Their Captive

I enter the back alley, turn right and start walking down it, my feet moving over the concrete with ease just like Declan told me to do, but after a few steps doubt starts to flood my mind and I wonder if I’m doing the right thing? Should I trust them? Trust the man who kidnapped me, the one that wants me dead. I barely know these men and I have no real reason to believe them. I mean they haven’t truly hurt me, but they’ve reminded me often of the power they have over me. Weighing my options, I stand firmly in the middle of the alleyway.

What if this is my only chance to get away and I’m blowing it because I’m being naive and stupid? Declan wants me dead, isn’t that what my fate will lead to anyway?

I slowly turn around, still completely unsure about what is right or wrong. All I know is that I’m in a life or death situation and I have no idea what to do. Maybe I can get away from both? Maybe I can just outrun them and my father. But what if my father doesn’t really want me dead and it was all a ploy?

I squeeze my eyes shut, and grip at my hair.

I’m losing my damn mind over this. If I betray the brothers, they’ll rip me to shreds, but if I don’t take this chance to escape them then I’m just as weak as they all suspect me to be. Before I can make a choice, I hear footsteps approaching. Something inside me says to run, but my feet won’t move. It’s like they’re a part of the ground now cemented deep into the concrete.

“Where is he?” A male voice fills the space, and my eyes snap up honing in on two men that stand a short distance away. I’ve never seen them before, but I’m certain they’re my father’s men. Both have their guns raised, the metal shimmering in the sunlight. They’re pointed right at me. I stare down not one but two barrels with my mouth gaping open.

This is it. I’m going to die. Why won’t my feet move?

“I asked you a fucking question!” the same man from a moment ago yells. “Talk and I’ll make it quick.”

I’m momentarily stunned, as I try and make sense of what he just said. It was true. Everything the brothers told me was true. My father really does want me dead. The more I try to wrap my head around it, the harder the throbbing inside it gets.

“Or don’t talk, that’s fine with me, we’ll both just give you a nice hard fucking, before ending your life. We saw the video, we know you like it,” the other man chuckles, and I feel like puking. As if it’s not bad enough that they want to kill me, they want to degrade me before doing so.

“I’ll give you to the count of three, Jessa, and then I’m going to start shooting. I’ll aim for your legs first, so you can’t run from us.”

The other man starts counting, but he only gets to one before I take off at a dead run. As soon as they realize I’m not going to just stand there and let them count down to my impending death, they start firing off bullets.

“Run, run as fast as you can…” they taunt, and fear zings through me as the bullets whiz past me. My feet smack against the concrete, with each step I take. My lungs burn with every breath I take, the air entering them but not filling them. I feel like I’m going to puke, and I internally kick myself for being stupid enough to stand in the alleyway second guessing Declan’s orders.

I near the end of the alleyway, which is a dead end, fuck my luck, when I glance back and see the two guys gaining on me. Tears sting my eyes. This is it. All that I’ve gone through in the last couple weeks only to end up dead anyway. I tell myself I need to be strong, even though my future is bleak. They’ll kill me, but first, they’ll have their way with me. Reaching the end of the alleyway, I become panicked.

My gaze swings back toward the men and out of nowhere, I see a body slamming into them, tackling one to the ground and causing the second one to lose his footing and drop his gun. Terror clings to me, as I watch the events unfold, knowing even if the two men die, my future is still as bleak as it was before.

The men move so fast I can hardly keep up with their movements. Declan knocks the first guy out and is back on his feet in under a second. Before the second guy can grab his gun off the ground, Declan is on him, throwing jabs left and right, to his face, belly, and sides. I feel like I’m watching some kind of action movie take place right before my eyes.