Chapter Fifty-Eight

**Aiden**

Nothing could have prepared me for what we found when we made it to the Grand Rose hotel.

I’ve seen a lot of things in my time in the military. It’s not something you get used to. Not everything was bad but there were some things that just best remained unremembered. This however was something that would stay with me for a long time. It would haunt me in the dead of night, when things would be at their darkness.

Liam had contacted the police but we hadn't waited for them. We had gone ahead to find Ellie. Neither of us spoke on the journey but we didn't have to. We had trained for situations similar to this or worse. One kid who was no doubt a psychopath wasn't going to stop us now.

We were well aware that we could be walking into a dangerous situation which was why there were currently two glocks in the glove compartment of the truck as we raced through Oregon to find Ellie. I wasn't particularly happy about the weapons being there as I had decided I didn't want firearms in my life anymore but neither I nor Liam were walking into this unarmed.

The hotel itself was set down a long drive and hidden from view by a fortress of trees. The place had probably been beautiful once upon a time but now the giant structure sat in desolation, left for nature to reclaim or until someone decided to do something with it. It had been bought by Noah's grandfather, Frederick Winters, just after it was closed down; however, nothing was done with it until recently when power had been turned back on. I didn't care about any of that though. It could burn to the ground for all I cared.

"Let's not hang around." Liam muttered as we parked up at the front of the building. "We just need to find Ellie and get out of here."

"Agreed." I replied, checking my weapon before getting out.

The whole place was silent save for the occasional howl of the winter winds pushing through cracks. It made it harder to listen out for any signs of danger but this wasn't our first rodeo. However this mission came at a personal price and it was taking everything we had not to throw all caution to the wind and run in blindly especially as Ellie was close.

*God, please let her be okay…*

The room we had been provided the number for was on the third floor. It felt like it took forever to clear each level of the stairwell before we could move onto the hallway of the third floor. The room itself was halfway down the hall and my heart kept in my mouth when it came into view.

The sight that greeted us made my blood run cold.

Ellie's prone form was lying on an old mattress with nothing but a large why shirt covering her. Her skin was covered in bruises and cuts while her beautiful hair covered her face. There was a sickly sheen to her skin and closer inspection, the shirt over her back was stained with droplets of blood seeping into it from the inside.

"Ellie…" I ran towards her, dropping to my knees beside and desperately pushing her hair away from her face. "Jesus! Fuck! Liam, call an ambulance!"

"Shit…" Liam growled behind me when he too saw Ellie's face.

"Stay with me Ellie, keep fighting." I murmured, feeling her forehead which was burning up. "That's it Ellie, you can do this. Help is nearly here."

She was coming to, her beautiful hands moving as her eyelashes fluttered against her pale cheeks. Her eyes opened a moment later letting hope bloom inside of me as her fever-glazed eyes focused on me.

"Aiden…" she mumbled

I felt my love for her grow even more as my relief crashed down on me. We had her back.

Finally.

---

Sounds ebbed in at the edges of my existence as the safety of the darkness began to slip away and I felt myself slowly coming back around to the painful world of reality. The sounds started to take shape in the form of voices while my body pulsed and throbbed, reminding my groggy brain of the broken bones, bruises and cuts.

I was lying on my front, draped carelessly over a lumpy mattress as grey light poured in through a window across the room. All I could see was debris and decay while dust danced on the beams of pale light. For a moment I thought I had woken up at the end of time surrounded by the remnants of a world long since passed away.

But the voices were clearer while the pain became sharper, my breath becoming heavier.

"You're leaving her here and you're coming with me." A stern feminine voice barked. "Enough is enough, Noah."

"I'm not leaving her!"

"You have no choice. I have informed her brother of her location and either they or the police will be on their way here to find her."

"Why?"

"Because this is improper behaviour!"

"And yet when everyone found out what Grandad did no one said a thing."

"Noah, I'm not having this argument with you. Now go downstairs and get in the car or I will have Grant and Phil escort you."

The silence that followed was prickly and unpleasant. I had no idea how I got here either. The last thing I remember was Noah choking me. After he had put the headphones over my ears he spent his time using my inability to hear or see his movements to torture me. The beating would start with a flurry of rage before suddenly he would stop and the countdown would begin again. Sometimes it would take seconds and other times it would be hours. But he hadn't just beaten me.

I didn't want to think about it. The bite mark on my back throbbed in time with my racing heartbeat. An ache deeper than the injuries was settling into my bones and I felt hot, so very hot…

A hand as cold as ice came to rest on my flaming forehead and I whimpered, desperately wanting that coolness to stay but it was gone in a second.

"Today is your lucky day, Miss Ramirez." The feminine voice was above me, cutting into me with its iciness. "if I'm honest, it would be more convenient to put you out of your misery but my son seems to have made such a mess of the whole situation that this is the only way out of this mess."

I shuddered but it was hard to tell if it was because of the fever or because of what this woman was saying. I just wanted to go back to the darkness, to just sleep until the end of time.

I must have been granted my wish because I found myself dreaming of Aiden. The vision of him was watery but I could hear his voice as clear as a bell calling to me. It sounded so far away though and whenever I reached my hand out to him, he always seemed just a little too far away.

*Stay with me Ellie, keep fighting.*

I wanted to keep fighting but I was just so tired now. How long had I been here? My body had nothing left to give but I needed to keep fighting.

*That's it Ellie, you can do this. Help is nearly here.*

This time, when I reached for Aiden, it felt like I actually touched him. I felt the heat of his skin on mine. He felt so much closer and I wanted to cling to him. I was exhausted and I was struggling not to sink further into the depths of the darkness pulling at me and coaxing me in. I couldn't do it. I knew if I did then the feeling of Aiden's skin on mine would be gone. So I forced my body to work with me. I forced my muscles to wake up as I opened my eyes despite the bright light. The watery, blurred colours began to take shape. They sharpened until I was watching the blue ocean hit the tree covered cliffs. Such beautiful blue and green eyes. I never thought I would see them again…

“Aiden…” I breathed, my tongue feeling heavy and the corners of my mouth sore and bruised from the gag Noah had forced into my mouth.

“I’m right here baby,” He assured me, his giant hand cupping my cheek tenderly. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Noah?” my heart rate went up. He had been here, I had heard him…

“Gone.” Aiden assured me. “The ambulance is nearly here. Just stay with me.”

I was so tired though. My bones ached and ached and my skin and insides felt like they were on fire. I was so hot, too hot…

“No, Ellie. Don’t close your eyes, just stay with me for a little longer.” I could hear Aiden calling to me, trying to coax me back to him.

But he was already too far away and I was so very tired…