Page 48 of Drowning in the Deep
“Yes, sir,” she said, tears slipping from her eyes.
“Take me there now, and if you need a key or anything else, get it on the way.” I let go of her, dropping her onto the floor. “And if you are fucking with me, you’re going to see whoever the hell you were praying to in a matter of seconds.”
“Yes, sir,” she said again. On unsteady legs, she began to walk toward the back of the house. I followed her, my gun an ever-present reminder that I could send her into oblivion at any moment. She paused next to the basement door and grabbed a key from above the doorjamb and then headed down the stairs without turning on a light. I followed at her heels.
Once we reached the basement, she did her best to unlock the door, but her hands were trembling. It took her a couple of tries. When she finally managed to push it open, I caught a glimpse of white-blonde hair and heard a little gasp.
It was Elisa. She was alive. That’s all I needed to know at the moment.
Returning my attention to the maid, I asked, “You knew she was down here, and you told me you were alone?”
The tears that had started before began to flow down her face as she managed, “Y-yes, sir.”
“Fucking bitch.” She should’ve told me immediately. Fuck, she should’ve done something to free her herself. Without another thought, I whacked her over the head with the butt of my gun. Blood spurted onto the wall as she slid to the floor. She wasn’t dead, but when she woke up, she’d be feeling that. It was more mercy than she deserved.
Turning my attention to Elisa, I realized that she looked like absolute shit. Her eyes were swollen nearly shut, her hair was disheveled and dirty. Her nostrils were enlarged to at least twice their normal size, and she was covered in bruises. Her clothing was torn, and she was barefoot.
I stood there for a few moments, not sure what to do. I wanted to run to her, to free her, and get her the fuck out of there, but at the same time, I was afraid to touch her. It looked like she was in unbelievable pain, and I didn’t want to hurt her more.
Before I could say anything to her, she flattened herself against the pole. “Leave me the fuck alone, you monster,” she said through gritted teeth.
At first, I thought she was angry at me for taking so long to get there, but then I realized she couldn’t see, and I was too far away from her for my scent to let her know it was me. “Elisa, it’s Daemon,” I told her as I stepped closer.
She did her best to pull away. “I’m not going to go down like this,” she said. “I’m not going to just let you kill me.”
“Elisa,” I said again, my hand grazing her cheek as she tried to rip away from me. “It’s okay. It’s me. You’re safe.”
“No, leave me the fuck alone,” she insisted, thrashing.
I pressed myself against her to keep her from wiggling away, trying my best not to hurt her. She was in rough shape, and seeing her like this made me want to call Vin and tell him to take La Rosa out now, but I had to be smart. He deserved to die for what he’d done to her, but I couldn’t just go in guns blazing with no plan. I had to be just as cunning and calculating with his death as I had been with Leo’s downfall and Viktor’s demise.
“Elisa, let’s get you out of here, huh?” I said, brushing her hair back from her face.
“You’re not here to kill me?” she asked, and I could tell she was really struggling with the acceptance that it was me, there to save her, not one of her father’s goons who had come down to the basement to kill her.
“No, I’m not here to kill you,” I assured her, reaching up to cup her cheek again. Once more, she tried to move away from me before settling down and letting me touch her.
I had no idea what that bastard La Rosa had done to her. It looked like she’d been beaten pretty severely, but I couldn’t tell what he’d done to her nose. It appeared to be broken, but what would cause the swelling? And why did this basement storage closet smell like hot sauce? I wanted Elisa to tell me everything because when I finally took her bastard father out, I wanted him to suffer just as much as she had suffered at his hand.
But now wasn’t the time. Even though the maid lying by the door had told me that she was the only one there, I knew now that she had been lying. So who was to say that La Rosa hadn’t left any of his goons behind? It was a chance I couldn’t take.
Elisa was chained to the pole with handcuffs, so I’d need to find a way to free her, and then I’d have to get her out of there without either one of us getting hurt. I’d need to get her to a doctor I could trust so he could help her. She had to be in an immense amount of pain, and I didn’t want to see her suffer.
None of the statements running through my head sounded like me. Since when did I care if someone else was suffering? Other than my brothers, I didn’t think I’d ever cared about anyone else before, and even with them, I didn’t care most of the time.
But right now, staring at this woman, I realized I did care about her. I needed to get her to safety. Now.
CHAPTER33
ELISA
Confusion washed over me as the voices outside the door suddenly got louder. I had no idea what they were saying or who was speaking. I just heard a man’s voice and a woman who sounded frightened—until I didn’t hear her anymore.
This had to be it. Whoever was standing outside my door, he had to be the man my father sent to kill me. When the door opened, I did my best to protect myself. Everything was a blur. My entire body was on fire, and his rough hands on my skin caused me to lash out. Nothing he was saying made any sense.
“Elisa! It’s me.” He took hold of my face and turned it so that I was forced to look at him and stop thrashing. “It’s me—Daemon.”
It couldn’t be him. How could he be here? Maybe I had died already, and he was in hell with me. But then, if I was dead, my body shouldn’t hurt anymore. Unless this really was hell, and then, wouldn’t it hurt a lot more?
