Page 24 of Where We Ended
“What the fuck did you just say?”
The person on the other line said something else, but I couldn’t make anything out. Alec’s face was highlighted by the limited light coming through the clouded glass. A floodlight of some kind outside, maybe a porch light or a passing flashlight.
A rogue piece of hair fell over his forehead as worry creased his features.
“Caught on fire how?” he snapped at the person on the phone. “The club is guarded…there’s no way…” He trailed off again.
A smile slowly worked its way up my face as I realized what had happened.
Silas.
Alec seethed, working his jaw. “What’s left?”
The person on the other line must not have given him very good news because violent cursing filled the room as Alec listened.
“So the entire fucking club burned the fuck down, and all of you just stood there. Or what? What the fuck are you telling me right now?”
His voice continued to elevate as rage fractured each word, giving my heart tiny little wings. I hated that I was becoming the type of person who relished in another’s pain, but my life was spiraling out of control and Silas was sending me a message in the loudest way he could.
“No. Fuck.” Alec let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “I’ll call you first thing in the morning. I need to think through this. I can’t leave, so this will have to wait. Set up operations in one of the safe houses.”
He hung up the phone and the silence in the room felt heavy.
The air left my lungs as I fell back into the pillows and fought a smile.
Finally, Alec looked over at me, and I stared back.
“He knows you have me,” I mused, hoping it would continue to piss him off.
A horrible sneer tilted his lips up as he threw the phone against the wall, the pieces shattering as they fell to the floor.
I pulled a pillow over my face to smother my laugh.
“Time to get up, Artemis, your little shower ban is over.”
Alec tugged me off the bed. The light pouring into the room meant that I’d been asleep for a good while. But what was more concerning was seeing Alec fully dressed. Which meant he’d disconnected our cuffs at some point and I missed it.
I’d also missed him dealing with the fallout from the fire. His face had no residual anger or tension. He was like a blank sheet of paper, staring at me as if I were simply an unruly prisoner he was sent here to bathe.
Alec hauled me into the bathroom, flicking the light, which illuminated the same forest green walls that he had in his room.
A knock sounded on his bedroom door, which had me frantic. Fearful it was Fable and desperate that perhaps it was someone here to help me. Knowing Silas was trying to send me a message had me wondering if he’d figured out where I was being kept, and if perhaps he’d found me.
Alec cursed as he walked with me back toward the door and opened it.
Rachel was standing there, a pile of sheets and towels in her hands while she briefly glanced over my body, focusing on my hand for the smallest second.
“We need to change these sheets. I’ll be just a minute while you go get something to eat.”
Alec watched as Rachel moved to the small dresser, where she set down her pile and then began changing the sheets. I could tell her that we hadn’t been having sex, but I was too scared that Alec would take it as a challenge and try to fuck me. He would try, and I would go down fighting him with every breath in my lungs.
A frantic desperation in me wanted to beg her to help me again, regardless that I knew she couldn’t. It felt like days since I last saw her or had any hope at all that I could get out of here. Alec’s expression shifted as he watched me stare at Rachel, and instead of moving out of the room, he extended his free hand.
“I’ll take them and change them myself. Then when we’re done showering, we’ll come out for dinner.”
Rachel blinked, nothing on her face changed at all except for the smallest flick in my direction. I wanted to scream. I wanted her to fight him with me and help me out of here, but I wouldn’t risk her safety. She had a son to get back to, and I’d do just about anything to make sure she had that reunion.
Once Alec had shut the door, and I felt like a piece of my heart had caved in, we wandered back into the bathroom. I tried to focus on the tiny window above the shower, which let in a degree of light. I took in the white tile on the floor, the basic silver faucets and walk-in shower. Leaning in to turn on the hot water, Alec gave me his back. He had scars littering the exposed skin from where his tank top didn’t cover, some from burns others looked like blades. I nearly gasped because I’d seen these before…