Chapter 306: Rachel’s Captives

David’s POV

“Oh no what?” I barked into the phone again, my voice cracking so hard it barely sounded like mine.

Panic slammed into me like a freight train…chest squeezing, vision tunneling, every worst-case scenario exploding in my head at once. What could have made her scream like that?

“Kayla, goddamn it, tell me!”

She hesitated, breathing ragged, then rushed it out. “The dashcam… Tyler just showed me the footage. No Holly. She didn’t come here this morning. Not at all.”

“Then why did you scream like that?” I asked, curiosity flooding my veins. What if it’s something that connects to Holly?

She hesitated briefly, but to me, it felt like an eternity. “I saw something else that I didn’t expect to see. Someone I know. But it’s not connected to Holly…not directly. This is my mess. I’ll handle it myself. Police are pulling up now. I gotta go.”

The line went dead before I could utter another word.

I cursed out loud in frustration, phone limp in my hand, heart hammering so loud it drowned out the traffic.

Norman tapped my shoulder, his eyes darting towards me as he pulled up into his driveway. “David, you’re white as a sheet. Talk to me.”

I shook him off, already yanking open the passenger’s door of his car as he killed the engine. “Come out. I need to borrow your car. Now.”

He argued the whole way to his front porch as I dragged him forward, voice rising, hands gesturing wild. “You can’t go alone! Let me back you up, at least call the cops—”

“No.” My knuckles were bone-white on the tight grip on his arm. “I’m not letting another person I care about get hurt. Rachel wants me alone. You show up, Holly loses body parts. Maybe her life. Stay out of it. I’m begging, Norman.”

He kept pushing until I turned him around and shook him harder than I meant to. “David—” he began.

“Just stop.” My voice broke. “Please. I can’t lose you too. You’ve done enough for me.”

“Be safe?” He whispered and I nodded.

He stared at me for a long second, jaw tight, then got into the house and slammed the door.

I didn’t wait. I got into his car and peeled out, engine roaring, driving like the devil himself was riding shotgun…because he was. Rachel. The woman who’s fatgef had once been my boss, my mistake, now the monster holding everything I loved at gunpoint. A few more minutes to the deadline? Forget it. Every red light felt like a personal insult. Every minute ticking down was Holly’s blood on my hands.

What exactly made her leave without telling me? How could she leave without telling me? It didn’t matter. Not now. All that mattered was getting to 1427 Industrial Drive before three.

I checked the dash clock again. 2:51. Nine minutes. I was going to make it. Barely.

The building loomed at the end of a cracked service road…abandoned warehouse, windows boarded, weeds choking the lot. Deserted didn’t even cover it. You could scream your throat raw out here and nobody would hear a thing. Perfect for what Rachel had planned.

I killed the engine, stepped out, pulse slamming in my ears. The air smelled like rust and old oil. I scanned the shadows…nothing moving. Took one step toward the chained door.

Click.

Cold metal pressed hard against the back of my skull. A gun.

“Hands above your head,” a low male voice growled. “Walk forward. Slowly.”

I raised my arms, heart trying to punch through my ribs. As long as I see Holly. As long as she’s breathing, I don’t care how many guns they point at me.

I walked. The guy shoved me through a side door into the dim, echoing space…concrete floors, dangling chains, single bulb swinging overhead.

My eyes darted everywhere, frantic. “Holly—”

Then I heard someone clapping. Slow, mocking, echoing off the walls.

Rachel stepped out from behind a rusted pillar, all designer heels and red lipstick, like she was at a goddamn gala instead of a torture chamber. “Look who came running. If only you’d wasted just one more minute… you would’ve seen her fingers on your welcome mat.”

“Where is she?” I snarled, voice raw.

She kissed her teeth, tilting her head. “Holly, Holly, Holly. Is that all you care about? I’m standing right here in front of you, and you’re asking for her?”

“You gave your word. Where the hell is she?”

Rachel scratched her ear like I was an annoying child. “Stop shouting. You’re being loud.” She snapped her fingers. “Boys. Bring the two prisoners.”

Two goons dragged them in moments later.

My heart skipped when I saw Holly. Blood streaked down her left arm, fresh bruises blooming across her cheek and jaw. She’d been hit. More than once. She looked dazed, but her eyes found mine and flared with that fire I loved.

Beside her, Justin…same damage to his face, but alive.

“Why are you only asking about Holly?” Rachel teased, sitting as her men dragged a chair over for her. “Don’t you care about your own brother?”

I growled deep in my chest, pure fury and helplessness twisting together until I thought I’d explode. “You’re doing Justin a favor anyway. Cops are hunting him. You’re basically his accomplice at this point.”

She burst out laughing…high, delighted, like I’d told the funniest joke. “Oh, David. You have no idea what’s going on, do you?”

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

She clapped once. The men shoved Holly and Justin forward, forcing them to their knees in front of me.

“It feels so good to have Ava Miller's sister kneeling in front of me like a beggar, don’t you think?”

At the mention of her sister, Holly started making muffled, furious sounds behind her gag, lunging toward Rachel like she’d rip her throat out with her teeth. The guards yanked her back hard. Rachel just laughed louder.

“Take their gags off,” she ordered. “I want to hear Ava’s sister begging me to let her go.”

The tape ripped away.

Holly’s voice exploded first…hoarse but venomous. “You daddy’s little sicko! Stupidity really does run in the family, doesn’t it?”

Rachel shot up, marched over, and slapped her…hard. The crack echoed loudly throughout my body.

“Fucking leave her alone!” I lunged, roaring, but two guys pinned my arms behind me.

Holly spat blood, eyes blazing. “Still a chicken, huh? Untie me and see if I don’t put you in a hospital bed for the rest of your pathetic life.”

Slap. Slap. Again and again. Rachel’s hand left red welts. Blood trickled from Holly’s split lip.

“Leave her ALONE!” Justin suddenly cried out, voice cracking. “Hit me instead! Come on, hit me!”

I cursed inside my head. What drama is this idiot up to now?

Rachel wiped her hand on a towel like it was nothing, then tossed the bloody rag at Holly. The guards let her slump to the concrete, limp and gasping.

Rachel strolled back to her chair, crossed her legs, and smiled that sweet, poisonous smile.

“And now…shall we begin?”