House of Steel (26 page)

“MOVE!” A man’s voice yelled from the other
side of the door as he dug frantically through the snow with his
gloved hands. Delaney retreated her hand, pulling it back into the
barn before tucking it in her blazer.

“JOE?”

“PUSH!” The voice ordered as he wrapped his
hands around the door, yanking it out toward the snow. Delaney
lowered her shoulder, shoving the slab again and causing it to
crack open several more inches. The clean air hit Delaney’s lungs,
immediately invigorating her senses. She gulped the oxygen, feeling
the life pump through her veins.

“EVIE, let’s go!” Delaney began to wedge
herself through the door, but there was no response. “Evie?”
Delaney bent down, feeling around for Evie in the dark against the
wall. She felt Evie’s body, slumped against the wall. Delaney
grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the opening of the door.
The gloved hands reached for the door again, opening it even
further.

“COME ON!” the man’s voice exploded. Delaney
wedged through the door. Her bare feet sunk into wetness as she met
the man’s eyes set in a chiseled face that wasn’t Joe’s.
The
bartender.

“Where’s V?” he yelled in her blank
face.

“She’s passed out. Help me pull her
through.” Delaney bent down, shoved her hand through the opening,
and grabbed Evie’s arm. Delaney managed to yank her several inches
closer to the door, but Evie’s body was jammed against the
wall.

“MOVE!” Ethan moved forward, pushing Delaney
off to the side and into the snow. Delaney lied there, feeling the
moisture sink into her clothes and letting the air penetrate her
entire being. His hand disappeared into the opening and retrieved
more of Evie’s body.

“She’s stuck,” Ethan grunted as he pulled
Evie’s body harder before turning to Delaney, motioning his hands.
“You gotta go back in and turn her body so it can be pulled through
the door.”

“The smoke…” Delaney started as she watched
the smoke streaming through the crack.
She had to go in, though.
Evie had saved her life.

“GO NOW!” He stormed toward Delaney. “Cover
your face with this.” He peeled off his glove and handed it to her.
Delaney scrambled to her feet, glove over her mouth, and slipped
back through the opening over Evie’s body into the smoke while
Ethan continued to shovel with his hands. Delaney squinted,
desperate to shut out the slow burn that agonized her eyes. She
dropped down and fumbled to find Evie’s legs. Evie’s body was
contorted and folded against itself. Delaney straightened Evie’s
legs and angled her head toward the opening of the door as Ethan’s
hands wrapped around the door, pulling it open further.

“Try again!” Delaney sputtered as the smoke
scorched her lungs before she could get the wet glove back up to
her mouth. Pushing Evie’s body forward with one hand, it moved
toward the door slowly. Delaney pushed harder until the body
suddenly vanished from beneath her hand.

“I got her! COME ON!” he shouted through the
door. Delaney crept forward as her lungs blackened and her head
spun. It became lighter and lighter with each movement.
It’s so
close. The door. I need air. Fresh air.
Delaney clawed forward,
feeling the cold flow over her head before she felt her body empty
into total blackness.

33

DAY 4: Sunday, December 21 – 5:45 p.m.

“I’ve got ‘em.” The words rang in the back of
her head as she fought to open her eyes. Her head screamed from the
repetitive pounding. The rapid beating of what felt like a hammer
against her skull echoed through her head. His voice was close.
Warmth blew on her face and feet while tiny needles stabbed at her
feet as the heat penetrated her skin.

“Yeah, both of them.” His voice was louder,
clearer. She felt her body shift to the side, brushing up against
hard plastic. They were moving. The man talking cleared his
throat.

“She was hit in the arm, but I’ve stopped
the bleeding, for now. She’s going to need help.” Eyes still
closed, Delaney concentrated on her arm but didn’t feel pain there.
Just everywhere else.
Evie.
Delaney’s eyes peeled open. She
felt the sting of the salt and smoke coat her lids as she blinked,
adjusting to the glowing lights in front of her.
A car.

“Only a few minutes. In the back.” Delaney
turned to see the chiseled profile of the man in the driver’s seat,
phone to his ear.
The bartender.
The fire.
Her mind
shot to the small opening of the door and outstretched hand she was
crawling to before it all went black.
It was his hand
. He
clicked off the phone, turning to her in the passenger seat.
Where was Theron?

“You’re awake,” he said. She opened her
mouth, but her throat felt scorched with ash and refused to form
the words.

“Here.” His hand extended a half-empty
bottle of water to her. She took it in her hands, desperate to stop
the burn lodged in her throat. The bottle reached her lips before
she stopped, looking back at him while he studied her. He couldn’t
be trusted. No one could be trusted anymore. She pulled the bottle
back down to her lap before handing it back to him.

“There’s nothing in it,” he said. She thrust
the bottle back in his lap while her throat crawled.

“See?” He took a small drink and offered it
back to her, his eyes half on the road ahead of him. “Just take it.
Your throat has to be burning. You inhaled a lot of smoke.” She
felt the plastic crunch in her hands as she brought it to her lips
and felt the cool liquid slide down her throat, soothing it for a
second. She paused, letting the bottle rest in her hand, as she
looked back at his profile staring at the road ahead. Tipping the
bottle back, she gulped it down, her throat and mouth desperate to
relieve the sting.

“Better?” he asked.

“A little.”

“I’m Ethan by the way. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” She twisted her head to the
left as she recognized Evie’s black boots in the corner of her eye.
Turning further, the pain in her neck amplified before she made out
the rest of Evie’s body. A white bandage was wrapped around her arm
and her body lied still except for the gentle rocking caused by the
car. Her arms rested behind her back.
She’s alive.
About to
turn around, Delaney spotted white around her black boots.
And
tied up.

“It’s for her own good.” His voice pulled
her back to the front.

“What does that mean?” The headlights slowed
as they turned onto the main street of downtown Appleton. A section
of the Leighton campus lined the left side of the street. Delaney’s
eyes fell to the large oak trees running alongside the sidewalks
where large, blue ribbons were tied tight around the thick trunks
of the trees. As she scanned the trees, her eyes fell onto a small
group of students huddled near the next tree. A woman reached
inside the backpack of a man next to her. The blue fabric fluttered
in the wind before she gathered it in and wrapped it around the
bare tree. Another man armed with flyers pointed to the other side
of the street where more bare trees were located. They were
students looking for Theron.

“She knows where Theron is,” Delaney
started. “He needs help and you have her tied up in the back
seat.”

“It’s for her own good,” he repeated. “She’s
safe this way.”

“Safe? Is Theron safe?”

Delaney’s head jerked forward as Ethan hit
the brake, letting the engine idle to a stop.
Red light.
She
pulled her head up to look at the familiar buildings edging the
street.
I need to get out.
She reached her hand up slowly,
placing it on the handle of the door before a clicking sound
registered in her head. As she glanced back toward Ethan, she could
see his hand resting on the door controls.

“Don’t even think about it.” He turned to
her while he slid his other hand into his jacket. He pulled out a
gun, placing it on his lap.

“What the hell is going on?” Delaney spat
back as she sunk back into the seat. “Who the hell are you? Who was
that back at the barn? Why is this happening?” Her head fell into
her bloodied hands.
The jacket. Evie. The fire. Holston
Parker.
It didn’t make any sense.
Why me?

“We’ll be there soon, and if you can’t
control yourself, I’ll tie you up, too.” He smiled as he looked
back at her. “I figured you wouldn’t fight. I guess I was wrong
about you.”

“Evie, is she okay?” she asked.
He was
wrong about me?
She had only seen Ethan three times in her
life, twice at Atlas Pub and now. She had barely uttered any words
to him.

“She was hit in the arm. The bullet’s still
in there. And she inhaled a lot of smoke.”

“What about my brother? James?” Her voice
hesitated, wary of the answer. The sound of shots resonated through
her head.
What did I get them into?

“Those two?” He laughed as he hit his foot
against the gas in response to the green light ahead. Delaney’s
body stiffened with dread. “They’re fine. Passed out in the back of
the pub. Thanks to me.” He jerked the car to the right, turning
down a side street before taking another right into an alley. She
exhaled. Relief flooded her body as she watched the alley narrow.
The car stopped.

“We’re here.”

“Here?” Delaney asked, looking at the backs
of a row of buildings.

“Yeah. And like I said, if you run or
fight…” He slid the gun in his hand and tapped it against his
leg.

“What do you even want from me?” She looked
back at Evie bound in the seat behind her.
Where did she put
Theron?

“First of all, let’s get something straight.
It’s not me. It’s him.” He tapped the gun against his window at the
brick building adorned with a worn, metal sign with vintage
letters.
The Apothecary Shop
.

“The Apothecary Shop?” she asked.

“Mr. Parker is waiting for you. For her.” He
nodded to the back seat. “He wants to have a quick chat with you
both.”

“Holston Parker?”

“Yeah. Your brother’s new employer. My boss.
Her dad.” His voice became impatient as he turned to open his
door.

“Wait. Why?” she pleaded.

“Listen, all I know is that you better do
what he tells you. He’s powerful, D.” He lingered on his last word,
smirking at her. The chat room.
This is a sick game.

“Yeah, he knows about your little secret.”
He paused, contemplating his next words. “He told me to request a
show. To see what you were doing,” he added, his eyes dominated her
as he looked at her chest. She wrapped the blazer tight around
herself.

“Asshole,” she spat.

“Don’t worry, it was only once. You denied
me after that,” he replied. “Although, I could have handled another
show.” Delaney’s body crawled as his eyes fixated on her. She had
only stripped a few times in that first week and apparently Ethan
had been one of them. She had never seen their faces, so they
hadn’t been real people to her. She reached up to slap his
face.

“Whoa!” Ethan warned, catching her hand
mid-air before it landed. She wound up and spit into his face, just
under his eye.

“Really?” He let her arm go and wiped away
the spit with the back of his hand. “Are you done?”

“I don’t know,” she retorted, falling back
into the seat.

“You better be.” He waved the gun in her
face before he opened his door and swung his leg into the alley.
Delaney eyed the keys dangling from the ignition. “I better take
these,” he added, sliding back into the car to grab the keys. She
opened the door, feeling the cold wrap around her body, and slid
her feet onto the icy layer that covered the concrete. Her toes
curled as the temperature of the ice burned the bottoms of her
feet. She scanned the alley, looking for anyone that might see her.
There had to be someone out there. Somewhere she could run to.
Someone who would hear her. She opened her mouth.

“Don’t even think about it,” Ethan’s voice
snapped behind her in a whisper. Delaney turned at the sound of
another door shutting behind her to see the small body sprinting
down the alley.
Evie.

“V,” Ethan yelled, sprinting after her.
Delaney turned to the alley ahead of her, moving her legs forward
into a run in the opposite direction. The nearest side street was
only about thirty feet ahead of her. Her feet skid across the ice,
trying to grip the surface, as she felt her leg give out from
underneath her. Her toes flew in front of her face before the pain
shot through her tailbone. The thud of her head against the ice
registered before the pain radiated to her skull. Blackness.

***

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, D,” Ethan said
as he hovered over Delaney’s unconscious body, hoisting her up and
over his shoulder. He had become adept at carrying bodies except,
this time, the body was much lighter than what he was used to. He
had been Holston’s “removal man” for the past six months, disposing
of bodies at his discretion. As long as he didn’t have to kill
them, he was fine with it. Gunnar took care of the “dirty” work. It
was the least he could do for the man that had saved his life as a
child, regardless that he feared and despised him at the same time.
He disappeared into the metal door underneath
The Apothecary
Shop
sign and into the dim hallway. His eyes adjusted as he
paused, looking for the stairwell.

“Where is she?” Holston’s voice sounded down
the hall.

“She… uh… she ,” he stuttered. “I’ve got
Delaney here.”

“I see that, but where is Evie, Ethan?” His
voice neared as his audible footsteps made their way down the
hall.

“She’s gone,” he stumbled on the words,
looking down.

“Gone?”

“Yeah, she’s gone.”

“How could she possibly be gone?” Holston
pressed, now only a foot away from Ethan. His steel eyes hardened,
flashing even in the barely lit space.