The door opens and two men step through. One is short with a buzz cut and maybe in his early thirties, the other looks more thug-like, and in his forties. There’s a coldness in his eyes as he approaches, unfazed by the two of us tied up in front of him. Tall, fairly muscular, and covered in scars, the man gave me the creeps. I don’t recognise either of them. Buzzcut has a baseball bat in his hand, whilst the other holds nothing, seeming more confident than the other guy. As they step further under the light, I notice bruising to their faces.

  “Please, please let me go,” I cry. “If you need money, I have it. I can give it to you. But please don’t hurt me or my baby. Please.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Buzzcut snaps whilst the other stares unblinkingly at me.

  “Please, just let me go,” I cry louder, and my already dry mouth feels sore.

  “Do you know why you are here?” Scar dude sneers.

  I shake my head, whimpering when he steps closer. “You have something our boss wants. We can end this now if you just hand it over.”

  I sniffle, pushing the tears back. “Who is your boss? What does he think I have?” I wail, keeping up with the lie. “I model and promote products. I’m going to be a mum. I don’t know what you think I’ve done but I think you’ve got the wrong person.”

  He kneels in front of me, and his gaze goes to Liam. “Are you sure you want to have the loss of her and her unborn baby’s life on your hands?”

  Liam’s jaw clenches, the only tell-tale sign he’s fighting to keep it together. “I don’t understand why she’s here. She’s a client’s daughter.”

  The man just stares back at Liam for a moment, before he reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a knife, and this time, my cries aren’t forced or faked. “Are you going to talk? Or do I have to use her to make you talk?”

  “Leave her the fuck alone, or can you only hurt those physically weaker than you?”

  “Please, don’t hurt my baby. I’ll give you anything you want, but please, don’t hurt my baby. Please, they are innocent in all this. Please. I can’t lose my baby. I can’t. Please, don’t hurt my baby.”

  He runs the tip of the knife down my jeans, and I cry as it tears through the thick material, making a shallow cut.

  “Shut the fuck up,” he barks. “Andrew Black said you took something from him. You want to survive, hand it over. Tell us where it is.”

  “I told you, I don’t know anything,” I yell, pleading, but he presses the tip of the knife into my thigh. Blood flows in a thick stream, hot as it soaks into my jeans. “Stop. Please, stop.”

  “Leave her the fuck alone,” Liam growls. “Come at me, you ugly prick. Come on!”

  His gaze turns from Liam to me as he slowly gets to his feet. He steps forward, pressing the knife to the tip of my neck.

  “Bruh,” Buzz cuts murmurs, looking angsty on his feet. “You said you were just going to scare her. I’m not down with hurting a pregnant chick.” His gaze cuts to me. “Unless I have to.”

  Scar guy sighs and steps back. “Call Black. Ask him what he wants us to do with her,” he orders, then cuts his gaze back to Liam. “I might not hurt her, but I couldn’t give two fucks about hurting you. And I’ve got a feeling that after an hour or two of hurting you, the bitch will talk.”

  “You don’t need to do this,” I choke out as Buzzcut leaves the room.

  “Oh, I know, but I want to,” he sneers, and rubs the side of his jaw, where there’s bruising. “I’ve been waiting for a little payback.”

  “Bring it on, dickhead,” Liam barks.

  Scar guy rolls up the sleeves of his jacket and takes measured steps towards Liam. He bends at the waist, and as fast as lightning, plunges the knife into Liam’s thigh. My scream echoes over his roar of pain.

  “Stop! Stop!” I scream. “Stop!”

  He pulls the knife out, throwing it across the damp room, and it clatters to the floor in the corner.

  “I’ll stop when he gives me what he wants,” he growls. “The way I see it, he has two choices: die, or tell me where the information is. Because the next time that knife goes into him, he’ll praying the infection takes him before I do.”

  “Fuck you!” Liam spits.

  The guy lunges, punching Liam over and over until I can no longer bear it. I turn away, my chest heaving with sobs I’m trying to keep down.

  “Please! Please stop hurting him,” I cry out.

  “It’s okay, Rebecca,” Liam wheezes, spitting out blood.

  “You’re looking a little comfy there. Let’s sort that out,” Scar sneers, and unclips the chain on his cuffs. He drags Liam up by his collar and to the centre of the room, which is between our chairs. I look up, seeing a hook in the middle of the ceiling, attached to a drain of some sort.

  His lifts his arms up, hanging him on the hook, before leaving him there, barely able to stand.

  “What are you doing?” I cry, as the baby kicks harder against my ribcage.

  “It’s okay,” Liam slurs, and my gaze goes to the wound on his leg that is still pouring blood.

  I hear a chain rattle and move my gaze away from Liam to the monster keeping us captive. He tugs on the chain near the door, and I flinch at the sound of Liam’s roar of pain. His body is pulled taut as the hook rises. Liam’s shirt rises too, revealing bruising to his stomach and ribs.

  They were using him as a punching bag long before I got here. Vomit rises in my throat at the sight.

  “Great little device,” Scar announces, and walks over to Liam, punching him in the gut.

  “Stop! Please stop!”

  Buzzcut steps back inside as the other continues to beat on Liam.

  “Mike, we have a problem,” Buzzcut announces, his voice grave.

  “What?” Mike snaps, but with a head jerk to the door, Mike finally moves away from Liam to follow Buzzcut out of the room.

  “Are you okay?” I ask once the door shuts behind them.

  “Yeah,” he replies, lifting his head towards the door.

  Buzzcut’s voice carries through the metal door. “He said if she has no information, we have to kill her.”

  “Fuck!” Mike growls. “If he wants her dead then he can come do it himself.”

  Fear slithers down my spine, and I snap my head in Liam’s direction, letting him see it. There’s worry there, but he subtly shakes his head. I remain quiet as Buzzcut argues with Mike.

  “You tell him that. I’ve seen what he does to people who don’t follow his orders.”

  Something slams against the door. “When is he coming back?”

  Back? From where?

  “He doesn’t fly back in until the end of next week. He’s back Sunday night.”

  “Okay, okay,” Mike rants, and I hear his boots pace outside the door. “So, we have over a week to come up with something.”

  “What about that Joe guy? When did you say he was coming?”

  “Fuck!” Mike snaps. “He doesn’t come until Tuesday.”

  Which is in five days—the same timeframe as Liam has given the Carters.

  “Let’s leave it to him, then, because I’m telling you now, I’m not hurting a pregnant chick. There’s a special place in Hell for those who do.”

  “Nick, for someone who is meant to be fucking smart, you’re a dumb fuck. We are all going to Hell,” Mike grouches. “At least it’s not the new guy, Marcus. He gives me the creeps.”

  “What are we going to do with her until then?” Nick asks.

  “Take her to the office and chain her to the bed,” Mike orders, and the creek of the hinges echo as they pull open the door. He steps in, his gaze on Liam. “Sedate them both. We can’t trust her not to give us any problems.”

  “Why him again?”

  “Because I want to have some fun without hearing him mouth off.”

  “Whatever,” Nick carelessly replies. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out two syringes, and I struggle against the binds tied around my wrists. “Don’t, please. I won’t do anything, I swear. Just don’t hurt my baby. I’m begging, please.”

  Nick jabs the needle into the side of Liam’s neck, and I swallow the bile down. When he arches his eyebrow in Mike’s direction, there’s a moment of hope. My heart races as I wait for him to decide.

  Mike sighs. “One bit of trouble and I’ll stab a double dose into your stomach.”

  “I swear, I won’t,” I choke out, and Nick pulls at the restraints around my ankles. Once they’re gone, he forces me to my feet.

  There are no words as he pulls me out of the room, and I leave Liam hanging from the hook.

  I’ve always described myself as a strong, independent woman who can handle herself. I’ve never cried over a broken heart, I’ve never settled for less, and I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’ve always taken responsibility for my own actions and happiness.

  Years of building to be that woman left me the second they grabbed me. In the hours I’ve been here, they’ve taken everything I thought I knew about myself.

  My baby kicks, reminding once again why I’m not fighting back, why I’m not yelling at the top of my lungs for them not to hurt Liam.

  Yet, although I’d do it all over again, it doesn’t stop the guilt eating away at me.

  I’m the one who kept pursuing the idea that something was in those papers we had on Andrew Black.

  I’m the one who walked into that building and followed Duke.

  I’m the one who handed the phone to Liam.

  At the sound of something being whipped against flesh, I flinch, bowing my head as he pulls me down the damp corridor.

  It might not be my flesh, or my body being tortured, but it may as well be.

  This is all my fault.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Eli

  Every love story has a beginning and an end, or as some will say; love is never ending. Rebecca and I… our story isn’t over.

  Or at least, I hope it isn’t.

  When she left after our argument, I had been so ashamed of my behaviour. I smashed my phone against the wall and then took all the anger I was feeling out on her front door. It’s what kept me from leaving and going after Black myself.

  Rebecca fucked up so bad, and now I’ve had time to calm down and look at things more clearly, so did I. I let my fear of what Black might do get the better of me and said things I didn’t mean.

  I should have asked Rebecca what she was looking for, what she had found, or what she intended to do. I should have looked past the fact my brothers nearly got burned alive, that one got stabbed, and that my sister got hurt because of Black. I should have done a lot of things. I jumped to the wrong conclusions, and now I’m paying the price.

  She was fucking right to accuse me of having double standards. I put the blame on her and what she was doing and never to stopped to think that what I was doing could be just as harmful.

  I’ve been waiting for her to call or text, to give me something to show I matter. It’s childish as fuck, but from the very beginning, I’ve been the one to chase her. This time, I need her to be the one to do the chasing. I need her to prove to me that this is what she wants. I need her to want me like I want her.

  But nothing.

  I received nothing from her. Not a call, or even a text. I was stupid to think she’d come to me, and now I’m worried it’s too late to go to her.

  I’m left wondering if I imagined there being more between us, that it meant more. For months I’ve waited for her to tell me she loves me. There have been times when I thought she was going to say them, but it never happened. And it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because I thought I knew how she felt about me. But now, after weeks of being ghosted, I’m beginning to question it all.

  But the one thing I’ve not questioned is the love I have for her. Watching her get into that car, seeing the vacant look with tears streaming down her face, it was like being punched in the gut. She is everything I didn’t know I was looking for. And even though I’m mad at her, I still miss her. I miss her company, her presence, and our routine together. I miss our mornings and I miss our nights. I hate getting into a cold bed without her there.

  But once again, I let my mouth run away with me. Did it make what she did right? No. But she has to know, I’ve only ever wanted to keep her safe. And now Black knows about her and the baby, and I’m scared I won’t be able to keep her safe.

  Since the day she left, I’ve done everything in my power to end this, to finally get Andrew Black off the streets, but we’re constantly hitting dead ends. Black has disappeared, and we are no closer to finding out who BW is or where he is.

  Our only hope is that Liam finds something on the phone Rebecca risked everything for.

  I don’t know how much longer I can go without seeing her, without holding her or telling her I’m sorry.

  I don’t know how I’m going to face her and tell her I’ve failed and that I can’t end this. I’ve missed out on so much. So fucking much in the weeks we’ve been apart. And now I’m done waiting for her to come to me.

  I slam the packing tape across the room, roaring with frustration once again. I’ve used the room once before to let out my anger. It’s therapeutic, and by the time I’m done and cleaned up, I’m calmer. This time, the mess is bigger since I smashed every old plate and bowl against the far wall.

  I throw the cutter next, and Jaxon steps inside, using the backdoor of the factory. I turn away from him, fed up of seeing the pity on his face. I’m fed up of seeing it on all their faces. Even Evie, who is mad at me on her friend’s behalf, watches me with pity, and I can’t handle it anymore.

  I don’t need Jaxon here acting all high and mighty.

  I turn away from him and begin to clear away the mess I’ve made, repacking the old plates I got out of storage. “What are you doing here, Jaxon? You should be at home with your wife and baby.”

  “Lily is visiting with Mum,” he tells me, and drags one of the crates off the shelf to sit on. “You need some rest, Eli. Take a step back from this and let us deal with it.”

  I pull at the strands of my hair, fed up with hearing the same fucking line, and spin to face him.

  “How are you going to deal with it? We’ve been doing this your way from the beginning, and look at us, Jaxon. Paisley was attacked, Reid has been stabbed, and you were in a building that was set on fire. Our vans have been vandalised, our property too, and let’s not forget all the other crap that’s happened. We should have ended him from the beginning. It would have saved so many people from a world of hurt.”

  He stands, his gaze narrowed. “I’ve never made a decision without any of you. We’ve gone our whole lives with the same rule. If one of us says no, it’s a no from all of us.” He takes a breath, glancing away for a moment. “And I don’t need you to tell me what’s happened. My wife, who was pregnant with my child, was in that fire. Or did you forget that? Do you think I don’t regret not sorting him out from the beginning? Because I fucking do. I don’t need you fucking reminding me. If I never underestimated him, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

  Fuck!

  I drop my hands to my sides when he goes to leave. “I didn’t mean it,” I blurt out. “I’m angry and frustrated and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t have. It was unfair to put the blame on you. It was all of us who decided to ignore him, not just you.”

  He stops at the door and looks at me over his shoulder. “I get it. I’ve spent nearly ten months wondering if he’ll go after Lily. I’ve stayed awake at night watching outside, fucking frightened he’ll do something whilst we’re sleeping. I know exactly how you are feeling, and I fucking hate that you’re going through it.”

  I lean back against the workbench, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I can’t keep watching over my shoulder, wondering when he’ll strike again. I can’t live like this anymore. Rebecca is safe at her dad’s but what happens when she decides to come home? What happens if the next time she’s out alone, he attacks her? He’s a rapist. He had no trouble hitting his daughter and putting her through hell. He’s taken businesses, land, and contracts from people. He needs to die, Jaxon. He needs to die, and we should have done it from the very beginning.”

  “You know why we can’t,” Jaxon argues. “The man has connections everywhere. He has gotten away with so much, and he’s cocky about it. I mean, did he look scared any time he came to confront us? He didn’t, and we threatened him every single time. A man like that, you know he has something in place.”

  “That could be him messing with us. It’s what he wants us to believe.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m done going around in circles over it. None of us can change it now. And there’s nothing more we can do until that message we sent out circles to the right people and BW gets it. We need him to come in and find out what he knows.”

  “And what are we meant to do in the meantime? Sit on our arse twiddling our thumbs? I’m fucking done with all this waiting. We should be out there looking for him and getting people to testify against him.”

  He grips my shoulders, giving me a shake. “If we are seen asking questions, it’s only going to raise suspicions about us at a later date. We can’t risk that.”

  I curl my lip in disgust. “So, we sit twiddling our thumbs.”

  “No,” he replies, shaking his head. “You are going to sort things out with your girlfriend and get away from here for a few days. Call her. Sort it all out.” He steps back, giving me room. “Fuck, go take her somewhere nice for a few days. It might be the last chance you get. Trust me.”

  I begin to calm and lean back against the workbench. “Rose still not sleeping?”

  “Oh, she sleeps. She sleeps all day and wants to test her lungs during the night. It’s why I brought Lily with me. She’s so fucking scared she’s going to do something wrong that she’s hardly slept. She only sleeps if me, her mum or dad, or our mum is around. Thankfully, she’s sleeping on the sofa right now.”

  “Go. Be with her. I’m gonna clean up here,” I tell him, grimacing at the mess.

  He snatches the broom off the side. “Nope. You are going to call Rebecca. Now. The twins are scared to come near you, Reid is giving you a wide berth, and Paisley is worried sick about you. Call her and put everyone out of their misery. I’ll clean the mess up.”