Break down
Hera pov
“ How long are we going to wait here?” I groan, annoyed.
We have been sitting outside Chloe’s apartments for almost three hours,waiting for her bastard husband to leave the house.
Zero said it is the best opportunity to rescue her without alarming her husband. As much as I don't want to Idle around not knowing what my best friend is going through, I have to agree it is the best move to make. We don't know anything about the outline of the house. Talk less of whether the man is armed or not. Considering that he is part of the dark Web, I wouldn't be surprised if he has weapons stacked all over his house. We can't take the risk of getting ourselves into shit or even worse harming Chloe even more.
“ Be patient. I am sure he won't spend the whole day in the house. Our chance will come.” Zero answers looking unbothered.
“ Patient? That's something I am incapable of being, especially when I am anxious.” I counter.
“We have to, otherwise we might ruin everything. As much as I am here to help you save your best friend, my main mission still remains, I have to keep you safe.” Zero reminds me.
We don’t wait for long before Chloe's husband exits the house. He walks to Chloe's car and gets inside. He drives away a moment later.
“ That bastard! He takes the car with him to stop Chloe from escaping.” I curse under my breath. The image of an afraid Chloe from the morning enters my mind and I can't help getting angrier
" We are going to make sure he can never do anything to her ever again. But for now, we have to focus on our mission. Let's go." Zero informs me.
"I know, Zero. I won't be able to rest easy until she is completely safe and away from this man's grasp." Chloe is the only person left in my life I can call family. She was there for me everytime I needed her. She left everything behind, even her relationship to be with me. How can I let a man abuse her?
" We will save her, I promise. " With those reassuring words from zero, we step out of the car and start making our way towards Chloe's house. We had to bribe one of their neighbors to allow us to park in his driveway. It was the only way we could keep a track of the man's movements.
I give Justin a call, " How long do we have? " I ask.
"Five minutes before the security system triggers itself. " Justin replies. I groan. The guy really outdid himself with all the security measures. I want to assume it has nothing to do with keeping Chloe imprisoned by his house but I can't convince myself otherwise.
" Good. Five Minutes are enough. " I reply and disable our connection.
I take the lead and zero follows closely behind, covering me. I am thankful he is with me, I wouldn't have pulled this off myself.
The security system disables just as we reach the door. Zero doesn't wait for me to tell him what to do. He kicks the door open. We step inside and immediately, a dog's bark echoes through the house.
" Shit!" I mutter.
The dog is a Rottweiler, a fierce looking beast. A beast with its eyes on me. The animal starts running towards me in no time.
I freeze, my feet glued to the floor. It's like my legs and brain stop functioning for a moment.
I Close my eyes and brace myself as the dog draws nearer.
Suddenly, a hand pushes me to the side. Zero steps into my place. I look up to see him take a gun out of his belt.
I gasp, eyes wide with terror.
The Rottweiler stops and stands in front of Zero, growling.
"Zero don't!" I shout but he ignores me. I close my eyes, unable to watch anymore.
He aims at the dog and shoots.
I slowly open my eyes to see the dog lying on the floor.
"What the hell! You shot the dog, why?" I yell.
"Relax, I didn't kill the dog." Zero tells me and points towards the dog. I take another glance at it and relief washes through me when I spot no blood from the animal. Instead, there is a dart sticking out of the dog's neck.
"I just made him sleep." Zero continues, giving me an intent look.
" Tell me something though, why is it easy for you to take a human life and you are mad I shot a dog?" Zero asks. The implication of his words, I am a hypocrite.
" An animal with a human heart is better off than a human with an animal heart. " I spat, glaring at him. Of all people, I know what it feels to be at the mercy of a human with an animal heart. That's why I don't hesitate to put a bullet in their heads.
" Whatever. Let's find your friend." He states and we embark on searching. Ybe house feels quiet, as if no one is inside. But that's not right. Chloe never left the house throughout the time I spent waiting for her husband to leave.
We search through the living room, the kitchen and the backyard but there's no sign of her.
"She is not here. " Zero points out.
"She must have heard the commotion earlier." I point out. I skip upstairs and push the first door I see. I spot a neatly arranged bed and other furniture but there's no one inside.
I try the other rooms upstairs but the result is the same.
I sigh, disappointed.
"She has to be somewhere. We will search through the house again." Zero tells me.
"I doubt it is possible for her to have disappeared. She wouldn't have had time to do so, not unless there's a secret passage leading outside the house." I say. Zero is about to say something when I catch a faint sound.
" Did you hear that?"I ask and zero shakes his head but does not say anything. Then it comes again , a low whimper. This time zero seems to have heard it.
We both turn to look at the bathroom. Zero gives me a gesture to proceed with caution. I nod, my hands already holding onto the gun, ready to use it.
I push the door open slowly and take a step inside.
The first thing I see is blood. A lot of it.
My hand tightens around the gun.
Then I see her.
"Chloe!" I scream, tucking back the gun. My feet automatically move and I run towards her. I come to a stop below her. Chloe is hanging on the roof , her head dangling above the bathtub. She is naked, her whole body covered in cuts and bruises. There are burn marks all over her skin. She looks pale, almost lifeless. Her hands are tied together with a rope, her legs are tied too but there is something else, a chain wrapped around her neck.
My hand instinctively goes up to cover my mouth. Tears threaten to fall down my eyes.
I have seen a lot of shit. I have been part of some sick things that happened but none of them compares to what I am seeing.
" We have to help her down." Zero's words pull me from my breakdown. Right. We have to help her down. There's no time to break down.
I move to approach her but with her covered mouth, she produces muffled voices, shaking her head vehemently.
I stop in my tracks.
" She is trying to tell you something." Zero States.
" Indeed. She is trying to tell you that the tub is filled with hot water. One wrong step and her body will be reduced to boiled meat."
Zero and I simultaneously turn around to see him standing by the entrance, leaning on the door. He has a smug look on his face.