"If I disappear, it won't be by choice. Maintaining the connection can be difficult."
My eyes filled with tears as I realized the weight of his words. They fell down my cheeks, leaving a trail of salt in their wake. My body ached. Especially my arms and wrists. The zip ties holding my wrists together were tight, cutting off my circulation. I struggled against them, but the pain only intensified. Cold and scared, I wondered what Aiden hoped to accomplish by leaving me in this abandoned warehouse. Would he come back for me, or was this the end? I knew he blamed me for Pen leaving him, even though it was at his own abusive hands.
"Levi?" I called out into the darkness, hoping he would reply.
Nothing.
I tried again, this time in my aching head.
Still nothing.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and one slipped down my face. I needed him.
I needed to get a grip.
The muscles in my shoulders hurt when I tried to rest my head on my drawn-up knees. I had been in a few tough situations before, but this was different. I was scared. I wondered if Carlisle knew how much I loved him. It was something we had danced around for far too long. I wanted to spend time with him without anything bad happening. But, as I sat there with my heart pounding in my chest, I knew deep down that the time for avoiding the truth was over. I needed to be positive about my situation. I wouldn't let that asshole be the end of me.
My head cleared, and I sniffled to push away my fear and distress. I had to get out of here. Obviously, I was not where they thought I was, which was bad. A little pain to gain my freedom was something I could handle. I could do anything I put my mind to. If my reading on death was accurate, then hopefully Aiden would be dead already, or at least soon. I wasn't about to warn him. I did feel a twinge of guilt for thinking that, but it quickly faded. It was the only way to keep Penelope safe.
I sucked in a deep breath and, with some difficulty, managed to slip my hands under my butt so that they were in front of me. I began to carefully chew through the zip ties that bound my wrists. After a few minutes of determined effort, I finally snapped them. My wrists were red and raw, chafed from the rough material of the zip ties. With great effort, I stood on quivering legs. I had been kept in an awkward position for so long that my muscles were stiff and sore.
The room was dimly lit and filled with a musty smell. A metal desk sat at an odd angle by the boarded-up windows. A dusty chair lay on its side in the corner. An office, perhaps? I tried to remember anything about being brought here, but my pounding headache made it difficult to concentrate.
The doorknob turned easily, and the door opened a crack, revealing a dark hallway leading into the unknown. I was surprised it hadn't been locked. I stepped cautiously into the darkness, my heart racing with fear. At least the windows up ahead weren't boarded up. They were covered in dust as I approached them. I reached out to wipe the grime off the glass, but I hesitated when I noticed a small gap where the glass was broken. I frowned, realizing that daylight wasn't coming through that piece.
I peered through the gap, and my heart sank. The window didn't look outside. It looked down into a warehouse filled with scary-looking machinery. I pressed a hand to my racing heart. My head was scrambled, and I couldn't figure out where I was.
Then it hit me. I was on the top floor of the Cuthbert's factory. It used to be a steelwork that shut down years ago. The place had given me the creeps back then. Nothing had changed. The air was thick with the smell of rust and decay. Why had Aiden left me here? Did he know I was afraid of this place? When I was a child, I witnessed a piece of heavy machinery break apart and land on William Cuthbert's nine-year-old son. It happened on a trip from school. I shuddered as the memory hit me. This place had given me nightmares for a long time.
Reminding myself that I was no longer a child did not change how I felt about the place. The one good thing was that I knew how to get out. The trip had been going well until Benjamin Cuthbert died. I sucked in a deep breath, but then I thought better of it and moved back the way I'd come. If possible, I would avoid the main factory floor and use the administrative exit.
"Tallulah!" I heard my name in my head and paused.
"Levi? I'm in Cuthbert's factory. Top floor. I'm going to try to leave through the admin exit. Carlisle and Jessop will know where it is."
"We're here."
Jane appeared in the doorway holding a knife. Someone must have zip-tied her because the remains hung from her wrists.
I frowned. "You don't want to do this. You haven't hurt anyone yet. Don't start now."
She threw her head back and cackled like a maniac. "You think I care about going to prison for a long time?" She stepped toward me. I took a step back as she continued, "I'm in this whole mess because of you and him."
"We had nothing to do with it! We didn't force you to sleep with Aiden behind Pen's back all these years. We didn't tell you to do all the things you've done for him. That was all you and Aiden. It had nothing to do with me." I shook my head and slowly backed up, but she followed my every step, moving closer.
"Jane has me cornered," I sent to Levi. I tried to think about the situation and Jane's position relative to me. I wanted Levi to see what I saw. Whether or not he did, I would have to guess because he had gone silent again. When he was close, I had a feeling that a cloud was floating around in my head. Luckily, it didn't make me dizzy.
I quickly glanced around for something to hold onto, but all that was around was paper and thick dust. Peeling wallpaper, too. Jane watched me with a smirk on her ugly face. "Nowhere to go, Tallulah." She raised the hand holding the knife but didn't get to do anything else. She dropped like a brick.
I was frozen in shock when I realized she had been shot, and the shot had come from behind me. I couldn't turn around to see who was there. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
That's when the sound of footsteps running had me turn my face to the door at the end of the hallway—the one Jane had come through. My feet wouldn't move. Fear held me frozen. Then there he was.
Carlisle took one look at me and ran toward me. I burst into tears as he embraced me. I could feel his heart thundering under my cheek, and he held me so tight that I couldn't catch my breath. I didn't care. He was here. He had come for me.
"Pen?" I whispered.
"Jessop has her."
