Chapter Three
Zag
I was definitely up a creek without a paddle.
Fucked.
I opened my eyes, and it was pitch dark. The sliver of light that had been streaming through the window was gone, and I blinked rapidly. My mind told me my eyes were open, but I couldn’t see even an inch in front of me.
The pillow under my head shifted slightly, and I realized my head rested on Tess’s thigh. Her arm was draped across my stomach, and I could tell she was asleep by her even breathing.
I had to figure out how to get the hell out of here. I wasn’t meant to die in a dingy basement at the hands of some psycho. That wasn’t going to be Tess’s fate either.
I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. Tess’s arm dropped from my stomach, and she shifted next to me.
“Sorry to wake you,” I mumbled.
Tess let out a sleepy groan.
“We need to figure out how we will get out of here,” I pondered aloud. I glanced in the direction of the window; at least, I thought that was where the window was.
Being in pitch darkness was disorienting.
Tess bumped me with either her hand or leg. I couldn’t tell which. “S-s-sorry,” she stammered.
I was slowly putting the pieces together about where I was and about Tess.
She stuttered, but I didn’t know if it was just because of the scary situation we were in or if that was how she usually spoke.
“You okay?” I asked.
She grunted.
How was I going to ask her about her stutter without sounding like an asshole? Granted, I didn’t care if I came off as an asshole most of the time, but something about Tess made me want her to think I was a good guy for as long as possible.
“Is that a yes?” I chuckled lightly.
The silence between us was deafening.
“Can I ask you a question without you getting mad at me?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “Sure.” Her voice was steady and soft.
I couldn’t form a sentence that didn’t make me sound like an ass. “What is your brother’s name?” I shifted gears and knew I needed more time to ask the question about her stutter. Her brother was more of a concern right now than her stutter.
“S-s-step,” she whispered.
“Stepbrother,” I clarified. “What’s his name?”
“Malcom W-w-west.”
My stomach dropped to my balls, and I closed my eyes. “You gotta be shitting me.”
“Y-y-you know h-h-h–.”
“Yes,” I cut her off. “I went to school with the asshole. He tried to fuck with my cousins.” I sighed and tipped my head back. “So Zig and I fucked back with him.” And that was the reason why Malcom was coming after the Devil’s Knights. He had vowed that he would get Zig and me, but we had just taken it as his wounded pride spewing bullshit.
Malcom had started some nasty rumors about Luna back in high school. Luna and Greta had hit back at the asshole with some flaming donkey shit, but Zig and I had been the ones to get the asshole to shut his mouth and sit down. Within an inch of his life.
“What?” she whispered.
“I’m sure it’s not a surprise, babe, but your stepbrother is not a good guy. Not even back in high school. I guess the beating Zig and I gave him didn’t stick.”
A grunt escaped her lips.
I dropped my head into my hands and sighed. “That all happened years ago. Hell, I haven’t even thought about Malcom for years.” It was crazy that Malcom would still be pissed off after all of these years.
Tess shifted next to me.
“I’m going to get us out of here, Tess,” I promised. This wasn’t how either of our lives was going to end. Malcom had ended too many people’s lives already.
“H-h-how?”
“How often does he come in here?” I asked.
Tess didn’t speak.
“Babe?” I called. “Can I ask you another question?” I didn’t wait for her to answer. We could be running out of time, and I needed to get to the bottom of everything. “Your stutter.”
I could feel her tense, and the air around us froze.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” I whispered. “Honestly.”
“I-i-it bothers m-me,” she stammered.
“It shouldn’t,” I reasoned. “But I get it. Is there another way you communicate with people? Sign language?” Not like that was going to do us any good in the dark when I could barely see my own hand in front of my face.
She moved next to me.
“Did you just flip me off?” I laughed. “That’s about the only sign language I would know.”
A short laugh echoed from her lips. “No.”
“What if I just ask you yes or no questions? You could tap me twice for yes, and once for no?” I suggested. “Maybe kick me when you want me to shut up.”
Her hand landed on my forearm and tapped twice.
“Yes?” I asked. I waited for a beat, but she didn’t tap my arm. “Did you nod your head?”
“Y-y-yes,” she chuckled. She then tapped my arm twice.
This wasn’t the best form of communication, but it would hopefully help Tess feel a little more comfortable with me.
“How often does Malcom come in here?” I asked. “Tap how many times.”
She tapped my hand once.
“He only comes in once a day?” Fuck. That wasn’t going to give me many opportunities to try to kill the fucker and run.
She tapped my arm twice.
“Yes,” I sighed. “Does he turn any lights on?”
She tapped me twice.