TORTURE ME_ The Bandits MC(86)

Suddenly the scuffling noises stopped, and loud panting sounds replaced them. Somebody slowly got to their feet and stumbled toward Fiona, the footsteps pressing down heavily as he came forward. Fiona just closed her eyes and breathed, saying a silent prayer for what she assumed would be the last time in her entire life…



But then, gentle fingers brushed against her skin, carefully removing the blindfold from her face. Fiona blinked her eyes open, tears falling down her cheeks as Gage’s face appeared before her. “Oh, Gage, Gage, I—” She cut herself off as Gage’s arms wrapped around her, crushing her body into his.



“It’s okay. It’s okay, honey. I got you. Everything’s going to be alright,” Gage whispered, running a hand down the back of Fiona’s hair.



“Cash?” Fiona asked, unable to come up with more than a single word at the moment.



“He’s knocked out and tied up,” Gage explained, holding Fiona’s face gently between his two hands. “I brought rope with me. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I called the MC as soon as I saw him take you through the woods, and they’re going to alert the police. They’re on their way. It’s over, baby. It’s over.”





Chapter Twenty-Five




“The girl…the last girl that he took,” Fiona stuttered out as soon as soon as the ability to speak returned to her. She felt her heart pound in her throat like it was trying to speak, too, attempting to scream its pulse out into the dim dusk of the woods.



“We’ll get her. We’ll get her, baby. Jack and the other MC members will be here in a second, and they’ll go into the cabin to find her. We’ll take care of it. You don’t have to worry about it,” Gage said.



But Fiona shook her head and cleared her throat, finally gathering the strength to speak coherently. “No, no. I want to go in. I need to go in and see her. I have to…” She didn’t know if she could explain why it was so important to visit the literal scene of the crime, but somehow, she knew that she didn’t have to justify herself to Gage. He just nodded at her, looking at her with a warmth in his eyes that soaked into her skin, seeping into her very bones.



Gage leaned in and pressed their lips together, softly, gently, breathing life back into her worn-out lungs. “Okay. Let me go with you, okay? I should see it, too.”



They waited until the MC showed up and surrounded Cash, sticking their guns in his face in case he woke up before the police arrived. Fiona and Gage knew that the MC wouldn’t let Cash out of their sight, so they walked towards the cabin, surprised to find the front door unlocked. It was almost like he wanted to be caught. Fiona figured that made some kind of sense. Cash was doing this whole thing as a ritual, proving his worth to a misogynistic god. He wanted people to view it and appreciate it and understand it.



Fiona and Gage slowly stepped inside. The first level was normal-looking, just a studio apartment with a bed and a kitchen area, but there was a closet on the other side of the room that opened out to a stairway. Fiona grasped at Gage’s hand as they stepped down the creaky steps, clutching onto him as hard as she’d ever held anything in her whole life. She knew that if she let go, she would be lost. But he wouldn’t let go of her. He would keep her safe. He would keep her grounded, no matter what she saw in the basement.



There, in the center of the room, was a teenage girl with beautiful black curls that hung down in front of her face, her hands and feet bound and attached to the wall behind her. Her arms and legs were covered with tiny cuts, just like Tori’s had been. Fiona exhaled shakily and moved forward, slowly approaching the girl, making her footfall as heavy as possible so the girl knew she was coming. “Hello? Hello, honey? We’re here to set you free. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be alright.”



The girl was awake, jerking her head up at the sound of Fiona’s voice as she approached, but quickly fell back down, limp again. “You’re just a stupid hallucination,” the girl whispered. “I haven’t eaten in two days. He’s been gone a long time, since the other girl left.”



“I know it seems that way, but we’re real. I promise we’re real,” Fiona said, stepping a little closer but stopping short of touching the girl for a moment. “What’s your name?”



“You should know my name,” the girl spat out, clearly frustrated. “You’re in my head, so you already know everything about me.”



“I don’t,” Fiona said softly. “What is it? What’s your name?”