Haunted | Obispo Losa

Chapter Eighteen

Feeling her body swinging back and forth ever so slightly, Tessa slowly starts to stir. Her eyes take time to adjust to the dim light, her body aching as it hangs down, her head pounding from being knocked unconscious. Instinctively Tessa licks her lips, feeling the broken skin from lack of hydration, her throat hoarse.

Hanging her head back, Tessa clenches her teeth at the sight of her wrists, bound tightly by a rope that cuts into her skin at every movement. Tessa tries to take in her surroundings, freezing when she notices a small dog cage to her left, with someone curled up in it.

"Em?" She calls out, her throat burning.

The person sits up, Emily's fear-stricken face stained with tears as she grips onto the bars. "Tessa, what the fuck's going on?"

Before Tessa can attempt to respond, a door slams against metal, the echo of heavy footsteps marching toward the two girls. Tessa stares at the figure, waiting for them to step into the light and reveal themselves. She can just make out a gesture of their arm, another person stepping out of the darkness with a cup in his hand.

They're not masked, big mistake. Narrowing her eyes as he approaches, Tessa glances down at the cup, confused as to why they'd hydrate her. He says nothing, shoving the small plastic cup in her face as the water soothes her dry throat.

Her eyes zone in on the figure exiting the shadows, cursing at the sight of him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." She scoffs, not expecting the person who relieved her quench, to punch her in the stomach.

Tessa groans, hearing Emily's soft cries as she watches her protector get hit. Tessa releases a heavy breath, glaring at Marilyn as he walks closer. "Good morning Tessa, hope you enjoyed your sleep."

"Was putting her in a fucking dog cage really necessary!" Tessa spits, earning herself another hit to the stomach.

Marilyn says nothing, squinting his eyes at Tessa as she vulnerably dangles down, unable to defend herself. He puts his hands behind his back, tilting his head. "Where's my daughter?"

Tessa inwardly rolls her eyes, unable to believe he is going to this extent to find Anita. When Tessa stares back at Marilyn in silence, she is punched in the face, blood spurting from her nose. She tastes blood in her mouth, spitting it at the ground as she feels it running down her lips and chin.

"I don't know where she is," Tessa spits blood again, grinning at Marilyn. "For this exact reason." Her comment lands her a hit to the mouth, her lip splitting open against her teeth.

Standing around the table, Bishop clenches his jaw in anticipation as Nestor hooks the dashcam up to the laptop for everyone to see. Nestor checks his phone for when Tessa called him, moving the video to minutes prior to see when the car started tailing them. The camera focuses out the back, not seeing much as Tessa drives away from the house.

For the first few minutes, it is silent until Emily speaks up, asking about Bishop. Naturally, Bishop sucks in a breath as he waits for Tessa's answer. Everyone quickly glances at Bishop as Tessa begins to talk, chuckling as she mentions them always having sex. Bishop shakes his head quietly, listening as she continues.

"That must be the car," Nestor comments on a set of lights coming up behind them, but Bishop can't focus on that. He's too wrapped up in hearing Tessa describe her past life as Miguel's bounty.

He balls his fist at the mention of Marilyn, Alvarez coming to stand closer. Tessa never really spoke about Marilyn beside's the day at the Casino, having remembered her call with Anita the next morning and the mentioning of her mother.

Angel chokes on-air as Tessa talks about Bishop again. "I get to wake up next to a sexy naked man every morning." Bishop's heart tears, he should be waking up next to her tomorrow.

The video continues, both girls sitting in comfortable silence before Tessa curses. She's realised she's being followed, Bishop thinks, his eyes widening as he notices the gun slide out of the car window. Miguel breathes a sigh of relief as Tessa tells Emily to duck, she saw it. Bishop closes his eyes for a moment as the car unleashes fire upon Tessa and Emily, shattering the window.

"Stopping shooting at my fucking car!" If it would be under different circumstances, everyone would laugh, knowing how much Tessa loves her Range Rover. Nestor grinds his teeth as he realises this is when she rings him, her car turning a corner after explaining the company.

The room falls tense as they watch Tessa's car start flipping, finally stopping on the roof. Bishop's blood boils as he hears Tessa coughing, the car now identified as a van pulling up in view of the dashcam, two men sliding the door open and rushing toward the Range Rover. Miguel clenches his teeth as they carry an unconscious Emily, shoving her into the van.

Bishop's eyes rim with tears as he sees the state of Tessa from the street lights. "I'm gonna slit your fucking throats," Tessa spits, being shoved into the van next to Emily. Bishop can't watch as Tessa is knocked unconscious, the van reversing and driving out of the camera.

Nestor pauses the video, everyone looking to Miguel and Bishop as they run over what just happened to their girls. In the spur of the moment, Bishop hits his fist on the table, startling everyone. Alvarez looks to Miguel and Bishop.

"Tessa's tough, she can handle anything they throw at her. But Emily? Who knows why they're after them, maybe to try hurt Miguel-"

"No, no we have no rising threats. And even if we did, it makes no sense as to why they took Tessa." Miguel cuts Alvarez off.

Angel shakes his head. "It doesn't fucking matter why the took them. They took my baby sister, our fucking sister," Angel gestures to EZ. "I don't care if she's tough, she shouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

Bishop thinks for a moment, if Miguel has no suspecting rivals, then who the fuck is it? He thinks back to the dashcam and it clicks. "Marilyn!" Everyone turns to Bishop. "It's Marilyn, you heard Tess, he's pissed he can't find Anita. So he goes after the only person who knows where she is."

Alvarez nods his head, it finally makes sense. "And where is Anita?"

"With her mother but Tess doesn't know exactly, only that one of her contacts took Anita to a bus stop after the Casino. She didn't want to know their location for this exact reason." Bishop informs everyone, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Pulling it out, he frowns at Tessa's name. He opens the message, clenching his jaw as he sees an attached video.