Celeste.
That brave, insane fucking woman. She got us out of there with no thought about herself. My body goes rigid as I can’t see any movement from her. I feel an arm wrap around me and I look over to Samantha. She hugs me giving me comfort, or maybe it’s to give her comfort too. I lean into her, allowing the embrace.
Sirens ring through the air, getting closer and closer until we are swarmed by police cars and SWAT. A couple of ambulances come up right behind them. Officers jump out of their car pointing their guns at the man and Alaric. Alaric hands Celeste over to the man and holds up his arms, saying something I can’t quite hear. What the hell? Didn’t they know he was here? Confused, I shift in my seat ready to jump out of the car to defend him but they lower their guns when Director Stevens comes into view. They exchange a couple words and I don’t miss the anger written all over Stevens’s face. Alaric dismisses it like he doesn’t give a shit and walks back over to the SUV.
The doors open and the paramedics help us out onto the stretchers. I don’t get a chance to say anything before I’m quickly hauled to the back of the ambulance and examined for any life-threatening injuries. Samantha is placed in the other ambulance and the doors shut before they take us to the nearest hospital.
Laying in the hospital bed, the doctors begin to examine me thoroughly, completing all the tests to make sure I’m intact. I try to tell them I’m fine and I’m not the one who endured the insane amount of torment. They finally leave me alone to rest, hooking me up with an IV from the severe dehydration. Once those fluids are pumped into me, I start to feel so much better.
Not even twenty-four hours from the escape, I have Special Agents in and out asking me a million questions. I now know why victims get so frustrated when they’re bombarded with a million questions. All I want to do is sleep and not hear the ear-wrenching voices that won’t shut the hell up.
“Agent Monroe. You’re looking better,” Director Stevens greets me as he steps through my room.
“Would be better if people left me alone to sleep,” I grind out in frustration.
He chuckles as he grabs a chair from the nearby table and moves it over to my bed. He sets a recorder down next to me and takes a seat.
“You know this all too well, in order to get accurate information without anything being left out, we need it fresh. Only protocol.” He gives me a look, like I have no choice to obey.
He presses the recording button before I can ask to give me another day and leans back in his chair. He’s not going to leave until I give him what he wants but there’s something about him that doesn’t sit well with me. I’ve never been a big fan of his but red flags are flying high right now and I know I need to watch what I say to him.
“So, tell me what happened. How was he able to take you, Agent Monroe?” His tone is flat with no emotion.
I shift in my bed and take a moment to pick and choose my words. Something inside me says to leave out as much detailabout Celeste as possible. I don’t know why but it’s gnawing at me to keep my suspicions about her at the time hidden.
“As you know, we went to the event at Urban Fantasy. We were working undercover to catch Oliver who took the prior deceased victims. He had one still alive and we wanted to catch him and locate her before she was the next one to be found in Times Square.” I go over the details of our mission from the start.
He begins to become impatient and his foot starts to bob up and down. I shield my face from revealing the way I was profiling and reading his movements.
“Yes, I’m aware of the mission you were participating in as it was under my order, but how did you get kidnapped with all the security we had?” He pushes forward for more information.
“I stepped out the side door where the alley was to get some air. It was really crowded and hot and it was the closest door to me. I spotted something at the end of the alley and went towards it. It seemed like someone needed help so I went. Next thing I knew, a cloth was held over my mouth and nose and I blacked out, waking up later chained lying on a cold cement floor.” It isn’t a full lie. He eyed me like he didn’t fully believe my story.
I then went into the details of the events that happened. The torture he put Celeste through, the drownings we both endured, and then the brutal assault he did on Celeste. The fact that she took the punishments for Samantha and myself so we didn’t have to feel any of the pain. The way he talked to himself as if he was possessed and the sins he was trying to right. I didn’t leave any of those details out.
“So, after those events, how were you able to escape?”
“Celeste spotted a nail on the wall and worked it out. She dug into the thin mattress and broke off the spring. She was able to pick the lock and free herself before she came over andset us free. Right when she let us out, he came back down, forgetting to close the door at the top of the stairs. She kept his attention on her so that way we were able to get out. She instructed us to leave, we hesitated but we agreed and that's when we ran into Alaric and the man that was with him.” Half truth again. I have to protect her. I don’t know why, but I need to.
He huffs with annoyances. He knows I’m not giving the full truth and he’s gearing me up to call me on my bullshit. He leans forward and brushes his rough hands along his face.
“So you have no idea why Oliver had multiple stab wounds that caused his death? Or the fact that there was a jawbreaker candy shoved down his throat?” he accuses without any remorse.
“Like I said, she helped us escape. If anything was done to him, it was done in self-defense. You saw the condition she was in, what we were in. He put us through hell. Why are you acting like he was the victim when he was our captor? What matters is, we all got out alive and he’ll no longer hurt another soul.” My hands clench the sheets as my blood pressure starts to boil.
“I think that’s enough for today.” He leans over and stops the recording. Pushing up from the seat, he grabs the device and walks towards the doorway.
“If you’re leaving things out, Monroe, to protect her, I would think twice about it. She’s not worth your career.” He strikes with a threat letting me know he’s calling me on my bullshit.
I glare at him, not giving him another word. He stares me down with pinning, silent accusations before he walks out the door, finally leaving me in peace. Yeah, something is up and I’m not liking the way he’s moving and questioning the way heis. My gut tells me I need to warn Alaric, which I will and I need to look into this.
Hours go by and I wake from the unexpected, much-needed nap and go over each and every detail of our time down in that basement. The look in Celeste’s eyes as she welded this mask, becoming something far more scarier than the actual man who tormented us. It was like a switch turned on and The Reaper came out to play.
Her swift movements, the way her body had a sudden rush of adrenaline. The image of her stabbing the monster over and over again until he laid limp and lifeless. As if that wasn’t enough, she grabbed that jawbreaker, broke his jaw, and shoved it down his throat. Just like he did to the victims we found. It was revenge for those who died and for the things he put us through. I didn’t endure even half the shit she went through. In fact, she took it all to save us from having one mark placed upon us. The streets call her The Reaper, and she certainly held up to that name.
I would take those drownings over and over again if that meant I didn’t have to get sliced up. It sounds selfish of me but I don’t think I would be able to speak up the way she did. He sliced her up and painted his fingers in her blood as if she was some sort of canvas and then made Samantha clean her up.
When she told me to take Samantha upstairs, I hesitated, of course, because he was bigger than her but when I saw what she did, I followed her command, not looking back to see if she was okay. In that moment, her authority was unmatched. I can see why she’s the heiress to the most-deadly Mafia gang in New York. From what I hear, her father was cunning, ruthless,and deadly. Down there, she was his exact reflection. He would be proud of her. Hell, as terrified as I am of her, I’m proud of her.
