Page 71 of Unbroken (Russo Mafia)

“Wanna know a secret, Charlotte? I’ll tell you, anyway. Lucca isn’t going to save you. By the time he finds you, it’ll be too late. I’ve been waiting for this for far too long for everything to be ruined. Maybe I’ll even bring you closer to the party.”

Before I can reply, he walks away, taking his buddy with him. The door slams shut leaving us in silence yet again.

“Chuck,” he coughed.

“I’m okay, you?”

The chair squeaks, followed by a groan. “Been better to be honest. Wish I could say I’d seen it coming, but nah. Came out of left field,” he moans in pain.

“I can handle them. You don’t have to take them on for me.” My guilty conscience is eating away at me extra hard now. If he only kept his mouth shut, he wouldn’t be in more pain. I need to find a way out of here. Maybe once Seth comes back, I can make a move then. If he wants me out of this room so badly, I’ll let him take me, but Oscar is coming with me. I’m not leaving him behind. If I do, they’ll kill him.

“Baby, I can handle anything those dicks can throw at me.”

I laugh at that. Because he’s fucking losing it if he believes that. “We do remember we’re tied to a chair right, and your arm is broken yeah?”

“Potato, Potahto it’s all the same thing my dear.”

I’m sure if one of his hands were free, he would be waving them around like he doesn’t give a flying fuck. How he can still joke at a time like this is a miracle.

“Oscar, I love you. Never change for no one.”

“Love you too, Chucky.”

I can’t take it much longer; my entire body feels like it’s sitting on needles. I haven’t slept since the first time I passed out; I can’t let myself become vulnerable again. I let Oscar sleep; he needs it more than I do. His body has taken a beating and when I do escape, I’ll need his help. I wish I knew how long we we’ve been in here; it has got to be at least a day. My throat is dryer than the Sahara Desert. With every swallow, it’s another razor blade going down. My stomach lets out another painful rumble. If Seth wanted me to watch the show, why hasn’t he attempted to keep me alert. How long is he going to play games with us?

“You know what I was thinking. When we get out of here, I’m headed back to the pub for cheap beer and wings,” Oscar informs me. We’ve been playing this game for a while now.

“You know what I was thinking. I’m having the longest bath when we get out of here, with extra bubbles.”

“That sounds like heaven. I can see it now, Chuck. Don’t tease me like that.”

Ew. “Oscar! Do not picture me naked, you sick bastard.”

“I’m a guy. I can’t help it. You placed that imagine in my mind and it’ll forever be there, you in the bath eating wings while drinking beer. Perfection.”

A laugh escapes, even though I know I shouldn’t be encouraging him. “Have you ever heard of this thing called dating? It’s where you go out and find a woman, then you can have your own fantasies with her, amazing right?”

He groans. “That’s a lot of fucking work my dear. I’ll stay single and mingle for a while longer.”

“I’m sure you’ll want someone in your life for longer. I didn’t think I wanted another chance with Lucca and yet here I am.”

“You love him, don’t you?”

“With my entire heart, Oscar. I wouldn’t change how anything worked out for us.”

The door bursts open suddenly bringing our conversation to an end. The light flicked on and I take a glimpse at Oscar. He’s looking a little pale, pearls of sweat are beading on his forehead. A shadow passes behind me.

Here we go. It’s gonna happen now or never.

Racing back to the house, my heart is trying to beat out of my chest. There’s no way she would’ve left. I’ve been stressing to her so much about the dangers that lurk outside those walls. Just because the skies are blue doesn’t make it a nice day outside. Things can be hidden no matter how well you look.

“Drive fucking faster!” I yell at Rett. I smash my fist on the dash trying to make it go faster.

Rett lets out a frustrated huff. “I’m going as fast as I can. Do you want to die?”

“No, I want to get back and find Charlie sitting on the couch watching TV. Then I know Seth is lying to me. Then I know this is nothing but a nightmare.”

He weaves us in and out of traffic, nearly missing a van at the last second. I should’ve stayed home today. I’ve been ignoring her for too long, I should’ve paid more attention to her. Maybe that’s what this is teaching me. A lesson that I never learnt the first fucking time. Coming up to the townhouses, Rett swings into the driveway. I don’t wait for him to come to a full stop. I run to the front door.

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