Ascending Darkness (Shattering the Darkness) (32 page)

“Tell him to give Landon his phone once he lets him go,” I tell him, my voice so controlled I’m even impressing myself. “Then I want a confirmation call from Landon telling me that he is safe.” The phone begins to ring and right before his associate answers, I order, “Speaker.”

Stevie pulls the phone from his ear and presses a button,
making the ringing louder in the car now.

“Boss?” the man at the other end answers.

“Cut the fucking kid lose,” Stevie tells him through gritted teeth while his eyes glare daggers at me.

I press the knife closer to the throat of the guy next to me,
in case he gets any ideas before this situation is dealt with.

“Boss?” the guy questions.

“Just fucking do it. And give him your phone. Tell him to call this number when he’s clear.”

“Are you sure?”

“Just fucking do it!” Stevie yells at the guy. “We don’t need him anymore.”

“Okay…” he answers slowly and the call disconnects.

“Happy?” Stevie asks me.

“I’ll be happy when we get that confirmation call,” I say.

We wait for about twenty minutes without speaking. Our breaths and anger filling the small space. My eyes never waiver from Stevie’s, but I keep an eye on the driver and the big guy through my peripheral vision. I know once Landon is free, I will have to drop these weapons and then it is game over for me.

The phone finally rings. Stevie answers it and puts it on speaker.

“Hello?” I hear Landon’s voice through the line and a flood of relief washes through me.

“Landon. Are you okay?” I ask him.

“Harper?” He sounds surprised to hear my voice. “What’s going on? What did these guys want? Where is Breccan? Where are you? Are you coming to pick me up?”

I ignore his questions and repeat, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he answers. I nod at Stevie that he can end the call. “But-” Landon’s voice is cut off and Stevie looks at me expectantly.

I know I should just pull the trigger and end this now, but something stops me. Perhaps it is the fact that if I pull this trigger, then I am no better than Stevie. And I can’t be like that. I can’t have that cloud over my head
, as well.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath and release both of the weapons from my hands on an exhale. I feel a massive pain to the side of my head and then an electrical surge to my neck right before
I black out…

*****

Nikko and Breccan are in Nikko’s apartment, standing in his kitchen. They have been on the phone for the last hour calling all of their contacts. Nikko trying to get a lock on Harper’s cell phone or account activity and Breccan getting someone to access the camera’s from the city streets and around his office and their apartment building.

Breccan just hangs up the phone after learning that Harper got into a cab not far from their apartment. His friend, Michael, is contacting the cab company to see where she was dropped off since
the cameras lost its location. His phone rings and he sees a number he doesn’t recognize show on the display.

“Breccan!” his brother’s voice comes through the line.

“Landon,” he answers, “look I don’t have time-”

“What is going on?” Landon interrupts him, and his panicked voice finally registers with Breccan, making his stomach drop. “I was taken last night and they beat me up pretty bad and they just let me go with a phone and told me to call a number and when I dialed it Harper answered and she wouldn’t say anything. She just asked if I was okay and then she hung up. What the hell? Is she in some kind of trouble?” 

“Where are you?” Breccan growls into the phone.

“I’m on my way to your apartment,” he answers.

“Right. Come to Harper’s building,” he tells him, “I’m at Nikko’s. And Landon?”

“Yeah?” Landon says and Breccan can hear him give a driver directions to turn around.

“Fucking hurry,” Breccan pleads.

“Got it,” he answers then says to the driver just before disconnecting the call, “Step on it.”

“What is it?” Nikko asks; his face is filled with the same fear and terror that Breccan is sure is splashed all across his own.

“They took Landon,” he tells Nikko, “They just let him go and he said he was given instructions to call a number and Harper answered it, but didn’t tell him anything. He’s on his way here now.”

“Right,” Nikko nods his head once, “You got the number?”

“No, but Landon must have called me from one of their phones,” Breccan states and hands his phone over to Nikko. “Can you track it and see who he called on it?”

“Yep,” Nikko answers, taking Breccan’s phone and after searching the recent calls he begins dialing his own phone again.

“What can I do?” Kara comes in with fresh glasses of water for
each of them and sits them down on the kitchen island.

“Just what you are doing, babe,” Nikko answers her and wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Just be prepared for anything.”

“Like… what?” she chokes out, clearly scared that Harper may not be found.

But that is not going to happen. Harper is going to be fine
, Breccan tells himself.

“We
will
be bringing Harper home,” Nikko tells Kara, echoing Breccan’s own thoughts. “Hey Rizzo, it’s Nikko… Yeah… I’ve got some new information for you,” he says then begins to fill Rizzo in on what Landon reported also giving her the new phone number then Nikko hangs up. 

About ten minutes pass when the intercom finally buzzes. Kara rushes to it and answers. They hear her tell Landon which apartment and she buzzes him in. A couple minutes later she is leading him down the hallway at a half jog.

“Tell me everything,” Breccan orders his little brother.

“Okay,” Landon is breathing heavily and takes a quick drink of the water, Kara offers him; irritating Breccan with the delay. “I went out last night and this girl was hitting on me-”

“We don’t have fucking time for this!” Breccan slams his hands down onto the counter making everyone jump. “Get on with it!”

“I am!” Landon yells back and continues rushing his words together, “So I decide to hook up with this chick and I take her to a hotel down the street and after we get there she pours a couple drinks and hands me one. Pretty soon I realize she drugged me and I pass out.

“I wake up in this, like a cave, tied to a chair. It’s all concrete and there are no windows. This guy comes in and starts talking about how I am going to come in handy and then he rambles on about payback or some shit. He never really said what it was about and I was so confused still from the drugs or whatever they used on me. He was really creepy looking. He was bald and had a massive scar that ran down his face. It was fucking huge and nasty.”

“Stevie,” Nikko says.

“He never said his name, but they called him boss?” Landon says and takes another gulp of water.

“You sure?” Breccan asks Nikko.

“Yeah. I’m the one that gave him the scar,” Nikko replies with a faint smile and an air of self-satisfaction. Breccan smiles as well, at the thought of adding more than just a scar to the piece of shit.

“What happened next?” Breccan looks back to Landon.

“Well, I have no idea how long I was tied to that chair, with no food or water or anything and then this other guy comes in and cuts me loose. He gives me a phone and tells me when I am a few miles away to dial the last number received or they will find me and put a bullet in me.

“So I do as he says
after they drop me off and I get a few blocks away and Harper’s the one who answers. I try to ask her what the hell was going on but she just kept asking if I was okay and wouldn’t say anything else. I told her that I thought so and then the line went dead. I ran a few blocks until I found a cab. I tried calling you but the line was busy. I finally got through and you know the rest.”

“Where did they drop you off at?” Nikko asks him.

“A warehouse on Adams Street,” he answers.

“That’s the location where Harper’s cell phone last sent out a signal
,” Nikko tells Breccan after checking his phone.

“Right
,” Breccan nods, then tells them, “Back to work,” and picks up his phone.

*****

I wake up on a bed and look around the mostly dark room. There is a small window up above me but it has been painted over and covered in tape that very little light seeps in. The walls are a grayish color which looks to be from stains to the once white walls. The carpet is dark, almost a greenish color. There is a small bed in the corner with a table and a lamp that hardly sheds any light in this room. It smells musty in here, like a cemented basement.

Maybe it is a basement.

Or a prison cell… since that is it’s intended purpose.

I sigh and
sit up on the bed so that I am facing the door.  My hands are tied with nylon rope and my wrists are raw, so it hurts to move them too much.

The door starts to open and I
wait…

Stevie walks in, shuts the door behind him and flips the lock on the door.

I hate you!

I grasp the bed frame and feel a spring poking up between my legs. I grab ahold of it and begin to twist, hoping to loosen it. To my surprise, it is not even attached. I hold it between my hands, concealing it from him and rub the ragged edge along the rope tying my hands together. 

He walks closer to the bed, looks down at me and says, “Hey, babe.
Sleep well?” I glare at him and just allow the hatred I feel for him to pour off of me in waves. “You’ve been busy,” he says to me as he reaches for the zipper on his pants.
Oh. Fuck. No.
“Got yourself a nice little nest egg. Not to mention your new fancy boyfriend.” He finishes unzipping and unbuttoning his pants and places his hands on his hips, then smiles at me. “A little better than the last one I think,” he laughs out and I curl my lip at him in pure disgust. “Well… it’s too bad that you didn’t get to say goodbye to this one.”

My blood turns cold at the threat, but I know he will never get close enough to Breccan. And if he thinks I’m going down without a fight, he’s got another thing coming.

“Fuck you, you piece of shit,” I glare at him.

“That’s the idea.” He raises his brows and tilts his head. “It’s time to pay up, little H. You owe me some dues.” He removes his shirt and tosses it on the floor. “
Pants off. Now,” he orders.

“Not likely,” I tell him.

The metal piece of spring finally tears through enough of the rope where I know it will slide off, once I pull my hands apart.

Stevie comes forward and grabs my hair in his fist and pulls me up to stand in front of him. I quickly raise my hands and jam the small spring into his neck.

“Son of a bitch! You fucking cunt!” he screams out.

I lift my leg and knee him hard between his legs. He stumbles backwards and curses at me some more. I work the nylon off my wrists and stand before him, ready to fight. I’ve had enough of this shit.

Enough with living in constant fear.

Enough always looking over my shoulder.

Enough of wondering who will find out about me.

I’m so done with all of it. I decide right then that one of us is not leaving this room alive. I don’t know if I will succeed but I can’t go on living like this. And I can’t just take it laying down. It’s not in my nature.

I have fought so hard for so long and now that I am finally within a fingernail of having a true happily ever after, I can’t allow it to slip through my fingers without a fight.

I know Breccan will be devastated if I don’t survive this, but I hope he understands that I tried…

Because I will try…

Stevie stands up straight, pulls the spring from his neck and throws it on the floor. Blood
spurts out and then slowly oozes out of the small puncture wound down onto his shirt.

“You stupid, bitch,” he spits at me, his face contorting to one that I am way too familiar with. It’s the same look he had
the night when he cut my baby from me.

Terror surges through me and I try to funnel it into anger, but I am momentarily paralyzed.

He runs at me and swings his arm out, hitting the side of my head and making it snap to the side.

It hurts so fucking bad and it was exactly what I needed. The anger for everything that he has ever put me through runs deep in me and demands to be released. I turn back to face him just as he is swinging his arm again and I duck. I come up with an uppercut to his chin. He stumbles back and curses. Then comes right back at me.

We struggle back and forth for control of the fight, but I don’t back down. He is so much stronger than me, but Nikko has trained me well. Maybe even for this exact scenario.

I know how to move my body and how to aim my punches almost as a reflex to deliver the most damage. And I put everything I have into each and every one.