Chapter Twenty

Alistair knelt and checked Kiera's pulse with two fingers pressed up to her bruised neck. "She's breathing still, she should wake up soon enough."

Lorenzo stared at her for a reasonably uncomfortable amount of time. "Or she's playing possum."

"What?"

He glared at Alistair. "She's faking it, you bloody moron." He ran a hand down his face and pushed past him visibly annoyed. He brought his hand back and backhanded her cheek and her head shook backwards and to the side like a rag doll. Her eyelids twitched open, wincing a few times as she adjusted to the lack of light in the room.

Lorenzo smiled at her and his eyes lit up like the devil was dancing in them. "Long time no see – I'm glad you're awake for this, Kiera. We're going to have so much fun."

Her gaze met his and she was less than impressed with what he had to say but she had to bide her time. She knew Tails was alive, she could feel it in her gut and she could feel it in her heart – plus, Alistair is insanely bad at his job. "Go to hell and take your friend with you." She spat at him and her head swung back. Her skin pulsed in pain as she hissed.

He smirked at her as he rubbed his knuckles. "Did that hurt? That is such a shame." Lorenzo lurched forward and violently grasped her cheeks in one hand, his sadistic smile would make anyone skin crawl.

Through the pain in her cheeks Kiera pushed through the dread in her heart to ask. "What did you do to him?" He released her cheeks with a pinch, making her recoil in discomfort.

He was smirked, he was enjoying her pain. "Which one? Your fake excuse of a son or that boytoy that warms your bed?"

She glared at him, her eyes dark from anger or pain – she didn't know which. She knew he didn't have Shadow. "My son."

"He's very dead, Alistair saw to it. He shot the boy and to make sure it stuck he burnt that tacky bungalow that you were living in which should resemble those Hawaiian barbeque pits right about now." Lorenzo laughed his way through that, he thought it was so funny and he was even happier knowing it caused her even more pain beyond the physical torment he's more than content on providing her with.

She promised him this one thing. "I'll kill you."

He slowly lowered himself down to his knees and met her eye level, he made his voice soft and low for her. "I'd like to see you try."

His knuckles were turning white at the pressure he was clenching his fists on the stirring wheel while his foot was hitting the accelerator pedal right to the floor of the car – he was stopping for no one. Shadow was speeding the car down quiet roads of Yukon River to wherever they were going. Silver had a typographical map of the forests and mountainous areas of the town he picked up at a petrol station. They would have to have the car go off road and change to four-wheel drive to remain in control through the rough terrain.

Shadow tried his best, but his control is wearing very thin. "What's in the actual forest?"

Silver eyes scanned every inch of the map in his hands. "There's quite a few things in this forest, Shadow, it's over one hundred acres of land. She literally could be anywhere."

His jaw clenched and grinded his teeth, he was feeling a lot of things right now and none of them were good. "List them and I'll narrow it down." He had to maintain some resolve, he had to get his girl back in one piece and alive.

"An old sewage system, some historical hut ruins and statues, some burnt down houses apparently." Silver found that on his phone when he couldn't find anything else that was useful on the map.

Shadow had a theory now. "This is a bit of stretch and I might be reaching but its poetry."

"Poetry?" Silver raised an eyebrow.

He could feel the look that he was getting from him. "Listen, he burnt down the bungalow to prove a point, I have a gut feeling that he burnt down those houses as well."

"Shadow, I know you're angry and practically going insane about Kiera in Lorenzo's hands but that is a bit much even for you." Silver had to be honest, this was no time to be gentle and sugar coating things when her life was in danger.

He released the tight grip on the stirring wheel for a moment. "Look, I know that, but check it on your phone. Find out whoever owned those houses and look for names like Lorenzo, Alistair and even Kiera. Just do something."

Silver nodded. "Alright."

"I can't even let myself think about what he might be doing to her or his poor excuse of a henchmen might be doing to her – or else I will go insane." Silver could tell that he meant that as well.

He started making calls as Shadow kept driving, keeping his eye out for anything and everything. He kept glancing at Silver as he was calling whatever and whoever he could get a hold of about these houses and that includes the National Trust.

Silver ended his last call. "And? Anything?" Shadow asked, hoping and praying for something that could and will lead them to Kiera.

"I think the oldest house in there will be the ticket. The only thing left intact is the huge ass wine cellar or basement which has a channel connecting to the abandoned system." Silver told him the location and once again the car sped down roads to find the entrance to the forest.

Kiera, my love, please hold on. Fight for me, fight for Tails. Fight for yourself.

Shadow suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach – there was something that Silver wasn't telling him.

"Don't get all quiet on me now, spit it out."

Silver didn't know how to say this to him, but he had to – he had to know the whole truth to Kiera's story. A piece of information that she withheld for her safety, sanity or to protect herself, he didn't know but he knew it truth must come out.

It always comes out.

"On that call, he told me about the old owners of the house. They perished in the fire, it was a family of eight and only two survived." Silver played with the strap of his seat belt to maintain some integrity to finish what he started.

Shadow wasn't in the mood, he snapped at him. "What the fuck is it, Silver?"

Her face was reddening and bruising from all the colliding with his fist to every possible angle of her face. She could feel all the pain, the tingling sensation behind her skin. She willed herself to not break in front of him or even give him the satisfaction of watching her crumble. She had to be strong with whatever strength she had left. Kiera could feel a string of blood slide down her cheek, it wasn't a nice feeling. Her hands, arms and legs were given the same treatment – she never screamed out for mercy or for him to stop. She channelled and released that pain by biting the inside of her cheek or her lip and using her nails to claw at the chair arms she was tied to.

All this resisting pissed Lorenzo off which probably wasn't the best idea, but it was giving her time. It was giving Shadow time, she had no idea if he was coming but she had faith. She was never one for praying to a god or any god for that matter, but she did have faith. Faith in love, for the first time in her life. She loved and didn't regret it because it was him.

"You can't hold on forever, you know? No one can. Not even those trained to resist torture." His knuckles were bloodied and red from the strain and force he was hitting her with.

"Yes, I can." His eyes narrowed at her as she said that.

He laughed and pulled out a knife. "Then I'll make you." The knife was familiar, she recognised it from real life and her nightmares. It was the very same knife that Alistair used on her and failed to kill her with twice.

He smiled at her. "Remember this beauty? I think it remembers you and I'm more than sure that it can't wait to be reunited with you."

"I'm not scared of you anymore."

He took a slow and menacing step towards her. "That's what baby bro said when I gutted him like a fish."

"Our brother."

A/N: There is only two more chapters left and an epilogue to this story. Thank you for being so patient with me while I procrastinated writing the last few chapters. I've hoped you liked the story even though its over 3-4 years old and in need of a rewrite. Much love! x