Day 6
Tension rocked through Rafe's body, as he entered the house where Kiara was being kept. He felt like he had to urge each muscle in his arms to remain still, so that his hands wouldn't shake where they held the gun. He felt like a tightly coiled spring, ready to explode at any moment. Making his way room by room through the entry level, Rafe felt his body light up with the dull aches and pains from the past day. Blood still marked his lip where it had been split. His mouth was slightly pouted and sore to the touch, from the blow he'd taken.
The sleeves of the white linen shirt he'd been wearing now for way too long were rolled up, exposing his well-developed forearms and bloody knuckles. He made a good-looking action hero. The unusual role reversal almost made him laugh, were it not for the danger Kie was in. Normally, he was the villain in her story, storming in to mess up her friends' plans.
Peels of deep male laughter coming from a distant room cleared his mind of any thoughts but finding her and getting them out of here.
Making sure each step was quick and soundless, Rafe moved like a predator in the direction of the sounds. He made his way towards a partially open door, where he could see light seeping out into the room. From his position at the top of the staircase, Rafe couldn't see well enough to know what was happening below, if Kiara was even there, or how many guards he should expect.
It was Kiara's voice, definitively yelling, "Stop! Get off me!" that spurred him into immediate action.
Rage exploded through him, all too familiar. Rafe shoved the door the rest of the way open with his shoulder and bounded down the stairs, fast and efficient. Gun pointed, he took in the image of Kiara, like he'd never seen her before, curled in on herself. He saw one of two guards first, stretching his arm across the table towards her, the thin strap of Kiara's bralette between his fingers, as if he was going to pull it off her shoulder.
Her dark eyebrows were knitted together with worry. The change in her facial expression when she looked up at Rafe, bounding down the stairs, was instant. Relief flowed over her. How much had changed in one week that she'd gone from close to having a screaming match when seeing Rafe at Singh's house to now, being infinitely grateful to see him?
Her eyes softened as they met his dark, unflinching gaze. She opened her mouth to say something, as she sprang up from her chair.
"Get the fuck away from her!" Rafe pointed his gun, first at the guard who'd touched Kiara, then at the other one who had moved to touch his gun on his holster. "And don't even fucking think about it," he bit, nodding his head towards their guns.
Thing 1's eyes narrowed, annoyed at the interruption.
"Get your hands up," Rafe said slowly, enunciating each syllable. "Put 'em on the wall," he ordered. He couldn't help but look over at Kiara's face, studying every inch. The two men moved over to the wall, obediently following the orders of the guy with the gun who looked like he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Kiara, standing now, moved towards Rafe, and turned to show him her arms tied behind her back.
"Some help please?" she asked, pulling at her wrists.
Rafe tried to swallow the acidic feeling that spread across his chest, seeing Kie shackled. This was a feeling he'd had time and again, that made him want to punch straight through a wall, or scream, or hurt someone, but he'd never been in the position of having someone to defend before. It sort of helped him finally understand that feeling. As long as he could remember, Rafe had this urge to fight, but now he had something to fight for.
Rafe went rooting through the pockets of the guard closer to him, his gun pointed at the side of the guard's face, looking for something to break Kiara's zip-ties with. In one, he found a box cutter and quickly removed it, then backed away slowly. Neither of the guards looked like they wanted to lose their life over this.
