Crux (The Aurora Lockette Series) (4 page)

I unfolded my legs. My boots were gone, but I still had my now dirty white socks on my feet. I completed my
self-inventory by poking my face. My nose was swollen and puffy, and my right temple was marked by abrasions. Dry, caked blood flaked off on my fingers.

“
Yikes,” I said out loud.

The scary man continued to ignore me.

I cleared my throat and raised my voice an octave. “I have to pee.”

No response.

“Yo, captor person. I have to take a piss.” I raised my voice and over enunciated every word.

He looked up from his magazine.
“I told you to keep your damn mouth shut.”

“
No, you told me not to ask questions, which I’m not. I have to pee.”

“
Not my problem.”

“
But I have to piss, and eventually I’ll have to poo. And I’ll need to clean myself up. Don’t you have a bucket or something? I don’t think you really thought this out, peaches.”

He slammed his magazine shut and threw it on the floor. He paced to the boarded over window. I cowered against the wall but held my ground.

“Fine,” he growled. He was at the bedside in two steps. He wrapped his big fingers around my forearm and yanked me to my feet.

A thousand stabs of pain
shot through my battered body with his rough movement. My legs were wobbly and uneven, my back cramped with such ferocity it made my stomach curl, and my wrists throbbed.

I yanked my
arm away. “Alright, alright. Do you have to freakin’ yank me around like that? Jesus Christ.”

He retrieved my arm, keeping one of his hands wrapped around my left wrist, and his other hand on my shoulder. He kicked the chair away from the front of the door and swung it open. I had time to glimpse into a small narrow hallway that led away from the bedroom and toward a small kitchen area.
I got a quick look at a card table with a couple of folding chairs on cheap linoleum before he shoved me into a bathroom, which was across the hall from the room I was in. There was another door in the hallway, closed.

I stumbled into the bathroom but managed to keep my footing. I rubbed my wrist.
“Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you?”

He stood in the doorway and looked at me with his cold eyes.
“Go. I don’t have all day.”

“
Um, I can’t go with you watching me.”

He looked over my shoulder, past the sink, at a small, high rectangular window above the bathtub with a blue curtain over it.
“Go with me watching, or don’t go at all.”

“
Then I’ll pee on myself later, and that little room will really, really stink.”

He rolled his eyes and took a step back, but not quite out of the bathroom.
“Fine. I’m going to shut this door. You have two minutes.” He glanced at his watch. “I want to hear you sing the ABC’s the entire time this door is shut. If I don’t hear it, I open the door. You try anything funny, and I will make it so you can never pee again. Understand?”

I didn’t answer. I stared at him while he grabbed the knob and shut the door.
“ABC’s!” he barked right before the door closed.

I cleared my throat and started a weak rendition of the alphabet. I yanked my pants down and took care of the basic business first. After I finished that, I rolled up my sleeves to examine my damaged arms. It was worse in the light. I flexed my knees before approaching the dirty square mirror over the sink.

Not good.

Crusty dried blood caked my hair and face.
A huge laceration marked the right side of my face, forehead to cheek. It was swollen and angry looking.

I turned the sink on and gulped handfuls of water to my mouth.

The door flew open. “What are you doing?”

I used the
edge of my hand to wipe the excess moisture off my face. “You really jacked up my face, asshole.”

Something flickered across his face. I couldn’t tell if it was pity, guilt, or something more sinister.
“Your time is up.” He took a step towards me.

“
Wait!” I held up a hand to stop him, pain shooting to my shoulder. “Can I clean some of this crap off my face?”

“
No.” He was standing in front of the toilet now, extending an arm to me. I saw the same expression on his face again.

I took a step back.
“Please?”

“
No, I can’t. If they find out, it would be...bad.”

“
They? Who are they?

His face slid back into
a sullen pout. “Enough.” With that, he grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the bathroom, pulling me into the small, dark room. I tripped and fell, landing half on the mattress, half on the floor. Pain burned throughout my body, but I swallowed back the tears.

“
Back on the mattress, all the way.”

I rolled on the mattress, trying not to cry out from the soreness and pain
.

He returned to his seat, turned on the book light clipped to his shirt, and
went back to reading his magazine.

I rearranged the thin blanket around my body and settled into the mattress. Despite the discomfort of the pain and the weirdness of having a captor in the same room with me, my body demanded, and received, sleep.

* * *

I woke up in the blackest of darkness. I was confronted with four black walls and a yellow
strip of light under the door. After a few minutes, the shapes in the room came to life. The chair was empty.

I rolled on my side, flexing my legs. Good, they seemed to be working better.

“And where exactly does he go?” The Boston accented voice floated in from somewhere else in the house. “I didn’t agree to all this.”

Another voice
, cold, smooth, familiar answered, “There, now. In the room, right next door to her. Keep him quiet.”

“
How am I supposed to keep him quiet? You can’t keep changing things up on me.”

“
Do what you are asked. You know the consequences.”

Loud footsteps thudded into the hallway. I lay down, but the door that flew open was not mine. The shared wall vibrated next to
the bed as the men entered the room next door.

I pressed my ear against the wall, straining to hear any noises.

“Aurora,” the strange voice whispered in the dark. I whipped around to face the door to my room. It was opened, and a tall, lean figure filled it. “You are awake.”

As he stepped forward into the room, I recognized
the human-looking Shyama from the casino. He stepped forward into the room. The light from the hallway illuminated his bland face and black hair. My nerves lit on fire, end to end. I tensed my muscles and shifted forward on the mattress, ready to spring into action. I was alone, in a small room, with a Shyama.

“
You can relax, my dear Aurora. I’m not here to hurt you.” He took a step forward.

I scooted away from him on the bed until my back made contact with the wall behind me.
“Could have fooled me.” I gave him the most hateful stare I could.

“
Let’s see, here.” He reached inside his pocket and pulled a slim, pen-sized flashlight. He turned it on and pointed it at my face.

The bright light blinded me
and I had to turn my head to the side, and put up my hand in front of my eyes.

“
Oh, dear. That’s unacceptable. I’ll have a talk with him. Have you eaten? Would you like to clean up?” He turned off the flashlight.

“
I have not eaten.”

He took a step towards the door, leaning to the side before he spoke.
“Mr. X? Come in here please.”

My captor made an appearance, face red with beads of sweat
on his forehead. “What?”

“
I sent over fresh linens and clean clothes in her size. Please see that she gets them. Let her take a shower or do whatever she needs to do. Let’s install a light bulb in here, too. Would you like that, Aurora?”

“
I’d like to leave, actually,” I said.

“
I’m afraid that’s just not possible.” He nodded at Mr. X before exiting the room, Mr. X following him out.

“
Mr. X? Really?” I called after the closed door. Two loud clicks of some sort of lock against the door, and they were gone.

I rolled off the bed
, and I put my ear against the door. Distant male voices floated through the hallway. They didn’t even sound like they were in the house, maybe outside? I twisted the knob, pushing against the door with my body weight. It didn’t even shudder. I tapped against the door with one finger up and down, until I found a couple of spots where it didn’t sound so hollow. That was where the external deadbolts were. My fingers found the edge of the door, probing for the seam. The door filled the frame completely, leaving no room for even a credit card to wedge into. Not that I had a credit card.

I turned my attention to the boarded up window. No such luck. The glass was caulked shut. Several boards crudely crossed the inside of the window, letting in narrow lines of faint light.

Tapping noises brought me back to the bed. I crouched on the bed and put my ear against the wall.

Tap
. Tap.

I tapped on the wall in return.
“Hello?” Loud enough to carry, but not loud enough to alert the captors.

Faint groaning carried through the wall. It was male, familiar. Not Gavyn, not Konstantin, but still ringing a bell deep in my mind.
“Can you hear me?” I whispered.

“
Aurora,” the voice croaked, barely audible through the wall.

“
Who is that?” I tapped again. I waited and waited, but he was still and silent. Maybe asleep. Maybe dead.

I wrapped the thin, dirty blanket around me. The enormity of the situation pushed into my existence. I’d been kidnapped. I was alone.
And I was probably going to die.

GAVYN

I pushed my hands through my hair, taking a deep shaky breath before resting my head on my palms. My movements made the soft bed creak underneath me.

She was gone. Taken right in front me.

I’d lunged after the SUV when they scooped her up, but I hadn’t been fast enough.

I’d ran after the black SUV
, moving as fast as a shadow in the night, but it turned into an alley and disappeared with a flash of tail lights. I’d run until my lungs exploded and my legs were numb, screaming her name. I’d bit back a sob when my legs finally gave out. I’d lain on the semi dark street, lights of the Strip flashing nearby. I don’t know how long I’d stayed, but I’d lost my mind when I’d realized she was gone.

Carmen and Konstantin had jumped in the car and tried to follow it, but she was gone.

Gone. And it was my fault.

Light worked its way through the tall window, lighting up the small bedroom
in the safe house that was mine for the night. We’d decided to stick around this damn city until we could get a lead on where she might be. But over twenty-four hours later, there were no leads, only emptiness and rage.

I’d made that horrible phone call late last night. Dennis offered, but I’d insisted
. I’d told Aurora’s mom she was missing and cringed while she screamed in agony, her emotions echoing mine. I’d listened while she cried, blamed me, then apologized. I’d bought her a ticket to fly out first thing this morning. I hadn’t bothered to try to tell her not to come, to stay home and stay safe. I knew better than to waste my breath arguing with her.

Strained voices carried down the hall.
Konstantin and Carmen must be up
. I needed to get up, too, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to face them. I didn’t want to do anything at all without her.

Her. Aurora, with her gray eyes and soft hair. Aurora that made my heart sing with a music it
had never heard before. Aurora that made me burn with desire every time the shape of her body crossed my path. The same Aurora who would kill to save those she loved.

My eyes prickled and my chest threatened to explode.

“Gavyn?” Carmen’s voice came through the wooden door, followed by two steady knocks.

“
Yeah?” I answered. My voice cracked, but she already knew I was ripped apart on the inside. No point in trying to hide it.

The door swung open, revealing her face framed by curly red hair. Something in her eyes brought me to my feet.

“What is it? Is there news?” My heart and breath froze in my chest while I waited for her to respond.

“
Somebody else is missing.”

“
Oh.” My heart started again. Not good news, but not the worst news either. Anything but that.

“
Keith was taken, too.” She pushed her lips together, and it reminded me that she was sad, too. She loved Aurora, and she was close to Keith. I remembered Keith. He was one of the Gifteds from Houston. Nice, though he’d hit on Aurora while we were apart.