Page 47 of The Oath

I try to get close to the road, hoping like hell someone will stop and let me in. I weave between the cars and crouch down so he can’t see me. I’m breathing heavily behind one of the cars when a hand wraps around my mouth. I scream into the hand, not knowing who the hell it is, as tears fall down my cheeks. This is it. This is how I’m going to die.

“Shh,” I hear the whisper. It’s Ry. How the hell is here? How does he know what’s happening? I don’t have time to ask as I’m dragged backward and around another car.

“Tam!” I hear Brady scream once more. I clench my hands into fists. There’s no way I’m going down without a fight. I will use every ounce of energy I have to fight that bastard. I’m done being his victim. I’m about to stand when Ry yanks me back down.

“I’m done hiding,” I hiss at him.

“He has a gun. We don’t. Stay the fuck down.”

“No. I’m sick of this shit, Rylan. I’m not a damn victim. Not anymore.” I said it without saying it. I just told him the things he didn’t know about were all Brady’s fault. I see the anger as it rises in his eyes, and I know I fucked up big time. Ry’s hands clench as he begins to stand, and I yank him back down.

“Don’t leave me.” My begging must be enough to get under his skin because he nods his head and pulls out his cell. I don’t know who he’s texting, but it takes literally ten seconds for the SUV to come screeching to a halt next to us. At first, I think it’s someone with Brady, and I start to run, but Ry grabs me and yanks me back. He tosses me like a rag doll into the back seat before climbing in. That’s when more shots are fired. Silas speeds out of the parking lot as the sound of bullets hits the side of the car, busting one of the windows. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I’m slammed into the car door when Silas takes a turn.

Ry sits up, and I do the same while he curses under his breath. That’s when I see the blood.

“Oh God,” I say as I reach for him. He shoves me away and brings his hand up to his arm, lifting the sleeve.

“It’s just a graze,” he says.

“You were hit?” Silas asks.

“Just a graze.”

“Who the hell is shooting?” Silas asks now.

“Brady.” Ry’s eyes stay glued to mine, burning a hole through my body. “You going to explain this?” I shake my head slowly because there’s no way in hell I can tell him what Brady did to me. I promised Matt I wouldn’t tell him.

“Where to?”

“My dad’s,” he answers without looking away from me. His phone is blowing up, but he doesn’t make a move to answer any of them; he just keeps watching me. I look down at my hands and hope everyone is okay, but I can feel him watching me. It unnerves me a little, but finally, I swallow hard and hold my head high. I won’t let him bully me into telling him anything. Matt said it was going to be handled, and I believe him.

The SUV comes to a stop, and we climb out. Rylan grabs my upper arm and pulls me along with him until we get inside. His mom is there as soon as we enter, and she looks between him and me, then at his hand on my arm.

“Call Dad. Tell him to get here now. We’ll be downstairs,” Rylan tells her.

“Rylan. Don’t you take her down there,” she protests. Rylan doesn’t listen to her. He drags me through the living room and down the basement steps. I’ve never been in Ry’s basement before, and I don’t know why his mom doesn’t want me down there. Nevertheless, I’m being dragged down here anyway.

When we step foot in the basement, everything seems normal. There’s beige carpet on the floor, and off to the left, there’s a living room of sorts with a big TV. But that’s not where we go. Ry pulls me down the hall and nods for Silas to open another door. It’s like stepping into another world. My stomach drops as we enter this room. The walls are concrete, and there’s no more pretty beige carpet. It’s concrete floors with multiple drains on the floor throughout the room. There’s a putrid smell in here, causing me to gag a little.

I look around and see a few chairs sitting off to the side, but it’s where Ry is dragging me that causes me to shudder. There are chains on the wall. In fact, multiple chains are attached to hooks. Silas moves around doing God only knows what while Ry spins me around and slams me against the wall. I start to fight him. I don’t care how pissed he gets. I swing hitting him in the mouth hard. He smirks and turns his head to spit blood from his mouth onto the floor.

“Silas!” He barks at him. I keep fighting as Ry lifts me off the ground, and Silas comes around to grab my wrist. He wraps his hand around the sore one, and I whimper as he attaches the chain to it. He moves to the other side and does the same as I kick my feet harder.

I land a kick to Silas’s stomach, but he acts like it doesn’t even bother him. He grabs my ankle roughly and hooks that one the same as my wrists. When he finishes with the other side, Rylan sets me down. My feet touch the floor, but I can’t move.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I scream at him. He walks over to the counter on the other side of the room and grabs a rag that looks like it’s covered in blood before coming back to me. I know what he’s doing, and I’m not going to let him. I clamp my mouth shut until it hurts. Rylan doesn’t care. He grabs my face, wrapping his hand around my jaw and squeezing until I cry out in pain. Then he shoves the rag into my mouth, keeping me from screaming. That doesn’t stop me. I scream behind the rag, and that really pisses him off. He looks me right in the eye and pinches my nose, cutting off my air supply. Now I panic. I call his name behind the gag until my eyes start to widen. I don’t want to pass out.

“Now is the time to be quiet, Syn.” I nod my head rapidly, and he releases my nose. I breathe heavily through my nose, getting as much air as I can into my lungs.

“What do you want to do here, Rylan?” Silas asks him. He’s pacing the room like a caged animal who’s going to snap at any moment. His eyes are wild as he looks anywhere but at me.

“I’m going to kill him. I just need to know what I’m killing him for,” he replies casually. Then he looks at me. “Bring me Angel.”

“What?” Silas asks.

“I said, bring me Angel. If Syn doesn’t want to talk, I’ll make her talk,” Ry says easily. I shake my head. He can’t hurt Angel. He wouldn’t do that, would he? Silas pulls out his phone and calls Levi, telling him to bring Angel over here. Tears burn the back of my eyes as I try to fight the chains. He can’t do this.

“Levi has her. He got her from school. They’re on the way.” I scream for Rylan around the gag, but he ignores me. He paces the room, picking up some tools and things as he goes. He holds up a screwdriver that appears to have old blood on it, and I whine.

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