“Fucking-shit, she’s hot,” escapes from Left-Homer’s lips and I can hear the hungry lust in his voice. I close my eyes and breathe in deep, then out again. And I pray for calmness, strength, miracles, and all the help I can get. She stands dressed in that violet lacy underwear, partly covered by her torn blouse, her pants in a bundle at her feet. Some part of me feels like it’s dying, seeing her like that, all exposed and vulnerable and I bite my already raw cheek. For now, I have to push my emotions aside.
She looks up and it feels as if an electric shock jabs through me when our eyes meet. I hide the storm inside, pulling myself together with every little bit of self-preservation I still have left, and try to reassure her that everything is going to be fine, that she’s safe now, that I’m here. She returns my ghostly smile. She knows.
She looks like hell, tired and cold, her pale face is swollen and bruised, with some dried blood around the corner of her mouth, but still, she’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. That fucking bastard is dead. They’re all dead. Deep breath in, and slowly out.
“Hey, angel.” My voice manages to somehow hide the torment burning inside me, sounding cocky and arrogant.
“Good, you’re here.” I turn to the sound of the voice. For a moment I lose myself and move forward, but the Homer-twins keep me grounded by holding my arms.
That fucking piece of shit!
I should have known, the voice on the phone … I try to cover my surprise by giving him a demonic smirk, my eyes the opposite of friendly. He opens his mouth but gets interrupted by the one Homer.
“Darren, we also want a go on that bitch when you’re finished with her.” This guy on my left is now really starting to pound into my reserves as he pouts while looking with hungry eyes at my almost-naked girlfriend.
Darren answers the goon with a deadly glare that clearly says shut-up-if-you-want-to-keep-breathing. I know the look cause it’s the same one I have on my face.
“Do you think I’ll share the woman I love with you, moron?!”
“Love,” Mel suddenly giggles, “don’t make me laugh, Ren. You don’t have a freaking clue what love is!”
“I know I love you,” he says pushing her hair from her face with the tip of a knife.
“You don’t love me, you’re obsessed with me – big fucking difference. If you truly loved me, I wouldn’t be hanging here like this, and you would never hurt me.” She looks him straight in the eyes. His face goes white and I can see a vein throbbing in his neck. She’s hit a nerve, pun intended.
He turns away and walks up and down a few times while everybody watches in silence as if waiting to see if he’s changed his mind or not. Then he stops and looks at me, and the hate in his eyes tells me – NOT. I have to keep his attention on me and away from Mel.
“Ah, Ren, didn’t I tell you I’m going to kill you if you come close to Mel again?”
“Funny, biker-boy, I said the same thing to you. And still, here you are, just looking for pain and torture.” Did I mention just how much I hate this guy? But I need to stay in control, that’s the only way I’m getting both me and Mel out of this alive.
“What can I say, I like living on the edge.” I know what’s coming, waiting for the impact I bite on my teeth and intentionally put a smirky grin on my face, taunting him even more. He punches me on the chin, but he hits like a fucking girl, increasing my smile from ear to ear. It seems easy enough to get under his skin, and all I have to do is play for time – until the boys give me a sign.
“I have loads of time,” he says, and I’m thinking … no you don’t. “Enough for me to break that little angel in.” Darren gives me a bug-house smile, slowly backing up to Mel, his eyes telling me that he’s won the war and all that’s left is to plant the flag of victory. But what he doesn’t know is that the war hasn’t even started yet.
“Are you getting wet for me baby?” He doesn’t take his eyes off me, the triumphant look of a dead-man-walking.
A feral growl roars from the back of my throat when he slides his fingers under her briefs, his other hand holding her chin, forcing her to look at him. He moves his head down and starts kissing her.
I bite on my jaw and fist my hands, my heart getting liquidized by the monster gripping it. But I need to wait. I’m fucking the king of control right now. Just a little longer and I can fucking kill the bastard.
“Ouch! Bitch!” Darren suddenly jolts back, his hand reaching out to touch his lip, and then he looks at the blood on his fingers with shock. Mel stares at him triumphantly, the blood on her lips shines eery in the light, giving her a sinister vampire look. The Homers are not paying any attention to me anymore, they look like teenage boys in a strip club, with hungry eyes on my girl. I hate it, but in this situation, it might be a good thing.
The gleaming blade of the knife in his hand stops my liquidized heart and I ready myself to break loose and fight till my death if needs be. He cuts her bra, and a thin trail of blood starts to steep down from just under her left boob where the knife pricked her skin, those perfect tits now completely naked. The mongrels holding me suck in their breaths and swallow down the lust and desire vibrating through them. At least I know that their brains fell into their pants, making my job easier. The point of the knife traces little circles around Mel’s nipple, an appalling look on Darren’s face when he looks back at me over his shoulder. He moves his body against Mel, pushing her legs apart with his knee, his one hand clutching her hair, pulling her head to the side, while the knife seductively moves down her side.
“Fuck off Darren!” It’s more of an angry hiss than a scream and at the same time, her knee connects him where it hurts the most – hard. I swear I could hear his balls explode with pain, his face contorted in a painful expression. He drops the knife and both hands grab his groin, his body bends into a ball-like position. I’m sure my vindictive laughter is not helping his situation of humiliation, but it’s just that funny, can’t help it. Even the Homers click a smile, seeming even more turned on, their attention all on Mel.
I get ready to drop the ropes and fight the two guys beside me, while Darren is out of action when a voice stops me in my tracks.
“Shame, did you get kicked in the balls?” I know that voice. I turn to look. Jackson leans against the door frame, arms crossed and face slightly amused. Blood stains his clothes and body. Homer-on-the-right turns and points a gun at him.
Darren snorts and straightens his body slowly. Then he paces up and down the room a bit, walking off the pain, his eyes jumping from me to Jackson and then back to Mel.
My nerves are pushed to the limit and automatically, I start laughing again, but softly this time. Darren picks up a gun from the table and without warning holds it against Mel’s head, giving us a winning smile.
“Who’s laughing now, asshole?” I freeze and stop breathing. Jackson straightens up and glares at me.
Darren punches Mel full force in the stomach. My heart cries out as she bends over in pain, tears mixing with blood to stain her bruised and swollen cheeks. The laugh dries in my throat, and the sight is too much for me to take, I can feel my control slipping, my heartbeat increases, and my demons stampede from the darkness where they were hiding and I see red, green, blue … the whole fucking rainbow.
He holds the gun against her head and I watch his finger trembling on the trigger.
Jackson moves. It’s now or never. I hope the guys are ready.
Just a twinkle of a movement and the ropes around my arms drop to the ground Guppy only made it seem as if I was tied up.
As if my body is possessed I attack the guy to my left like an enraged rabid animal. Right-Homer plummets to the ground – Jackson beating him in the face as he goes down. Thank God they kidnapped the wrong twin.
A gunshot stops us in our tracks. Mel! He shot Mel!
I quickly look at where Darren is standing; frozen; eyes wildly looking around; clutching his one hand with the other. Blood trickles through his fingers.
Mel’s eyes are tightly closed shut. Her body tense, waiting for death to come. Thank the fuck …
Another shot echoes through my ears, shattering glass, and Left-Homer falls to the ground with a groan; clutching his shoulder. Jackson jumps up and stands with one foot on his victim’s throat. The man’s eyes look like it’s about to pop from his head as he squirms to get free. Jackson looks at me for answers. He doesn’t know about the plan.
Darren, still stunned, also looks confused at us. My mind starts to work and I grasp the situation.
“The boys!” I shout at Jackson. My brother shot the bastards. I salute him through the broken window, knowing he can see me. Three men run into the room and attack Jackson.
That millisecond gives Darren time to recuperate and react.
He shoves Mel’s head back against the surface behind her with full force. The sound of her skull cracking is something that will haunt me in my nightmares forever. I made a mistake. A stupid fucking mistake.
“NO!” I shout.
My heart stutters. Crashes. Stops. Dies.
Her eyes look like they turn around in their sockets and she’s struggling to keep consciousness. Life flickers one last time in those blue orbs and then she’s out cold, hanging in a sinister way against the pillar, only the ropes keeping her from falling to the ground. Blood oozes from her head and drips down staining the little pieces of clothes that remain on her body.