Page 61 of Secret

"Seb! Hell, all of you, get down here!" I shout loudly, and I hear my voice echo throughout the silent house.

"What the fuck do you want? Isn't our sister enough," Seb's sarcastic voice comes from the kitchen. I turn to see him and Luke walk in. Seb stops in his tracks as the anger fades from his face, and I lock my eyes with him as I sway a little. I can feel the blood sticking to the side of my face and dripping down my arm.

"Whose blood is that?” Seb asks with a worried voice, coming over to hold me up on one side.

“It doesn’t matter. Arthur has Izzy, and, damn, it's a long story,"I huff, finally feeling my body catching up to me.

"What?" Luke asks in a dangerously low voice.

"Please say that's not her blood, too," Seb pales, and I can see the worry, plus a hell of a lot of anger, running through both of their faces.

"His goons ran our car off the road and took her. Then they shot me when I tried to stop them. She didn't look good when I last saw her. We need to get to her quickly," I say, rushing my words, but I know they understand me.

"Where have you been shot, man?" comes the dark voice of Harley, and I look over to see him walking the last steps to the bottom of the stairs, with Elliot following just behind him. I’m guessing they heard what I’ve said by the dangerous looks on their faces.

"My arm. I'm fine, we need to find her,"I say, pushing Seb away from me to stand as I groan from the pain.

"Let me look and sort you out. Seb, go and get the guns.” Harley sighs, moving to my side, and I let him help me.

“Elliot, find out where she is, and Luke, you get the first aid kit," Harley finishes in a sharp tone that leaves no doubt he is serious. Everyone moves into action without asking a single question. I forget how loyal this family is to each other, but it’s clear from the determined look on their faces that they would fight for Izzy, just like I am going to.

"Leave my arm, we need to find her." I shrug off his attempt to look at my arm.

"You’re bleeding on the floor, and if you pass out, you will be useless to her. If you really love her as much as I think you do, let me sort you out. We are going to need your help," he says, walking with me into the kitchen.

"Fine. I'm just going mad thinking about anyone touching her," I pant, pulling off my hoodie with one arm while I talk. The action kills my arm, but Harley helps me get the last part off so I don’t nudge it too much.

Harley looks at me for a second, with what I believe to be understanding, and nods as he sighs. “Go through everything from the start.”

I do as Luke comes back, and they wrap my arm up to stop the bleeding. Harley tells me I need stitches, but from one look at my face, he knows there is no chance until Izzy is safe.

"Izzy is at The Cage. Tristan messaged me. He can't help, but we know why," Elliot says as he comes into the room, now dressed in all black.

I'm surprised Tristan helped us considering the last time he helped Izzy he got into trouble, and I punched him in anger. It wasn't the best move, but I saw red when I looked at him and thought of him touching Izzy.

"Tris could get in a lot of shit for this," I say.

"Yeah, he knows we owe him a massive favour," Elliot says, frowning at me like this is all my fault, but eventually, he looks away. I’m guessing I have a while for him to forgive me for this, too.

Seb hands out handguns to each of us. We all know how to use them, and Seb looks at me as he hands the gun over. I know we need to talk, but for now, Izzy is more important, and we both seem to understand that without any words.

"Right, we know the plan. If she is hurt, we still need to stick to it,” Harley says with the darkest look on his face I’ve ever seen.

"She isn't," I say flatly. There is no way they would go to the trouble of taking her if they wanted her dead.

"For their sakes, she best be fine," Elliot says.I agree.

Chapter26

IZZY

As my eyes flicker open to the dimly lit room, I panic. I can’t smell anything other than the metal smell of my blood. I can feel how sticky one side of my face is, and I try to move in my panic. I find myself tied to a chair, and my arm is killing me from the way it's pulled behind me. I suspect the fear is numbing the amount of pain I’m in. I want to cry out, but I don't, choosing to grit my teeth over the pain and fear. I know it won’t help to shout out for help, so I start looking around, and I see I'm in The Cage.

I start shaking as I realise I can't move, and I can’t even feel the end of the rope tied around my hands. Looking around, I realise I'm in the middle of the fighting cage where I saw Elliot fighting before. It's dark, and I can't see anyone. My terror blocks any noises from the silent room other than my heartbeat banging in my ears. My vision blurs as a wave of sickness hits me, but I shake my head to stop the urge to pass out.

I try to remember what happened to distract myself. I remember the car crash, and Blake. The crash, then his voice, and the gun shot float around my brain in fast motion. The whole scene makes me feel sicker than ever before, as I realise they shot him. My mind refuses to believe he is hurt, let alone that he is dead. I won't believe it. He is okay. He is fucking, damn okay.

“My sweet Elizabeth,” a familiar voice says from right in front of me as the room lights up. I look up to see the familiar face of the old man I met the last time I was here, and from the gym. I realise how stupid I was not telling the boys, or even Blake, about him. The old man is wearing a pricey suit like Harley wears, but Harley always looks like a normal, business man, whereas this man radiates terror instead of power. The man’s hair is styled nearly as perfect as his shiny, white teeth, which appear as he smiles at me.

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