Chapter 6: The Escape
1572 Words
Chapter 6: The Trap is Set
Aron
"Raven, listen..." I said, looking at her. "You are a beautiful woman. I mean, you’re the kind of woman any man would want in his life. But my life, my lifestyle... especially after everything that has just happened, I’m in a complete void. I don't even know what's going to happen to me. It's much better for you to stay far away from me."
Raven's eyes welled up with tears as I said this. "Aron, if you want, we can leave this place and live a different life. We can taste that damn happiness, just like everyone else."
Looking at her like this, I felt deeply sorry for her. And for the first time in my life, I felt genuinely regretful about sleeping with a girl. Usually, the girls I slept with knew exactly why and with what purpose I approached them; maybe they felt the same way, treating it as just a one-night fling. But Raven wasn't like them. She was proud and pure, not the type to easily open her heart to just anyone. And that was exactly what made me suffer from a crushing sense of guilt.
As these thoughts raced through my head, I raised my voice and yelled, "Go to hell! Get out of my life!"
I frowned deeply, staring into her face. Crying, she stood up and ran out of the gym without saying a single word to me. As if I didn't have enough on my plate already, now I had to deal with this too. I had completely forgotten about her and that night.
I sat there, lost in thought for another hour or two, until the morning sun began casting its light everywhere. That was when Jace walked in.
"Buddy, you haven't slept?" he asked.
I shook my head, signaling "no."
"What are we doing? What did you decide?" Jace asked.
I frowned. "I haven't made a decision. What are we supposed to do? Become contract killers? Kidnap some innocent girl who hasn't done us any harm and hand her over to a bastard?"
Jace fell silent. He was finally starting to agree with me, throwing away the desperate ideas he had yesterday.
"Buddy, let's just get out of here," Jace said.
"Don't start again, Jace," I muttered. "I don't want to hurt that girl."
"No, no, listen! I know someone who wants to buy this place," Jace insisted, his eyes lighting up. "We sell everything and we disappear. Let Viktor go find himself another mercenary. Come on, what do you think?"
What Jace was saying actually made sense. We didn't have much of value here anyway—just some cash saved from my recent fights and the four walls of our gym. Even though the gym didn't have expensive equipment, it was the perfect spot for organizing underground street fights, far from the prying eyes of the police.
I looked at Jace, a rare smile breaking across my face. "You're right. We can actually leave."
"Why not?" Jace said, grinning. "With the money I've saved on the side and what we get from selling this place, I think we can open a new page for ourselves."
Jace quickly took out his phone and made a few calls. I could hear his voice from across the room: "Hey, friend, I need cash urgently and I've decided to sell the gym. Are you still interested?"
Meanwhile, I hurried upstairs to my sleeping quarters to pack my clothes and grab my money.
Jace called out to me, "Aron! The buyers will be here in an hour. Try to grab whatever you have left before they arrive."
I didn't own many belongings anyway. I gathered a few essentials and some worn-out, crumpled photographs, and packed them into the trunk of Jace's car. The buyers arrived shortly after, and Jace shook hands with them over the money. Viktor had given us three days to prepare, but now we had only one day left, and we couldn't afford to waste a single second. Jace took the cash from them. I no longer had a place to stay.
"Aron?" Jace asked, turning to me. "We'll pick up my daughter and hit the road right away."
We got into the car.
When we arrived at Jace's place, his daughter ran out to meet him. "Daddy!" she cried.
"Has my little princess missed her daddy?" Jace said, picking her up and hugging her tightly.
Jace had his daughter, and an elderly nanny who looked after her. His wife had abandoned them, running off with someone else. Even though Jace kept this a secret from everyone, I knew the truth. Jace had told his daughter that her mother was dead.
"Pack my girl's things, her father is taking her on a trip," Jace called out to the nanny. Then, gesturing toward me with a wink, he said, "Look who's here, sweetie."
"Uncle Aron!" she cheered, running into my arms. I hugged her tightly. We had a great bond; she had known me since she was a baby. Every time she saw me, she would ask about the scars on my face, and I would have to make up sweet, gentle lies to protect her.
Meanwhile, Jace and the nanny gathered the necessary things from the house. He gave her some money and was walking back toward the vehicle when the sudden ring of a phone echoed from inside the car.
We had completely forgotten. It was the phone Viktor had given us to keep in touch. Jace and I locked eyes.
As I reached for the phone, Jace yelled, "Buddy, throw that thing in the trash!"
"No," I muttered. Instinctively, I answered the call and put it to my ear.
It was Viktor's voice on the other end. "Ah... and here I thought you were the smart one. Do you really think you can run from me?"
His words sparked an explosion of rage inside me. "Go to hell!" I snarled, about to hang up, when he suddenly spoke again.
"Look who we have here."
Suddenly, Raven’s voice broke through the speaker, crying and begging, "Let me go! Please!"
My heart stopped. "Raven..." I whispered under my breath.
"Vikdor..." I growled.
"If you ever want to see your beautiful girlfriend again, you know exactly where to find me," Viktor said smoothly, and then the line went dead.
It was obvious that Viktor had been watching us all along; he knew about our plan. Worst of all, Raven was now his hostage. I had already ruined that girl's life just by entering it, and now, the thought of her suffering because of me was completely unbearable. I quickly explained the situation to Jace, telling him what we had to do. "I can't leave her like this, Jace. I have to go."
"Don't be an i***t, Aron!" Jace yelled. "He'll kill you! You can't go there!"
"I have to go, Jace," I said, already walking away.
But Jace, being my most loyal friend, shouted after me, "Wait! Don't go without me!"
"No! Don't come! Take your daughter and get as far away from here as possible!" I screamed back. I had nothing left to lose. But Jace had a daughter to raise; he couldn't leave her alone. Despite Jace's stubborn attempts to follow me, I ran and quickly disappeared from his sight.
I jumped into the first taxi I saw and headed straight to Viktor's gallery.
The moment I stepped inside, guards grabbed my arms, twisting them behind my back and forcing me to my knees. Before I could react, a heavy blow struck the back of my head, and I collapsed onto the floor, completely blacking out.
When I finally opened my eyes, everything was pitch black. My head was throbbing with an agonizing pain. I felt a suffocating tightness in my chest. I could hear the sound of heavy footsteps echoing around me. I was tied to a chair, my hands and feet bound securely behind my back.
"Hey! Is anyone there?!" I shouted. I called out several times.
The heavy footsteps drew closer. Suddenly, the black bag over my head was ripped off.
We were in a dark, damp place that looked like a basement. I had no idea where we were. Standing in front of me was Viktor, staring down at me with a cold, serious expression.
"My friend, we had an agreement," Viktor said, his voice dripping with mock disappointment. "The job was so simple. You were supposed to bring me Elena, and in return, I was going to give you money so you could spend it wherever your heart desired. And what did you do?"
His voice suddenly boomed, shaking the cold walls. "What were you trying to do, you i***t?! Run away?!"
I stared back at him and spat, "No. We were just making preparations beforehand. We wouldn't have had time after we kidnapped the girl."
Viktor screamed, his face contorting with rage. "You still take me for a fool, you piece of trash?!"
And with that, his fist slammed brutally into my face.
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