27. Izzy

Chapter 27

Izzy

I could see the moment Christian decided to kill me. It was almost imperceptible, but I was looking for it.

It was the exact look Sebastian had when he decided to rape me the first time.

There was no denying their relation.

Except I had a plan, I wasn’t sure if it would work, but while I hummed away and Christian interrogated me, I had managed to loosen the ropes on one of my wrists.

I had found where the smoky smell was coming from.

There was a crystal ashtray on the nightstand.

“—so you see, it’s just a means to an end. No hard feelings right?” Christian’s words cut through.

He shifted.

It was time.

I bucked up from below doing my best to displace his weight off of me. The knife in his hand clattered to the ground, bouncing a few feet along the hardwood floor.

“You bitch!” He swung his hand, slapping me across the cheek. It was the same side as Stephen had hit me, and I grit my teeth against the added pain.

He rolled off the bed to grab the knife.

It was now or never.

I tugged the rope, one last yank with my fingers before I pulled on my wrist as hard as I could.

The relief was instant as it freed, sliding through the larger hole I had managed to make.

“What are you—” Christian yelled, standing up, knife in hand.

I ignored him. Ignored my racing heart, my sweaty palms, my anxiety.

I couldn’t see him as I reached out, latching onto the crystal ashtray with my now free hand. It was heavy. I blindly swung it back in his direction.

It made a satisfying crunch as it landed against his nose. I heard a clatter as the knife tumbled to the floor again.

My eyes were on him now. His nose a bloodied mess.

“You stupid fucking bitch!”

I had free rein except for my one wrist still secured to the bed frame. I wasn’t going to lay down and wait for him to kill me.

This was my chance.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, pushing my terror to the very back of my mind.

He wasn’t thinking as he launched himself back onto me.

I wrenched my free hand back and smacked the ashtray into him again. This time it landed on a soft spot on the side of his temple. I was aiming for where the gun had hit me earlier, but I couldn’t quite reach the spot.

I just wanted to knock him out. To be able to get away from him while I waited for my men.

But he didn’t stop; his hands found my throat and he began to squeeze. Pushing me into the mattress.

Black dots marked my vision.

It was harder now, there was less range, but I managed to hit him with the ashtray again .

This time, the move stunned him and I kicked up again. It served to loosen his grip around my neck.

He was still awake. Conscious.

I hit the ashtray against him again.

The noise was a disgusting squish as it dug into his head, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t.

My body separated from my mind.

I closed my eyes and swung again.

I was that girl who was just told her father died.

And again.

Thwap !

I was that teenage girl who was bullied for being different . Fat.

And again.

Thwap !

I was that high-school girl lured to the roof by her teacher and nearly raped.

And again.

Thwap !

I was that same high-school girl in love with a man she could never be with.

And again.

Thwap !

I was that woman who was heartbroken after another break-up from another vanilla man.

And again.

Thwap !

I was that woman who was back on that same god forsaken roof with my predator.

And again .

Thwap !

I was myself just hours ago with a dead mom and a father back from the grave.

And again.

Thwap !

I kept hitting him. His brain matter was now gracing the crystal, but I paid it no mind. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t yelling profanities my way anymore.

I took out decades of buried rage. Of indignation. Of sadness. Of grief .

My arm was poised in the air to swing again when cold fingers wrapped around my wrist. I wrenched away and attempted to smack the crystal against the intruder, but another hand stopped me.

“It’s okay. We’re here.”

I was that lost girl again, Oliver’s voice cutting through an episode. I opened my eyes, finding his soft blue; a comforting color.

He had saved me from my own mind all those years ago at that cemetery, just as he was doing so now.

The crystal fell from my crimson fingers.

“Ellie.”

My attention found Maddox behind him. He was a beacon of light piercing through my turmoil.

“It’s okay Ellie. You’re safe now.”

“Untie her,” Emilio snarled out, stepping into the bedroom just behind Maddox. He surveyed the area, his harsh features turning soft as he met my eyes. “You did a good job, Isa.”

My men were here. I was safe.

I went to turn my head and look down. To see exactly what I had done, but Oliver finished freeing my wrist and swept me into his arms before I could. He blocked my vision with his hand .

“Take her to the car,” Oliver ordered, maneuvering me into Maddox’s waiting embrace.

Maddox’s calm aura wrapped around me as he quickly left the room. He held me as if I was a newborn. My head rested on one arm as he cradled me.

I loved Oliver and Emilio, but it was with Maddox that I finally could relax. That I knew no matter what, he would keep calm and sane.

“Yara…my dad?” I whispered out hoarsely, watching his face carefully.

Maddox’s lips tightened. A crease forming between his eyebrows. “Your dad is safe. Yara is”–his arms flexed, tugging me even closer into his frame–“I won’t lie to you. She is hurt badly. ”

We were walking down a hallway now, and I squirmed against him, wanting to escape, needing to go to her.

“Stay still. She’s in the hospital. We found her first. You were taken to a different location. That’s why we were so late.”

He looked down as he stepped over something.

I followed his attention. A body. It was face up, but I didn’t recognize who it was since half of their head was missing.

Maddox covered my eyes as Oliver had, stopping me from taking any more of the carnage in. It wasn’t the only body in this hallway.

I found that I didn’t even care. My mind focused solely on my friend.

“You need to take me to her!”

Yara had to be all right. I needed to see her. I needed tangible proof that she wasn’t going to die. That she would make it through this.

She had to.

“I will, but Ellie”–his voice broke–“please, Ellie. Please don’t leave us like that again. This world that Emilio is in isn’t safe. I want nothing more than to take you away from both of those men. Neither deserve you.”

Maddox finally pushed open a door at the end of the hallway of death, and I blinked my eyes at the onslaught of light .

How much time has passed?

“ Maddox .” The word came out shaky, raspily. My throat was sore from being nearly strangled to death.

Maddox paused, staring down at me before placing his forehead to mine. His was much cooler than my own, and I welcomed it.

“Don’t be mistaken. I am never going anywhere. And I won’t take you from either of them. I know how much you care about them. How much you love them. And that’s okay. You are worth it. I love you. But I need you to be careful. Please .”

I reached my hands up to cup his face but paused.

They were covered in a sticky red, something reminiscent of silly putty. “I killed him.”

Maddox walked to a vehicle parked on the road. We were on the outskirts of town, the industrial district, and it was the only visible vehicle I could see.

He maneuvered open the door and slid into the backseat, his arms still wrapped around me. “He was going to die one way or another. You simply sped up the process.”

“I should feel bad. I should feel distraught.”

“You’re in shock.”

I shook my head laying it against his chest, listening to the steady beat there. “No, Maddox…I think…I think I liked it.” As soon as I spoke the words, I knew them to be true.

Maddox placed his chin on the top of my head as the front doors of the vehicle opened.

“To the hospital,” Maddox grunted.

“No, we need to take her home,” Oliver argued, settling into the driver seat .

“She needs to get looked at anyways. Let her see Yara,” Emilio countered, turning in his seat to examine me. “Your neck is already starting to bruise, Isa, but you’re going to be okay. You did a good job.” He offered me a soft smile which I returned.

“Fine!” Oliver snarled out. A moment later, we were speeding down the road.

The entire time Emilio watched me with his critical intensity. “You’re okay with it, aren’t you?”

“With what?” I asked, shifting against Maddox.

“She is,” Maddox confirmed.

Emilio laughed, a deep husky noise that shot straight through me. “You were meant for us, my Bella Isa. Maybe it’s time you two told her about Harry while all the blood and gore is fresh?”

The car swerved before Oliver corrected it.

“You’re a fucking asshole,” Oliver advised him. He found my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Look Isobel, you have horrible taste in men.”

“Ourselves included,” Maddox chimed in, squeezing me to him.

I had zero idea where this was headed, but I was preoccupied by my concern for Yara. “Sure,” I agreed.

“Well, we hired help to eliminate any worrisome men,” Oliver stated matter-of-factly. His eyes narrowed in the mirror.

“Eliminate?” I broke from his stare and glanced at Emilio.

He was turned in his seat, watching me.

“Yes, my Bella Isa. They hired a man named Milo to ‘help’ them deal with any problems that arose. Did they know I was Milo? No, they didn’t.” Emilio laughed.

My brain was a sloshy mess of confusion .

“We unknowingly hired Emilio to assist with separating you from the men you dated. Sending a text from, let’s say, Hallie’s number to Harry,” Maddox murmured into my hair.

Ice sliced through my skin. “Why?”

“Why?” Oliver sneered from the front seat. “Because they didn’t deserve you if they were going to be that easily swayed. You deserved better. And haven’t you realized by now? We’re not the ‘good’ guys, Isobel.”

Why did that send jolts of neediness across my nerves? What was wrong with me?

“So, what happened to Harry? Or was that it?” I wasn’t even mad. But why were they telling me this all now?

Except, I was almost grateful they were. Layer it onto me now while I’m in shock and then I would process it all later.

And I guess in some way, they had done me a favor. If it was that easy for my boyfriends to be swayed…

“I killed him,” Emilio shrugged as if he was discussing the weather. “Just killed Hallie too, but she had a role in your step-father’s empire. She deserved it, I promise.”

He reached a sturdy hand back to cup my cheek.

“That turned you on, didn’t it? That I would kill a man for you? You were made for us weren’t you?”

I didn’t want to admit he was right, so I turned my face into Maddox’s chest instead.

This is my life now. This is my life now. This is my life now.

Discussing murder as if it’s the weather all while my best friend is in the hospital.

I needed to focus on Yara. On making sure she was okay.

Everything else could wait. I would process it all in my own time .

Emilio chuckled. “Thought so. Now we need to stop to change, but then let’s get you to your friend.”