Betrayal of Cupids (13 page)

Ryan

“Ryan, wake up.”

Grace?  Was that her voice?  Was I asleep?  Where were we? 

“Ryan, please wake up.”

“Grace?” I was able to form the word through my grogginess.

“Oh, thank God.”  I felt her face pressed on mine: it was comforting.  I blinked my eyes open.  Everything was blue.

“Where are we?”

“We’re in the back of a truck.  I don’t know where we’re going; Sean threw this tarp over us.”

It all came rushing back to me: the brush, the tree, Sean, Danny, the ropes, the blackness.  I tried to pull my arms apart, but Danny had done a good job of securing my restraints.
“How long?”  It was hard to think; my head really hurt.

“Um,” she looked around, “five to seven minutes?  We’ve been on back roads the entire time.  We never got on the highway.”

“Okay, that’s good, that means we’re not that far away.”

“Right.”  She seemed so nervous, vulnerable.  I hated seeing her like that.

“Grace, this isn’t over, okay?  We can find a way out of this mess.”

“I know,” She replied quietly.  While the words were there, I didn’t know if she actually believed them.

We felt the truck turn off the road.  The engine stopped, and two sets of feet crushed the gravel beneath them.  The tarp flew off, allowing us to see that the night sky was about to take over.

“Good morning, Ryan.  How was your nap?”  Sean smirked.

“Actually I haven’t been sleeping well lately, so that was very much needed.  Thanks.” I smiled, not wanting to give Sean the satisfaction of knowing that he a step on me.

He quickly pulled Grace off the truck and flexed his arm around her neck.  She screamed in shock, and I jumped off the back of the truck.  Danny grabbed my shoulders, trying to hold me back.

“Try anything, nephew of mine, and I’ll crush her larynx.”

I stopped struggling.  He knew my weak spot; it would always be her safety above anything else.

We were both pulled toward a warehouse.  I looked to Grace, who nodded to my silent question.  She knew where we were.  That, at least, could work in our favor.

It was dark inside, except for a few overhead lights that lit patches of the concrete.  Danny pulled out two chairs, facing them toward each other, and we were each sat down.  He produced more rope, and began tying us to our inevitable prison.

“So, what’s the deal here, Sean?”

“I’m so happy you asked, Ryan.”  He stepped forward in between our two chairs.  “Grace so
gracefully
warmed up her family to the idea of patching me over this morning.”
“What?”  Was this his plan all along?  What was he holding against Grace to make her do such a thing?  I looked at her, but her head was bowed in disgust.

“It was quite a symbiotic relationship we had going: she corroborates my story and recommends they follow through with the patching over, and I don’t kill her pathetic, sorry ass boyfriend.”

I could feel the rage burning inside of me.  This is what she hadn’t told me?  It was another one of her attempts to protect me by not keeping me in the loop.  If I didn’t love her, and feel the need to protect her with every inch of my being, I certainly would’ve slapped her across the face.  She needed to stop putting us in danger by trying to handle everything herself.

“But then,” he continued, “my pretty little flower threatened me.”  As he said the words, he bent down and lifted Grace’s chin with his finger.  He made sure I was looking as he pressed his lips to hers.  My face reddened with anger and hatred.  Without speaking, Grace spit into his face.  He reacted instantly, slapping her across the cheek. 

I stood, bringing the chair with me.  “You don’t touch her!” I screamed at him, but he quickly turned around and pushed me, causing me to fall backward.  I was no match for him while tied to the chair.  I needed to find my way out of this mess.

Satisfied with his power over the two of us, he picked his story back up.  “I marched right back into that meeting and told them that I understood their reservations about bringing on a former Cupid, but I was determined to show them my loyalty.  And to do that, drum roll please, I offered up you.”

He was in my face, waiting for a response to his madness.  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I said I would travel to Alexandria and bring back Ryan Cassidy, the son of the Cupid’s beloved late president, the man who killed their cherished Bowie Brennan.”

“You know I had nothing to do with that.”

“That’s stretching the truth a bit, wouldn’t you say?  I mean, had you not fallen head over heels for our little Gracie here, would any of this really have happened?”

He was trying to get in my head.  He knew what I had been thinking; he was trying to play on my guilt.

“So you bring me to them.  Then what?”

“Then the group can decide what to do with you.  My only hope is that they ask me to kill you.”

I was sick of his games.  I wanted to get this whole mess over with so I could move on, with or without my life.  “So what are you waiting for?  Take me to the Shadows.”

“No!” Grace finally spoke.  A look of dread spread across her face.  “Don’t.  Please.”  Now she was begging for my life.  I didn’t want that.  “I’ll do what you want, just leave him out of this.”

“Isn’t that just fucking adorable?” Sean goaded.  “She’s trying to save you, Ryan.  She’s like your own little guardian angel.” He turned back to her.  “Too bad you didn’t take my offer in the first place, sweetheart.  Now, your little love bug has to face the consequences of your actions.”  He finished his threat by running his fingers through her hair.

“Leave her out of this, Sean.  Just take me to them.”

He began to laugh his sinister cackle.  “That’s the funny thing, Ryan.  You made my day so much better because you came to me, and no one knows that.  They all think I left for Philadelphia to find you.  That means I have a good eight to ten hours to do whatever the hell I want, except kill you, of course.  But that’s why it’s so fun.”

So that’s why we were in the warehouse.  I was to be tortured for the next ten hours. “Do what you will, but let Grace go.”

“Absolutely not.”  He grinned as he stepped closer to me.  “Did you miss the part where she disobeyed me?  Her punishment is just as beautiful; she gets to watch.”

Grace

“So what are you waiting for?  Take me to the Shadows.”

“No!” We had come too far to just give up now.  “Don’t.  Please.”  I needed more time.  I wasn’t prepared to give him up to the Shadows.
 
I had seen their wrath first hand, and if they thought that Ryan killed my father, the worst punishment was in store for him.  “I’ll do what you want, just leave him out of this.”

“Isn’t that just fucking adorable?  She’s trying to save you, Ryan.  She’s like your own little guardian angel.” He spun around to face me, his voice becoming raspy with delight.  “Too bad you didn’t take my offer in the first place, sweetheart.  Now, your little love bug has to face the consequences of your actions.”  He caressed my temple with his thumb before he pushed his fingers through my tousled hair.

“Leave her out of this, Sean.  Just take me to them.”  I saw what he was trying to do, but hadn’t he been the one to say that we were in this together?  Why was he giving up so quickly?  Did he not understand that everything I had done up until that point was because I wouldn’t be able to live in this world without him?  Why was he trying to take himself out of the picture?  And did he truly believe Sean would keep his word and let me live?

Sean’s devious laughter broke my train of thought.  “That’s the funny thing, Ryan.  You made my day so much better because you came to me, and no one knows that.  They all think I left for Philadelphia to find you.  That means I have a good eight to ten hours to do whatever the hell I want, except kill you, of course.  But that’s why it’s so fun.”

Of course.  If I had learned anything about Sean in the last few months, it was that he got his jollies from torture.  Now he had the entire evening to exact his own revenge, without killing Ryan, of course.  “Do what you will, but let Grace go.”  There he went again with the ‘letting Grace go’ bit.  What made him think there was any chance of that?

“Absolutely not.”  He stepped awkwardly close to Ryan.  “Did you miss the part where she disobeyed me?  Her punishment is just as beautiful; she gets to watch.”

I pulled at my limbs, trying to break them free of the ropes, but I was stuck.  Sean would torture Ryan in front of my eyes; there was nothing I could do.

My breathing was short and shallow, and my vision was beginning to cloud with the tears I was trying so desperately to hold inside.  I watched as Sean and Danny removed Ryan from his chair and tied him to the wall.  I tried to look away, knowing it was all I could do, but Danny came up behind me and pushed my chair to a front row viewing position.

“I’m so sorry,” I mouthed to Ryan.

He shook his head and softly smiled.  “It’s not your fault.”

Sean stepped forward.  “Where to start… Where to start?”  He grabbed Ryan’s shirt at the collar and ripped it clean down the middle, revealing his upper body.  Then he tore his blood-soaked bandages off.  “Perfect.”  He dug his thumb into Ryan’s chest, pushing through his stitches.  Ryan groaned in pain.  I could tell he was trying to be strong, if not for himself, then at least for me.

“How’d that feel?”

“Not as bad as I thought it would,” Ryan said.

“Good, because I’m just getting started.”

Sean used him as a punching bag, mostly working his gut.  Ryan’s groans were deep, but he was used to being punched.  I could only assume Sean was using it as a tactic to wear him down.  The real pain was yet to come.

After a few minutes of taking Sean’s blows, I caught Ryan’s eyes.  He looked defeated and worn.  I wanted to break free and save him.  I wanted to hold him and promise him that everything would be all right.  But I couldn’t; I was trapped as well.  After a second of shame, he broke eye contact and hung his head.

Instead of sorrow and grief, I felt anger.  I craved retribution.  Any bit of me that had felt lost, wishing to leave it all behind, was now gone.  I wanted blood: Sean’s blood.

“We’re not finished yet, but if you need a break…” Sean moved close to Ryan, and whispered something in his ear.  Ryan perked up, regaining his strength.

“If you so much as breathe on her…”

“You’ll do what?” Sean jeered.  “Come get me?  The way I see it, you can’t do anything about it while you’re up against this wall.”

“You’re going to have to take me down sometime.”

“And by then you’ll be too exhausted to be any match for me.  Come on, Ryan, you know I thought all this through, right?”

It was so clear we were losing the battle, but that wasn’t an option.  We needed something.  If only…

I had an idea.  It had a one in a million chance of working, but there was still that chance, and right then that sounded like pretty good odds.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I croaked, attempting to dry heave.

“Danny, take her outside.”

Yes.  It was exactly what I wanted.  He quickly untied me, and led me through the thick metal door.  He pushed me forward, and I fell to my knees, continuing the charade.  I brought my hand to my chest, innocent enough, preparing for my attack. 

“Danny,” I choked, “please, help me up.”

As I offered my free hand to him, my innocent eyes begged for his assistance.  After a deliberate groan, he walked closer to me, holding his hand out to mine.  In as swift a move as I had ever attempted, I pulled him near with one hand as the other unsheathed the knife I had hidden in my bra.  I jabbed my father’s gift into his thigh, causing his eyes to bulge from the pain.  He was past the point of screaming, as the attack had shocked him completely.  I stood, still pushing the knife into his leg.

“Drop to the ground.” I growled, and Danny listened.  I pulled up the ropes he had dropped and began to tie him up in the same fashion as he had tied me earlier.  Trying not to get cocky, I kept the knife jabbed into his leg to ensure my power over him.

When I was sure he wasn’t going anywhere, I kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to the ground.  The adrenaline rush was intoxicating.  I could see why Ryan was so drawn to fighting.  It was hard to stop.  All the pain and hurt I had been bottling up inside was used as momentum for the blows I inflicted.  But I knew I had to save some of that hatred for Sean.  He was the one that I was meant to fight.  A few more toes to the ribs and I was satisfied that Danny would not be following me. 

He looked pretty pathetic, curled up into a whimpering ball, but I didn’t care.  In my mind, considering the lies he had told and the pain he had caused, he deserved it.

I got in his face as I pulled my knife from his leg, and made sure he was watching as I wiped the blood on my jeans.

Now it was Sean’s turn.