Page 35 of Keeping Caroline
I thought back to how we had grown up together, two kids against the world. We only had each other for the longest time. Survivors of a brutal world that had little kindness for the weak or wayward. But we persevered, hardened by the flames that had once engulfed our lives after engulfing our parents’ car when we were teens. From the ashes we rose, and there was nothing I would not do to protect her.
A deep ache twisted in my chest at the thought of what she might have been going through. Caroline was strong, but she had already been through so much, and everyone had a breaking point. If Victor’s men had taken her, it was surely to be used as leverage against Scarlett and her father. The thought made my blood boil.
This was all because of my past—Scarlett’s past. Caroline did not deserve to get caught up in the wreckage, innocent Evie either. They were the best parts of my life, untainted by the darkness that had taken over so much. I had always shielded them from it, but they got pulled into it anyway. The farther I drove into the darkening sky, the more fear and rage entwined, twisting into a molten core of steel in my belly. I would not fail. I could not afford weakness, not now when so much was at stake: Caroline’s life. My family’s safety. The security I had fought tooth and nail to build, now crumbling around me.
I pressed down on the accelerator, urging my car to go faster. After hours of driving, streetlights streaked by as I sped toward the city limits, toward the safe house I had used many times before, jaw clenched. New Orleans had taken so much from me already. I would not let it take Caroline too. They would pay for even trying. There would be no mercy, no escape for the monsters that had started this war.
The beast inside me stirred, snarling in fury after being locked away for so long. It strained against its chains, waiting to be unleashed. Let them come, it said. Let them come and I will tear them all apart for touching my family.
Chapter 24
The Phoenix
Frigid cold seeped into my bones, stirring me from unconsciousness. My head pounded as I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my vision and figure out where in the hell I was.
Groaning, I shifted on the hard concrete floor, every muscle in my body screaming in protest. Memories of what happened to me before everything had gone black came flooding back into my mind like the blows the long-haired mobster had rained down on me. Now I found myself in the same barren room, empty except for a dirty mattress in the corner, a bucket, and a chair. At least I was no longer tied to it.
Slowly I sat up, squinting against the dim light filtering through the small window high on the opposite wall. All I could see through the dusty glass was a swath of gray sky, the tips of evergreen trees, and mountains rising in the distance. We were somewhere remote. Somewhere no one would find me.
Fear slithered down my spine like a serpent as I stared at the knob less door. There was no way out. I was trapped at the mercy of vicious men who thought I was someone else—someone who they thought had the information they wanted. Although I was not Scarlett, I knew she did not know where her father was. And although I was not Scarlett, I was relieved that I had been taken instead of her, because I had a feeling that her pregnancy wouldn’t have stopped them from hurting her and killing her baby.
Thoughts of my family sent a shiver through me, the cold seeping into my soul. Would I ever see Evie’s smiling face again? Hear her sweet laugh? And my brother, he was undoubtedly frantic with worry, picking up the sword he’d finally locked away for the chance at a normal life, and now this would drag him right back into the darkness—the darkness where I wasn’t sure his wife would want to follow, not with a new baby on the way. The lump of dread in my throat was almost too constricting to swallow around, realizing my family might be lost to me forever.
Dragging myself upright, I limped to the window on an ankle I’d somehow twisted, pain shooting through my leg as I stood on the tips of my toes to gauge the distance, but it was just too high. There was a possibility I would be able to look out if I stood on the chair, but bolts held it to the floor. Even if I could reach the window, it was too small, at least from what I could tell. I needed to find a way out of the nightmare I found myself in and back to my family, but the window did not appear to be it.
Blowing out a breath that sent pain through my ribs, I turned away from the small window, my gaze landing on a sandwich and a cup of water sitting beside the mattress. My stomach rumbled, reminding me I had not eaten in who knew how long. Part of me recoiled at the idea of accepting anything from my captors, but I knew I needed to keep up my strength if I hoped to escape.
Reluctantly, I dropped onto the lumpy mattress and picked up the plate, taking a small bite of the sandwich. My jaw ached as I chewed—no doubt bruised from the beating that knocked me out, and my mouth still tasted like copper from the gashes on the inside of my cheek. Although the bread tasted stale, I forced myself to eat every last crumb, forcing it down with a gulp of water. I needed nourishment.
As I sat on the mattress, head still pounding, heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway. My pulse quickened, dread pooling in my gut and threatening to send the food I had eaten back up and onto the floor. I had only seen him a few times, but I recognized the footfalls of the long-haired man who’d slammed his fist into my face when I couldn’t give him the answers he wanted. Maybe he was coming to fulfill his earlier threats, but I could not find the energy to cower in the corner. I could not find the energy to move at all.
The scrape of a key in a lock echoed through the nearly silent building, and the door creaked open. He strode in, flanked by the same two, armed men who’d come with him before, his long hair secured back with a band, every piece of clothing on his body black. His cold eyes bored into me as his mouth curled into a malicious smile that sent ice through my veins.
“Ready to talk now, Scarlett?” he growled, taking a step closer to me, stopping a few feet away.
I instinctively scooted back, my hands trembling as I met his cruel stare. “I’ve told you, my name is Amy. I don’t know anything about Scarlett or Ivy Etienne.”
Crossing the room in two quick strides, he grabbed a fistful of my hair, forcing a cry from my throat as he yanked my head back.
“Lying won’t save you now, little bitch,” he hissed in my ear, his breath reeking of cigarette smoke. Tears burned the backs of my eyes, but I forced them to hold off, at least until I was alone. “You’ll tell me where your father is, or I will kill you. My patience is running thin.”
Fear and defiance warred within me, twisting my chest into knots. I wanted to beg for mercy, to beg for my life, but I could not betray Scarlett. I could not lead these monsters back to her. So, I held silent, blinking back my tears, and bracing myself for what was to come.
Face twisting with fury, his fingers wrapped tighter in my hair, wrenching another whimper from my throat as the strands popped.
“Last chance,” he snarled. “Where is Ivy Etienne?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to break, afraid of what he would do next. “I told you, I don’t know any Ivy Etienne. I would tell you if I did.”
With a roar of rage, he slammed my head against the concrete wall. Pain exploded through my skull and stars burst across my vision. I slumped forward, head spinning as the tears finally fell.
Grabbing my chin, he forced me to meet his eyes. The eyes looking back at me were no longer human, if they ever had been. It was a wild animal staring back at me—feral—and only moments away from foaming at the mouth. “You think you can hold out on me? I’ll beat the truth out of you if I have to.”
He drew back his fist and I flinched, bracing for another blow, but before he swung, the door banged open again, another armed man stepping into the room.
“The boss wants to see you,” he said gruffly, seeming unphased by the scene before him. They were all monsters. “Says it can’t wait.”
Cursing under his breath, my attacker released me and stepped toward the door. The moment his strength was no longer holding me upright, I sagged against the wall, relief washing over me, but my reprieve was short-lived as he turned to look over his shoulder. “Don’t go anywhere. We’re not finished with our little chat.”