I shook my head, standing up tall to try and realign my priorities. I was too weak from all I’d accomplished by living through this tale to be able to talk about it afterwards that all I could do was walk out of the office. I meandered across the warehouse until I found a suitable exit, hoping it wasn’t the same exit as the twins and that they weren’t waiting to ambush me or something crazy.
Luck was on my side as sunshine greeted me instead of the twins. Blind from the sudden brightness in juxtaposition from the darkness of the warehouse, I blinked rapidly to try and center myself so I could accurately absorb my surroundings. I had absolutely no idea where I was, no idea what part of town I was even in. For all I knew, I wasn’t even in Piper. I didn’t think the twins would risk taking me out of town, wanting to get the job done as swiftly as possible, but I needed to steel myself for all possibilities.
Right, enough contemplating. I needed action. My vision was starting to clear and I saw that I was in some sort of less social part of wherever the fuck I was. So I just started walking. It was still daylight, so I thought I’d only lost a couple of hours from when I’d been abducted. That boded well for me.
I turned onto the street, no cars or people around. Hope ran through me as I spotted what looked like a coffee shop in the distance.
I started running.
As I neared the establishment, I could see that this was some sort of plaza that must have been on the outskirts of town or something. There wasn’t just a coffee shop I realized, but a mattress store and some type of hardware store. I supposed I could have ran into any one of them and ask to use someone’s phone, but the place that screamed safety the most to me was the coffee shop. My legs burned by the time I reached the door, but I didn’t care. I needed a phone to call the police, to call Bas, to call Qwill.
Thoughts of Qwill right now would make my emotional dam burst wide open, suddenly craving his touch now more than I’d ever experienced before. Crawling into a warm shower or the comfort of my bed with Qwill by my side, feeling his hands all over my body and telling me that everything would be okay was what I yearned for. I needed to see him. His words of affirmation would be the only way to truly soothe me, the onlyway for me to accept that the hell I’d just been through was actually behind me.
But I couldn’t dive into the safety net of Qwill just yet. As much as I wanted him to be my first call, he couldn’t be. I’m sure Bas was absolutely worried sick about me and I needed to qualm his fears. I’d give him a call before I called the police and let them know what had transpired. I needed my best friend to know that I wasn’t dead.
Bursting through the doors of the coffee shop like a mad man, I earned several glares as I huffed and puffed from my exasperating jog toward the shop. I ignored the blazing beams in my direction and sauntered up to the counter. The barista behind the counter, a busty blonde woman, looked me over once, assuming she was taking in the blood and tossed around looks I must be wearing like survivor’s badges, and her eyes widened.
I leaned on the counter for support, still trying to recover my breath as I locked eyes with her.
“Can I please use your phone?”
Chapter 22
The aftermathof my run in with the Rhodes twins was tumultuous to say the least. After learning that I was on the opposite side of Piper than when I'd been shopping with Bas, the first thing I did was call my best friend. The coffee shop employees were wonderfully empathetic to my situation, despite not knowing the actual horror behind it. I had just told them that I'd gotten lost, broken my phone, and needed to call someone to come get me.
If only it were that simple.
Once Bas had figured out where I was, I’d never been so relieved to see a familiar face in my life. We’d embraced so hard I was a little curious if I’d accidentally left soon-to-be bruises on him. After he’d attempted to calm me down and I’d tried explaining the situation as best as I could muster outside the coffee shop, he’d been directly by my side as I’d called the police to report what had transpired. I’m not sure I would have been in a stable enough state to recount the crime if it hadn’t been for Bas’ unwavering support out there on the sidewalk as I spoke to the officer on the phone.
Retelling what the twins had done to me wasn’t a happymental visit. Even though in the moment I hadn’t thought more beyond simply surviving the encounter, now that it was behind me, now that I had actually weathered the storm they’d tried to forecast, I was feeling completely shaken by the experience. The fact that it reminded me of the worst time of my life, that being the tandem loss of losing my parents and having to remove Troian from my life, made me feel just like I had before I’d met Qwill. Confused, hurt, and in some desperate need of something comfortable and familiar.
What I wouldn’t have given for a kiss from Qwill as I hung up the phone after speaking with the police officer. Bas had ordered us a rideshare to the police station, since they wanted to speak with me in person, but all I wanted was Qwill. What made it worse was that I couldn’t bring myself to speak that into existence even as I piled into the car with my best friend. I didn’t want Bas to think that his company wasn’t enough. It was, but the comfort of Qwill’s handsome face wasn’t something that could have been rivaled.
I’d laid out every detail once I was ushered into a room at the police station with the same officer I’d spoken with on the phone. I made sure not to hold back any detail that I could remember from the excursion with the twins. I didn’t think I was missing anything after I’d spoken my truth, but my mind and my body were so sore, both figuratively and literally, and I just wanted to lay the fuck down and be done with this day.
After making some phone calls, the police told me they would be looking for the Rhodes twins. Aside from that, they were contacting Warren Rhodes, the eldest brother of the family and the one that the twins had mentioned was behindallegedlyordering the hit on Troian. Of course, he was denying it, but he was going to be brought in for questioning anyway. Considering he was the current Chief Of Staff, he was claiming that he couldn’t just drop everything over what he called a ridiculous claim. One mention of the word arrest and he’dchanged his tune and would get the earliest flight out from D.C. that he could. I had every faith that Warren Rhodes was going to delay his trip to Piper by any means necessary. Until he arrived and was questioned, there wasn’t anything else I could do but wait.
By the time Bas and I exited the police station, the sun had set behind the horizon, blanketing us in the beginnings of a new night. I pulled my arms across my chest in a futile attempt to warm me.
I really just needed Qwill right now.
“Are you ordering us another rideshare?” I asked Bas once we were on the sidewalk.
“Not exactly.” Bas smiled slyly, and I wasn’t liking the little mischievous look he was wearing with pride.
“Please don’t surprise me right now, Bas.” I exhaled heavily. “It’s been a long as hell day and I don’t need anymore surprises.”
“I called Troian.” Bas nodded, seeming to understand my current stance on incredulity. “He bought a car and he’s going to give us a lift.”
I scoffed, unfurling my arms. “I was kidnapped and tortured and my brother went out and bought a fucking vehicle?”
“He was buying it while we were shopping I think,” Bas nodded. “I think he was going to surprise you with one too but that got cut short after I went to meet you at Out-Yours and realized you were gone.”
“I don’t want a fucking car.” I knew I was being bratty, but I couldn’t help it. It was nice that Troian was coming to pick us up but he wasn’t the male presence I was craving.
“He’s right here.”
Bas waved to the brand new SUV that came right up to the curb of the police station. It was nice, undeniably so. And maybe if I hadn’t been so fucking exhausted I might have gawked at the beautiful black car and cared more about Troian’s latest purchase, but I wanted to get the fuck home.
