Page 70 of Pretty Little Fears

Raisingmy arm,Iswing the butt of the gun against his temple.Hestumbles back, momentarily dazed before regaining focus on the situation.Hemoves a hand up to his temple to touch the blood that has now started to drip down the side of his face. “Youfucking bastard,” he spits.Hetakes long strides, hopeful that he’ll reach me and come out of our little battle, victorious.

Maybehe would’ve if he wasn’t so fucking slow.

Iraise my arm and shoot him between the eyes, the echo of the shot reverberating against the halls of the cement dungeon.Brainmatter and skull fragments spray across my face and onto the surrounding walls.Hiseyes are still open yet void of the soul that once occupied his shell.Thevoice in my head gets louder as it chants.

Kill.Kill.KILL.

Ireach down and pat his pockets, hoping he can be as useful as his buddyEdgar.There’sone numberIknow by heart that won’t ask questions and will effectively get me the fuck out of this mess.Ilift his body and roll him onto his back, giving me access to search the front pockets.Inhis chest pocket,Ifind his phone and pull it out.Thephone requires a face scan, good thing his lifeless eyes are still open.

Placingthe phone in front of his face it unlocks andIquickly dialGrimm.

Grimmanswers after the first ring. “Hello?”

“Gri-”BeforeIcan get out a word,I’mcut off byGrimm’srough voice.

“Wherethe fuck have you been?Youcall me to grab your dad and then disappear into thin air?Whatthe hell is going on,E?”

Threequestions.Maybehe wasn’t the right person to call after all. “Chainedto a wall,Iwas kidnapped.Nomore questions,I’llgive you all the details later.”Irespond, darting down the hall to find the nearest exit and instructGrimm, my boots pounding against the floor asIjog.

“I’msending you my location, drop whatever or whoever you’re doing and come get me,”Idemand.

Ihear mumbling and shuffling in the background, and thenGrimm’svoice comes through the line once more. “That’sno way to talk to your lord and savior,E.Iknow where you live.”Hechuckles.

There’sa thud resembling the closing of his car door andI’mabout to end the call when he speaks. “Lookslike it’ll take thirty minutes to get there,Ican cut it to fifteen.Youcan thank me by letting me chop some fuckers up.”Hegrumbles out, clearly not happy being told what to do.

Thedial tone clicks as he ends the call.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

EMMETT

Oddlyenough,the house was empty beyond the two guardsIhad taken care of in the basement.Lookingaround at the decaying walls as the musty smell fills my nostrils,IknowI'min the middle of nowhere.Thishouse, if you can even call it that, has most certainly been abandoned.It’sold and run down.

Strangethough, the decaying house has a whole basement that is equipped to hold someone captive.Younever would have guessed by looking at it from the outside.

Walkingout the decrepit front door,Ilean against a post holding up the rotting house, whileIwait forGrimmto show up.Lookingat my surroundings,Itake in the vast open field.Thetrees in the distance line the property, making it seem as ifI'min the middle of a forest.

Myhead whips to the winding path as the sound of gravel crunching under the wheels of his blacked-outMcLarenfills the silence.Theengine revs its way towards me, dirt and dust flying up behind the car as he gets closer.

Hepulls up and breaks directly in front of whereI'mstanding andIjog down the rickety steps, whipping the door open and climbing inside.Ilook straight out of the windshield onceI’msettled in the passenger seat. “Let'sgo.”Ibite, not wanting to waste any time.

Grimm’spiercing gaze almost burns a hole through my skull.Iknow he’s expecting answers, but my mind is consumed with savingBlair.

“Areyou going to-”Icut him off before he can get any further.

“Mydadhasbeen behind all of the disappearances.”Iclear my throat and look over at him. “He’sbeen fucking selling them.He’spart of a human trafficking organization.Hemust have always planned on takingBlairand selling her but he made me fucking watch, man.Hetied me to a chair with a fucking gun to my head and made me watch as they bid on her.Someonepurchasedher.Theypaid twentymilliondollars for her.”Ilet out a sound filled with rage and fear.

Alow whistle comes fromGrimm, andIkeep talking. “Shewas pregnant.Withmyfucking kid,Grimm.Theykilled my fucking child.Theybeat her, sold her, and took her away.”Ichoke on the last word and clear my throat. “Iknow you're feeling stab happy and good thing because we have some people to kill.”Ifinish.

Forthe first time in his life,GrimmGriswoldis utterly speechless.Hisfists are balled in his lap, his knuckles turning white.Hefinally speaks after what feels like an eternity.Thesound is low and filled with anger. “I'msorryEmmett.AboutBlairand your child.We’llend them.Allof them.”Hepauses for a moment before continuing, “Yourdad’s a little bitch.Don'tworry, we’ll get your girl back.”Heconcludes.

Heshifts his gaze forward and begins driving away.There'snothing else that needs to be said.Dirtand rocks fly up as he slams on the gas, heading to the first person on our hitlist.

Myfather.

Comingup to my childhood home,I’mhit with the unwelcoming memories that linger on these grounds.Duringmy time atBlackwood,Ihaven’t made a single visit back home, besides my recent trip toJames’shome office.Irefused to step foot inside and greet the demons that have patiently waited for my return.

Wespeed down the driveway that leads to the back of the house.Grimmbrakes and immediately hops out.Ifollow him to the shed that sits behind the mansion, vines and untrimmed bushes almost mask the small structure completely.AsIapproach the door, my blood boils and the heat radiates off of my body.Ishove the door open and find the tied-up big bad wolf, resembling more of a scared little mouse.

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