Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Finally, the lights dim, all but one. A spotlight shines on the other side of the room beyond the cage. My throat gets tight as I see my son standing in the light, fear streaking his features, a patch of blood on his neck. For a second, the light distorts, and it’s my five-year-old Ryan standing there, blood in the same spot, the same fear in his eyes. I rub my face and focus.
“Are you ready, Dad?” Ryan calls over. The words sound strange. It’s not how he usually talks. He’s been forced to say this. “You acted like a real big shot back at the bar with your pathetic little sucker-punching b-bullshit.” He stutters at the end, like an actor forgetting his lines. “Now you’ve got a choice to make. For each person you sacrifice, you get to keep a hand free, but if you want to keep us alive, you’ll have to sacrifice both hands.”
I turn around, looking into the darkness of the warehouse. It’s pitch black, impossible to make out. No, I see the end of a cigarette, an orange glow in the dark. I wonder if there are more men out there. There must be.
“Which one of you am I fighting, then?” I roar, slamming my hand against my chest.
“Dad,” Ryan says. “Please listen. You have to choose. Are you going to sacrifice me? Or are you going to sacrifice Molly?”
“M-Molly?” I clench my hands into fists, my chest heaving, staring at my son, trying to figure this out. “Molly isn’t…”
“Ah, right on cue,” a voice says from the darkness with a cruel, mocking twinge.
Two masked men appear in the spotlight beside Ryan and, between them, fear making her eyes wide, stands Molly. My woman. The moment I see her, my instincts kick in. I spring toward the wall of the cage and leap into the air. It’s like how I’d sometimes celebrate fights, sitting in the cage.
I’ve clambered to the top when one of the men pushes a gun against Molly’s head. The other man presses the barrel of his pistol against Ryan’s head.
“Climb down, big man,” the voice says, the same one from the phone, the leader who stood up at the poker table. The fucking coward.
With no other choice, I climb from the cage. The leader steps into the light, blocking my view of my son and my woman, the onetime couple, but not anymore. I don’t care how strange it is. I don’t care if we’re not the typical couple. When I get out of here, I’m marrying her and being the best dad to Ryan I possibly can be. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.
“The choice is simple,” the leader says, shrugging off his denim jacket as if to display the colorful tattoos crawling over his shoulder and neck. “Kill Ryan, and you get to use one hand. Kill them both, and you get to use two. Otherwise, we’ll tie both behind your back. Important people are watching this via a video feed. Either way, they’re going to get a show. So, which will it be?”
I spit on the dirty floor, stepping away from the cage. “You’re not hurting either one of them,” I growl. “Tie my hands behind my goddamn back.”
The man laughs, shaking his head like I’m a fool who doesn’t know any better. “This isn’t some pay-per-view production, my friend. It won’t be some one-on-one waste of time. This is going to be a real fight.”
“My answer’s the same,” I growl. “Let’s get on with it.”
There’s nothing to stop them all from killing us right here. Far too late, I realize this was a mistake, but what other choice was there? Tell the cops and risk the kidnappers finding out and killing Ryan? Now Molly is at risk, too.
Fuck.
“You heard the man,” the leader said. “Somebody cuff him. Oh, and Duke, if you try anything now…” He mimes shooting a gun. “Bang, bang. You know what I’m talking about.”
Of course, I do. The prick isn’t exactly being subtle.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Molly
I stand shoulder to shoulder with Ryan, relieved that the gunmen have stopped pushing their weapons against our heads. I can feel them standing just behind us, hearing their breath. I can hear Ryan’s, too, coming as quick and terrified as mine as we stare into the cage.
Duke lets two masked men walk into the cage, turning and offering his hands so they can cuff him. As the men leave, he stares over at us. They’ve turned off the lights, so I don’t think he can see us. I can see the determination on his face, though.
“Dad,” Ryan whispers.
“It’s going to be okay,” I say, though I’m not sure if I believe it. I don’t even know where Rachael is. Did the men kill her after they took me?
“Molly, I’m sorry. I have to say this. I’m so, so—”