Chapter 10
Emily is curled into a fetal position, hugging her knees. Six hours without food. Two without water. One of a beating. She remembers trying to fight back during that, but after splitting her lip, she had stopped. She can only pray that Victor must be trying to find her. But after the way she treated him, her hopes aren't high.
Her stomach snarls. She can't take this, but giving Collin an answer would mean solidifying his proof even further.
And then he'd come after Victor to fill in the holes.
Victor.
She hugs herself even tighter. She misses him. The way his fingers would dance among the keys of his grand piano, as if he were caressing each note. The way his pencil would glide across the page when he began a new sketch. How flustered he became when someone teased him or said something outrageous.
And the way he looked at her as if she was the only person in the world, his heart shining in those dark, gentle eyes.
A few tears roll down her cheeks. She doesn't even have the strength to wipe them away. She's going to die before she sees him again. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. Maybe her time is up.
The door opens. Emily doesn't even look up, just continues to stare down at her knees.
Barkis's voice fills the silence. "Why bother resisting?" he asks coolly.
Emily doesn't answer. Barkis laughs. It's cruel and hollow, just like the rest of him.
"What? Do you think you're saving him this way? You're not even supposed to be here. You were brought back by mistake." He reaches out to touch her, but Emily snaps her teeth at him. He pulls his hand back, chuckling. "A pity we had to mar your pretty face, but you simply refused to cooperate." He circles her. "Now, I'm prepared to offer you a deal: answer the question, and we'll let you outside for an hour."
Emily peers up at him. This could be her escape. "What's the question?"
The recording device clicks on. "How did you come down here?"
"It's a bit complicated, and long."
"We have plenty of time."
Emily sits up, wincing at the pain in her body. "All right, here it is…"
x
Victor drives up to the location, but it's nothing at all what he expected. The address appeared to show a house, or an apartment, but for the lack of a suite number he'd assumed it to be a house. Yet the coordinates had brought them here, to what appeared to be a dead end, fenced off. Victor switches into park.
"I don't understand. There's nothing here."
Bonejangles shrugs. "Maybe we have to climb over?"
Victoria laughs. "He doesn't have the upper body strength for that."
Victor scowls at her. "I just need a boost."
"If you say so. But one of us should stay back, in case something happens."
"Guess it's just me and you then, Victor." Bonejangles says, opening the car door. "Come on, I can give you a boost."
x
Emily runs the moment Collin goes inside, not questioning for a moment how stupid he is for leaving her out here on her own. This is it, freedom! She ignores the pain shooting up into her bare feet, her only thought being escape. The ground is thick but sandy and littered with rocks, threatening to pull her feet down if she stops for even a second.
She can see a fence far up ahead, and as she got closer a blurry shape of a padlock. She'd have to climb over.
She can hear Collin's voice now, shouting after her.
She runs faster, but it's not enough. She trips over a large rock and falls, face first. Pain hits her from several different angles, latching onto her.
x
Victor falls over the fence after being pushed up by Bonejangles. Ow! That's going to be a pain for a bit, since he has the bitter misfortune of bruising like a peach. He straightens up and notices someone lying on the ground several feet away, as well as a distant figure running towards it.
Bonejangles lands beside him, on his feet, and follows his gaze.
The person on the ground raises their head, revealing messy blonde hair and a bruised face.
Emily!
The man running towards her must be Collin. Victor dashes towards her, and she seems to recognize him. She makes an effort to stand and run, but she only gains a few feet before falling again. Her face contorted in pain pushes Victor to run faster. Bonejangles runs beside him, jaw set in determination.
"Not so fast!"
Collin grabs hold of her and yanks her to her feet, but his grasp doesn't last long. Bonejangles rips Emily out of his arms and tackles him, full of unbridled rage. Victor lets him handle that and catches Emily before she can fall again. Her hands clutch at him blindly, and he pulls her closer to him, bringing her legs up to carry her. She inhales sharply, the pain in her ankle biting at the bone. He can hear Collin cursing as he tries to wrestle the smaller man off of him.
"Victor." she murmurs, trembling.
"I'm here." he reassures her.
She buries her face in his neck, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to keep herself closer to him.
Victor shifts his attention when he hears a thud. Bonejangles has been thrown back. Collin's face is a little beat up, but not much. Vengeance burns in his eyes, and he makes to charge.
Victor barely manages to dodge him just and Bonejangles gets up.
"Take Emily and go!"
That's all he needs to hear. Victor sprints off, running as fast as he can with Emily in his arms. It's taxing, but he won't let himself give up. He can hear Bonejangles fighting Collin off, and he's hoping he can handle himself, because he won't be much help until he gets Emily out of here. He gets to the fence as fast as he can, unsure of how he's going to get both of them over.
"There's a padlock somewhere." Emily mutters. She looks a little pale, as if she's about to vomit. Victor needs to hurry.
He finds the padlock and tugs on it. Locked. He'll have to break it. It's wood, so this should be easy enough. He sets Emily down a little away from the fence before slamming his entire body into it.
Crack!
He's in pain, but it's working. He slams again.
Crack!
Collin is charging towards them, with Bonejangles hot in pursuit. Victor kicks at the gate with full force, finally succeeding. Bonejangles pulls Collin down again, but Collin kicks him aside and keeps going. He's rushing towards him, fists clenched.
"You'll have hell to pay, Hunter!" he yells, launching himself at Emily.
Bam!
Collin crumples to the floor, unconscious. Victor starts back, surprised at what he'd done. He hadn't even thought, just reacted. Where had that strength come from?
The moment doesn't last long. Bonejangles catches up to them, panting and looking worse for wear. His right eye is starting to swell, and his neck and arms are covered in angry red marks. He's bleeding from his nose, which he's trying to stop, but it isn't helping much. He gives Victor a wan smile.
"Well, let's get going then."
Victor gathers Emily into his arms, being excessively gentle. She's falling asleep in his arms. He holds her close to him and follows Bonejangles out. "Bonejangles, I'm so sorry." he says, feeling guilty that he couldn't have been a better help.
"S'alright. Emily's safe now, and that's all that matters."
Victor glances over at Collin's unconscious body. "What about him?"
"Leave him be, for now. We'll settle that later. For now, I'd just like to go home."
Victor raps on the passenger side door with his knee. Victoria, at first noticing nothing, unlocks the car, but when she sees the state of Emily and Bonejangles, her eyes widen.
"Oh my God!"
"Victoria, do you mind driving?" Victor says, shifting Emily a little in his arms.
"Oh, no! Of course I will!" She moves over to the driver's seat. "Maybe Emily and Bonejangles should sit in the back." she says when she sees Victor making to get in the back with Emily. "I don't fancy being stopped on the drive back."
Victor reluctantly agrees, knowing she's right. He allows Bonejangles in first, then slides Emily into his arms. Bonejangles holds her against his chest, like an older brother caring for a little sister, so tender and caring. Emily's eyes are closed and her breathing is a little ragged, but other than that she seems okay. Victor climbs into the passenger side, and after glancing back at Emily one more time, buckles himself in for the drive back home.
x
Emily wakes tucked into a familiar bed, in a familiar room, her foot elevated with a pillow. A rush of warmth spreads to her heart as she realizes where she is. Back in the safety of the Van Dort residence. Back home.
Then she smells something unpleasant.
Ugh, she's still wearing Collin's clothes. She tries to get out of bed, only to have pain shoot through her ankle. She must have twisted it. Damn.
Victor enters with a steaming hot mug of what smells like Blue Eyes tea, her favorite. She smiles at him as he sets it on the end table and seats himself at the foot of the bed. He returns it, his eyes warming at the sight of her.
"I'm glad to see you're awake."
Her heart sighs happily at the sound of his voice. "I'm glad to see you here." She pushes herself up to prop herself up on her elbows. "I'd like to get these awful things off me, though."
Victor's skin colors. "Oh! I suppose that's only natural." He crosses over to the dresser and pulls out a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, and after a moment's hesitation, a matching bra and panties.
Emily pulls the covers back. "A little help?" she asks sweetly, pulling off the belt.
Victor gnaws at his lip, his face coloring a little darker. "Right, your ankle."
He pulls the pants off her, careful around her feet and the ankle brace, — he must have made a house call — and tosses them aside. When it comes to the boxers, he hooks a finger around each side and quickly averts his eyes as he pulls down, then slips on the panties while keeping his eyes glued to the ceiling. The sweats go next, and then he allows her to handle her bra and shirt, turning his back to her.
Emily giggles at the sudden shyness from him. "You're such a gentleman."
Victor chuckles. "I try."
"You can turn around now."
Victor shifts to face her again and brushes a few stray strands of hair from her cheek. She turns into his fingers, smiling. She can't imagine how she must look right now, but the way Victor is gazing at her makes her feel perfectly lovely.
"How is everyone else?" she asks, settling back into the pillows.
"Bonejangles and Victoria went back to his apartment to get him sorted out." Victor says, letting his hand slip into hers to draw little circles on the back with his thumb. "He didn't want you to see him until she fixed him up."
Emily scoffs. "He worries too much. I've seen rotters Downstairs, for goodness sake!"
"I suppose." He presses his lips to her knuckles, lingering a little, sending a tiny rush up her arm. "I'm so sorry you went through all that."
Emily suddenly becomes very aware of the way Victor is caressing her, the little touches that sent tingles all over. She pulls away, worried. "Victor, we still can't do this. You're married."
Victor's brow furrows. "I didn't tell you, did I?"
"Tell me what?"
"Victoria wants a divorce."
Emily turns her face away, into a pillow. "This is my fault."
"No." Victor takes her hand again, a little firmer. "Look at me, Emily."
Emily turns back to find Victor giving her the most sincere eyes she could imagine.
"Neither of us were happy, the way we were. No one wanted to say it, but we always knew. It was always there in the back of our minds." He pauses, as if to check if this is sinking in. "We didn't know what we were going to do, when we finally confronted it, at first. But on the way back, when we were bringing you home, it was clear. We needed the freedom to see other people again, to find true happiness. Victoria said it first, and I agreed that it would be best. But know that it's not your fault."
His eyes are filled with want, with longing, with a desire to be understood. Emily can't take this anymore, so she does what she's been aching to do since the moment she returned.
She kisses him.