Chapter 7

• Marcus
• Having an inner battle with myself.
• What am I doing?
• I should know better than to be falling for Storm. I am so stupid.
• Sighing… no, I am not stupid. That woman in the basement is one of the strongest women I have ever met, and I will help her escape my uncle’s clutches one way or another if it is the last thing I do. I want to help Storm escape, but I must make sure my mother and sister are protected first. I cannot risk them no matter what.
• Once I get this meeting over with Daniel, I will sit down and think of the best course of action to take for my family so I can get Storm safely out of this hell. Making my way through around the entryway to the kitchen, I find Kye standing in there fixing a glass of water. Hearing the footsteps, Kye turns around. “Marcus, what’s up, man?”
• “Not much.”
• “Where’s Daniel?”
• “He is in the bedroom working on a deal told me to tell you to come in when those two hours have passed.” All I could do was keep my face blank because inside I was screaming in rage when he spoke those words, but straightening up, I walked into Daniel’s room.
• Daniel was sitting at his desk in a far corner with a map in the center marking locations for spots he has been, spots he was targeting next. He is making the next mark when I clear my throat. “Daniel, the two hours are up.” As the words left my mouth, it tasted so bitter to me, and I watched as a sinister smile takes shape on my uncle’s face.
• Staring at this man I once thought of, I wonder what changed him, what snapped to make him become the man he is today, because he will never tell me. Anytime I ask, he says that family sticks together and that when the time comes, we will have our revenge.
• Everything has a price, including the price of my brother’s death, and they will pay it in full soon. I still do not know what the hell that means, but anytime I ask, he pushes me off and says to just mind my business for now until it is time.
• Placing his pen down, I watch him get up and continue with his creepy ass smile as he pats my shoulder. “Come on, Marcus, let us see if our girl has any information for us now. Hmmm…”
• Making their way back down the stairs, his heart was beating out of his chest as he kept thinking about how he did not have a choice with the life he was living now and how he wished he could change it all. He just did not know how. He did not know what to do to escape his uncle’s grasp.
• His life has always been amazing until now. Loved school, played sports, popular of course, and his parent were upper class. My mom was the best surgeon in the state and my father was one of the most sought out lawyers in the area, if you can believe it. He was on the right side of the tracks once. My parents built a good life for our family and we were all happy once upon a time until everything turned to shit.
• I had two siblings, a young sister named Kiesha who loves to dance and sing and an older brother named Gavin, but everyone called him Gav, who was just in his first year in college. He was just figuring out exactly what route he wanted to go, so he settled on doing the basics that way if he wanted to go for a doctor he would have them done or if he wanted to follow in Dad’s footsteps he could as well.
• Gav was always smart and wanted to make sure he made the right decision for his future. He never liked Dad or Mom pressuring him into things, so he was more following the beat to his own drum. He was my best friend, the person I could go to about anything and everything that was on my mind.
• One of the cool things about my brother and I was that everyone said we sounded exactly alike, even though he was six years older than me. We always loved to play tricks on his girlfriends, he would give me the look of “hey you want to mess with them” so, he would hand the phone to me and I would continue to talk just to see if they could figure out the difference.
• We usually would pass the phone back and forth, not telling each other what they would say and just keep up with the conversation. They never would know the difference until they called me baby, that’s when I would state “I ain’t your baby” which would send the red flag. “Marcus, give Gavin the phone back.” They would get ticked off but I could not help laughing at how easy it was to fool them.
• He would have been 29years old today and I could only imagine how tall if he was 6ft back when I was still 12 years old but he did not get to make it passed his 19 birthday… My brother lost his life because of a gang shooting and my father was the prosecutor at the time that tried to put the criminals behind bars.
• Only problem was, there was not enough evidence to prove they were guilty, so they were released on insufficient evidence. We all know they did it, especially when they were released from the handcuffs and smirked at my father as they walked out the door. There was nothing he could do about it. The law stated so and by the law that he swore to uphold; he knew this.
• My dad tried everything he could to get people to step forward to testify, but no witnesses wanted to come forward “they were threatened or knew what would happen if they talked” and because of that, my brother’s case went with the other cold files.
• My parents became devastated, and my father started questioning the system and what it stood for. Questioned the laws and, therefore, stepped away from being a lawyer and stepped into the shadows of the night.
• He started hanging around Daniel, who always was in the shady business, causing my father to help him often to stay out of jail from time to time. It surprised Daniel to see his brother Michael and hear his request for revenge for the death of Gavin, but Daniel was for it.
• Revenge was sought after, but in doing so, he lost himself to that life and his family. Dad became Daniel’s running man. He was now in debt to him and would do anything that needed to be done for his younger brother. Dad did not care if it was running drugs or guns. Taking a man’s life if it needed to be done.
• The dad I once knew was long gone and would never come back. When dad died, Uncle Daniel decided he wanted me in the crew so there for he threatened to kill my sister and our mother if I did not stand with him like my father did. At first, I stated no, that was until he showed me pictures of my sister walking home from school, or my mother at work smiling at her co-workers.
• I still remember him leaning in by my ear and whispering, “Just because we are family, don’t think I won’t put a bullet in both their pretty little heads. Your choice, and I advise you to choose right.” You can already guess what I chose. I could not let my only two family members die because of a selfish choice, but when I showed up, I was not expecting this. The only thing positive I try to hold on to at this very moment is that my mom is still a doctor, my sister Kiesha is finishing high school and safe if I hold up my end.
• I remember the first day I saw her. It was a year ago,
• “Marcus, welcome to the crew; later I will introduce you to everyone, but right now there is a person who is special to me, and I must let you meet them. I have had her with me for five years now, right boys, five years right?”
• Everyone yelled “yes” with a laugh.
• Daniel had his usual smile as he asked me to follow him into the kitchen. I thought, oh this must be his lady cooking something, but when we got there, no one was around. He continued to walk toward a door in a corner of the room.
• All I could do was follow out of pure curiosity. I paid close attention to the unlocked door as he opened it, and the first thing was darkness that welcomed us and took over the space until he hit the light switch, I was at a loss for words as he continued to descend while glancing back to make sure I was following. Scanning the room as I took each step, I noticed how bad the basement was and needed work done to it. I was about to say something until Daniel stated, “Hello their Storm.”
• Storm? Who is Storm?
• Scanning the room and still looking around Daniel, I am searching when I noticed a girl in the shadows bounded by chains, not just to her wrist, but also to her ankles. I cannot tell what her face looks like from the shadows covering her, but I cannot believe Daniel has had her down here for five years. Daniel takes a step toward her, and I see her trying to squeeze herself further into her space as she can.
• Who is she?
• What has he done to her?
• What has she been through?
• I could tell this girl had been through hell, but that did not stop Daniel from grabbing the chains and pulling on them to bring her out. When she came out, Storm gasped when her knees hit the concrete, and struggled to get her footing when Daniel pulled her up to her feet.
• “Storm! I would like you to meet someone that is special to me, and you will also see him around here often so, you will show him respect when he is around you do I make myself clear.” Storm just stared at him.
• Storm? She had her head bowed, and all I wanted her to do was look up so I can see what her face looked like, so I could see if I knew her. When she raised her head, showing how weak she was, I was in total shock to see Storm Mathias was alive and standing before me. She did not utter a word as she stood toe to toe with Daniel as he released a chuckle.
• “Storm wants to play today, I see.”
• What? What is he talking about? She wants to play?
• I do not see it.
• He raises his hand and in the next second brings it in hard against her right cheek. I step forward, and he turns in my direction and points a finger. “DON’T.”
• “Marcus, rule number one you will learn is never interfere in anything I do; do you understand me, boy?” Stunned...no words could form…
• “Do you understand me?” Daniel asked me.
• “Yes… Yes sir, I understand.” I stated to my uncle.
• “Good.
• Rule two. She may seem weak, but she is far from it. Never turn your back on her. If you give her a chance to kill you, she will take it. She broke Melissa’s nose. My ex-girlfriend. When she first arrived, hell, she has given the guys a run for their money. I have even had broken bones, busted lips, black eyes. With that said, she may have given a fight, but she got what she gave with worse consequences. The best thing for you to do is stay back unless asked to get close, understood?” I nodded, but kept my eyes on her.
• Could she be this dangerous?
• I do not know if I blame her, though, with how Daniel just hit her.
• As I watch her hold a death stare with the handprint on display on her right cheek, I could tell Daniel was just warming up with her.
• Storm, are you going to play nice?
• Are you going to say hi to Marcus, my nephew?” At the words of nephew, it was like a trance snapped and her eyes shot over to me. Her eyes examine me like I was some sort of test that if she did not get it right, she would fail but once she returned to my eyes and held it long enough like she found what she was looking for, I saw a flash of pain, relief, loneliness as she returned to Daniel.
• Locking back with him, all those emotions disappeared, and she was just empty. Daniel laughs: “Marcus, can you see why I like Storm so much? Come over here and introduce yourself, Marcus.”
• Marcus did not know if that was such a smart idea with the information he had just told him, but he stepped forward anyway and stared at the woman. She looked at Daniel, then switched her eyes over to Marcus to give him her full attention.
• “Hi Storm, I am Marcus. It is nice to meet you.”
• She snorted and shook her head, bowed her head for a moment, then shot her eyes up at Marcus and said, “no, it is not.
• It is not nice to meet me, Marcus. You are only meeting me because your uncle is letting you down those steps to meet me. You are only meeting me because your uncle is a selfish ass and keeps me locked up for the last 5 years as a punishment for something his brother did that has nothing to do with me.
• They have tortured me to near death for something his brother did, and my father protected himself, but I guess he should not have done that.” Storm laughs, shakes her head “but yes, it is so nice to meet you Marcus and I hope I get to enjoy your company for as long as I am here.”
• She gives him a smile, then gave both of us the finger. Daniel could not contain his laughter anymore, but Marcus could hear the anger in it as well, especially when he walked up to her and told her “No, your father should have been the one that was walked out in the body bag, not Marcus’s.”
• Then he took his fist and slammed it into her gut, causing her to double over, gasping for air. She clasped on her knees where she dry heaved. I could tell she had not eaten in a while because I was watching her throw up the lining of her stomach, with blood mixed up in it. At that very moment, I realized I would have to do all I could to keep her alive until I figured out how to save everyone.
• As time went on, I grew feelings for Storm, granted I was not trying to but her strength. When we would get to talk, the small conversations about things she did when she was free, it was nice. I wanted to protect her and be that shield. The only thing was she talked about this Steel, and it worried me how I would still have her heart if she got free. Would she have room for me when that time came?
• Snapping to the present time, I watched Daniel ask again about the drop and, of course, Storm could not tell him anything. It was pure torture to watch him pull and tug the barbed wire off her skin and see it re-open. I could only imagine how she was doing. She is one strong woman to handle all he puts her through. Man, I need to take this man out soon. When she falls out of the chair and hits the floor and does not move, my heart skips a beat. I watch Daniel throw the wire and start wiping his hand as he makes his way up the stairs. Before I can utter a word, he pauses and tells me to chain her back up before I return upstairs.
• What is she going to do? Run away. She can barely move a muscle as it is.
• Asshole.
• I give a brief nod before proceeding forward to go toward the chain because I can still see Daniel’s outline on the stairwell until he saw me grab the chains, and he heads the rest of the way up and I hear the door shut. As the door closes and the footsteps above fade away, I can be sure Daniel is leaving.
• My stomach twists at the sight before me. Looking down at her battered skin, blood is seeping out of every laceration made from the wire. The flesh has peeled back; I can see deep in the open wounds. In many areas, there is meat that has been yanked out around her arms and calf muscles. Where her wrists and ankles meet, he scrapped the meat away from the bone by yanking the wire from her delicate skin. Other areas have little holes, and I am so thankful that the wire could not grab the tissue, causing excessive damage there, too.
• Shaking my head, I cannot understand how my uncle can be such a monster.
• I scoop Storm up and laid her where she could find comfort in her bed or what’s left of it. Finding a warm washcloth, I wash the new lacerations that the wires opened. I place the cream I had hidden in my jean pocket and wrap small bandages over the cuts, including the ones on her feet that also reopened.
• After bandaging her, I wipe her face and make sure she is as content as before placing the dreadful chains back on. Shaking my head, I stare down at the woman who has endured so much but still has not given up. She does not know how beautiful and inspiring she is. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
• Please don’t give up, Storm. Continue to fight. With those words, I get up, pour out the water, cleaned up my mess, and was about to go back upstairs when I hear Storm call out my name.
• “Marcus….
• Marcus…”
• When I heard my name, I had to see what she needed.
• I have been dreaming about her lips since the first time I shared a kiss with her for a while now, but I keep trying to stay my distance, not wanting to hurt her or even get myself hurt. When Daniel told me about her family, I was fighting an inner battle because her father killed mine, but as time went on, I understand the truth and saw who the monsters were. Especially one day when I stumbled on a conversation that was not meant for my ears.
• One day I was told to deliver an envelope to Daniel that contained information about a mission he has been working on. I honestly do not get mixed up in all those fine details. I just watch the house where Storm is and keep my ears open for certain things. Headed to the kitchen for a drink, I hear hushed voices echo in the distance as I approach. Getting closer, Kye and Leo are in a hush conversation about my messed-up situation and how well I am taking everything in Stride. I was completely lost with what they meant until they kept their conversation going.
• When I heard the part of my brother was truthfully collateral damage because of Daniel’s choices he made in a deal that backfired. I started feeling my blood pumping, clinching my fist to my side; I wanted to make sure I missed nothing, so I stepped a little closer hearing that my uncle made enemies through a drug deal on the east coast. Everyone knows that the east coast belongs to the Crypts Sons gang.
• Now, the Crypts Sons gang is one bad ass gang. They only have one motto, “Family”. Their gang is their family and if you try to screw the family you will pay no matter who, what or where you came from. It will not matter. They will hunt you down and stilt your throat or put a bullet between your eyes no matter where you are, and they will not think twice about it. So why he would even deal with them is a whole other level of insane. Others are aware of staying their distance unless they have a death wish, but yet Daniel never let others bother him or what he wanted to do. He also has no reservations for those around him, including his family.
• Unfortunately, Daniel pulled a fast one on them and cut them out on a deal that was supposed to be split equally. This included ammunition, drugs and weapons of all kinds of calibers, but his actions came back and bit his family in the ass when the Crypts Sons took payment for Daniel’s actions in a few of Daniel’s men and in Gavin’s blood. It was a reminder to Daniel not to mess with them. Of course, Daniel retaliated against them not just because his brother sought revenge but for the mere fact of respect he desired.
• Sick bastard will not take a hint. All this did was put more lives in danger and a war broke out against the Crypts Sons Gang and Daniel’s Crew. On top of this, knowing my uncle is targeting the Mathias family is making more sense. It may have a little to do with my father but more to do with the fact that Daniel needs the weapons to go against the Crypts Sons or he will not have a fighting chance at making it out. I know that Storm’s Dad killed my father but can I really be upset at him for the actions of my father?
• He made his bed, and should he not lie in it? Did he not choose to live this lifestyle and pull a gun at Storm’s father with an ultimatum? I know damn straight if a gun is pulled at my head and it is to be shot or shoot, I will shoot first and ask questions later. No matter who it is. I will not let that person have the chance to pull the trigger. So, is Storm’s father really to blame for protecting himself?
• My father would not have done this if Gavin were still alive. I know he was lost in those last years but kidnapping the daughter of the Mathias family for the last six years, I just do not believe he would do something that he would not want done to his own daughter. It took me this past year to find out about it, and I still cannot believe what I am seeing. I do not believe my father would do these despicable things to a woman.
• When I approach her and laid my hand on her arm as she stirs. Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to stretch. She reached down for her feet, and I could see the bandages on them. As soon as she sees it, I see the inner turmoil she is having. She looks up after clanging the chains on the floor, also letting a foreseen amount of non-friendly words come flying out. Once she gets in an upright position, she notices I am right there beside her and she jumps. I could tell she was still in a fog, not realizing I was there.
• “Marcus, you scared me.”
• “I am sorry Storm.”
• “What are you still doing here?”
• “You called for me in your sleep!”
• “I did what?”
• “Yes, you called for me a few times, and I turned back around to check on you.”
• Storm sat there puzzled, but then looked up, staring into Marcus’s eyes. “Well, thank you Marcus for coming back and checking on me. I am okay.” Storm sighs. Marcus, I am tired.
• “Oh, okay, I will leave you to rest then.”
• “No, Marcus I am tired. I cannot manage too much more of this, Marcus. My body is getting weaker each day and I can hold the food down when they decide to feed me. If I must go through more days of abuse, then it will be over for me. I just want you to know I appreciate your kindness. It is the only light in the darkness.” She placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze before her eyes grow heavy.
• Marcus cannot form a sentence at this moment and I can tell he is fighting an inner battle, but he does not know what I fight. He has not suffered what I have suffered.
• Yes, Marcus, your family is at risk, but I lose more each day at the hands of Daniel. I will never know who is alive or who is dead. I have missed so much and will never have the chance to get it back. Poison is a luxury I will take if given to me to end this misery. Thanks for what you do, but that still will not stop the torture. I will endure every time that devil steps down here.”