BOND

40.

For you, I would travel to outer space

Take a bullet to the heart just to keep you safe

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Joey dug his nails into his palm, instantly drawing blood. Taking in a shaky breath, he ground out, "Ellie?" His voice broke. He shook out his hand, a couple of drops of blood dropping onto his blanket.

Stumbling off the bed, he minced his feet into the middle of his room to stop them from shaking, "Are you hurt?"

A slight sob from her end widened the crack in his heart, "I'm okay."

Elena looked at the phone in desperation as it was dragged away from her scratched out, bleeding cheek. The man, the boy, who was the first face she had seen since waking up in the warehouse with a blinding headache, shot her the maniacal smile she was sickeningly getting used to, and clicked his tongue.

"You two are such liars," he dragged out the last word.

Joey squeezed his eyes shut, not recognizing his own taut voice, "Where is she?"

"Oh no, no. I am going to be doing the talking," the lilting voice said. "I'm Reese by the way. Really hoping you would know who I am, or this is going to embarrassing."

Joey looked out onto Elena's house and another second later the name and corresponding face clicked. In addition to everything else that was going on it didn't shock him that Reese was behind this. "Reese, you son of a bitch, I will tear your heart out and shove it down your throat if you lay one fucking hand on her."

Whatever morale reign Elena had laid on him had disintegrated at the first aching word out of her mouth.

Elena watched as he, Reese apparently, lost a bit of color from his face and looked around the dozen men prowling around the fully lit warehouse. The ropes dug into her wrists, adding another one to the list of injuries she was discovering by the second as consciousness came in. She must have cried because the front of her t-shirt was soaking but it could just as easily be blood.

The same blood that was pooling by her feet, having already drenched her leggings.

Whatever satisfaction Joey would have felt at the speechlessness was turning around into a mounting pile of guilt, fear and rage.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt her," Reese said, and Joey could feel him smirking and didn't even want to hear the rest of the sentence. "But we have plenty of company here."

"Reese," Joey hissed. "Tell me where she is and I'll kill you fast." He rubbed against his chest to relieve the pain inside as it turned physical.

Elena backed away into the wooden pole she was tied to, nowhere to actually go, as the bald guy stepped forward again with the slightest incline of Reese's head. She bit on her tongue, knowing that it was just a show being put on for Joey on the phone, as she was pushed down onto the ground.

Her right foot flamed up and she got her first clear look at it. Or what was left of it anyway.

Twisted to the side, it looked bashed in. Crushed into itself. The ankle was turned all the way over to the left leg, the blood on it hadn't dried so there was the smallest consolation of it still having something in it. She let out a hard gasping breath at the mangled sight.

"I was planning on getting you here initially," Reese chuckled mirthfully. "But then I reconsidered. Give the boys something to look at, if you know what I mean."