The Exception (44 page)

CANE

At the word “bonita”, my first instinct was to race up stairs, burst into the room, and rip his heart out with my bare hands. I wanted to watch his heart beat as I held it, while his blood dripped onto the floor.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and forced air into my lungs, knowing I had to stay calm. I had to think fast.

I had to get to her.

The floor creaked above me again and I moved a few steps to the right, directly beneath the sound.

“Ah, bonita. How are you feeling? Frustrated, yes?”

I clenched my hands at my side as I listened for some sign from Jada.

Please, baby. Where are you?

The man chuckled and the floor creaked as he moved across the room, towards the back of the house. I stepped in time with him and stopped as the sound stopped. He stopped what I figured was right in front of my bookshelf.

I heard my desk chair roll a few feet and stop directly above me.

“It’s okay. I’m just waiting on your boyfriend to come home and then things will be better for you. I will release your bonds to that chair. I know it hurts, bonita. And I am sorry. It wasn’t you I was after. It was him.”

He began to laugh maniacally.

My nostrils flared, my heart almost leaping out of my chest. I forced myself to stay calm.

Breathe, Alexander. Figure a way out of this.

“I was paid ten grand to deal with Cane. You are just going to be a little bonus.”

My entire body raged with fury and I had to clap a hand over my mouth before I yelled out in frustration. I paced a circle, pulling on my hair, trying to release some of the energy that was threatening to bound up the stairs.

The joists creaked again as he made his way to the other side of my office and away from Jada.

I was still standing beneath where I thought she was and I heard a small whimper.

My throat closed tight, nearly suffocating me.

Think, Alexander! Fucking think!

I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it to silent. I found Max’s name in my text box.

Me: Call the police and send them to my house. Can’t answer questions. Do it now!

JADA

Tears were flowing down my cheeks, getting caught in the bandana in my mouth. My hair had escaped my ponytail and was now stuck to the sides of my face, glued to my skin by the tears.

My head was so heavy, the pain so bad that I had to force myself to stay awake. I had to be present.

I had to find a way out of this.

Cane will be home soon.

The thought made me cry harder. I had no way to warn him.

I felt beyond helpless, completely and utterly useless. I couldn’t do anything but be tied to this chair and pray that somehow Cane would not walk in to this unknowingly.

The man in front of me was leaning against a wall in the shadows, watching out the window. He was watching the wrong way for traffic to be coming in, but maybe that would benefit Cane somehow.

I gave up trying to openly struggle, I could barely concentrate. The pain was so bad, my energy so sapped, that I could barely move anyway. I did work my hands back and forth, side to side, against the restraint. It was sharp, thin, and really hard. It felt like the zip ties my dad used to hold ‘For Sale’ signs to posts. It probably hurt, but everything hurt, so it was hard to tell.

“Bonita, you may as well stop. You won’t be getting away.” His voice was placating. His shadow moved against the floor as he changed positions, staying encased in the shadows.

I tried to move the bandana in my mouth with my tongue, but it was useless. My tongue was swollen and dry somehow, despite the soaked fabric of the gag.

“Your boyfriend will not take me long to sort out. I didn’t get paid to dispose of his body, so I just need to end him and then you and I,” he laughed, “you and I will have a little fun before I go.”

Vomit surged up my throat and I began to choke on it, the bandana refusing to allow it to exit my mouth. The acidic taste of the bile caused my eyes to water again causing me to panic. It was the one thing I had tried not to do.

I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear anything but the man’s awful laugh getting closer. He pulled the fabric out of my mouth and I spat the fluid all over his shoes, my tears now mixing with the vomit dripping down my chin.

I tried to drag air into my lungs as my face hung pathetically forward, the fluids still dripping out of my mouth.

“You little bitch!” he said in a very controlled tone. He took a step back and slapped me across the face, the loud smack against my eardrum causing it to pop and feel wet.

My eyes began to close again, unable to deal with the pain.

I’m going to die tonight …

CANE

I was losing control. All sense of rationality was slipping away.

I heard her get sick and the sound of him hitting her. Each sound ripped through me and I winced as if I could feel it myself.

My blood boiled with the need to make him—whoever he was—pay and to get to my girl.

If they are in my office, I could get to the stairs and down the hallway. But there was no way to get to Jada with him in the room.

Fuck!

Even if he was after me, he’d kill her in a fucking second. Me
not
going up there was saving her life. As soon as he realized I was in the house, we were both dead unless I could kill him first. And he was obviously prepared for war.

I just needed a distraction.

Where was the fucking police? Please, Max, please have gotten my text!

The chiming of the doorbell caught my attention and I heard him move above me.

“Doorbell, bonita? Are you expecting someone?”

I moved quickly to the end of the staircase, realizing that Lucy’s little connection may provide just the opportunity I needed. The ceiling began to creak as whoever was in my office made his way to the front of the house.

Quickly, I went upstairs, my heart pounding in my chest. I had to get to her while I could.

I had taken my gun off and put it in the glove compartment on my way home and, like a dumbass, hadn’t grabbed it when I got out of the Denali.

What the fuck am I going to do? Think!

I made it to the top of the staircase before pausing, listening for any clues as to where the intruder was. The doorbell chimed again and I heard the click of his gun in the foyer. I padded quickly down part of the hallway and into my office.

And.

My.

Heart.

Fucking.

Broke.

What had this motherfucker done to her?

I had thought a few times before that if I had a heart it would have cracked. Well, I fucking knew I had one now because I could feel it splintering into fucking tiny little jagged pieces. It felt like shrapnel blistering its way, ripping its way, through my chest.

Through my life.

Through my fucking soul.

My eyes filled with tears as I made my way across the room. She sat there so broken, so helpless and it killed me.

It slaughtered me.

It fucking incensed me.

As her eyes began to lift to mine, I knew one thing was for sure. This was going to fucking end my way.

JADA

My head hung against my chest like weights were tied to my neck, pulling it down. My eyes were so swollen from the hits that I couldn’t see.

I couldn’t even fucking cry.

I just wanted to close my eyes and let go, get a respite from the pain for a few seconds.

The scent of cedar and a touch of tobacco caused me to slowly lift my heavy head. I struggled with my eyes, understanding the urgency but not able to focus on anything. It was all a haze. But I knew he was there! I could sense him like I always could.

I have to find him!

I have to warn him!

He has to know what was going on before it’s was too late!

I began to struggle against my bounds again, not nearly as forcefully as I had originally, but with everything I had left in me. I wanted to yell out, but my throat was too raw.

Suddenly, his beautiful face was right in front of mine, his breath warm on my face.

“Shhh, Jada. I am here. It’s me, baby.”

I began to struggle harder, trying to tell him the things he needed to know.

Listen to me, damn it!

Tears felt like they were trying to pool in my eyes, but there was nothing there. There was no room for even a tear beneath the swollen eyelids.

“Sit still. The police are coming but he can’t know I’m here. Do you understand? Sit still, Jada.” Cane’s voice was nearly a whisper but stern.

My chest rose and fell quickly. I wanted to grab him, to hold him, to protect him from whatever evil plan the bastard in here had devised.

But I was bound, beaten, and unable to even cry out.

Hell, I couldn’t even cry. There were no more tears. Only pain. So much pain.

Cane kissed me quickly on the forehead before whispering one final time, “Be still,” before stepping out of my sight.

CANE

I stepped back towards my bookshelf and into the shadows. Shit was about to get fucking real and I didn’t even have a weapon, but I’d use my fucking body as a shield to protect her if I had to.

No more pain would come to my girl as long as I was still breathing.

I heard heavy footsteps crossing the wood floors, making their way down the very same hall I had just come from. They grew louder with each step. I searched for a weapon, something to even out the playing field.

I tucked myself into the side of the bookcase. My eyes made out the shape of the antique sword my Grandpa Ben had given me before he died. He had gotten it during a trip with my grandmother to Greece in the 1970s. He had told me it was a real sword, used by real Greeks in battle.

Let’s hope this motherfucker has one good battle left in it.

I gave a last look at Jada. Her head was slumped forward, her body only held up by her hands tied behind the back of the chair. I wasn’t sure she was even conscious.

My heart fell briefly before I found my focus.

I grabbed the golden sword, took a few steps to the side and stood by the doorway, my back pressed hard against the wall, my heart pounding in my chest as the footsteps got closer.