Page 83 of Be My Vengeance

Gideon smirked. “I have a thought about that.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Danny

“Where’s Raff?” I hadn’t heard anyone mention him on that call.

“Who?” Sergey slipped the phone into his pocket.

“The guard who was with me. He was in the ambulance.”

Awareness dawned on his face. “Oh, is that his name? He’s upstairs. Alive.”

“I want to see him.”

“That’s not going to happen.” He started to walk away.

“I’m not a fool, you know.”

Sergey stopped walking and quirked a brow. “Have I implied you are?”

“You expect me to believe you won’t kill me once Gideon has done what you’ve asked? I don’t think anyone in this room or on that phone call believes that.”

He hummed. “I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?” And with that, he was gone.

Sergey kept the light on, thankfully, and I took the time to survey myself. I was in the gurney they’d transferred me to, I hurt like a motherfucker, but I wasn’t tied to anything. They likely saw me in this messed-up state and didn’t think I was a threat.

I scooted up slightly and looked around. I was definitely in a basement, and there was a bulkhead door on the far side. Those led to the outside. If I could get off this gurney and outside, I could probably escape…but Raff. I couldn’t leave him.

There was a squeak and the sound of footsteps. More than one person. First one was Sergey again and the second was Raff. The blood had dried to his forehead, and thankfully he’d stopped bleeding.

“An act of kindness. Your friend.”

Raff had a chain around his waist that Sergey linked to a large pole in the center of the room. Then he left us alone.

“Danny, are you okay?”

“Well, considering our situation, Raff, I’m gonna go with no.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“What happened to you? Why’d you leave the ICU?”

He sighed and started pacing, the chain dragged along the floor. “It was stupid. A nurse came in and said someone was here to relieve me, but they wouldn’t send them back until I was out front. So I figured Gideon was working on a rotation. While I was walking toward the waiting room, someone grabbed me from behind and before I could even react, it was lights out.” He pointed to his head.

“That’s not stupid. It’s exactly how it would happen. Gideon does work on rotation.”

He shook his head. “I should have checked with Gideon. Especially with all that was going on today.”

“Raff, did you hear what the plan was?”

“No.”

I spent the next few minutes telling Raff about the phone call and how I also didn’t believe we’d be returned alive, and I meant we because I wasn’t going anywhere without Raff. I told him my plan to get out of here, but that would be even harder with Raff chained and having no key or way to release him.

“If I can get out of these chains, I can carry you out of here, Danny.”

“I’m bigger than you, Raff. No way. It’ll slow you down. Forget it. The plan won’t work.”