18. NEAR-DEATH
1602 Words
{LUMIRA}
"You don't have to go back there, Lumi."
Tara had been repeating the same thing for several hours now.
After we had linked Beta Kyro and Gamma Vance to Mirabel's abductor, we returned to Tara's house.
I had been completely restless, wondering if they were able to successfully rescue Mirabel, or if her abductors got away.
Tara prepared a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread, and coffee. I fell asleep after eating and woke up to the same concern. However, she convinced me not to go.
I had called Ma'am Stella to confirm if the brothers were back, but she said 'no'
Then, I had lunch, paced back and forth on Tara's front porch for thirty minutes, before tiring out. I proceeded to call Gamma Vance's phone. It rang several times, but he did not answer.
"I told you," Tara had said. "They don't care about you anymore. Their sister is safe now, it's time to focus on you."
But I wasn't convinced.
Minutes turned into hours, and now dusk was fast approaching. Having no update about Mirabel's situation, made me feel like a bride waiting for her groom at the altar, tired, pathetic, and worried.
"Just let me go, Tara," I tried to convince her. "The time is 6:48PM, I should at least check in on him. He hadn’t returned any of my calls."
"He must have blocked you." She said, her eyes flashing with concern.
Blocked me?
Why would Gamma Vance block me? It didn't make any sense.
"You've helped him rescue his sister, he saved you from the Moscow...so to me, he owes you nothing." She added.
"I—"
"Can you just stop, Lumira?" Tara hissed, her tone rising a notch. "You've been on this for hours. Can you just move on?"
I shook my head. "No, you don't understand, Tara. I feel responsible for what happened to that girl —"
"—And you've remedied the situation," She cut me off and completed herself. "He doesn't think there's any reason to have your contact, so he blocked you."
"It's not possible," I denied the second time.
"Why?" Her forehead puckered as her brows met. "You think you're special to him? Or because he saved you, you think he's in love with you?"
I exhaled sharply, unable to utter a word.
"Girl, you said it yourself that his brothers despise your gut. They don't want to see you and they even blamed you for the incident with their sister. What if they had successfully convinced the Gamma that you had something to do with it?"
I let my mind ponder that for a minute, then shook my head.
"No. Gamma Vance would not believe them that easily. He already told me he knows I had nothing to do with his sister's kidnapping." I informed her.
She groaned, and as she was about to state something else, I cut in quickly.
"Okay, okay, I will just go to get my bag."
Her eyes widened. "Your bag is there?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "The stuff is important to me, Tara. I promise once I get my things and ensure Mirabel is home safe, I will return here tonight."
Tara sighed from exhaustion. She finally stopped persisting and her softened gaze held mine. "Oh girl, I really don't have a good feeling about this, but if you insist."
I chewed on my bottom lip without saying another word.
I let my thoughts wander for a minute.
If Mirabel had been rescued, then Beta Kyro and Delta Jett had no reason to be hostile towards me. I'd apologize for what transpired between Ama and me, not because I was at fault, but just to seek peace. And then, I'd close the chapter of my experience with the Storm Brothers forever.
A gentle rub on my arm jolted me back to reality.
Tara issued me a faint smile as she hugged me. "Please be safe, Lumira."
"I will."
She pulled away from me, her lips curling with emotion. "I would have loved to give you a ride, but I need to prepare dinner for my husband and son."
"I understand."
Thereafter, I picked up my purse and left her house for the Storm Brothers' mansion.
Upon reaching there, darkness had descended, and the sound of crickets chirping in the distance could be heard.
I stood at the gate and greeted the gateman. "Good evening."
"Good evening," a lanky man replied, emerging from the tiny house to the bars of the gate. "Who do you seek?"
"Gamma Vance. I'm his guest."
"Oh! The woman he came with a few days ago?"
"Yes," I nodded with an awkward smile. "That's me."
Without further questions, he opened the gate letting me in.
I strutted through the open field, amazed by how huge their compound was, until I got to the front porch.
There were two guards stationed at the entrance.
Mirabel's kidnapping must have made the brothers assign guards there.
Before I could speak, one of the guards said, "Lumira right?"
Confused, I nodded, "Yes."
"Come with me," that was all he said before he began to move toward the side of the house.
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, hesitating for a moment.
He turned halfway to look at me. "Aren't you coming?"
"Ah-yes," I pushed forward and followed him.
Music boomed from a distance, making me wonder if they had a party going on.
The guard kept walking, my heart hammering as I wondered where he led me to, until we got to a medium-sized pool, and as I took more steps forward, I noticed Beta Kyro, Delta Jett, Mirabel, and Ama in the pool.
Beta Kyro and Ama were kissing like two teenagers on the brink of losing control. His fingers were pressed to her back, while she had her arms wrapped around his neck.
I felt a pang in my chest.
For an unknown reason, my stomach dropped and my spirit dampened.
The guard moved to inform the Beta of my presence. And immediately, they pulled apart from the kiss, both of them cast a look in my direction.
Ama scowled.
Beta Kyro's jaw twitched.
He moved through the water towards me. When he grabbed the railings and climbed out, my breath hitched.
Fear and attraction were twisted together inside me.
His shorts hung low on his waist, soaked and clinging, the fabric outlining the hard lines of his hips as he advanced toward me.
I had to mentally snap myself out of it.
What’s wrong with me?
I shouldn't admire this man. He had strangled me, assaulted me in the worst way possible, and even threatened to kill me. So there was nothing attractive about him.
Ama soon appeared behind him.
"You." He said.
He didn't raise his voice.
That was the worst part.
"You dared to snoop through my woman's stuff and then attempted to hurt her?"
Panic instantly thrummed my nerves.
I shook my head frantically, desperate to explain. "No, that was all a misunderstanding. I did not—"
Before I could complete my statement, he had his hand around the back of my neck, his cold grip unsettling my skin and making goosebumps rise all over me.
Then he violently pulled me with him.
Fear coated my lower abdomen. I didn't know what he intended to do to me.
Without mercy, he forced me to the ground. I was at the edge of the pool, kneeling.
My breath quickened and the thought of running came into my mind. But who was I kidding? There was no outrunning them.
"Anything I ask, you tell the truth," He commanded.
I nodded quickly, full of trepidation and uncertainty.
"Did you snoop through my girlfriend's stuff?"
"No."
His hand clamped at the back of my neck and forced me forward.
I barely processed the movement before the surface of the pool rushed up to meet me.
Cold swallowed my face.
He didn't throw me. He just held me there—firm, controlled, my knees scraping against the tile edge as my upper body bent over the water.
Chlorine burned into my nostrils. Water flooded my ears, muting everything into a deep, hollow roar. My eyes snapped open to a blur of darkness.
My lungs seized.
My instinct screamed at me to breathe. My chest convulsed painfully, my body jerking in frantic, useless resistance. The water felt endless, suffocating, pressing in from all sides.
Just when my strength was starting to wear out, he pulled me up.
Air ripped into my throat in a broken gasp. I coughed violently, water springing from my mouth as I tried to steady myself. My ears rang. My heart hammered.
"Did you attempt to push her down the stairs?" He asked again, his voice low and steady.
I shook my head, barely able to form a word.
His grip tightened and he was about to push me under again, when Mirabel screamed, "Stop Kyro...you are going to kill her!"
He paused halfway, my heart thumping in dread as I looked at the cruel surface that was about to torture me the second time.
"This is none of your business! Go inside, Mirabel!" He barked.
"That's unfair!" Mirabel continued, her voice louder than the music. "You cannot kill her, Kyro. She saved me."
"Guard, take her in." Beta Kyro thundered.
As the guard bundled Mirabel away, she screamed, kicking wildly in an attempt to be set free.
Beta Kyro's dreadful voice rang in my ears. "You made my girlfriend uncomfortable, so I'm going to make your life unbearable."
With that, he pushed me under again.
- Writer
