Page 32 of Forget Me Not
As we rounded the corner, I froze. Tied up to a pole in the center of the room was Austin. He was stripped down to his boxers and had been whipped. Red marks littered his body. They were swollen and red. Fresh blood oozed from the wounds, dripping onto the dirt beneath him.
“Jesus,” Alex whispered. “Is he alive?”
“I don’t know.”
We crept into the space and cleared all the nooks. No one was in here with him, making me even more anxious. “Don’t,” Austin mumbled. His voice worn and beaten down. “It’s a trap.”
But as he spoke the words, a voice boomed through the room. “Drake Powell… we finally meet.”
Maximus stepped through a small opening. He held a gun pointed at Alex, freezing him in place. “Drop your gun or I pull the trigger.”
“How do I know you won’t kill us both if I do?”
I watched in horror as Maximus raised the gun and struck Alex in the back of the head. Alex crumpled to the floor in a heap. “Now you know. Drop it.”
I tossed my weapon down and held my hands up. “Let Mackenzie go. You have me now, there’s no need to keep her.”
“Ah yes. Your girlfriend. You should have seen the expression on her face when I told her who you were.”
My gut coiled with disgust. “You did what?”
“It was unfair, you know… to make her fall for this version of you. Was it worth it? I wonder if joining this elite group was valued more than the woman who bore your son.”
“Fuck you.” I spat my words. Anger burning through my veins like embers from a flame. “Let her go.”
Maximus walked toward me; his gun pointed at my head. “Austin was supposed to make my dad rich. After he killed my sister, this was his penance.” My eyes widened with realization. Austin was being forced to do their bidding. He was just another victim controlled by Giuliani Pulitano. I looked at him, his body hanging limp against the post he was tied to. “But he isn’t useful anymore.” Maximus pressed the gun against his head.
“Wait. You don’t have to kill him.”
“It’s okay,” Austin groaned out. “I shouldn’t have got involved with Mackenzie. It’s just…” he hissed in pain as he tried to speak. “She’s the first woman I felt something for since my Allesandra.”
“Don’t say her name,” Maximus screamed.
“I didn’t mean for her to die. We had gone out that night. I had too much to drink and killed the one person I loved more than myself. Go ahead, Maximus. Do it. Kill me. At least I’ll see Allesandra again. Drake, tell Mackenzie I’m sorry.”
I watched as Maximus lashed out. He screamed like a madman, kicking Austin in the face right before he pulled the trigger. I dropped to my feet and covered my head, worried he would turn the gun on me. But to my surprise, Maximus was the one who fell.
“Motherfucker hit me.” Alex moaned and rubbed his head as he pushed to a sitting position.
I stared at the lifeless eyes looking at me from the ground. Alex had managed to get a shot off first, striking him in the head. Austin was sobbing uncontrollably as I moved towards him.
“You should have let him kill me. I deserve it.”
“No. You don’t. You’ll stand trial, but with my testimony and you turning states evidence against Giuliani, you’re going to be fine. Now, where is Mackenzie?”
“The basement.”
Alex was on his feet and joined me beside Austin. “Go get her. I’ve got him.”
I ran through the warehouse, searching for the way to the basement. Finally outside, I found the trap door and yanked it open. It was time to face the music. I rushed down the stairs and paused. There were multiple rooms below the building.
“Mackenzie?” I called out, hoping she would hear me. “Baby—I’m here. Where are you?”
I listened, hopeful for a sign. Moving to each door, I pressed my ear to the closure and waited. They were all locked, preventing me from opening them. Scanning the dank space, I found a crowbar. It would have to work. Each door I came to, I wedged the metal rod into the door jamb and leaned into it, using my body weight to get inside. After the first three rooms, I was beginning to wonder if Austin had told me the truth. Each one was empty, showing no signs that someone had been kept inside.
“Mackenzie!” I yelled again. If she was here, was she hurt? Was that why she wasn’t answering me when I called out?
As I started toward another door, I heard it. It was faint, but there. She was calling out to me. I rushed down the narrow hallway and stopped at the last door.
