Page 32 of Red

I grab my chest over my heart, rubbing the spot. Shaking my head, I whisper into the dark room, “I knew he was alive.”

Confirming that Zeev is alive gives me the strength that I needed to not give up on getting out of here. He needs me. I picture Zeev in my head. My heart rate starts to pick up, thinking about how safe he makes me feel.

I miss him, I miss how he puts me at ease just by looking at me. I’d never been seen before until him. Closing my eyes, I can imagine his hands ghosting over my body. I would give anything right now to see his intense blue eyes looking into mine. Feeling his lips run across mine, then the whisper of his words calling me Red.

I’ve never been a fan of nicknames until him. Now I yearn to hear him whisper Red. When he propositioned for us to get married to escape Nicholas, I never thought that it would turn into anything more. Now all I can do is think of him and how I might not ever see him again. Is this what love feels like?

During the days that we were married, I tried so hard to make sure that I kept my walls up. I didn’t want him to climb into my heart, but at some point, he did just that. I’m not sure when that happened but he's embedded himself into my heart. I can’t imagine life or a future without him. I want him next to me, filling up a house full of children.

Gaining strength and confidence, I stand up and brush myself off. It’s time to be strong and show no weaknesses. I need to figure out how to get out of here, I need to get to Zeev. He needs to know that I’m in love with him. I can’t have that dinner from hell be the last time I see him.

This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, but it helps to feel in control to check out the room, for anything I might’ve missed. Just like last time, there is nothing. The guards made sure that I couldn’t use anything as a weapon. Tapping my fingers on my chin, maybe I can knock Gregory out with my old food tray and run to escape from this room. I will have to figure out how I’m going to get past the guards that are outside the door.

Possibly I could get lucky and they aren’t right outside the door, and are located at the end of the hallway. Either way, I’ll need to sneak up behind them if I want to have any chance of getting away from them. It’s a small chance, maybe even impossible, but I have to take it. I can’t just sit here and not fight back. Zeev is alive. I need to get to him. I need to have the chance to tell him that I love him.

Recognizing my feelings of love is the only thing that is propelling me forward with this crazy escape plan. I sit on the dirty mattress in the middle of the room and wait for Gregory. When it’s almost time for him to bring me the next meal, I wait by the door so I can take out Gregory. The adrenaline that is running through my body is so high that it feels like I could run a marathon.

The metal door starts to open, causing me to stop breathing. I want to catch him by surprise. When the door opens fully, Gregory walks into the room with the new food tray. I can see the confused look on his face as he moves more into the room. I can tell he is looking for me, probably wondering where I could be hiding. As he reaches the center of the room kneeling down to put the tray down on the ground, I step up behind him and swing the tray against his head as hard as I can.

He appears to be a little dizzy, but the hit doesn't knock him out completely. Gaining confidence I move even closer and hit him again, finally knocking him out. On the tray next to him, I see that there is another piece of paper folded up. Reaching down I grab it and open it up, on the note “I’m coming to get you,” is written in Zeev’s handwriting.

Not wanting to wait, I run out into the hallway. My suspicions are raised immediately when I don’t see any guards. What happened to all the guards? Shouldn’t they be here, or did they think I was such an easy target they didn’t need to guard me?

I run up the stairs to the main level of the mansion. I can hear gunfire outside the house. The house is in chaos. Everyone is running around, not paying attention to me. I see the front door right in front of me.

It’s so close I can taste my freedom. When my hand reaches the knob of the door, an explosion occurs. Throwing my whole body away from the door and into the foyer. I land on my back, and before I can recover the roof starts to shake. I hear a loud cracking noise, looking up I see the roof starting to fall and then everything goes dark.

Chapter 24

Zeev

My Red has been missing for a week. A fucking week! It’s been a week since the last time I heard her beautiful voice. It’s been a week since I’ve set my eyes on her perfect face and put my hands in her dark hair. I need to find her and wrap my arms around her. Once I find her, I’m not letting her out of my sight.

I bang my fist against the desk. Just thinking about this situation pisses me off. Fuck, I need to find her. I’m growing crazier the longer she’s missing. That’s when Jake walks in, he looks down at my disheveled state. “You look like shit! You need to get yourself together.”

“Fuck! What do you have for me?”

Jake pulls out a folder and starts reading off what The Wolves and Old Lady Marelle have been doing since that fucking dinner. All she’s done is manage to piss me off even more by taking something else that belongs to me. I might not have had much love in my life, so I’m not sure what this feeling is but what I do know is that I would fucking burn this world for her. I need to find her and take out the old lady once and for all.

“Our inside guy was able to finally give us information. He found where Blanche is being held. Inside the mansion in the basement.”

“Shit, how did we not know she was still in the mansion?”

“He only got eyes on her a few days ago. I was able to get your note to him to pass on to Blanche once he found her. Old Lady Marelle has been keeping everything very secretive. Blanche didn’t even get food until a few days after they had her locked up.”

Letting out an exasperated breath, I say, “If there’s anything wrong with her, I’m going to personally rip out that old bitch’s throat. Let’s call in any favors and get as much backup as possible. Anyone who is trying to stop us from getting Blanche has made their choice and is dead. Old Lady Marelle and Nicholas are fucking mine.”

Jake just shakes his head and knowing I’m starting to lose it, responds, “We need weapons. Let’s reach out to Henry and see if we can get some from him.”

With those last words, Jake walks out. I know that he wants to kill Old Lady Marelle as much as I do. She took someone that he loved in the past and hasn’t gotten over it. Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I dial an acquaintance I’ve worked with in the past. “Henry, I need a favor, now?”

There is a chuckle on the other end of the phone. “I’m assuming this has to do with the rumor that you’re coming for The Wolves and Old Lady Marelle.”

“Yes, Old Lady Marelle has taken something from me and I need it back.”

“What do you need?”

“I need weapons in 24 hours at the docks.”

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