Page 54 of Unbound

I fucking prayed that the girls were all right.

I walked right into Dex and he grunted. He was half slumped against the wall and half against the bathroom door under a collapsed bunch of shit, including a beam. He opened his eyes a little. “Someone got her, Tommy. Can’t…”

My heart stopped.

“Who? Fucking who?”

“Tia. Guy got her, climbed over me, was gonna shoot me, I played dead. He got her and went that way.” He pointed deeper into the alcove. “I tried but I couldn’t get up. Tried to c-call.”

His cell was on the floor beside him. He coughed and winced. Dex looked rough. Worse than rough. His playing dead must’ve been convincing.

“Tess?”

“Didn’t see her come out.”

I kicked shit out of the way that was partly blocking the door and pushed my way in. The bathroom was dark.

“Athena! Tess!”

“Tommy!”

That was my sister. I panned the light through the space until I found her, on the floor. She got up, holding her face.

“A guy came in here and dragged her out in the middle of that. What happened? A fire? An explosion?” She was coughing and she was suddenly in front of me. “He pistol whipped me!”

“Fuck!” I grabbed her hand and checked her cheek. With my phone’s flashlight I could see it was bruised but she looked okay otherwise.

It was clearer in here, but my eyes and lungs were still burning. I fumbled with the phone and found the app with Tia’s GPS from her engagement ring. She was not far. She was showing as right with me.

“One sec, Tess. One sec.” I shoved out of the room. Tess moved with me and crouched by Dex, who was trying, feebly, to get up, but he was half buried under debris. Further into the alcove was a supply closet.

“Stay here, Tessa. Tia!”

I heard my girl scream. The supply closet.

This part of the alcove was dark but unhindered, so I grabbed the knob. Locked. I slammed my shoulder against it, while drawing my gun from my lower back holster.

“Tia!”

“Tom-mf!”

Someone fucking had her in that closet.

I slammed my shoulder against the door again and it gave. I got in. A guy, my age, in a waiter’s uniform, who I didn’t know… he had a gun to her head and was using her as a shield.

Seeing a gun against her head again, a-fucking-gain? It took me right back to that moment with my pop. Her eyes were huge and on me. This little fucker had to fucking die and after he was dead, Leo Denarda would die a very slow and extremely painful death.

“I’ll kill her! I’ll do it, Ferrano. Back off.” The guy was wild-eyed.

My gun was pointed at him. His was pointed at her.

“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded, holding my gun steady.

“Leo hired me to nab her. I got no beef. It’s just a fuckin’ job. Buddy, we gotta get the fuck outta here, though. The bomb!”

“You detonate the bomb?”

“Fuck no. I’m in here, cornered. Why the fuck would I do that? Move. I gotta get outta here. Lower your gun or I shoot her and then shoot you before we blow the fuck up!”

---