Fighting Silence (37 page)

“Come on!”

“While I appreciate your efforts, we already picked a name.”

“Blakely is stupid though. Everyone will end up calling her Blake for short. Q is a badass nickname.”

“It’s also
your
nickname. Trust me. I don’t need to yell ‘Q’ any more than I already do. I can’t handle two of you.” She laughed as she scraped the mushrooms she had been slicing into a pan on the stove.

“Oh, whatever. What are you cooking anyway?”

“Hell if I know. Mushrooms just sounded really good.”

“Plain mushrooms?” I curled my lip as I settled on the barstool across from her.

“Yep!”

“You’re disgusting.” I laughed just as someone knocked on the door. “Oh! I bet that’s our The Silencer T-shirts for the fight.”

“God, I hope! They were supposed to be here yesterday.”

I yanked the front door open, and a well-dressed man I didn’t recognize stood on the other side. His hands were shoved in his pockets of his jacket, and a bright, white smile covered his face.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Till. Is he around?”

“Nope.”

“Perfect,” he purred as he slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets, revealing a massive, green tattoo with the head of a dragon shooting red flames down his fingers—the same fingers that were poised on the trigger of a gun. “Quarry, I presume?” He used the tip of his gun to push me inside.

As the door clicked behind us, I heard Eliza from the kitchen.

“Who was it?” she asked just as we rounded the corner.

I didn’t even have a chance to react before his arm quickly looped around my neck to rest the gun at my temple. Her eyes popped wide and her hands flew to her mouth.

“Oh my God.”

I was in absolute shock. I didn’t know this guy, but I was terrified—and not for myself.

“It’s okay.” I tried to soothe her as my heart slammed around in my chest.

“Who the fuck are you?!” the piece shit spoke to her, and it enraged me.

“Um, who are
you?
” Her shoulders moved as if she were searching the counter, but the bar blocked our view of her body.

“Get your fucking hands up!” he barked.

It caused her chin to quiver and rage to radiate through me.

“Eliza,” she answered slowly, lifting her hands in surrender.

“Okay.
Now, Eliza.
Who the hell are you and where the fuck is Till Page?” He turned the gun on her.

Even through my blinding fury, I knew that she did not need to answer that question.

“She’s my babysitter. Till’s at the gym.” I quickly covered, praying to fuck he thought thirteen-year-olds still needed babysitters.

“Okay. Well, Eliza, this could actually work out. I need you to deliver a message to our good pal Till. Call him and let him know that Frankie Dragon stopped by to close out some unfinished business. It’s imperative that he gets this message. Do you understand?” His tone wasn’t harsh, but it was downright menacing.

She quickly nodded. “Yeah. Absolutely. I’ll tell him.”

“Great. Now, for insurance that this message is delivered in a timely manner, I’m taking Quarry with me.” There was a smile in his voice, but Eliza’s face slid to ghostly white.

“No! I’ll deliver the message. I swear. Just leave him here.”

“Yeah. That’s not going to happen.” He laughed. “I think Till’s going to need a little extra incentive for what I need. We all know how much he loves our little Quarry here,” he said condescendingly.

A rush of relief hit me as the gun was turned away from her and aimed back against my temple.

“Please don’t do this. Just leave him. I’m positive Till will do anything you want. You don’t need Quarry.”

“Yeah. Sorry. I like my plan better.”

I felt him shrug as he began to drag me backwards toward the door. I wasn’t struggling. I was all too willing to go with him if it got him out of that suite and away from
her.

“Stop! Wait! Please. I’m Till’s wife. Take me instead!”

“No!” I screamed over her words, but it was too late.

She ran from behind the counter, revealing her pregnant stomach and causing Frankie to gasp.

“Just take me. Leave Quarry alone,” she cried.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I yelled, but Frankie leveled the gun back on her.

“His
wife?
” he asked before cackling.

“Please. Just let him go.”

“This just got so much better.”

My entire body went stiff, and Eliza’s eyes grew impossibly wider as he roughly shoved me, sending me scrambling forward. Just as quickly, he grabbed Eliza and dragged her to the door.

“No!” I jumped to my feet. He had no fucking business even talking to her, but I’d kill him before I let him hurt her. “Get your fucking hands off her! You’re not taking her anywhere!” I rushed forward.

I heard Eliza screaming with every step, but adrenaline fueled me.

She was ours. I wouldn’t let him have her.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” He spun Eliza to the side just as I got close, sending her crashing to the ground.

I landed a blow to his side, but his hand folded around my throat and the cold, metal butt of his gun landed hard against my face. Pain exploded as someone dimmed the lights.

I felt my body crash onto the floor, but I struggled to keep my eyes open. I was vaguely aware of Eliza screaming my name as she fought against his arms.

“No,” I slurred, but my body had betrayed me.

Seconds later, the darkness consumed me completely.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as Slate and I watched Rick’s last fight for at least the hundredth time. I had long since memorized his every nuance in the ring, but I still watched every single second as if it were going to change.

“Hey, pause it.”

A text from an unknown number lit my screen.

Unknown: I believe I have something that belongs to you.

I read the text a few times, trying to let it process, but before I could respond, a picture I would never be able to unsee came through. A vision that, with one glance, was branded into my soul.

It was Eliza. Her mouth was taped and her eyes were pouring tears. She was sitting on the floor of a hotel suite that looked exactly like ours. I could barely make out the round of her stomach as my eyes followed her arm up to a doorknob she was tied to.

Entire dimensions folded upon themselves in that moment.

In less than three seconds, I’d plotted the death of whoever had put her there. That picture could have been the joke I prayed it was, but someone would absolutely pay for the way my chest was caving in as I stared at my phone.

Me: Who the fuck is this?

I blinked at the phone, desperate for an answer, but my mind finally kicked into gear. There was carpet behind her—carpet I recognized.

I sprinted from the conference room with one destination on my mind.

My legs moved faster than I’d thought possible as I raced to the elevator. The seconds I was forced to wait for it to arrive were the longest of my life. It was only the last rational brain cell I had that forced me to stand there, knowing that it would take longer for me to run up the stairs to the thirty-seventh floor. Just as the doors opened, Slate caught up and stepped in front of me.

His mouth and hands moved angrily, but I couldn’t focus enough to figure out what he was saying. Shoving him out of the way, I frantically pressed the button to our floor and he barely made it inside before the elevator started moving. I was losing my mind trying to speed it up when my phone again buzzed in my hand.

Unknown: Your old friend Frankie Dragon of course.

It was followed by another picture of Eliza with her eyes closed and a booted foot pressed against her stomach.

The world turned in slow motion, but my wrath grew rapidly.

Me: I have no idea what you want, but your life is over.

Him: Mine? Or Hers?

The text was was followed by a photo of a gun tilted to Eliza’s temple. My hand gripped the phone painfully tight.

Slate snapped in front of me to get my attention. “
What the fuck is going on?
”

“They took Eliza!” I shouted as the eternal elevator ride ended.

When the doors started to open, I squeezed between them, sprinting to our suite. My shoulder slammed into the door as I twisted the handle, but the door remained in place. I patted my pockets down, suddenly realizing I didn’t even have my keycard to open it. I was in absolute hell. She was in there, with a gun to her head, and I was stuck on the other side of a fucking
door.

I pounded as hard as I possibly could. “Open the goddamn door!” But if someone responded, I’d never know.

Slate appeared at my side with his phone to his ear, and something on the other side of the door immediately piqued his interest. He leaned in close and pressed his ear against the wood. I watched his mouth form a word that sank my heart even further.

“Quarry!” He began to shake the handle to open the door.

As I backed up, ready to bulldoze through that fucking door, I caught sight of Flint and Leo jogging down the hall. Flint quickly pulled a key from his pocket and swung the door open. He tried to enter first, but I snagged the back of his shirt to prevent him from rushing inside. I had no idea what was waiting on the other side of that door, but I was going to find out first. I swung him back in to the hall and then stormed in with Leo directly behind me.

We found Quarry lying on the floor with blood pouring from his nose. He was struggling to sit up, and his mouth was moving a million miles a minute.

“What’s he saying?” I yelled as I helped him sit up, but my eyes scanned the room, desperate to find her.

I rose to my feet, ready to haul ass down the hall to the bedroom, but Leo stopped me. With his gun drawn, he motioned for us to leave. He must have lost his goddamn mind though, because I wasn’t going anywhere without her.

Quarry waved to get my attention.
“She’s not here. He took her. I tried . . .”
His hands dropped to his sides and his head hung.

Leo made fast work of clearing the suite and verifying that Quarry was right.

I focused back on my phone. When my fingers started flying over my keyboard, Leo, Slate, and Flint sidled up beside me to read over my shoulder.

Me: Where the fuck is she?

Him: Phew, that took you long enough.

Me: I swear on my life, I will kill you. Give her back to me.

Him: No cops. Tell your daddy Slate to stand the fuck down.

Slate’s head snapped back as he lowered the phone from his ear. And my phone immediately buzzed once again.

Him: Better.

Leo started looking around the room.

Him: Tell Mr. James that he should probably be more worried about his own family than where my camera is located. His daughter seemed frightened when I killed her worthless bodyguard.

Suddenly, with wide eyes and pale faces, Slate and Leo flew from the room.

Me: I swear to god, I will kill you.

Him: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve heard it all before. So now that we are alone, I have a favor to ask in exchange for your precious wife’s return.

Flint tugged on the edge of my shirt.
We have to go. Don’t talk. Just sign. Leo told me to get you two to the conference room.

Me: What do you want?

Him: I need you to throw the fight. I’ve got 200k that I don’t exactly have riding on you losing in the third round. TKO.

Me: Done. Now let her go.

Flint continued to tug on my arm as he led me from the room.

Him: As soon as the final bell rings, she’s all yours.

Me: And what happens to her if something happens before then? I can’t guarantee that I’ll make it to the third round.

Alex rounded the corner as soon as we cleared the doorway. He ushered the three of us to the elevator, while I stared holes in my phone.

Him: Oh, I have a feeling you’ll do just fine.

Him: Tell me, Till. How good is her mouth?

It was followed by a picture of Eliza leaning against the leg of his slacks. Her eyes were squinted shut, and his hand was wrapped firmly around her throat, the tips of his fingers digging into her flesh.

Me: Don’t you fucking touch her.

Him: We’ll be in touch. You should go get ready. You have a fight to lose.

Me: I’ll pay you more than what you’ll make on the fight. Just fucking give her to me.

But as we made our way to the conference room, my text went unanswered.