I shook my head. “No. He came to this place for a reason. No one comes here anymore. Not since most of the structure was burned. There’s still a section intact that didn’t catch and it’s the perfect place to bring someone to do god knows what and not be heard.” I hated it, but it made sense. He knew this place if it was who we thought it was. He could get away with literal murder and no one would think to look here. Too bad for him, he didn’t count on GPS. Which was fucking stupid considering most vehicles had it. Either he didn’t care, or he wasn’t in his right mind to worry about anything other than taking Sophia and having his way with her.
He better hope she was still in one piece or there’d be hell to pay.
As the top of the building became visible above the trees, I switched off the headlights, letting the moon be the only light guiding us the rest of the way. The more element of surprise we had the better the outcome would be. I just hoped we made it in time.
“Send the detective the coordinates just in case. I know he’s on the way with backup, but we can’t wait for them,” I told Alden.
“How the fuck are we supposed to rescue her if we don’t even have a weapon? The guy could have a gun or a knife and use it against her to keep us cooperative,” Porter explained.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of my flip knives. “I have a weapon.”
“Oh, good for you. What about the rest of us?” Porter snarked blandly.
“Check the glove box. Dad usually keeps a nine millimeter on hand,” I answered, gesturing in front of Porter at the dashboard.
He pulled it down and thankfully there it was.
“Only has a couple bullets,” Porter grunted in disappointment.
“Then we need to make sure they count,” I concluded, grabbing the gun from him and handing it to Alden. All of us had experience with guns, but Alden was by far the best shot. “Don’t miss, little brother.”
Alden smirked. “When do I ever?”
The three of us filed out of the car and silently shut our doors, then huddled together to go over a plan.
“Porter, you should go in through the front and distract him if you can. Alden and I will come in from the sides and try to catch him off guard. Sound good?” I asked them.
They both nodded.
“Better than nothing,” Alden shrugged.
“Why am I the distraction?” Porter grumbled, offended.
“Because you’re the talker of the group. Can pull shit out of your ass that neither of us can,” I stated, knowing he’d agree.
“Fair enough. Let’s go get our girl. Good luck, brothers,” Porter said, giving us both a pat on our shoulders and heading off to the front of the building.
Alden and I embraced for a quick hug then parted ways, each of us taking a different direction staying as silent as we possibly could.
All I could hear was the thundering of my own heart, the crunch of my shoes on the leaves, and the crickets chirping in the surrounding forest. It was unnerving and the fear of what we might find inside was tearing me up inside.
So I sent a silent plea to the girl I loved, calming myself in the process as I made a vow I’d die to keep.
Just hold on, Sophia. We’re here. I won’t let you die.
Sophia
Iawoke with a start, my head feeling heavy and throbbing incessantly. It was dark around me and my vision was blurry, so I wasn’t able to make out anything. My pulse hammered in my ears, making it hard to hear anything else. My mouth was dry and felt full of cotton. I tried to move my hands to rub my face, but I couldn’t. I tugged harder, only to realize something was wrapped tightly around them.
“Ah, you’re waking up,” a muffled voice said to me.
My head snapped up and I tried to focus on the dark figure moving through the shadows around me. Still, I couldn’t.
“What happened?” I asked, though my voice was barely above a whisper and was hoarse.
“Shh, no need to talk. Here, drink some water.”
Too desperate for something to drink, I didn’t even think and opened my mouth as a bottle was pressed to it. The cool liquid soothed my scratchy throat and gave me a bit more clarity to the world around me. An LED lantern was lit and a figure of a man stood before me. It was then that everything came rushing back as the man who stood before me finally came into focus.
