The Law of Motion (Law Series) (45 page)

He didn’t notice my eyes widen, too busy talking away. “Where is that fighting spirit you had that has been making my work so difficult?”

“You don’t understand…” I breathed feeling my face get hot, and my eyes filling with tears. “I
can’t
stay on this table…please.” I requested squeezing my eyes shut.

He walked around the table slowly tracing the knife around me as he talked. “Now, now Alyssa, you’ll get off the table, when I’m finished with you. You’ve been allowed to delude yourself into thinking you are in control for far too long.”

He ran the knife along my pant leg, hooking it at the bottom and sending it up my leg, shredding the denim. I tried to pull myself free again, letting out a painful sob when I felt the skin of my wrist rub raw against the clasps and chain.

“Alyssa if you haven’t figured it out yet, the more you move, the more you hurt yourself.” He informed, telling me what I already knew. “And the more that you hurt yourself the more fun you take from me. Someone needs to teach you your place, and apparently I’m the only one up for the job of breaking you.”

The tears were streaming in full effect at that point, but I kept my eyes clamped shut. I just needed to hold out, not provoke him because my guy and friends would be storming this place soon.

He slit my other pant leg up to the calf to match the other one. I bucked and trashed ignoring the pain in my wrists and shoulders until he put the blade against the back of my arm. I froze completely. “Where to start, where to start, where to start?” He asked himself gliding the blade from forearm to shoulder, delicate enough  to keep from slicing my skin.

He moved my hair all to the left side of my face, obscuring what little view I had. “What’s this?” He asked himself running the knife across the scars on the back of my neck. “We’ll it seems someone already tried to tame you huh?”

“Please…” I wept keeping my eyes closed.

He ran his finger across the lines on the back of my neck, counting the others within view on my upper back. “All of this, and you’re
still
mouthy? I’ll just have t
o
”

He was interrupted by the sound of shots cracking somewhere above us and men screaming undecipherable words. “Adrian! Liam! Macon! Anybody! I’m down here.” I yelled and the large man swore under his breath slamming a large fist on the table. It silenced me.

“It seems you are just set on making things difficult for me.” He hissed walking off somewhere to the other side of the room.

He came back over with a rag. The sweet smell made me try to pull my head back but of course it went nowhere. “No!” I protested but he pressed it against my face anyway, and I held my breath.

“It won’t kill you Alyssa Marshall, so stop fighting it. I just can’t have you awake while I’m trying to escape.” He groaned in impatience, like trying to knock me out was inconvenient for him.  When I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, I tried breathing clean air through my nose but the vapors still caught me. My head feeling woozy, my eyes feeling heavy. “Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again little one. Sleep tight…”

Dario and I got over to the main house as quickly as our legs could carry us. “Dad?” I called through the house, not  even caring if I revealed my location.

“Down here, son” My dad called down the hall, his voice still troubled.

Then Alyssa’s voice filled my ears. “Get me out! Get me out! Get me
out
!”

That got my feet moving, I didn’t even think moving that fast was possible. I took the stairs of that basement three and four at a time and there was my Honeyface, chained and strapped to a table. Vic, and my dad surrounding it looking pretty fucking helpless.

My dad looked up at me, still trying to coax her from a state of anxiety. “We’re right here, no one is going to hurt you.” He promised smiling so weak it didn’t reach his eyes. “Adrian is here, sweetheart.”

“Adrian?!” She called half relieved and half sad.

“I’m here Honeyface.” I called sitting my rifle down in the doorway.

“Where?” She questioned looking around, “I can’t see…”

I walked to the table where my dad wa
s
noticing for the first time that her head was strapped down, her pant legs cut up the back. “I’m here Honeyface.” I repeated putting my hand on the side of her face, brushing her cheekbone with my thumb.

“Adrian, get me out of here.” She pleaded, her green eyes rimmed red.

I looked over at my dad and Vic, and both of them shook their heads. “Give us a second sweetie.”

I tried to pull my dad to the side, but Alyssa burst “Don’t leave me,” the moment I moved from her line of sight.

Dario voluntarily rushed to her side squatting to eye level. “Hey boss… we missed you.” He crooned with a smile on his face, wiping something wet from her cheek.

“You’re
late
.” She forced a laugh, even though I was sure it pretty much killed her to do it.

Dario chuckled low, “Would you believe traffic?”

Once I was sure she was ok I turned to my dad and Vic looking for answers. “Why is she still strapped to that thing, Pops?”

“Well son, her arms are chained and padlocked from that I can tell, we’re gonna have to flip the table to see what we’re working with.” He explained.

Vic shook his head, “It’s the ‘Table of Toil’ method. We’re gonna have to be really careful getting her out of there.”

I had no clue what he was talking about, but we needed to do something. “Turn her vertical?” I guessed walking to the side Alyssa was facing. Victor nodded. I looked over at Dario, “Grab the other end of this will you?”

Alyssa’s eyes widened, “What’s going on?”

“We’re just going to flip the table on it’s side to get a better look.” My dad explained as he took the other side with Victor.

I got a good grip on the table and my dad counted us off. It was wood, but the shit was heavy as hell. We had barely put it on it’s side before Alyssa let out a shriek and slid further down.

“You ok Boss?” Dario asked making sure the table was firmly in one place before we let it go.

“I’m fine.” She assured, but her voice sounded so small.

I stroked her face trying to reassure her, but her eyes were clamped shut. “Try not to move ok, Honeyface? We’re gonna get you out.” I promised.

My dad let out another troubled sigh and I had to hold my own in once I saw what was wrong. Everything was chained and interlocked without the slightest bit of give.

“Tawny, I need you.” I requested as calmly as I could in my radio. “We found her. Main house.”

"On my way," she promised, but I heard her ask Macon if he was all right before she started running.

It didn’t take long for her to appear at the top of the stairs, pulling out her kit. She swore under her breath as she undid the first lock. “What is it Doc?”

“This tangled mess is worse than the shit it the barn. It’s going to take me some time.” Her eyes cut to the padlocks and back to me. “You might want to keep her calm. Her moving isn’t going to keep her from hurting.”

I returned to Alyssa’s side letting Doc get to work. “Are you ok, Honeyface?”

She tried her best to nod and eventually gave up with a, “I’m fine.”

“Open your eyes for me.” I urged stroking whatever parts of her that I could. “I want you right here with me.”

My dad, Vic, and Dario were huddled off in the corner, talking in hushed worried whispers. The sounds of the fight above us rattled off in my ears, and as much as we needed to be up there helping them out, I couldn’t care about any of it, because I needed to make sure that she wasn’t ok.

“I’m here…” She breathed softly, assuring herself more than me.

The strap that secured her head slacked, and I pulled it off of her quickly, rubbing her hair. “Does that feel better?” She nodded relieved and I couldn’t help but ask her, “How long have you been on this table Honeyface?”

She made hr best attempt at a shrug. “Not long, maybe a little under two hours.”

“And who
put
you here?” I pressed when I unraveled the chains that kept her feet in one place. She didn’t say anything. Shit like this was my worst fear when it came to her being captured. That she would mentally go back to everything that happened to her before. “Alyssa, I need to know if I am going to punish those responsible.”

“Was it Myles?”  Dario questioned returning to our side of the basement.

The last set of chains set her arms free, and she shook her head as she rubbed her wrists. “No.” As soon as her hands were free she was in my arms. "Adrian," she sighed, wrapping herself around me. I lifted her up as she buried her face in my neck.

"You swear you're fucking okay? " I verified in a rushed whisper.

She nodded, but I could tell she was being strong for the sake of everyone around us. Everyone else made their speculation more vocal now that Alyssa was free.

“It couldn’t have been  Myles.” Victor concluded. “This set up was old school.”

My dad nodded worried, “The Table of Toil was outlawed decades ago.”

“Another conversation for another time.” Doc cut  in after she put her pack away. “Alyssa is all too familiar with this particular method of restraint.”

I understood what Doc was saying and I practically flipped, but something in Doc’s expression told me that it wouldn’t help her, or myself if I lost it.

Alyssa’s head spun around to look at Doc. Then she looked back at me with the face I was expecting her to have once she realized her best friend was on the front lines. Mad.  “Your idea?”  She asked looking at her.

“My idea.” Doc nodded giving her just as much attitude for some reason. That I wasn’t expecting. “Now let me see your hands.”

Then Alyssa turned to me as she let her friend wrap her wrist where some of her skin had rubbed raw. “You let her do this?”

“No one
let
me do anything.” Doc corrected before I could answer, and then the oddest shit happened when she was done. Alyssa smiled pulling her into a hug and Doc laughed with her. I relaxed when I realized Alyssa knew she would be coming all along.

"Here," I said, pulling out an earpiece from my pocket. From my bag, I handed her a Kevlar vest and a forty-five. "You'll need this shit. We still have to get you out of here. I'm sure we could use the extra help."

Alyssa put on the earpiece as I tightened the vest around her. She checked the chamber of the gun, released the safety, and looked up at me for the next command.

Into the radio, my girl asked, "Did you guys miss me?"

I grinned when several voices rang out with, "Chance!"

"Welcome back," my Jackson chuckled. "Good job, Boss."

We were just about to tell him thank you, when Hunter's voice ripped through all of our ears. "We've got another wave! I don't know where they're comin' from, but they're spreading out!"

With a deep breath, I looked around at Dario, Vic, my dad, Doc and Alyssa. "Ready?" I asked them. When they nodded, I said, "Okay...let's do this..."

"Thank you," she whispered, as we ascended the stairs.

"Don't thank me yet, Honeyface" I said, but I couldn’t help but grin because she was within my grasp again. "It sounds like we have to fight our way outta here."

"And Juan?" She asked looking over to Doc.

"Oh, he's perfect,” Doc whispered with an almost reverent sound to her voice.

The mention of his name reminded me. "He told me to tell you that he did everything you told him to."

             
She smiled at that as  Dario and I looked around the corner, but my dad’s voice brought us back to where we were.

"Aw, fuck," Dad growled finding a door behind the wine case. "Margaux!" he barked.

"Go ahead," she answered him.

"I need some sort of current thermal on this house and the surrounding area. Can you do that?" he asked.

"Give me two minutes," she replied, and I could hear her muttering orders to Kristen and Cam.

Ross kicked the door open at the top of the stairs. “Hey pretty boy, we kinda need you upstairs.”

"Adrian, get Alyssa and your team up there to help everyone else. When you’re done come back to me so we can search this shit. Victor, Phil...stick with Jeff," he ordered. "We've got a fucking tunnel running out of the basement and into the goddamn mountain!"

"What do you want done about this bomb? And where do you want me?" Jackson asked.

"Bomb?" Alyssa mouthed to Ross, who was nodding with wide eyes.

"J, you stay high," he stated, and seemed to falter when it came to the other question. "Macon, can you take it apart?"

"Almost there," he grunted.

"Christ," I heard in my ear, and I'd be willing to bet it was Kristen.

"Keep me posted, then," he replied.

It was time to get serious, but I needed Alyssa to be with me. I filled her in as much as I could. "Jackson is in the hayloft. He'll cover us when we run. Hunt and his team are at the back of the property, and as you can hear, he ran into some trouble." She nodded a hint of worry tracing her face as she turned to the direction of the distant gunfire.