Page 17 of Echoes From Within
Chapter Four
Venom
The guards hold me back as they wheel Sophia away. Knowing that she’s going to be beaten and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it burns a fury inside of me that I’ve never felt.
“We’re going to get her out,”Xander tells me calmly. “I want to break every fucking neck holding us back to get to her just the same as you do, Venom, but we have to be reasonable.”
“They’re not going to kill her, lad,”Doc says.“They need her. Stick with the game plan.”
“I do believe the gameplan has been changed,”Miles says.
He’s not wrong. The end game was to always rescue the men and women that they’re holding captive here, but the main goal was getting the damn detective what he needed to raid this place. However, the second I laid eyes on her, my sweet Sophia, the rules changed. The endgame is still the same. Get information for the detective and set everyone free. However, the most important thing is getting Sophia out of here.
The guards roughly shove me up the stairs until we reach the large room where the rest of the men stay. I don’t know what the fuck Detective Jacobs was talking about, the men do not have the freedom to run around inside this building.
The guard shoves me hard into the room and I have to quickly move my legs before I fall. I clench my fists but make no move to turn around and beat the bastard.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, only noticing one other man sitting at a table.
I’m fucking pissed that they have the men stay in this room, complete with its own bathroom, sink, fridge, tv, and beds, while the women sleep in the cells below.
“Gone,” the man says. “They brought lunch.”
The man waves to the second plate but I choose not to move.
“You weren’t in here earlier,” I tell him. “I memorized every face before they hauled my ass to do deplorable things. You weren’t here.”
“Did you do them?”
“What?”
“The deplorable things,” he says calmly. “Did you do them?”
“No, I didn’t fucking do them,” I respond. “What kind of twisted bastard kidnaps men and forces them to rape the women they’ve also kidnapped?”
The man, probably in his late forties, with graying hair, thick eyelashes, and a long straight beard, smiles over at me.
My gut is telling me that something isn’t right.
“Who are you?” I demand.
“Come,” he answers. “Have a seat. There’s something I want to talk with you about.”
“Activate the headset, now,”Xander says.
Xander almost took over earlier tonight when we were in the room with Sophia. I was barely able to hold him back, but that’s only because he saw reason. If Xander wants out, he gets out. So, instead of fighting against him and his instincts, I listen.
It just so happens that I agree with his instincts.
“My fucking head hurts,” I say aloud, running my hand down my face.
I hear the soft beep of the line connecting.
“Thank fuck,” I hear Ghost say. “One more day and I was charging my ass inside. Are you okay?”
“Sit,” the man repeats.
I don’t answer Ghost, but with my silence comes his understanding.