Little Things (Second Chances 1)

I place my hands onto his wound to apply pressure. West’s breathing is erratic and his body begins to tremble. He coughs violently and blood begins to flow out of his mouth. Tears spill down my face and I cup his cheek in my hand. His lips tremble as if he’s trying to speak but the blood spill blocks his ability to talk.

I place my finger on my lips, “Shh, don’t talk. I’m here with you.”

He stares i

nto my eyes and reaches his hand up to my face, gently caressing it. A tear falls from his eyes as they begin to glisten away and fade into a lifeless state. His hand slowly slips off of my cheek and slumps onto the ground. I turn my head to find Derrick approaching us. A flare of anger and hatred boils inside me.

I race to Derrick screaming, “You fucking monster!”

I punch and hit him with all my might, hoping to cause as much damage as I can. I try and reach for the pistol in his grasp but he backhands my face and I fall to the ground. A swift kick to the side pummels into my body and I howl in agony. Derrick continues to kick me while I’m lying on the ground, kick after kick. I continue to howl and scream for help until he finally stops and picks me up off the floor.

My body screams in pain as he begins to drag me further into the house. A few seconds later, I hear a few men shouting at us to stop where we are. My head begins to spin as the overwhelming pain begins to flare up. With every move I make, I cry out in absolute torment. Everything begins to fade as my body becomes weak. I hear Derrick and the SWAT team yelling in the distance until a few gun shots are fired. My body spasms as a burning sting of pain shoots through me and blood spills out of my lower thigh. My heavy eyelids slowly close as everything around me becomes black and dims away into darkness as I fall to the ground.

Duke

I hit the speed button on the treadmill, roaring it faster and faster. My lungs burn in agony as I push through the final sprint. I race through the last mile as I gear my body into action. It’s been three days since Davis told me to back off and I haven’t heard anything since. My anxiety is through the roof, and honestly, all I want to do is go bust into Alder¸ grab Raya, and get the hell out of there.

The treadmill slows to a cooling pace as I casually relax my breathing to its normal rhythm. My heart continues to pound against my chest. Sweat drops bead down my face and I step off the treadmill, grabbing a towel to clean my face. I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s six o’clock in the morning. I should probably head back to my room, shower, and make my way to Derrick’s gym.

The minute I enter the hotel room, I hear both my cell phone and the room phone ringing in unison. I race to my cell phone and see Melanie is calling.

I pick up, “Hello?”

Her screech startles me, “Duke! Oh thank God you picked up!”

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what? I was downstairs in the gym.”

“Duke, they found her. She’s at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.”

“Wait, what? How did you find out?”

“Duke, it’s all over the news. Turn your T.V. on.”

I rush to turn on the television and find the local channel. There are of an underground prostitution ring that has been uncovered in Northern Chicago. The FBI successfully completed a raid which uncovered the ring, releasing twelve women. The site, also known as Alder Manor, was just one of the sites used to house the women. Multiple states have been linked to this ring, including parts of Michigan, Ohio, and even Texas.

“Duke, are you there?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was watching the report on the news.”

“Duke, they showed her face on the news; she’s listed as a Jane Doe. When I called you and you didn’t pick up, I panicked, so I hopped in a cab and went to the airport.”

I race to the shower and turn on the water, “Airport? Where are you?”

“My plane is about to take off. I’ll call you when I land. We can head to the hospital together. I should be there in a couple of hours.”

“Okay, be safe.”

I hang up the phone and jump into the shower. My mind races as I think about seeing Raya again. This is it. It’s time. What do I say? How will she act? Should I keep quiet? Will she even remember me? Thoughts continue to invade my mind as I clean away the sweat from my workout. As I exit the shower, I hear the room phone ringing again. I rush to it and answer.

“Hello?”

“It’s Davis. Where the hell have you been?”

“I was at the gym. I already heard the news.”