Chapitre 31: Chapter 31
*****
I was in a warehouse. It was eight in the morning currently; I was woken up at six for this nonsense. I had been sitting in a room with Cooper and two other men and two women while they muttered amongst themselves. My eyes drifted to one of the woman's handbags. She was currently pre-occupied with making out with one of the men. The bag was an arm's length from me. They had not glanced my way at all since we got here, maybe they were listening to my movements or they thought I wouldn't be dumb enough to try anything, but I was done with this. It was the first day of my break; I wasn't going to spend it following Sergio, Clyde or whoever else around.
I stretched and no one still looked at me so I let my hand fall onto the bag. No one noticed my hand. I peeked over as I opened the bag quietly and my brows rose as my eyes fell onto a Swiss army knife. I grabbed it into my fist and pulled my hand back shoving it into my pocket.
"Hey." I spoke and everyone turned to look at me annoyed. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
"Go with him." Cooper muttered.
"No way, he's your problem." One of the men replied. Cooper rolled his eyes and got up. I stood up and followed him out.
"Men's room?" He asked with a smirk which I pretended not to see.
"If you don't feel comfortable in the Men's, I'm fine with you waiting outside." I replied and smiled seeing his smirk turn into a frown.
We walked down the hall until we reached a door and he shoved it open. I followed him into the bathroom and quickly took it in, we were alone. Okay, here we go. I shoved him hard resulting in him slamming against the wall before I shoved my arm to his back pinning him and pressed the knife to the side of his neck, enough for him to feel it but not enough to hurt him.
"Don't move. Don't speak." I warned.
He chuckled. "What are you going to do? Cut me?" he laughed.
"I was just going to use this as a threat, but that's a pretty good idea." I replied sliding the knife against his neck to prove my point. His teeth grit as it sliced into his skin slightly, not too deep to hurt him badly, but enough to make him bleed.
"You won't get anywhere. They'll find you, we're everywhere." He said through grit teeth.
"I'm not running." I replied before I grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall. I cringed slightly biting back an apology as he fell onto the ground gripping his forehead. He did not pass out. Shit, that knock was supposed to put him out! How did people in movies do it? What do I do now? I had not thought about the possibility of him not being out!
"I'm sorry." I couldn't bite it back as I grabbed his head again and hit it into the floor knocking him out. I froze suddenly feeling sick. Crap... I didn't think this through... What do I do? Is he dead? I felt for his pulse and relief rushed over me as I felt its steady rate.
I quickly sliced his shirt and stuffed it into his mouth before I tied a piece around his wrist behind him and his ankles. He was really bulky; he wouldn't be able to manoeuvre out of it easily.
I walked out of the bathroom sliding the knife into my pocket. Once in the hall, I looked around and began making my way the way I remember coming in but I froze hearing voices as I reached the stairs.
I listened and took in that they were coming downstairs, so I made my way down a flight of stairs – shockingly there was a floor below the one I was on. I came to a halt as I stepped off the last stair and my eyes searched the hallways around me. There was one going left, one going right and one going straight out in front of me. I decided to take the left one because it looked brighter than the one on my right and less clear than the one going forward, also, I could hear the voices following me down so I had to choose quickly.
I had no idea where I was going so I stopped as I reached an open door. I peeked into it slowly before I ducked by it deciding I did not want to be in it when anyone walked back in. I looked behind me and cursed seeing feet move off the last stair so I ducked into the first closed door I found, luckily it wasn't locked.
I shut the door before ducking behind the first thing I found, a couch. I planned to get out of there when I could guess that the people who had come downstairs after me were gone. I peeked around the couch and realised I was in a pretty empty room, but there was another door in the back and it was wide-open.
I cursed hearing voices from the door at the back of the room and I backed behind the couch as the door I had come in through was opened.
"Ben, I told you to handle this." Clyde said.
"Sergio said not to do anything without him." Ben replied.
"Sergio said to deal with it." Clyde replied harshly.
"So what do we do? Kill him?"
"Did he do it?"
"Of course he fucking did it!" Ben hissed.
I shut my eyes dropping my head against the couch as I heard grunts. I think should have stayed in that room with Cooper...
"Ben?" my eyes shot open as I heard a painful cry and then something hit the floor.
I bit my lip as I leaned to look around the couch and saw that there were three more people in the room, plus the guy on the floor. My eyes moved to him and I felt my breakfast rise into my throat. He looked terrible, he was badly beaten, his face black and blue and covered with his blood, his clothing was ripped and there were cuts and blood all over him. He honestly looked half dead already. I covered my mouth trying to keep from being sick as I moved back behind the couch.
Please don't kill him...
I closed my eyes again hearing a gun's safety click off and I felt panic in my chest. I tried to keep my tears back shutting my eyes tighter as I pictured the guy in the park. The blood coming from his head. Paul's blood on the floor in the living room. Kyle's screams before he died. This can't be happening again...
Please don't kill him.
"Anything you want us to carry over to your family?" Ben asked smugly.
"Ben." Clyde hissed impatiently.
"Please – I told you as much as I know. I- I'm sorry about the money – I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Please –"
"Shut up!" I pressed myself harder against the couch. I guess I was trying to disappear, but all I did was move the couch. I froze as everyone went silent. Shit. Shit. Oh no.
I heard another gun click and decided I was going to speak before they fired through the couch but the door opened.
"What's this?" Sergio asked "Why is he still here?"
"We're taking care of it." One of the men said.
"Obviously not." I cringed hearing something crack. I glanced around the couch again to see that Sergio had hit the guy's already badly bruised face into the ground before he grabbed his hair and lifted it so he could look into the now bent-down Sergio's eyes. "You find one of your friends, and tell them to give this to Declan, tell him I send my regards and then you disappear. Out of the country, or I'll kill you and every living root of your family." Sergio held up a little lighter.
"O-okay. Th- thank you. I- I'll disappear." The guy nodded rapidly, his tears creating streaks in the blood on his face.
"Get him out of here." Sergio said. I felt relief and nausea wash over me in waves.
"What? Boss, he stole –"
"Are you making me repeat myself?" Sergio's calm voice held a layer of daring that made me think anyone that even thought to agree was in huge trouble.
"No, Sir." The man spoke before they grabbed the guy off the ground and walked out dragging him along. The others, Sergio and Ben followed.
As soon as they were gone I coughed causing everything I've been holding back to come out. I was on my knees vomiting out my breakfast until I ran out of things to throw up I sat up wiping my eyes before I wiped my mouth with my sleeve as I leaned back against the couch still feeling sick.
"You're weak. We didn't even do much to him." Clyde was leaning over the couch above my head. I didn't look up at him and kept my eyes on the wall in front of me.
Didn't do much? What exactly would 'much' be? Actually cutting his arm off? Shooting his brain out?
I didn't reply as I tried to regain my composure running my hands over my face.
"You okay?" Clyde asked as I pushed myself to my feet. I gave a nod despite stumbling slightly. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was planning to leave until I heard people coming down stairs so I came down here." I shrugged. "Cooper's in the bathroom upstairs." I added.
"What did you do?" he asked grabbing my shoulder and steering me out of the room.
"I knocked him out and tied him up." I said as we walked through the hall.
"Seems we're rubbing off on you." Christ, I hope not... He seemed to realise his joke just made me distressed and brushed it off. "Up here." He pointed.
"Are we leaving?" I asked. He nodded in response. We walked in silence and when we stepped outside I almost felt like I could finally breathe. I felt less suffocated. I basically bent over to lean on my knees as I took deep sighs before we began walking again.
"He knew you were behind that couch." Clyde said.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Sergio." He said. "He knew you were in there. There is no way he would let someone that stole from us leave breathing. Good thing he walked in when he did, we were about to shoot through the couch." He said.
I looked at him over the car.
"What are you saying? That I'm the reason he let that guy go?" I asked.
"Yes." He said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because apparently beatings to someone other than youself make you queasy." He said.
I frowned at him. He ignored my expression as he climbed into his car and I followed his lead. I rolled down my window still needing some fresh air as we began to leave the yard. I glanced back at the building to see Sergio walk out with some of his men. As if feeling my eyes he glanced over and smiled at me.
I leaned back into my seat as the gate closed behind us and realised I had smiled back at him, because I was still smiling. I didn't mean to. It did not make sense to. I bit my lip straightening my face.
"You know, if you really want out that badly, I have a feeling Sergio's thinking of letting you go." Clyde said.
I frowned. Despite everything... I wasn't sure how I felt about that anymore.
*****
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone