“Do you know what happened to Mina’s family?” I ask. I let my head fall forward until my chin touches my chest. He watches me as he slowly paces across the room.
“The car accident?”
“Their car went off the road…Off a bridge. They drowned. It took the cops three days to find their car. I was told everyone died in that crash. It broke me. Her dad, Adam, was my best friend. So, I left. I ran and never looked back. That’s why your dad was coming to find me.” I try to explain, but he only looks at me with disgust.
“That doesn’t explain why you killed him!” he seethes.
“I didn’t fucking kill him!” I snap as I try to lunge at him. My bindings dig into my wrists causing him to laugh as he watches me struggle.
“Myles, Myles, Myles…” He shakes his head as he glances back at the door. I haven’t heard her screams for a while, and I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not.
“Declan, I swear, I didn’t even know it was her until today when she told me her name.”
“Today?” His head whips back toward me. “ She didn’t tell you her name in the room last night?”
“No. This morning, when we went to breakfast.”
I watch his face shift. The wave of clarity washes over him. I might be able to get out of here. I think I finally got through…
“You two…went to breakfast?” His voice is dark and filled with hate. When his eyes lift to mine, a rage is burning there that makes his previous burning hatred toward me feel like a dull flame.
Fuck.
He storms over to the door and rips it open. The force causes it to hit the wall. I can hear the drywall crack as the handle dents it. From my angle, I can’t see into the room, only that it’s dark in there with a very low red glow.
“What the fuck happened?” I hear him shout.
I can hear the sounds of struggling. His incoherent screaming is drowning out the sounds of someone gagging and crying. What the fuck is he doing to her?
A moment later, he comes walking back into the room, dragging a chair behind him. The chair is balanced on its back legs as it scrapes across the floor. The phantom knife twisting into my soul twists deeper with each step. Strapped to the chair is a very lifeless-looking body. Her head is tilted back. Her eyes are closed. Blood drips down the back of the chair and onto the floor, leaving a trail into the room.
“Mina!”
CHAPTER 11
Mina
Five Minutes Prior
“Mina…I need you to wake up, babe.”
I try to open my eyes, but the side of my face is literally pulsing in pain.
“What the fuck?”
“Oh, thank God. I was worried he hit you too hard.”
“Tony?”
“Yeah, babe. It’s me. How’s your head?”
I try to lift my arm, but I’m restrained. The room is dark, with only the dim red rope LEDs along the ceiling to give me any light. Tony is standing next to me with an ice pack in his hands. Mac is sitting at a table nearby. My vision feels off, and my head is spinning.
“Why did you hit me?” I ask as Tony presses the icepack to the side of my face. “Fuck! That hurts!”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s really swollen. I wasn’t the one who hit you.” He glares back at Mac, who only scoffs and rolls his eyes.
Mac is an older bouncer who’s been with the club since Jocko started it. When Declan took over, he was the first to pledge his loyalty to him. He was also the first to join Declan in the illegal activities. He’s a piece of shit that honestly has always given me the creeps. He’s in his late sixties with a bald head. He has dark eyes, almost black. And he’s covered in tattoos and scars.
