Chapter 13

William Grant's residence… July 26

Christine's POV

"What do we do, Erik?" Nadir asked. We were still in the car. The sun was shining mercilessly, and I had begun to sweat. But, it was not only because of the heat. I was also terrified, due to what we were getting ourselves into.

"First, I hand out the weapons. Here is your knife, Daroga." Nadir took it and immediately put it in his pocket. "And, Christine, your gun." Our hands touched in the process of his giving it to me, and I could feel the understanding between us. I briefly noticed how tiny the gun was before tucking it in my pocket.

We sat there for a little while. Erik and Nadir were watching the house intently, and I was focusing on my breathing.

"I see something," Nadir suddenly said. My eyes instantly turned towards the house. "I saw a curtain move. The upstairs window."

"He is onto us," Erik murmured. I stared at him in fear.

"Erik, how could he be? He has no way of knowing we are here," Nadir reminded.

Erik didn't say anything else. He seemed to be as confused about it as we were.

--

Erik's POV

"I have tried to be calm," I whispered. My two companions looked at me questioningly. "But now, I cannot try any longer." I turned my attention to Christine. "Christine, I am not a patient man." I then reached for the door handle on my side.

"Erik, what in the hell are you doing? Get a hold of yourself! We need to wait!" Nadir frantically tried to stop me.

"Ah, Daroga, I have waited long enough." I again turned my attention towards the door.

"No, Erik! Wait! Wait with us! We need to come up with a plan together. Good god, man, do you even have a plan?"

Nadir's questions were irritating as well as time consuming. I ignored him. "There is no need for you two to follow. Stay behind."

"No, wait.." came a timid request from Christine.

Her words sent me spiraling back to reality. I stopped and turned towards the beautiful girl. "What is it?" I calmly asked.

She had a tragic look on her face. "It's just.. I-.." She was trying to find the words but failed.

"Do not worry, Christine," I tenderly commanded. I could sense Nadir's eyes on me as I spoke. "Everything will be over soon." I then turned, opened the door, and ran from the car towards the house. Having no plan, I went straight for the front door. Strangely, it opened without me having to do anything.

--

Christine's POV

I inwardly cursed as I watched the car door close. "This is bad, Nadir."

"This is worse than 'bad', Christine. Erik is going to get himself killed!"

I sat and thought about what Nadir was saying. I don't want Erik to die.. I don't want him to die! "No! He's not going to get killed because we're going after him. Come on!"

"What?" But, I was already halfway out the door before he could say anything else. Luckily, he followed and we both ran to the front door, me taking the lead.

The door opened for us, which made my heart pound. I almost turned away, but I then remembered Erik and walked forward.

"Christine," Nadir whispered worriedly.

Before he could say anymore, we both stopped. Right inside, Erik was fighting six men. None of them were my kidnapper. It was Erik against six guys, and he was holding his own! It was terrifying.. but it was also most impressive.

Then, Erik's eyes fell upon me, and one of the men punched him. "Christine! What are you doing? Leave!" He hit the ground hard.

Before anymore damage could be done, I watched as Nadir went in kicking and punching. Being a retired police agent, he definitely knew how to defend himself.

I searched frantically for Erik with my eyes, but he was nowhere to be found. It was like he had disappeared.

Strangely, none of the six men took any acknowledgment of me. They were all focused on Nadir. I would have tried to help, but I didn't need to. Nadir already had three of them down.

So, I made my way to another room of the house studying each and every detail. The room I was in looked to be a library. A fireplace took up a wall, and books surrounded it. A few leather chairs and couches were splayed on the floor, and a small wet bar was in the corner. I then made my way to a kitchen. It had all of the latest appliances and smelled of smoke. Tables, chairs, and an island were on the floor.

I walked down a long hallway. It was dark, and I had a bad feeling, but for some reason, I couldn't stop myself from wandering around. When I got to a door on the other end of the hall, I slowly opened it and walked inside.

It was a master bedroom. I noticed it was very tastefully decorated with a large king-sized bed, elegant carpets, a TV, an armoire, and maroon wallpaper.

Before I had a chance to admire it further, though, a door slammed shut behind me. I did a double take of breath and turned around. A man stood there grinning at me devilishly. He had short red hair, hazel eyes, and a mustache. His build was very lean. He was tall. I gulped. There was something very familiar about the man, and I knew exactly what it was. William Grant's brother!

The man let out an evil chuckle. "Hello, beautiful." I didn't say anything. "Let me introduce myself, since I already know you. I'm Michael Grant. And you are the pretty victim my brother chose to have fun with."

I backed away, bile rising in my throat. It felt as though I was suffocating.

"But, all fun must come to an end. You must know that, for why else would you be here now? We have been anticipating your arrival, Christine."

I cringed.

"My brother has been anxious to be near you once more." He laughed. "I had no idea just how lovely you were! He chose a good doll."

I felt numb.

"He shouldn't be the only one to have all the fun, though. I want to be near you, too.. Come here, Christine." He reached out his hand.

I screamed and ran to the nearest doorway. It was a master bathroom. Oh god, oh god! There was nowhere to go. I felt as trapped as I did before my rape. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

Michael followed me to the bathroom. "There's no need to run. It will be quick! Well, no, it could be slow.." He glanced around and smiled. "Now you have nowhere to hide, little girl."

He walked towards me, and I went crazy. When he was near enough, I began kicking and clawing at him with my right hand. Not one defensive move hit him. It was useless.

"Down, girl," he sarcastically commanded. "I won't be so nice if you put up a fight. Oh, wait. You already have, haven't you? Well, you've pissed me off!" He punched me in the jaw and forcefully grabbed me by the hair with one hand while grasping my chin with the other. "He said you were feisty."

Suddenly, a yell carried through the house. "Michael!" It was one of the scariest voices I'd ever heard. Even he gulped. I almost fell to the ground when he instantly let go of my hair.

Michael looked up. "Well, well, it seems we have been summoned. Come." He grabbed me by the hair, once more, turned my body around, and spanked me like a pervert.

"Stop!" I yelled. What do you know, I finally found my voice. I turned my head towards him glaring.

He smirked. "No, I don't think I will." He grabbed me around the waist, brought his lips to my neck, and began kissing and sucking.

I screamed again and shoved at him.

The same yell from above came again, louder than before. Michael instantly stopped his abuse. Then, before I could get away from him, he grabbed me by my right hand and we ran down the hall to a staircase. It was the same place we entered from outside earlier, but Nadir was nowhere in sight. I could only hope he was ok.

We ran upstairs, his hand still holding my own. I hated the feel of his grasp, but there was no way to escape it. There was nothing I could do.. absolutely nothing.. and I hated it.

Knowing we were about to see the owner of that frightening voice who I assumed was William Grant brought chills to my spine, and my heart pounded wildly. For a second, I couldn't walk. Michael stopped, as well. "Come on, girl. It does you no good to stop!" He pulled my arm so hard that I thought it would be pulled from its socket. I let out a yelp of pain but allowed him to pull me forward.

--

Erik's POV

For once, I was glad for Nadir's help. The six henchmen in the foyer were not what I was here for. Revenge was all that mattered. Yes, yes, I knew it was not the wisest decision to enter the house without a plan, but one look at Christine and one thought of my past erased all rationality. William Grant had ruined more than one life, and for that, he would pay.

Plan or no plan, I was going to find him and kill him.

Daroga did not know that specific detail, though. I was out for blood. I was in no mood to cause pain alone.

And so, here I was traveling up a staircase watching the scene below. Nadir was engaged in combat with the henchmen, and Christine was standing helplessly. I wished she would just leave. If anything happened to her…

But, the most prominent thought in my mind was Grant. I had no idea where to find him, but find him I would. Continuing to move through the upstairs area, I memorized every detail. A large chandelier could be seen over the balcony. It was around twenty feet above the foyer. The walls were a plain cream color and the floor boards were rickety. Seven doors decorated the hall. That meant there were seven rooms Grant could be in..

And so, I opened each and every door readying myself for attack. The first was an empty bedroom, the second an empty bathroom, the third an empty office, the fourth another bathroom, the fifth another bedroom, the sixth another bathroom, and the seventh… A room with one person inside. William Grant.

His back was turned away from me. Of course, it was only for effect.

"Hello, Erik." He did not look to see who entered.

"Grant," I acknowledged. The room was just as plain as the hallway. There was nothing except for a closet.

"I would say it's good to see you, but it's not. I would also say I am surprised to see you, but I'm not. You see, we have been expecting this." Finally, the man turned around. He had two swords in hand.

I frowned at the sight. The man looked the same as he always had. Just as disgusting. "So you were. It was noticeable with the men downstairs." I spoke with venom in my voice.

"Of course. You always were observant. Now, did you observe the fact that you, your foreign friend, and my dear Christine have been traced this entire time?"

I'd had enough when he mentioned his dear Christine. So, without much thought, I moved forward menacingly.

"Ah, ah, ah," he reprimanded. "If you dare to move any closer, you will have a knife through your ankle. You see, it is a trap I have arranged." He pointed with his eyes, and I followed his point of vision. "I will disable the trap if you cooperate."

"You know I never cooperate."

"Ah, but this is a duel. You like duels, Erik. Or, do you? Maybe you are afraid of losing? Hmm?" He smirked. "Here." He tossed one of the swords, and I easily caught it.

"A sword fight?" I studied the blade and then Grant's heart readying for the kill. "Of course I will comply."

"I thought you would."

With that, the fight began. Blade hit blade over and over again, both of us being superb with the weapon. Finally, I seemed to get the upper hand. My blade brushed Grant's shoulder causing a trickle of blood.

"I see you did not reach your aim, Erik. You were going for the heart, yes?"

I ignored his comment focusing fully on killing the bastard. Minutes later, my blade hit Grant's so hard that it was thrown from his hand. I instantly threw the man to the ground and was about to shove the blade into his heart when he yelled.

"Michael!" Lowering his voice, he continued raspily, "Erik, you cannot go through with this." I growled. "No, really, you cannot! You see, my dear brother has your dear Christine as I speak. God only knows what he's doing to her. If you kill me, she will not live."

I faltered momentarily, but it was long enough for Grant to get the upper hand. He managed to punch me in the stomach so hard that my hold on the sword was gone.

Grant won the fight. One more time he yelled, "Michael!" Then, in a crazy malicious voice, he spoke. "Erik, you monster, I have won! But, unlike your intentions for me, I will not kill you. No, there is much to be done before that happens."

Michael Grant and Christine then entered the room. My eyes bore into her first focusing on a red mark tainting her right cheek, then her eyes. She was scared to death. I felt the urge to tear the older Grant apart. Then, William spoke.

"Look, Michael! It's our old friend, Erik, mask and all!" He then kicked the second sword towards his brother.

Michael took the sword and held it to Christine's throat. "Well, look there! It is Erik. But, what's with the mask? I'm not used to seeing it." He laughed.

"Let.. her.. go.." I focused on making my voice seem as calm and dangerous as possible.

"I don't think I will," Michael replied. "She's so beautiful. I like to have her near me." He pulled her even closer. "Now, back to the mask. Yes, I like to focus on it. Does that make you mad?" It definitely did make me mad.. as well as horribly sad. "Has she seen you without it? Yes? No? I'm guessing no, because she is still alive. Such a beauty.."

William spoke up. "Wait until you see her naked."

I watched as tears fell down her cheeks. "Stop this!" I cried.

"Ah, yes, let's do keep the attention on you, Erik. Now, what used to happen? Yes, now I remember! Where is that Punjab lasso of yours?" William stepped closer as he spoke, sword in hand.

Under my breath, I said, "Not now, Grant.. Not here.."

"Yes, now! Yes, here! You do not want your little girlfriend to see? Well, that's just too damn bad!"

My reflexes were quick. I reached for my lasso and threw it to land over his head. But, oddly, his reflexes had quickened over the years. He grabbed it and pulled it from my grasp. "No!" I yelled.

"Yes!" he yelled back laughing. "Well, this is my lucky day! Let's see.. how did this used to go? Oh, that's right! Turn around, Erik."

"Hell, no." Death seemed better than having my mask removed.

"Fine," he said. Then, at the same time, both the sword and lasso came towards my face. I could only dodge one, and that was the sword. I knocked it to one side, but the lasso wrapped around my neck. I knew it was all over. It tightened. I winced.

Then, and it seemed like it was in slow motion, the blade of his sword came down and cut my mask in half. It fell to the floor.

William spoke. So did Michael. But, all I registered was Christine's gasp. I watched as her face paled considerably, and my life seemed to crumble.

Another update :) Lots of action in this chapter. I know it seems like a lot of bad things are happening to our beloved characters. Hopefully things will start getting better for them... I'll refrain from giving anything away, though ;)

Thank you for the reviews!! I would appreciate receiving some for this chapter :)

Thanks!

-Lauren