Hold Me Closer: A Rebel Walking Novel (10 page)

"It's just hard imagining going up without Lilly and Luke on the strings.  I'm sure we'll figure out something.  I keep hoping Luke will surface and we can do this right—with his opinion—because in the end, we
all
have to like the new guy we bring on."

"Have you thought of the chance that Luke won’t be back on stage again?"

"No.  It's not an option as far as I'm concerned.  When I find him, he'll come back.  He can't say no to what I have to say.  Speaking of that, someone thinks they saw him in California.  It was a fan messaging us, but at this point we're taking all of the hints we can get."

"Yeah.  One day he'll surface.  We have to wait until he's ready or he'll just be a time bomb waiting to explode."

"Yeah.  It's been months.  I hope he comes around soon so we can get the band back on tour.  I can only practice on Eaven so many times."

"Asshole.  Spare me your sex stories.  If I have to hear how fucking great your ass drumming skills are one more time, I may borrow your sticks to stab my own ears."

"Haha.  I would teach ya, but you need to get your own moves." 

"I think I'm good.  I'll catch up with you later."

My thoughts are lost on Luke and where he could possibly be when my phone rings again.  It's a number I don't recognize.

"Holden, this is Jack, Aiden's father.  I can't reach Aiden and I need you guys to move now.  We have reason to believe they tracked your location through her phone.  Leave it behind and get out."

"Shit!  I'm not there.  I'm forty-five fucking minutes away."

"Get back there and I'll keep trying Aiden so he can make sure to lock it down."

"I engaged all security systems when I left."

"Drive safely and get your ass back there.  I'll have a new location for you once you get back."

"Fucking get me one that's safe.  For fucks sake!  We'll be dropping all phones and the truck before we settle into a new safe house."

"I'll keep you posted."

I can't drive fast enough.  Something is wrong.  Aiden
always
answers his phone.  There's no way he wouldn't be all over a call from his father when we're dealing with all of this shit.  Knowing this about him, I have no choice but to go on foot once I get within range of the cabin. 
Fuck
.  I'll never forgive myself if something happens to either one of them.

Lyndsey

Stretching across his empty bed has become a routine that I love.  His scent still surrounds me and my body aches in all the right places from the last few nights together.  He knows how to make me crave his touch even after hours of being wrapped up in his arms. 

The sounds of the alarm throw me into an instant panic and I rush to get my clothes on.  Fear has me hiding in the closet, holding my breath as I pull on my pants and try to listen to every sound in the room.  Where the hell is Holden?

Horror engulfs me when I hear a gun shot.  Holding my hand over my mouth, gasping for air, I try to calm myself down to listen.  I hear nothing.  The silence is deafening as I await my fate and pray to God that I'll stay hidden from whoever is in the cabin. 

The sound of the alarm fades and I try hard to focus on the voices.  There are two of them.  Foreign. 
What the hell?

I don't understand what's happening.  This is the second time I've heard this language today and both times my life appears to be in danger.  The voices get closer and I hold my breath, begging God and anyone who will listen to please help me out of this. 
Please help me.

The door opens and a huge man moves in and pulls me up by my hair.  My tears pour down my face as I try to fight him off, with absolutely no luck in succeeding.  He's huge.  Kicking and screaming, I fight as long as I'm conscious.  The rag being placed over my mouth is the last thing I remember.

"Wake up, bitch.  I need you alive if I'm going to get that fucking brother of yours to talk."  I'm disoriented and it doesn't register what he's saying right away.  Eventually, when my mind catches up with what I just heard, my heart clinches. 
My brother?  What does this mean?

"Send this feed to him.  He'll talk.  We'll do this until he does."  The same guy that dragged me from the closet grabs a fist full of my hair and lifts me to my feet.  This is when I realize I'm tied to the chair—arms behind my back and each leg tied to a leg of the chair.  I scramble to try and catch my footing, but it's nearly impossible.  My tip toes are my only hope.

"You have five minutes to talk or I send you another video.  We'll do this until you decide to play my way."  He lets go of my hair when they stop recording and I fall to the ground on my side.  My shoulder slams into the floor and I can feel instant pain shoot through my back. 

Tears run across my nose and down my face.  Kayde is alive and obviously in trouble.  My heart can't handle losing him again and I can’t imagine going through the grief once again.  My silent prayers shift from myself straight to Kayde and his safety. 

Where are the guys?
  I know Holden and Aiden wouldn't let this happen to me.  The thought that the gun shot was for them begins to make me hysterical.

"Shut up or I'll put something in your mouth that'll shut you up."  The gravity of my situation sets in.  This is going to be horrible and I'm on my own to figure a way out or let these assholes kill me.  I begin to replay what I can remember. 
There was only one gun shot
.   

That gives me hope and a fighting chance. 

The five minute wait is nearly as torturous as the seconds of torture.  Not knowing what's next leaves a horrible feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

"Pick her up again."  Again, he pulls me up by the hair, but this time he sets me down on the floor in a sitting position.  The wooden chair nearly tips with his carelessness, but he corrects it by steering with the wad of my hair in his hand. 
Fuck, will I have any hair left after this asshole?

"You ready to talk yet?  This time it's her cheek, next time it may be her neck.  I'm not fucking with you.  Give us the details or you'll watch me cut her into pieces."  He moves the phone up close as the huge asshole runs the knife down the side of my cheek drawing blood along the path.  My screams and cries echo through the room and I'm so disappointed in myself.  I want to stay strong and not let them break my brother.  He's obviously keeping something important from these people and they know I'm his only weakness. 

This time they leave me right side up and I look around the room for any sign of the guys.  I can see the tip of a boot barely sticking out behind the wall leading into the kitchen. 
Shit!
  I have no idea whose boot that is.  My heart hurts just knowing one of them is down. 

The living room is large and the windows to the outside let in the sunlight.  It’s glaring into my eyes as I try to let the tears fall so I can see.  This is a nightmare and I'm at a loss of what to do. 
How can I possibly escape with my life?

My attention falls on the two guys in the room as they are talking to someone on the phone.

"He'll talk.  He wouldn't have hired security for her if she wasn't important.  It's time for the next video.  Let me know when he breaks."

I wait for him to pull me up by my hair, but he doesn't.  Instead, the blows to my face and then to my ribs take me by surprise as I fly back into the brick mantle behind me.  The scrape of the brick across my arm reminds me that I'm alive and I can't help but wish for it to end before the fatal torture begins. 

The swelling is instant.  I've landed on my other side this time and they leave me there to stare at the bricks.  My left eye is swollen shut before long and my breaths are short because of the pain in my stomach.  I try to wiggle in the rope, but there's no give.  These assholes know how to tie a knot. 
Fuckers.

This time the wait is even more torturous.  I know how quickly each video has increased in intensity and I'm not ready for the next.  Is it possible to die from being scared to death, because that's where I am.  I can’t seem to get my mind to process what they'll do next.

"Guess that brother of yours is okay with you dying by my hands.  Don't worry, though, we'll give you a chance to say your goodbyes.  Then I'll make sure to return your body to him so he can dispose of the trash himself."  His spit lands on my cheek and begins its trail toward my mouth.  The thought of this asshole's spit in my mouth makes me nauseous.  No matter how I toss and turn my head, the trickle continues to get closer to my lips, igniting a rage of hatred in my soul.  I could kill this man with my bare hands if given the chance. 
What's happening to me?
 

"Mr. Kayde Douglas!  Are you ready to fucking talk?  I can do this all day."  My chair is flipped over with a kick and the tumble across the room has me disoriented again as I hear gun shots.  Two of them. 
Please let them be straight into the hearts of those assholes.
  My head slams into the wall to stop my flight across the floor.

  "Lyns...... Oh shit.  Please tell me you can hear me." 
Holden.
  I feel his hand on my arm right before I close my eyes.

Chapter Thirteen

Holden

Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuck, fuck, fuck.
  I shouldn't have left them.  The drive back is hell on Earth and the mile trek is even worse.  I knew there would be someone on watch, but I'm lucky I know the area as well as I do.  This will be tricky because of the windows on the west side of the cabin, but I'll manage.

I take out the guy on watch and move through the back door.  I can hear her muffled cries and I instantly see Aiden on the ground. 
Damn it.
  I'll never forgive myself if I lose either of them.

I move in silence with my gun drawn.  Waiting for a distraction, so I can catch them off guard, I round the corner in time to see a huge asshole kick her clear across the room as she's tied to a chair.  There's no hesitation for me to kill that mother fucker.  His buddy is down almost as fast as he is.  They never saw me coming and I was able to fire off my shots before they could even draw their guns. 

Rushing to Lyndsey, I don't see the face I kissed all night long.  I see swelling and blood all over her.  The cut down her face is bleeding badly and I hurry to remove the ties.

"Lyns...... Oh shit.  Please tell me you can hear me."  She begins to fade.  I feel a pulse and a part of me relaxes knowing she's alive.  The ties are pissing me off, but they’re too tight to use a knife and I’ll run the risk of cutting her.  Pulling her into my arms and upright, I carry her over to Aiden.  I need to know if he's breathing. 

He's been shot in the shoulder.  When I approach I can see his chest moving and I begin to put pressure on his wound, hoping to stop the bleeding.  I can't imagine my life if either of these two die on me.  It instantly becomes my whole life mission to keep them alive.  Knowing the truck is over an hour away and there's no way I want to leave them makes for one hell of a decision. 

I finally get her untied and hold her in my arms.  She comes to for a few seconds only to fade again.  She's in shock and this is her body’s way of dealing with the nightmare she has had to endure.  I move her to a bed and hear sirens just as I try to move Aiden. 

The police invade the house first, quickly followed by the EMTs.  My only worry is for Lyndsey and Aiden, but the police seem to need a little information from me since I'm the only man standing.  It isn't too bad since apparently Jack made a call into the authorities to let them know the status of the situation, but still, their focus should be on Lyndsey and Aiden. 

In a matter of a few minutes, we're all traveling by ambulance to the hospital.  My immediate concern is our safety once we're there, but Jack has set us up with a full team of security and the wing of the local hospital will be on lock down.  I guess this is a perk to being out in the middle of nowhere. 

I wait outside for news—any news—about either of them.  Aiden has been taken to surgery and they are now examining Lyndsey.  How could this all turn into such a clusterfuck in a matter of hours?  I begin to reflect on how scared I was that she would be taken.  What if I'd never see her again?  I knew these guys meant business and it just seemed unlikely that I'd make it back in time. 

The doctor finally comes out of the back room to talk to me. 

"She's been beaten up pretty badly, but there aren't any broken bones.  It's hard to imagine with the way she looked that there wasn't any.  She had to have stitches on her face, and I expect a bit of scarring from that cut." 

"What do you know about Aiden?"

"He's still in surgery.  We're not sure if he will regain full range of motion in that shoulder.  The surgeon is trying to be optimistic, but we're just not sure yet."

"Please keep me posted when you know more.  Can I see her?"

"Yes, she's awake now."