Page 19 of Not Your Hero

“But what about …” he trails off, not saying what I already know.

“Doesn’t matter. She’ll never know.”

“How the hell do you plan to keep that a secret, Nix?”

“Same way I have been,” I admit.

“Drugging her all the time isn’t good for her health. It’s not a long-term solution,” he adds. I run my hand through my hair.

“I know. I’ll … I’ll figure something out. Just get the house sold and the money into her account.”

“And if we don’t find her?” The rage that courses through my veins at his words burns me from the inside out.

“We’ll find her.”

“There’s a chance …” he begins, but I throw my hand up to stop him. No. Not finding her isn’t an option. “Gannix, come on.”

“Ren, you’re my friend. Basically, my only friend, and I’d like to keep it that way,” I tell him. He nods his head, knowing what I’m saying to him. I could kill Ren in a heartbeat and not blink a fucking eye, but I do have a slight soft spot for him at times.

“Where to now?”

“I want to double-check all the hospitals,” I tell him. He doesn’t say a word this time; he just pulls off and drives.

My mind is all over the place. I don’t know where she could be. There isn’t anywhere she frequents aside from Charlie’s, and I know she isn’t there.

After we check the hospitals once more, we head to the club. I need to be alone. I need to think.

I climb out of the car and head inside, stopping in the middle of the room and staring at the floor. This is all fucked. All of it. She isn’t here. I know she isn’t, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I can feel her. I can see her dancing and smiling at me over her fucking shoulder. I can feel her hips in my hands and taste her on my tongue.

Whoever has her is going to pay. I’m going to make them pay.

Chapter 12

Emerson

Tears continue to pour down my cheeks as the tips of my fingers bleed profusely. I can’t stop, though. I just can’t. I have to get out of here. I don’t know how long I’ve even been here, but I know I can’t stay.

I continue to claw at the hard rock beneath me although knowing somewhere in the back of my mind it’s getting me nowhere. All I’m doing is hurting myself, but I can’t stop.

“Please!” I scream as I claw at the ground. My blood stains the rock at the edge of my cell, but not even seeing that stops me from trying. The lights are on, so they, whoever they are, don’t care if we talk.

“You’re only hurting yourself,” Jenny, the girl next to me, says. I ignore her words and continue to claw at the ground. When my fingers burn, I stop. When I look down I can see the skin and nail has been torn off. I should get sick to my stomach seeing that, but I don’t. Instead, I scoot back against the wall and curl into myself.

“We’re never getting out, are we?” I whisper, but she hears me.

“I don’t know even what this place is,” she says.

“It’s hell. That’s what it is.”

“We’ve been talking, well down the line, they think it’s a cave of some sort. The girl at the end said she can see the entrance, but bars block it.”

“A cave?”

“That’s what we think. It would make sense. The rock walls and floor.” She’s right. That would make sense but a fucking cave?

“Does he ever open the cells?” I ask this time.

“Only for showers.”

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