Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton
Locked In
Shay
The sound of my heart beating echoes in my ears as I force myself to take a calming breath. Standing near the door, my body shaking with fear, I listen to Red and Marcus talking. Their voices are muffled, not much more than whispers. Neither one seems at all worried about the fact that Domino is laying in the kitchen, bleeding. In fact, they never mention her at all.
Visions of Domino’s body falling to the floor fill my head. Like a movie, I see it all again. My aim was true; if she hadn’t have moved, I would have hit her in the shoulder. It would’ve hurt, but she would’ve been able to walk away from it. Having had only a quick glance at her, I know that she won’t be walking anywhere for a long time, if ever at all.
Never in my life have I thought of taking another person’s life. Even when Marcus was at his worst, I never considered killing him. Hurting him? Yes. Killing him? No. The thought of Domino dying because of me makes my stomach turn. No matter what she did, she didn’t deserve to die.
Shaking away thoughts of her, I look around the room and wonder if there is something I can use to block the door, but know, even if there is, there is no way I can pull it over here. Giving up my moment of insanity, I lean against the door and start to pray that Tag was right, and there is no way anyone will get in here.
I’m safe. They can’t get to me in here, I chant to myself in a whisper.
Red’s voice rises, drowning out my prayers. “There isn’t a damn thing we can do. We can blow the fuckin’ house up, and that door would still hold tight, and the room would still be standing. The door is locked, and there ain’t no way we can get it open. Even with the code, once she armed it from the inside, it’s a done deal until she decides to open it.”
Yes, I can stay in here forever, and they won’t ever be able to touch me. The only problem with that is that I have to get to Bowie. I have to let him know that Red is working with Cash.
“Take the door off the hinges,” Marcus orders, sounding frantic.
Panic races through me, until Red responds. “You’re a stupid motherfucker. Do you really think Bowie would put all the money into this room if you could just take the door off the hinges?”
His words send a wave of relief through me. Even though my brain knew Marcus’ plan wouldn’t work, it still scared me. I lean my head against the door and whisper to myself, “I’m not coming out until Bowie comes and gets me. I just hope he shows up soon.”
“Do something. Get the door open now.”
Red’s voice gets even louder. “This is the last fuckin’ time I’m gonna say it. The door is locked. We can’t open it from out here. The bitch isn’t coming out until she’s damn good and ready.”
“She’s mine. We have to get her out so she can come home with me,” Marcus screams, causing me to take a step away from the door.
I can hear the irritation in Red’s voice when he responds, “My advice, get yourself another woman.”
I let out a relieved breath and turn away from the door. Doing my best to ignore the conversation outside of the door, my eyes scan the room. Looking past the crates that line the wall, I see bottles of water sitting on a counter near the back wall. Licking my dry lips, I make my way to the water. Picking up a bottle, a pain shoots through my side. As the adrenaline of the last few minutes start to fade, all of my injuries make themselves known again. Not able to stay on my feet, my body sinks to the floor.
Leaning against the wall, I stretch my legs out in front of me and lick my lips. The taste of dried blood fills my mouth, and a shudder makes its way through my body. I raise my hands and gently touch my split lip. Lifting my hand, I feel blood slowly dripping down the side my face. A large gash runs from my temple to my ear, from what I assume was the second time Red hit me.
Dropping a hand to my waist, I push up my shirt and run a hand over my ribs. Even a gentle touch causes another wave of pain to shoot from my body. I let out a long moan, gasping for air. With each breath, it’s harder to fill my lungs. I assume my ribs are broken; I can only hope they haven’t punctured a lung. If it is, I know there is nothing I can do to stop from smothering to death. In fact, there is nothing I can do but wait. Bowie will come; I know he will. He’ll save me.
Leaning my head against the wall, my eyes drift shut. I try to force them to stay open, but I can’t. Sleep is coming quickly, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Suddenly, today’s events pop into my head- Red’s fist coming at me, Domino’s hateful voice shouting for him to get me into the car, visions of me on the ground, and Red’s booted foot crushing into my body come next. Then, Tag’s voice plays in my head, followed by the sound of a gunshot.
No, no… How could I have forgotten? A slow tear runs down my face as I think of the boy I’ve grown to love. Just the thought of his body lying on the ground causes bile to race up my throat. He’s just a kid, just a kid. How could they hurt him?
My last thought before the blackness takes over is Please, God, please let Tag be okay.