Chapter 39 prisoner of fate

…Tyler POV…
They say that life flashes before your eyes when you are near death. I might not be near death, but something has just flashed before my eyes. I can see as Brooke is knocked backward, Clara has just shot her in the shoulder. I can see her cringe as she tries to get back on her knees. But Clara s gun is still drawn on her. Without even hesitating another moment, I watch in slow motion as Brooke squeezes the trigger of her Ruger. In less than two seconds, Clara drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
She immediately comes rushing over to me while the Marshall is busy untying the ropes at my hands and feet. I can only see tears that are streaming down her face as she comes to a stand in front of me, "Fuck you gave me a fright. Can you stop getting your ass into trouble?"
I burst out in laughter as I clench at my ribs. As I slowly rise from the chair, I can see them placing Mark in a black body bag. Well, this is not the way I wanted this day to go, but I guess, and fuck do I even want to say it, but I guess once again it is a life for a life.
And this brings me to my question, "Is Jenna safe?"
I watch as Brooke avoids keeping her eye contact with me and look at the direction of the door. She has never been good at lying, and she is about to attempt it. "She is…"
"Brooke, don t bullshit me. Is Jenna safe?"
"We," she starts off as a whisper, "We don t know where she is."
"What the fuck do you mean that you don t know where she is?"
"She told me that she was heading out to the shop," Brooke explains. "But then, all of a sudden, we got a message from her sending us your location."
I only but shake my head as none of what she says is making sense, "How did she get my location?"
"We went to Brendan to see if he could tell us, but we got no help from him."
"Why Brendan?"
"Mark and Brendan are friends."
There is a wave of horror that creeps over my spine at the very mention, "Where is Brendan?"
"He is still in prison. I…" Brooke hesitates as she is about to speak. "I think that she went back there."
My voice raises but a pitch higher as my screams echo through the empty warehouse, "For fuck sakes. We have to go there now."
With that, me, with my bloody and bruised up body, races for the car and make our way to the prison. I just hope that she is still there, or at least she has gone home, but my attempts to phone her go unanswered, and neither is she answering the home phone.
For fuck sakes, Jenna, how can you have been so reckless?
…Jenna POV…
So I have sealed my fate again.
It seems that I now belong to the man that I have been trying to run away from for all that time. But I am hoping by now that they have found Tyler and that he is safely on his way back home. I know that he is going to be worried if he does not find me there, and when he finds out what I have done, I know that he is going to be furious.
Brendan has not made me get rid of my phone yet; as soon as I am alone for a minute, then I will send him a message. He cannot come to look for me; I am scared that man that I paid will come after him. I don t know what Brendan has got himself messed up with, and I do not want to find out either.
So after what seems like forever, we part in front of a small house in a part of the outer city limits. I have no idea where I am, but what I do know now that I have become Brendan s willing prisoner. Yes, he has not taken me by force, but I have given myself to spare Tyler s life. Brendan must be pretty assured that Tyler would not be able to find me here.
Guess this is yet another case of Déjà vu. I have created another monster that has him in my grasp. I guess that my lifestyle is finally catching up with me. At least I am hoping that Mark will not come after me, too, for I don t think there is a chance that Tyler has left him alive.
As we step inside the house, he takes me on a tour of the place, "This is where we will stay. Well, at least until we have the papers ready to leave the country."
"What do you mean leave?"
"Oh, Jenna, did you really think I am going to keep you here where he can find you. But don t worry, I will look after you."
I only but nod my head as he disappears off to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. It seems that he has had this planned out well. So I slowly walk up to him and softly speak as not to interrupt him watching the game, "I am going to lie down for a bit, you don t mind, do you?"
"Don t get any ideas; you know what will happen if you leave."
I make my way to the room and curl up into a bundle on the bed, but then I remember that I still have my phone with me. While I keep an eye on the door, I start typing a message.
"Tyler, don t worry, I am…"
Just then, Brendan comes walking into the room and grabs the phone from my hand, and pulls me by my wrist off the bed.
"Ouch, Brendan, you are hurting me."
"What the fuck do you think you are doing."
"Nothing," I try to reassure him. "I was only checking if there were any messages to say that Tyler is safe."
"Do not lie to me, Jenna."
He has his big hands tightly wrapped around my wrists; he is squeezing so hard it feels like he is going to break my hands off. He is pulling and shaking me as he repeats his question over and over again. When I do not answer, he strengthens his grip and starts to twist my arm.
"What did you do Jenna," his voice comes rumbling from his chest. "Did you message that husband of yours"
"Brendan, please let me go; you are hurting me." I try furiously to rip my hands away from his grip, but he only firms it harder as his fingers dig deep into my flesh.
"What did you do, Jenna?"
He lets go of my one wrist and takes my chin firmly in his hand, "Answer me."
"Brendan, please."
His voice grows louder and louder as he demands me to answer, "Answer me."
"I.." my voice hesitates as my mind tells me to give him the truth. If I don t answer him now, he is never going to stop. "I tried to send Tyler a message."
"You goddamn bitch. Give me that fucking phone."
The hand that was holding my chin so firmly is now raised above his head. With one swift motion, the flat of his hand connects with my cheek. The pain of the impact stings through my body.
"If you ever try that again, I will have him killed."
He grabs me by my neck, squeezing firmly. It feels like with another small fraction, and he'd be snapping my bones.
"I am sorry, Brendan. Please, I am sorry."
He pushes me back on the bed as he says that, pointing his finger in my face, "Do not cross me, Jenna. You will be sorry if you do."
He pulls me back off the bed with so much force that I can hear the bones in my hands click. He holds onto my upper arms and shakes me as if he is trying to shake the words from my body. But before I can answer him again, he slaps my face so hard, the impact makes me lose my balance, and my body falls to the floor.
Then it goes dark.