on my faith nearly halfway through my time locked in that cell. Now I had to dig deep within myself and trust that everything was going to be okay.

Just as I finished my prayer, a sharp ting echoed in the metal box. It takes me a minute to figure out what it was but when I look back at the door I'm standing in front of and see there is a small bullet hole at the very bottom of the door.