Page 84 of Law Of Love

I’d scanned the area around for an escape route while being led away from the party, but multiple butlers stood watch with their guns on show, and Will pressed his own into my back, the barrel poking at my spine painfully.

It wasn’t a grimy and vulgar basement as portrayed in movies. Although it was bare, the wooden flooring was sparkling, and the walls were covered in expensive layers of deep maroon wallpaper. The only light source was a small bulb hanging limply above my head, and I peered through the dimly lit room to see if we were alone.

It looked like it, but the sound of someone shuffling reached my ears, alerting me.

I knew I could try to whip out my gun and shoot Will, but there were butlers standing guard at the top of the stairs, and I had no doubt that if I tried to run, they would shoot me in the kneecaps and drag me back down here to finish me off slowly.There would be no escaping if my kneecaps were blown out.

They’d taken my phone and thrown it against the wall in front of me, smashing it into a thousand pieces, the device shattering just like my hope for a somewhat normal future.

“What the fuck do you want with me?” I spat as I spun around, plastering a glare onto my face. I was secretly terrified, but I wasn’t going to show Will that. He was the type of person who fed on people’s fear. It empowered him, and I intended to bruise his ego by faking my confidence.

“I’ll tell you what, Freya,” Will muttered, picking at the dirt underneath his nails. “I have impeccable luck.”

I scowled. “What does that mean?”

“It’s probably easier if I show you,” he responded, moving over to the wall and flipping on the main light. My breath hitched as I spotted a man seated in the room's corner, a raggedy length of cloth tied around the back of his head to cover his mouth. His body was limp and eyes droopy, his hands bound behind his back.

My father.

“What the hell?” I whispered, yelping when Will grabbed me again after I tried to step forward. “What have you done to him?”

“Your father lost me a lot of money, Freya. He screwed up.”

I scoffed, my fingers twitching. “Let him go.”

My demand caused him to release a throaty chuckle, and he nodded his head at somebody behind me, my wrists suddenly being yanked back and tied. I fought against them, kicking my leg out to strike them in the balls, but they dodged my attempts and shoved me to the ground. I gazed at my father pleadingly as he shook his head, wheezing.

“Almost four hundred thousand dollars was lost because of your father’s idiocy,” Will snarled. He stepped closer to me once I’d been dragged back against the wall, my body having been twisted painfully, my dress ripped up the side. “He was being followed on a drug run, and our entire stash was stolen before it could be delivered.”

I shot a haunting look at my father. He wasn’t the person I once thought he was. He was a liar. A drug dealer. A criminal.

“I enjoy revenge, Freya,” Will muttered, aiming his gun at my father and cocking his head, a wicked smile on his face. It was obvious that my father had already suffered some abuse. He was coated in dry blood and was weak, his head lolling to the side as he tried to keep his gaze steady.

“What is killing us going to achieve?” I tried to reason with Will. “We’ll just be more murders under your belt. More years in prison.”

Will chuckled, rolling his eyes at me. “I’ve avoided prison for this long. I think I’ll be just fine, Freya.” He lowered his gun slightly. “I knew Mark, here, had a daughter, and when you came into the shooting range and had the same surname, I kept tabs on you. Not only that, but then you ended up befriending my useless little nephew. It seemed the odds were siding with me.”

“Leave Ty out of this.”

“Oh, I intend to. He’d run to the police the first chance he got.”

I turned to my father, dread blazing under my skin. “Dad,” I said shakily. “Why? Why were you involved in all of this?”

“It’s only right he gets to explain to his daughter that he brought all of this upon himself.” Will nodded again at the butler standing next to me, and he moved over to my father to yank off the cloth from around his head, leaning in to tell him he would be shot if he started yelling for help. Not that it mattered much. I had no doubt it was soundproof down here.

“Freya,” muttered my dad, his eyes bleak. “What the hell were you doing going to a shooting range?”

“What the hell were you doing drug dealing?” I snapped back.

He sighed. “Will, let my daughter go. I can get you back the money. Freya has nothing to do with this.”

This caused Will to double over in laughter, and he lit up a cigarette as he tried to compose himself. “Who do you think I am? A fairy godmother? You think I’m here to grant wishes?” He chuckled. “You know the rules, Mark. You mess up once, and you’re gone. It’s just unlucky for you that your first screw-up cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. You’re going to watch me kill your daughter, and only then will I put you out of your misery.”

I was going to fucking die tonight. My heart rattled against my ribs, and my sweaty hands quivered behind me, but my eyebrows furrowed when I felt something sharp scrape against my skin.

I stilled, waiting until Will was distracted talking to one of his butlers to turn around. I spotted a pipe attached to the wall—a large crack struck through the middle of it. Some of the metal was sticking out, looking as if it had been kicked in during a struggle of some sort.

I subtly began to scrape the thick rope wrapped around my wrists against it—thankful that it didn’t create a shaving sound—moving my wrists only when I was certain that neither Will nor a butler was watching.

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