Chapter 29

Hours Earlier

T he ringing in my ear is the first thing to wake me, followed by the sound of yelling and crying from a distance. My vision is distorted, everything blurry haze, as I struggle to get up from what feels like a prison bed. I groan at the pounding headache, hoping to sink back into darkness if I close my eyes.

The faint cries grow louder, drawing me to open my eyes once more. Three blurry figures come into view, two men dragging in a crying girl, who they handcuffed to a bed similar to mine before leaving. The tortured wailing of my roommate prompts me to rub my eyes, desperate to see her clearly.

Please, don't be Sierra. Please, don't be Sierra.

I silently repeat the words over and over in my head, desperately praying against all hope that the cries I hear belong to someone else - that Sierra is safe, and unharmed.

"Sierra?" I ask, my voice is barely audible as I silently hope that it's not her. But there's no response, only the unrelenting cries coming from her direction. I'm not sure I understand what's happening, or where we are. I pray to whatever God there is that Enzo finds me, that he scours the world to save me because I don't believe I can save myself. Not from this.

The room comes into clearer focus - no windows, the walls practically crumbling. I stare at the ceiling, unable to find the courage to look at my roommate. The fear crawls up my skin each time I consider turning around is overbearing. Her tortured cries finally stop, but she doesn't utter a word. Part of me knows it's Sierra, while the other part of me clings to the hope that she managed to escape.

The door clicks open once more, and three men enter. I can't be sure if they're the same men from before. One of them has a gun pointed at me, while the other two make a beeline for the bed next to me. I can't stop myself from looking into the broken, blue eyes of my best friend. Her eyes are swollen and red from crying, and her clothes are falling apart. She doesn't hold my gaze for long, her eyes drifting off as if she's no longer present in the room with us. It's as if her soul has left her body, leaving it an empty vessel for these men to use.

My heart breaks, tears and snot stream down my face as I struggle against my restraints, unable to accept the pain that Sierra has endured because of me. The tall, thin man with a creepy mustache that makes him look like a goddamn pedophile lunges towards the bed where Sierra sits, grabbing her bound wrists and forcing them above her head. The second man, the short fat one with a full goatee seizes her legs, positioning her body as they desire. She doesn't cry, doesn't plead for them to stop. Instead, she retreats into her mind, drifting to a safe place as tears roll down her cheek.

Cursing in both Spanish and English, I yell frantically, but she refuses to meet my gaze. Straining against the bindings that hold me to the bed, I desperately try to reach her, only to be flung back again and again. I watch helplessly as my best friend loses her soul in the process.

The man with the gun grins, his yellow teeth on full display makes me want to vomit. "You're lucky we were told we couldn't touch you ni?a, but your little friend here, she's a pleasant little surprise."

I hear the short stubby man grunt as he continues his assault on Sierra. I swear to myself that I will kill him the moment I get a chance. He forces himself in and out of her, bruising her long legs with his fingers as the other man holds her hands down.

The laugh they share burns in my mind -it's one that I'll burn from this world. As they slither back in the depths of hell, I'll have the last laugh.

He grunts one last time, before removing the condom he used, and tossing it towards the edge of the bed I'm currently on.

"I was thinking of you ni?a, while your little friend was taking my cock."

I remove my gaze from him and go back to staring at the broken-down walls as he gets his tiny dick back in his pants. The mustached man looks back, and looks me over. I want to just tear my skin off and crawl inside the nearest rock to escape the man's piercing glare.

"We'll be back for more güera," the mustached man leers at me. His raspy voice sends shivers of fear and anger down my spine. I quickly avert my gaze again before the bile that sits in my throat has a chance to escape.

Oh, I wish I could hold herin my arms and protect her. To let her know we can get through this, but she's not present. She may physically be in front of me but her mind is trapped in a place that is not here. Knowing her I'm sure she retreated to a peaceful island, a refuge from the horrors she just faced.

"I'll kill him, I promise. I'll kill them all." Sitting back on the bed, I contemplate the ways I'll kill every one of the bastards. I've never been a violent person, always being the quiet girl content in staying in the shadows. My whole life I've been kept as thehelpless child that watched her mother die. Since then, I've fantasized about their deaths. I thought it would be best to learn to fight so that if they ever came for me again, I'd be ready. Now, I feel that pent-up darkness that has been hiding inside of me waiting to be released, like this is the moment it was waiting for to open the gates of hell.

"Sierra, talk to me please," I beg, my voice breaking. I'm not sure how long we've been here, but my stomach growls, my throat is dry and the tears I once let go of have since dried up. Grateful these assholes have stayed away, I scan around the bed for anything to pick the lock of the handcuffs or help us escape. I frown when I can't seem to see anything useful. "Sierra, please look around the bed. Do you see something we can use?" I plead, but she doesn't answer or move. She's given up before we even had a fighting chance.

"Sierra, I'm begging you, don't give up. I know you've gone through the unthinkable. But we have to keep pushing. We'll get out of here, and I swear we will kill these fuckers for what they did. Enzo is already searching for us, so we just need to stay strong a little longer. I'm here with you, and we'll get through this together." I say in a soft comforting tone. I keep repeating the words, trying to ground her with my tone and all these promises of death.

She finally looks up at me, her eyes harden to a dark, smoldering blue, like a fire ignited within her soul. She looks around for a few moments in frantic movements, as if a lightbulb went off. She reaches back with her bound hands to her ponytail, retrieving a bobby pin. Carefully gripping it between her teeth, she pries it open. Keeping the pin in her mouth, she raises her hands to her lips and inserts it into the lock, jiggling it back and forth until a satisfying click echoes through the room.

Before she can even stand from the bed, the door creaks open, stopping her from moving further. Sitting up on the bed, she quickly places her hands out of view as the man with the goatee comes in carrying what looks like sandwiches and water. He sets a plate on the bed next to Sierra, then moves closer to me.

"I need to use the bathroom," I say. Glaring, like he'd rather let me starve than take me to a bathroom, the man sets the plate down on the bed and grabs the key, moving towards my tied wrist. Without hesitation, I wrap my legs around him, bringing my arms around his neck and using the chain attaching me to the bed to give me the ability to choke him. I put all my energy and weight on him to be sure he's dead when I let go. His arms flail as he attempts to grab hold of me, but it doesn't work. Sierra watches me as I strangle one of the men that abused her, and doesn't even flinch as she watches him become nothing more than dead weight.

She removes the cuffs from her wrists and rubs the bruises as she walks up to me. Her movements are shaky but that doesn't stop her from grabbing the keys from the floor where the man dropped them and frees me from my restraints. I wrap my arms around her, giving her a moment to let go. I can't imagine the shit she went through. Her tears rush down her face, and though I ache to cry with her, I don't. I can't. We need to move before someone comes.

Faith is a funny thing. I have faith we'll get out, that we won't die here and it's that small glimpse of hope that fuels me enough to grasp Sierra's hand and approach the barred door. The rustic handle creaks loudly as I turn it. "Let's get out of here," I whisper, "if anything goes wrong, I need you to run as fast as you can and get the hell out of this building. Okay?"

She shakes her head, rejectingthe idea of leaving me behind as if it were an absurd request. I grip her hand and squeeze gently, hoping she will accept what I tell her.

"Sierra, you need to stay alive, and live. They can't harm me, but you're the only leverage they have over me. I'll do anything for you, you have to run if we're found. Use your boxing lessons - you can do this. I'll grab the gun from the guard. You kill anyone you don't recognize and when you get the fuck out of here, find Enzo."

Wiping the tears slowly falling from her face with her palm, she nods andstraightens her back; her face donning a similar mask of emotional detachment, similar to the one she wore when they touched her. I approach the corpse, remove the Glock from its holster and check the magazine - fifteen rounds. Turning the safety off, I hand the weapon to her .

"Do you know how to use this?" I ask. She nods, and grips the gun as if it were an extension of her body. We exit slowly with her in the lead, giving her the ability to shoot any approaching threats. I feel vulnerable without a weapon as we continue on the path. Like our prison cell, the hallways filled with barred, empty rooms - a lingering stench of cleaning products and urine permeating the air.

Once we reach the end of the hallway it's split in two directions, Sierra turnsright while I follow behind her. We cautiously approach a group of men coming into view at the far end of the hall.We silently move closer, hoping to go unnoticed before taking another right turn down a different corridor. This building is a maze, and I have yet to spot any windows as we continue our search for the exit.

"Que Carajos!" yells a man from the end of the hallway. He rushes towards us with three others close behind him. Sierra pulls the trigger, her shots perfectly aimed straight for the fuckers' heads. Each of their heads snap back causing their bodies to drop backwards almost instantly. Well, I'd like to know what else this bitch is hiding, and how she knew how to do a perfect kill shot. I mentally celebrate this small victory and move closer to the bodies, searching for anything that could help us escape.

Suddenly, a voice from the distance commands,"Drop the gun," I turn to see a man pointing a gun directly at my head. Without any hesitation, Sierra fires, striking the fucker in the leg, then again the heart. I'm impressed with how she handles a gun. Grabbing what I can from his pockets, I hurry back to Sierra

We hide in the shadows, moving as cautiously as possible before we find a door with a small window- the exit. I pull the door open, just wide enough for one of us to squeeze through. As Sierra slips out, I hear gunshots approaching. Without hesitation, I make a snap decision, pushing the door closed and grip the handle with all my strength before she can even register what happened.

Sierra's attempts to open the entrance but fails as she continues to yell out my name. I shake my head, making sure she sees the seriousness of the situation, and mouth the words " RUN." I move out of sight, hoping to find another way out as groups of men start to invade the space.

"Come on out, Catalina," a few men shout, their stomps getting closer to where I'm trying to hide. Assessing the situation, I realize I'll only be able to kill a few before I'm killed or worse, captured once more.

Yelling follows the sounds of gunshots echo throughout the prison, and I immediately close my eyes, overcome by the fear that is sweeping my body.

No. They didn't get her. She got away.

I shake the fear away for a moment. I can't keep hiding here. Slowly, I make my way back towards the exit. The mustached man stands directly in front of me, smiling as he returns his gun to his holster. Before I get a chance to bring my gun back up and shoot the fucker, he grabs my wrist in a firm grip.

Using the self-defense techniques I learned with the Serpents, I twist our bodies so that I'm on top of him, pushing his face to the ground. I punch him again and again, taking everything from my training and applying it. His strength may be far greater than mine but my determination to live, to be free is by far more than his.

He wraps his hand around my throat, pushing with all his might to force me off. I can barely breathe as he constricts my airway. Instead of going for his throat, I use my thumbs and dig into his eye socket. The sickening sound of his eyes rupturing fills the air, blood oozing down his face. His agonizing scream pierces my ears as he finally releases his grip on my throat. The metallic stench of blood overwhelms my senses. I'm not sure how I got here, how I ended up covered in the blood of my enemy and became a killer.

I stare at the blood as I'm transported back into a nightmare. The piercing shrieks of my mother's final moments still haunt me. Trauma of that night lingers in the air as I try to maintain a steady heartbeat.

The sounds of gunshots drawing closer breaks me out of my mind. Doubt creeps in, fuck. The number of gunshots must mean that they are under attack. Sierra wouldn't have gotten far, right? How long has it been since she left?

The door next to me creaks open, revealing the creep that's been holding us hostage. He flings the door open further and charges towards me. A sudden blast comes from behind him, sending him to his knees. A gruesome spray of brain matter follows the fatal headshot that he was given.

Enzo is standing behind him, meticulously surveying every detail of his surroundings. I knew he would come. If anyone could find me, it would be him.

"Princess, we have to leave," he says, extending his hand out to me. His eyes hold a glimmer of hope and relief, but I can see the hint of curiosity and concern in them too. I place my hand in his, the electric connection between us jolts through my body as if I were just struck by lightning. Even after everything we've been through, my body comes back to life when he grips my hand tightly.

Sierra got the worst of it and I pray she will forgive me for dragging her into a life that was not her own. I'll never be able to make it up to her for getting her caught in a war.

The sounds of gunshots pierce the air once more. Enzo's grip on my hand tightens more before he shoves me behind a wall. The impact of my body hitting the cement sends a jolt of pain through me.

Losing sight of Enzo,panic sets in as I quickly open my eyes, only to see his body fall backwards, his shirt clings to his body as blood begins to cover him.

NO! No, no, no.

This can't be happening.

My pained cries grow hoarse from the intensity of my screams. This is what I was trying to prevent. Dropping to my hands and knees, I crawl over to where he lies. The hard, cold floor of this prison feels like ice beneath my knees as I make my way over to him. He groans, putting pressure on his injured right shoulder. I don't hide the relieved exhale that leaves my lips knowing he's alive as I help him add pressure to the wound. We need to leave before he loses too much blood. He groans again, his eyes fluttering open briefly before sliding shut. Gently tugging at his uninjured shoulder, I try to wake him, willing him to stay conscious.

It doesn't help.

His eyes remain closed.