Chapter 22
Hands filled with blood.
Micah
I manage to pass the bouncers and get inside the club. That bad feeling stirs inside the pit of my stomach, escalating my goal of getting to Tahlia, rescuing her from the hands of the sadistic bastard. I glance around wondering where to go first. I tense my aching muscles, shutting down the creepy voices in my head. I dismiss all the distractions, the music, the smell of buzz and sweat from half-naked bodies that are dancing on the floor. Tahlia is in here somewhere. Now I just have to find her and get her out.
I stop a girl with a huge rack and show her Tahlia’s picture. She doesn’t seem to recognise her, so I ask her to take me around the bar, avoiding anyone that looks suspicious or would ask too many questions. There is a possibility that Rudolf has her somewhere in the basement, waiting for the right moment to transport her to a more private location.
This place is very busy on a Monday evening. People are everywhere. Beads of sweat run down my back as I locate a tall Asian man with a name tag reading Almar Singh. He looks like someone that might know the right people around the club, the dodgy employee.
“Hey, I’m looking for a man called Rudolf. Rumour has it he’s supposed to be here tonight?” I ask, pressing my gun into his body, through my jacket. Yeah, this is my desperate side, the ugly man in a white hat that likes torturing people. He darts his eyes on me, losing that stupid smirk on his face.
“You heard wrong, white boy. He ain’t here tonight,” he says. “Check downstairs with the management. I’ve heard that he used to be tight with Gavin, the owner.”
“Take me there, right now, or I’ll blow you off in front of everyone in here,” I snap.
He gets up without a word and nods for me to follow him. Some people stare at us, but the guy seems calm enough. We pass through the main dance floor and stop in front of a black door at the back; he types the code into the staff door and lets me through.
I knock him over the head with my gun, he slides down, and I continue alone from there on, wondering if I’m walking into a trap. Some fat guy with a red face shouts after me, but I’m running through the long corridor all the way to the lower level of the club. I storm into the smaller more private bar and the girls that are serving customers stare back at me shocked, probably wondering how the hell I got in here. I ask one of the kitchen porters to show me down to the cellars. I keep checking every room, every storage space, knowing that she must be somewhere here, hidden away, when Rudolf is partying upstairs.
My heart jackhammers in my chest loud and clear when I pass through the cellar, finally storming into the smaller storage room at the back.
I see a guy leaning over a body, a girl with black hair. I push him away, instantly recognising Tahlia. Her tattoos and long legs. There is blood on the floor, and she is not moving.
“Get the fuck away from her,” I shout as I push the guy away from Tahlia so he stumbles a few feet. I drop to my knees, bringing her face to mine, hoping that I haven’t arrived too late. My heart starts pumping too much blood into my veins, and when she doesn’t respond I howl with misery, unable to form a coherent thought. There is another body in the room, an Asian man is in a pool of blood, his neck is twisted to the side. Tahlia isn’t breathing. I turn to the stranger who was just kneeling by her side. “You son of a bitch,” I roar, jumping on the blond guy, wanting to throw punches at him.
“It wasn’t me that attacked her. I already killed that motherfucker out there. Get the hell off me before I lose it and fucking kill you too,” the blond guy shouts.
I get up, dragging my hand through my hair, disoriented and pumped with fury. “What the fuck is Tahlia doing here? What the hell happened?”
“Her name is Janine. I left her for a minute and when I came back to the bar, she was gone. Fuck, why am I even wasting my time talking to you? We need to get her away from here. Now. Before Rudolf’s people come looking for this arsehole.”
“I have a van parked at the back. Can you get her out without anyone seeing?” I ask.
“No problem, just go. I’ll bring her outside,” he says, and scoops her into his arms. I want to know who the hell he is and how he knows my girl, but there is no time for that. Tahlia is hurt and she needs to be taken to the hospital. He gives me directions to the way out and I shoot through the door. The fire alarm starts going off when I storm out through the fire escape exit. The fresh air hits my lungs and I run, praying for Tahlia to be alive. She can’t die now, not after everything she’s been through.
My lungs are burning when I get to my van and fire off the engine. After cutting through the red light and nearly hitting another car, I arrive at the back of the club. The blond guy comes out holding Tahlia in his arms. Blood drips from her face, and her clothes are ripped apart. I see a huge purple bruise blooming on her ribs. They are definitely broken and from the wheezy sound of her breathing she could have punctured a lung. Pure terror blurs my vision. I help him get her inside, but my mind is ready to shut down. I’ve seen too much, done too much and said too much. It’s like she is dead already–like it’s game over.
“It’s too late, too fucking late. She is dead,” I moan, shaking my head. What the hell is happening to me? Tears fall down my cheeks, but they won’t bring her back. I came too late.
“Just drive,” he shouts. “She isn’t dead, you arsehole. You can still save her. Just drive to the emergency. We’re in London, for Christsake.”
Don’t ask me how, but I manage to get to the hospital in one piece. All I know is that after half an hour we arrive at ER. The doctor and nurses are pushing us away from her, asking us what happened to her. She is placed on a bed and wheeled off to another room, away from me. I collapse on a hard plastic seat in the waiting room. The blond guy that helped me is talking to the doctor. They are both standing stoically, arms folded, having a silent conversation, and I keep fucking crying, unable to believe that there is still a chance that she will be okay.
Losing her is cutting a huge hole in my heart. A deep hollow emptiness comes back. It feels like history is repeating itself. It’s happening all over again. I’m losing someone that meant everything to me.
“How the hell did you know she was there? Fuck, I wish I killed that motherfucker that hurt her,” says the blond guy, flopping down on the chair next to me.
“She is gone, gone. There was no pulse,” I say, getting up. I need to get out of here. I can’t be in the same room with Tahlia’s body. I failed her.
The blond guy jumps to his feet and grabs me by the collar, slamming me against the wall. “Get it together, you imbecile. She is not dead. Get this through your thick skull,” he shouts. “She needs surgery, but she is not dead!”
“Gentlemen, please, this is not the place for that behaviour. If you don’t calm down, I will have to call security,” says the nurse, approaching us.
He lets go of me and I look away, wondering what the hell is wrong with me. Tahlia is alive. I can’t leave her now, when she needs me the most. The blond guy is a stranger, but he saved her. It’s time to man up and face the nightmare, face her enemies.
***
Tahlia
Darkness and pain. I keep hearing beeping sounds over and over. How long do have before I can open my eyes again?
The darkness grips me and I’m back inside the hole, hearing the squeaky noises all around me. The rats. There are so many of them. I’m terrified. The walls are tight, getting smaller and smaller with each passing moment. I scream, but there is no sound. I can’t feel my face, my hands or the rest of my body. The fear settles deep inside me, and then I hear voices.
“Is it safe for her to be here?” asks one. I recognise it—Tequila. I can’t open my eyes and tell her that she needs to wake me, to do something. The darkness is shaking me.
“I don’t know. There’s a chance that guy that tried to kill her might come back,” replies another voice. It’s Micah, my Micah. No, why am I saying this? There is no way that I’m dead.
“No one saw me when I carried her out of the club.”
I want to shake myself awake, but the pain is gripping me so tightly that I can’t breathe. The beeping sound is louder and it speeds up.
“Who the hell is this guy? A stranger. For all we know you might be one of Rudolf’s buddies,” Tequila says, raising her voice.
“I’m a friend, an ally, and if you don’t like it, well, that’s too bad. I’m here to stay,” says the grumpy voice that I finally recognise. It’s Hunter, but what is he doing here?
Then their voices fade, and I hear nothing, just silence. The pain is getting worse; it’s the moment of reckoning, I must be dying as no one can live through the pain, this hell, this torture. Then I feel a warmth spread through my veins that touches each part of my body and the pain slowly recedes leaving me floating and I drift, and drift, and there is no one here to save me.
***
There is an awful taste in my mouth. Everything hurts: my abdomen, my eyes and mouth. I try to move, open my eyes, but the pain just keeps mounting. What happened, and why is everything around me so white?
“Miss Morgan, try not to move. You have been through a lot,” says someone to me. A deep voice, a stranger. I blink rapidly, trying to swallow, but my mouth is so dry. The face in front of me belongs to a dark-haired man with kind voice.
“Is she all right? What is going on, Doctor?” asks another voice. I try to move my head to the side, but it’s so hard. Everything hurts.
“Calm down, Mr. Thomson. It’s going to take her a while to get her bearings,” says the man who seems to my doctor. I finally open my eyes wide and start scanning all the faces in the room. There is Hunter, Kiki, Tequila and Micah. Tears drop down my cheeks, because all of a sudden I remember. How could I have been so stupid, believing that I could have taken him down? That was the worst decision that I ever made.
“How did I get here?” I ask, not recognising my own voice. Micah is on his feet, standing close to me, taking my hand. The heat, it crashes me like a storm. I have missed him so much, so fucking much.
“I believe your friends can explain everything a bit later. Now I just need to let you know that we have taken care of your injuries. You have several broken ribs, one of which punctured your lung. We did a small operation to repair the tear and it all seems to be healing well. You have a dislocated shoulder, a deep cut that runs through your shoulder and a mild concussion. The nurse will come and administer some more painkillers,” the doc explains. “Try to rest. I shall be back later to check on you.”
Micah is caressing my hand, while my heart goes wild. We have to talk; there is so much I want to tell him.
“You found me? How did you know I was in that club?” I ask, trying to ignore the thick layers of desire that make their way to my heart. He is distracting me from the pain, but as soon as I ask the question, his face pales, and he drops his head down.
“You know that Micah has his ways,” Tequila says, smiling. “It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, Tahlia. You’re back and I won’t let you leave this time.”
“We’re sorry that you were taken,” Kiki adds.
“It wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault,” I say. “One of Rudolf’s guys took me. That guy Tahir kept guard over me in a posh apartment, saying that Rudolf was on his way, but I escaped. I stabbed him, stole his gun and ran,” I say, remembering all the bits and pieces. I’m weak, but once the painkillers start to kick in I tell them everything that happened. I tell them about not remembering the address, about my fear for their lives. I tell them about the robbery in the betting shop, about finding a hotel room and my new plan. Micah is silent; he just stares at me with that warmth, still touching me.
“Then you got hired by Rob, pretending that you were Rudolf’s ex. Well, Janine, I have to give it to you. That was impressive, but also incredibly stupid,” Hunter interrupts me, shaking his head. Tequila is eyeing him with her sharp eyes and she doesn’t look too happy.
“Hunter, listen to me for a second. I know this isn’t the time or place right now, but I have to tell you something,” I say, taking a deep breath. Micah frowns, looking at me with a mixture of compassion and confusion.
“Tahlia, you don’t owe him an explanation. You just need to rest, it’s better if you don’t talk,” he says. I shut my eyes, trying to deal with these emotions that are rippling through me. I’m done with lies; I can’t pretend to be someone else. These are my friends, people that I care about.
“Hunter, it’s me, Rose, Josh’s ex. The girl that you spared once, four years ago, the girl he made you take to the hole. I got the job in the club because I knew that Josh would come. I knew he would want to finish what he started a couple of months ago and I was ready to kill him first.”
Micah looks even more confused, but these words finally begin to sink in and he pulls away from me. Maybe he finally understands. Maybe he finally puts two and two together, like Hunter. He opens his mouth, but he doesn’t seem to make a sound. The silence kills me, but now everyone knows. Now I just have to break the rest of the truth to Micah. It’s time. He deserves the truth, the final cruel truth.