“Got it.”
“Good. Let’s get going.”
I unclick my seatbelt and step out of the car. I start walking towards the warehouse, but Bruno grabs my wrist, stopping me. I’m not following what’s happening here. After he grabs me, he crashes my lips against his.
This feels like a ‘goodbye.’
His kiss demands my complete and undivided attention; it’s so desperate and needy, it hurts. It pains me to have this unspoken ‘goodbye’ moment. It’s clear enough that he won’t confirm it, but nevertheless, it makes me sad. Despite all the things he did to me, I’m happy I met him, happy I had the chance to know about his past and be a part of his present. Knowing his reasons behind his actions was the cornerstone to understanding and answering the millions of questions I had and could never ask. Ultimately, the only answer that really mattered is already happening— a simple, hot and messy kiss.
Pure love.
He finally lets go of me and says, “You told me before you don’t have anyone or anything to live for, that nobody cares about or needs you. Well, you’re wrong, Goddammit. I need you. So please, no crazy stuff.”
“Alright.”
“I know it’s not my place to demand anything from you. But let me handl—” I interrupt him by placing my finger on his lips. I trust him. His words made my eyes tear up. He carefully wipes them off. This is not the time to be fragile. We need to survive this. I need to survive this, and I’d do anything for him.
He takes my hand and we march toward the warehouse, together.
We arrive at the door. There are eight choppers parked right outside, but only four bikers at the door. There’s also a flag hanging on it with the inscription ‘Devil’s Head’ and an image of a ripper beheading a devil.
“Professor…” One of the bikers says— a tall, red-bearded man, with the word ‘fuck’ tattooed to his forehead, and sunglasses hanging from his patch pocket. “Step forward, spread your legs, arms up, nice and easy.”
Bruno complies. Not that he has a choice: the other three bikers are pointing big guns at us all the time. Redbeard searches Bruno twice. I think he’s surprised he doesn’t find any weapons in the first frisk, so he does a second one. After finishing with the second search, he looks offended. Bruno cracks a nasty smirk. It’s like a game of cynical expressions Redbeard loses. Pissed off at it, he shoves Bruno to the side and sets his eyes on me. But before he starts walking, Bruno gets in his way.
“Relax, big shot. I’m not into brunettes,” he says as he looks at me with contempt. Bruno’s nostrils are dilated, and his fast breathing lets out a menacing sound. I touch his arm to calm him and step forward to be frisked. Redbeard searches me, slowly and thoroughly. He even touches my breasts repeatedly while looking at Bruno. Finally, he stops, finds nothing and says, “They’re both clean.”
Two of the bikers get behind us and Redbeard says, “Hands behind your back”. The bikers behind us kick the back of our knees, taking us down. I look at Bruno and he fires a “Do it” with his eyes. They bind our wrists with ropes and tie us up really tight, scraping my skin— a familiar feeling, but nothing compared to what Bruno used to do. Redbeard steps to the side and the remaining biker opens the door. They forcefully pick us up and make us enter this void of darkness. So far, everything reminds me of where I used to be held. The steps we take echo through the warehouse. I can tell Bruno’s steps apart from the bikers’.
A painful noise comes from Bruno’s mouth and triggers a shot of adrenaline in my body. I lean to the side desperately trying to find him with my body, to no avail. I can’t see anything. The next thing I hear is the thud of his big body slamming onto the ground; then, silence.
Bruno’s unconscious and they keep pushing me forward, farther away from him.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I said, manners!
Bruno
I open my eyes and see Sarah sitting right beside me, smiling like I’ve never seen her smile before. A smile full of joy, kindness, and love. She slowly crawls into my arms and softly caresses them. My arms are all around her. It feels incredible, being able to protect and care for her. Suddenly, an invisible force pulls me away from her. I’m trying to hold on to her, but I can’t— the force is too strong. I’m trying to yell and fight, but my lips are sealed, and my throat feels numb. She doesn’t seem to notice that whatever’s happening is bad. She keeps smiling and reaches out to me, but I can’t hold on to her. A deep cold feeling invades my whole body, sweat drips from my forehead. I close my eyes and wipe some of it with my wrist. When I reopen them, I see Sarah’s face again. She’s now aware, her face is full of horror and has an expression of endless pain. She’s screaming my name, but I can’t hear her. Sweat starts to drip from my whole body, drenching my clothes so much they are heavy, and I can’t move right. The heaviness reaches my head. It feels as if I had a ton of bricks hanging from my neck, pulling me down. I’m fighting it, but the weight is just too much, and I can’t keep my head high, so I lose sight of Sarah. I can’t let that happen. I try to raise my forehead, I put everything I have left in it. Slowly, I start to beat this force. At the same time, a light starts to shine. The more I raise my head, the brighter the light gets. It’s blinding me now and even though I’m looking at where Sarah was, I can’t see anything. The light is so bright, it hurts my eyes. I need to close them.
I close my eyes.
I open them again.
Fuck.
It was a dream. Well, more like a fucking nightmare. I know where I am.
I remember now.
“Welcome back, Professor. Did you enjoy your nap? I was getting bored already,” Asad says with a nasty smirk on his face. “I’m happy you could make it. I’ve fantasized about this moment for so long, and it’s finally happening. I believe I should thank you for it, right?” He’s enjoying this way too much. “Well, to be completely honest, we both should thank the fucking idiot who got caught. Carter, wasn’t it?”
“What did you do to him?”
“Ah, it doesn’t matter. You’re here, I’m happy. Let’s move on.”
“Wasn’t this supposed to be a tea party? Is this how you treat your guests?”
