Convict Me (Broken Heroes 1)

In less than a second, I am wide awake, my head as clear as ever.

“When…? When did she call and what time were you supposed to meet?” I need all the information I can get. I’m already up and putting my shoes on, trying to find my keys. Shit! My car is still at the club.

I run down the hallway to Damon’s bedroom, not bothering to knock before I storm in. “Damon, get up! I need you to drive me to my car…now!”

He sits up in the bed, staring at me like I’ve just lost my mind. “Are you serious?”

“I’m not fucking with you, get the fuck up and dressed. Elyse is missing.”

He grunts in annoyance, but gets up and throws on some clothes.

I don’t have the patience to stand around and wait, so I rush outside, nearly running over the girl from last night in the hallway. I don’t pay her an ounce of attention. I can’t, not when my thoughts are on finding Elyse.

I can’t fucking believe I left her alone…that I let her have her way out of anger. I clench my fists, wanting to punch myself in the face.

We hop in the car, and Damon speeds off down his driveway. His phone rings shortly after we’re on the road. “What?” he growls before he goes silent for a moment, listening to the person on the other end. “Shit! Meet me at the club, right now!” He hangs up and floors it.

My body slams back into the seat at the force.

“That was one of my bookies. He was supposed to pick up cash this morning, but the guy couldn’t pay. They were about to break some bones when the guy told them he could pay us back double of what he owed in the next few days…” He pauses like he doesn’t want to tell me the next part.

I know it’s going to be bad. I brace myself for the worst. Deep down, I know it has to do with Elyse. “Spit it out, Damon.” I don’t even recognize my voice. I feel myself disconnecting from the world, my thoughts on one singular thing: getting Elyse back.

“He said he kidnapped a girl last night and he was going to get ransom money for her soon. Didn’t say who he kidnapped, but I’m sure you can put the pieces together.”

I can’t breathe. Preparing myself and actually hearing him say it are two very different things. This is real, and it’s all my fucking fault.

“Listen, Hero, this is good. You might not see it this way now, but he wants money, so he won’t hurt her, and we know who he is. We’ll find her…”

I hear the words, but they’re just jumbled up words with no meaning. But the one thing Damon says does ring out inside my head. We will find her. When we do, I’ll take the bastard’s life for touching what is mine.

Damon breaks every speed limit on the way to the club, but we’re still not going fast enough. The thought of Elyse scared and hurt somewhere guts me, ripping my insides apart. If something happens to her, I will never forgive myself.

When we finally pull up to the club, someone is waiting at the back entrance. I pray to god it’s the guy who has information for us. I throw open the door and get out before Damon even puts the car in park. “What do you know? Tell me everything! Where the fuck is she?” I shout, grabbing two fistfuls of the unknown man’s shirt. I slam him against the brick exterior wall. I don’t care about anyone but Elyse. If I have to, I’ll kill the fucker in front of me to get the information I need out of him.

“Calm down, man!” He shakes me off.

I don’t let him up. I keep him pressed against the wall.

“I’ll tell you everything I know. Just let me up…”

Damon appears beside us, nodding at the guy. “Did he tell you anything else about the girl and where he took her? What’s the guy’s name?”

I shove the guy against the wall and take a step back. My thoughts are muddled, my body filled to the brim with tension. I have to find her—I have to. I clench my jaw and slam my fist into the brick wall, over and over again, until warm blood drips down my hand.

“He didn’t say where he took her. We tried to follow him, but he got away. I don’t know the guy’s full name, but he goes by the nickname of Rocky.”

Something inside me snaps. It awakens that feeling of death and floods my veins. “No fucking way!” I can’t believe my ears. It can’t be him.

“You know the guy he’s talking about?” Damon eyes me curiously. He seems slightly afraid of me, and that only sets me off more.