Page 18 of Vow of Silence

Shaking my head, I tried to sit up. “Hey, going out there will get you killed. There are over thirty men and it’s just you. You need me, I can help. Besides, they are here for me. Why would you go out there?” His back had been facing me, but he turned and took a step toward the door. I rolled my eyes.

“Hey, do you have a death wish? Release me, let me help. What can one man do against thirty plus men? They are here to kill me. You’d do better to hand me over to them.”

He shook his head, stepped out of the room, and pressed a button on the wall. The door closed and a lock slid into place. I looked around and saw tiny lights mounted near the ceiling flashing red. He had locked me inside. Jumping to my feet, I rushed over to the rack with the swords. I angled my body until the ropes slid across the blade. It wasn’t long before my arms were free. My body swayed as I tried to grab hold of the counter only to miss. I found myself sprawled on the floor.

Boom.

My captor somehow had blown up several cars along the street with men in them. There were several rounds of gunfire as the men outside started firing everywhere. Frowning, I looked at all of the cameras; I couldn’t see him. I blinked as a shadow crept behind one of the men and slit his throat. As soon as the dead man was tossed to the ground, the shadow faded back into the darkness.

One camera showed the basement where there were twelve men searching. If they found the secret tunnel, it was only a matter of time before they found this panic room. I turned my head as their voices became clearer. They were near me and I heard them say:

“They think Cian has captured her. His men are thorough because twenty of our men are already dead. If we manage to kill him, we still need to get Anya away from his men,” said the voice.

“Jeff, how hard is it to kill a deaf Irish mobster?”

Their accents were foreign but I couldn’t place it. My captor’s name is Cian.

Jeff snorted. “Damn hard since our men are being slaughtered out there. Let’s get out of here. This house is clean. We’d do better to capture an Irishman and make him tell us where the bitch is.”

He wasn’t ignoring me.He’s deaf. He must be Cian O’Brien. He isn’t anything like what I imagined.

I held my breath as I heard the men rushing outside to help their men. Whatever Cian was doing outside, it was killing them like they were nothing. After I heard the door slam shut, I staggered to my feet grabbing a few knives to arm myself.

Taking the nearest gun, I attempted to check the chamber. The weapon flashed red to alert me that my biosignature wasn’t a match. I put the gun down and collapsed in the chair. He had everything in the panic room except food.

Every muscle in my body ached and I felt weak. I needed insulin and I needed it now. My eyes drifted shut as I focused on staying awake.

Rough fingers patted my cheek.

Blinking away the haze, I tried to focus but I couldn’t see who was touching me. The darkness called me and any respite from the pain was a welcomed blessing.

“What’s wrong with you?” His fingers traveled down my cheek to skim over my collar bone.

He can talk.

My ears twitched as I sensed movement nearby. I opened my eyes in time to see a man raising his gun to shoot Cian in the back. Snatching his gun from his hand, I fired four shots. They all landed in the man’s head as his body fell to the floor. A sharp pain in my chest made my eyes roll back. I surrendered to the warm embrace of darkness.

* * *

Arush of adrenaline surged through me and my body shook like I had touched a live wire. My eyes fluttered open to see Cian injecting me with insulin. Instantly, I started to feel normal as the insulin flowed through me.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you needed insulin?” He pinched my cheek.

My eyes opened. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were deaf? I saved your ass back there.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not much of a talker.”

“How about letting me go? I’m sure I’ve never done anything to you. Why are we enemies?”

Without warning, he picked me up. You will learn to communicate with me without words.”

“Just let me go. You got lucky and killed those men but there will be more coming.”

He bent close to my face and inhaled my scent. “No.”

His strong arms lifted me off the floor. He carried me up the stairs. We were in a house but I was certain it wasn’t the same house with the panic room. When we entered the bedroom, I was tense. He put me in the bed furthest from the door, then slid in beside me.

I turned to him. “What are you doing?”

---