Chapter 25: Hidden Heir: Chapter 25

Time is an illusion.

In the beginning, the wrought-iron manacles they clamped around my wrists would ache and cut painfully into my skin. Now, I feel nothing. Numbness radiates from my shoulders where too many days of holding up my own body weight has killed the sensation in my arms. It’s a small mercy. I can’t feel my broken fingers or the edges of the metal cutting into the raw skin on my wrist.

Broken ribs make breathing a challenge, and the angle at which I’m hanging only allows me to take tiny, short breaths. I suppose that helps to keep some of the pain in my core at bay. For every nose I’ve broken fighting back, they’ve carved chunks out of my flesh and beaten me so severely that I can only see out of one eye. A broken ankle, busted knee, and torn ligaments in one leg keep me from lashing out each time someone comes close. I’ve lost track of how many times fists have collided with my gut, how many times knives have sliced into my flesh, how many tools have been used in an attempt to break me down and submerge me into a darkness I never knew existed.

Brooke is the only thing keeping me alive.

They won’t let me see her, no matter how many times I demand it. I lost two teeth to pliers the last time I asked. It didn’t stop me from asking and I bit off the finger of the fucker who tried to take a third. They gave up that tactic quickly.

She’s alive. I know that for a fact.

Sometimes I can hear her screaming. I know it’s her. The sound rakes through me like hot coals over open wounds. It kills me knowing that she’s in pain, agony that I can’t prevent. I wasn’t fast enough to save her and now she’s here. Sometimes, I hope the screams are prerecorded and that she’s already dead, no longer suffering, but they’re never the same.

I know she’s here. Her existence is the only thing keeping me from giving in to the darkness that constantly fogs my vision. She’s the reason I’m still breathing, and I’m going to get her out of here.

As the days pass, I fight back less and less. The only time I get water is when they try to waterboard me, and food is a thing of the past. So I stop fighting back to conserve what little energy I have. I need to remain alert so I can escape and find my way to Brooke. Then I’ll get us both out of here.

Eventually, Paul comes to see me. That rat fucker.

He wanders into my cell, chewing on an apple as he watches me dangle in front of him like a pig’s carcass.

“Well, well, well. The great Leonity Koval hasn’t made a sound in three days, they tell me. Have we managed to finally break that famous iron will of yours?”

I don’t have the energy to scoff. “If your rats were doing something worthwhile, maybe I’d make a noise,” I croak, unable to hide the wince as my throat scrapes together. My flesh is raw from dehydration and the screams they’ve managed to bleed from me. Exhaustion is a gift in that regard.

“Well in that case, I’ll have them bring in the poker next,” Paul remarks. “Brooke is quite fond of that one.”

I jolt immediately in my chains, glaring every ounce of venom I have at the bastard.

He smirks. “There’s the Leon I’ve heard about. Just had to make sure you were still in there.”

“I’m gonna kill you,” I mutter. “I’m gonna kill you nice and slow. I swear it.”

“We’ll see about that.” Paul takes another bite of his apple, chewing loudly as he lazily paces in front of me. “Tell you what, I’ll let you hold onto that dream a little longer. You know what might get you closer?” Another bite that leaves juice rolling down his chin. “You tell me where she hid the drugs and I’ll kill her quickly.”

“Drugs?” I scowl. “She didn’t steal any drugs.”

“No, but her brother did. That drug shipment, plus the shit he skimmed off the top and emotional damages brings us to the seven fifty. Did you think I just plucked that number out of thin air?”

“It isn’t her debt,” I spit at him. “Even if it was, you lost your shot at getting it back.”

“I did?” Another obnoxious bite.

“You would have had your money if you’d just taken it quietly. That amount is so small, barely a drop in the water, but you had to let your pride get in the way,” I snarl. “You let it consume you. Now that you have me here, you think you’re safe?”

Paul rolls his eyes. “It’s the principle. In the real world that’s a lot of fucking money. But I can’t have people thinking they can just steal from me and get away with it.”

“You sure it’s not because the Murphys will skin you for losing that much? Now there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I would have paid that debt three times over if you demanded it but now you’ve gone too far.” I lean forward in my chains as far as my broken body will allow. “Now I’m gonna kill every single one of you and wipe the fucking Murphy clan from existence. Do you understand? And I’m gonna make damn sure everyone knows why.”

Paul shifts his stance and takes a final bite of the apple. “You’ll never get the chance. The Murphys will praise me for this in the end.”

I lift a brow. In the end? The way Paul shifts his weight and can no longer look me in the eye causes a hollowness to swell inside my gut. Those three words, in the end, leaves me to assume they aren’t praising him right now because they don’t know.

“Praise you? They don’t know you’ve done this, do they?” I press. “You’ve kidnapped the Koval Pakhan on your own dime and your Captain doesn’t have a clue, does he?”

Suddenly it makes sense why they didn’t kill me immediately. I’m too important. My death would ignite a war that will consume the Irish in a swirling inferno because my father, as much as we disagree, will not allow my death to go unpunished.

“You fucking idiot,” I laugh. “You really did let your pride get in the way.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Paul spits, tossing the apple core at my feet. “Once I get those drugs back, it’ll be easy to point the trail back to you, and I’ll look like the savior while you and your whore rot in here. You don’t get it, Leon. You have no power here. As far as the outside world is concerned you ran away with your bitch. All that’s left is for your bodies to wash up in the canal.”

I sneer at Paul as he smirks proudly and walks away.

Those fucking drugs are the only thing keeping us alive—for now.

So where the fuck are they?