Bound to You

“A kid?” Zack asked her slowly, obviously surprised at her words. Eliza nodded. There could be no other explanation for the look that had overtaken Sean’s face that night when he’d told her. It had been a look of love so tender that only a parent could possess for a child. It had been the only time she’d ever seen his face—usually as cold and blank as a marble statue—look so gentle, even if had only been for a few fleeting seconds. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She affirmed quietly, pushing a hand through her hair as she sat down on the couch, which was a few feet away from Zack. Luka hopped onto the couch and rested his head on her knee, closing his eyes in contentment. Eliza smiled; she enjoyed the dog’s company, even if he seemed more human than animal more often than not. She scratched behind his ears absentmindedly before feeling the couch creak in protest as Zack sat beside her on the couch.

“Don’t worry about it.” He told her quietly. Eliza directed her gaze towards the floor, knowing what Zack was talking about. “We’ll get him back, Eliza. I promise.”

Eliza found that she didn’t know what to say. The same overwhelming sense of sadness she’d never felt before hit her again as she thought of Johnny. She couldn’t help but blame herself for this, even as she wondered whether or not he would be alive if they ever got him back. A few tears fell out of her eyes and she felt Zack’s callused thumbs wipe them away carefully.

“He’s as tough as the rest of us.” Zack continued. “He’s going to be okay.”

“But what if he’s not?” Eliza questioned suddenly, standing up quickly. Luka, alerted by her sudden change in tone of voice and the fact that she’d stood up, sauntered out of the room quickly. “What if he’s hurt, or dead, or—“

“Eliza, stop.” Zack said, his voice pleading in a tone that Eliza had not heard from him. He grabbed her shoulders in his large hands as he stood up in front of her, steadying her. “This isn’t your fault, and crying won’t help Johnny now. We’ll figure something out.”

“I don’t know if I can believe that, Zack.” Eliza said quietly. “It’s me Sean wants, not me. I’m sure there’s something you’re not telling me about this whole thing. That’s the thing I’ve come to realize about you, Zack. You never tell me the whole truth.”

Before Zack could reply, Eliza pushed his hands off of her and walked away from him, needing to be by herself for awhile.

-x-

“Fuck.” Johnny muttered as he attempted for what seemed like the thousandth time as he attempted to twist his wrists out of the thick, cutting rope that bound his arms behind the uncomfortably stiff-backed wooden chair he was sitting on. The rope had cut even deeper into a wound that had started forming with the rough rope, and stung as he twisted.

He gave up once again trying to free himself; his hands would be no good to him now until they had time to properly heal, even if he did manage to escape the chair. The wounds were no doubt infected by now, and would need medical attention or at the very least, a substancial amount of blood to heal correctly. He decided it would be a better bet to save his strength for when he was eventually untied, knowing that at least then he may have a chance of getting out of here alive.

So he turned his attention once more to the room, studying his surroundings carefully, looking for any weakness or possible escape route in the small space. The walls were covered in a dingy, stained wallpaper that once appeared to have been a pale yellow; the floor, a cold, hard concrete below his feet. There was a solitary light hanging from the middle of the ceiling, harsh rays of light shining down mercilessly on his face, blinding him if he looked up. There were no windows in the room, of course, but Johnny was assuming that the walls were standard dry wall, insulation, and perhaps wood on the outer wall. Nothing he couldn’t break through, given he had enough strength saved up.

“Five hours left.” He heard a voice on the other side of the only door leading into the room. The voice belonged to Sean; someone he’d never met before he’d been taken hostage, and someone he knew had some sort of vendetta against Zack. He knew it somehow involved the new girl, Eliza, but he wasn’t sure how. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to know her, but he knew that she’d been Sean’s ex-girlfriend, and that he’d been vindictive of her leaving him.

If there were only five hours left, that meant it was seven o’clock, he thought darkly to himself. There were only five more hours he had left in which to manage to get free from the ropes, kill anyone who stood in his way, and escape the house. On top of that, he had no idea where he was at, and for all he knew the entire area could be swarming with Sean’s allies and men. Escaping would be risky business. At least he’d have a small sliver of a chance, though, he thought to himself. It was better than the alternative—waiting around for Sean to kill him. He knew that was what would happen. Hell, Sean had called the guys in front of him and told them the timeline they had to adhere to and the consequence Johnny would suffer were Sean’s demands not met. His demands were that Eliza be returned to him alive, free of her own will.

Johnny knew that wouldn’t happen.

Eliza wanted nothing to do with Sean. She was terrified of him; he knew that much, if he knew nothing else about her. Also, even if she were willing to hand herself over to Sean, Johnny knew there was no chance in Hell that Zack would let her do such a thing. For some reason, he’d become attached to the girl, and Johnny knew he wouldn’t let her go.

Johnny sighed as he began scooting the chair close to the wall. This was a risky idea, he thought to himself, but he realized his idea tank was running low, and he didn’t have time to formulate a better one. His plan was to break the chair against the wall, hopefully freeing himself so that he could walk. Even if his arms remained tied behind his back, he knew that if he could at least stand and use his legs, he’d have a fair chance in any physical confrontation that ensued.

Now, he thought, the trick was managing to get to the wall without getting caught first.