Page 113 of Love Bleeds Red
“No,” Ada says, reaching out to hold me back. “Don’t go in there.”
“Are you sure he’s knocked out?” I ask Leon, letting my fear take over.
“Bailey, please. I need your help.”
Internally screaming but holding it together, I pull Ada’s hand away and nod. Once I’m inside the cell, the walls instantly start closing in around me. It’s one thing to peer through the window, but another to step inside the small space. The coppery smell of blood mixed with the musty basement air makes it even harder to breathe.
“Let’s get this done,” I say solemnly.
Alfred’s head hangs forward as I approach, his breathing shallow but steady. A thin line of drool mixed with blood drips from the corner of his mouth and I try not to gag.
“Check his jacket pockets first, then his trousers,” Leon says, using both hands now to keep Alfred upright against the wall. “Look for his keycard, his phone, anything that could help him get out of here.”
I reach toward his jacket pocket with shaking hands, trying not to touch him directly. That smell—it’s so much stronger right next to him.
“Hurry, Bailey. I can feel him starting to come around.”
My fingers find the outline of something rectangular in his inner pocket. The keycard. I slip it out carefully, then move to his other jacket pocket, which is empty.
“I need to get to his pants,” I say, urging Leon to adjust his position.
“Leon!” Ada’s panicked voice echoes from the hallway. She stops at the entrance to the cell. “Someone’s upstairs. I heard footsteps!”
Leon’s head snaps in her direction. “Fuck!” He takes a moment to decide what to do, but Ada calls his name again so he releases Alfred, letting him slump to the side. “Stay with Bailey,” he tells his mother. There’s so much conflict in his eyes as he glances between me and the hallway. “I’ll be right back, love. One second.”
I’m trembling, wanting to get as far away from Alfred as possible. Who else is out there? Could it be Jasper and the rest? Or someone worse than Alfred?
I watch Leon pull out his gun keeping it aimed toward the ground as he steps away.
He’s just outside the cell door—close enough to rush back in, but far enough that he can’t reach me.
That’s when Alfred’s eyes suddenly snap open.
His hand shoots up fast as lightning, and he wraps his fingers around my throat before I can even scream. The keycard falls from my hands to the concrete floor as Alfred yanks me down toward him, his grip crushing my windpipe.
“You little bitch,” he snarls, spitting bloody saliva onto my face.
I claw at his hand, trying with all my strength to pry his fingers loose, but his grip is impossibly strong for someone who was just half unconscious. Black spots dance at the edges of my vision as I struggle to breathe.
“Leon,” I wheeze, but the word barely escapes my lips.
Suddenly Ada’s there behind Alfred, scrambling against his back, pounding her small fists along his shoulders. “Let her go!” she screams. “Let her go!”
Alfred releases one hand from my throat to backhand Ada viciously across the face. She cries out and falls backward, hitting the concrete wall hard before sagging to the floor. But she gave me just enough air to keep fighting.
Leon shouts something. I can’t make out the words over the roaring in my ears, and then Alfred’s being jerked sideways as Leon tries to pull him off me. But Alfred won’t let go. Instead, he uses his grip on my throat to push himself to his feet, holding my body in front of him as a shield.
Oh God. I need air. I’m scratching and pulling at his hands but it’s doing nothing but leaving angry red marks on his skin.
“Get off her!” Leon roars, aiming his gun at Alfred’s head.
Alfred backhands me across the face, and stars explode in my field of vision.No. I won’t go down like this.I bite his wrist hard until I taste blood, and he finally releases my throat with a howl of pain.
I stumble backward, gasping, giving Leon the space to take him down. He doesn’t waste another second, as the barrel of hisgun connects with the side of Alfred’s head. The crack of his skull is so loud that it echoes in the small space like a gunshot.
Alfred crumples to the floor finally, truly unconscious. Thank God.
“Bailey!” Leon’s hands cup my shoulders as he takes in my appearance with wide, worried eyes. “Are you okay?”
