Runner (Riders of Apollo #3)

Chapter Thirty-One: Raphael Flores

I almost squeal in delight as my hands wrap around the familiar leather of my cut. It's taken me a long while to find this baby, hidden in his office underneath the cushions of the couch. Creepy much.

I sneak back down to my bedroom, feeling extra giddy to have my cut back and I do the standard locking mechanism on my door that means I have to climb to my bed.

I have been irritating the living shit out of Douchebag every second I'm with him, I'm almost certain that he regrets kidnapping me. Every time he talks I just make weird gibberish noises, he tries to touch or kiss me, I sneeze violently enough to head butt him. 

When he tries to play footsies under the table I kick him in the shins, knees and once I got him right in the bollocks. He's tried countless times to get into my room, tugging viciously on it and even getting his guards to try while I laugh gleefully behind it.

I have got a knife in my pocket, thankfully, it's one of those big carving knives that could probably take off someone's hand. I wanted the cleaver, obviously, but it wouldn't fit in my pocket which I was extremely sad about. It's like putting candy in front of a child and then telling them not to eat it.

I tuck my cut underneath my mattress after folding it neatly before grabbing the shitty little NOKIA that I stole from one of the guards. They're really not very vigilant, they just look intimidating because of the armour and the weapons but with my smile and my charm, I can do whatever I want.

I quickly dial the only number I cared to remember. "Hello." My heart stutters at the sound of his voice and I slip into the bathroom, locking the door behind me and hiding in the bath.

"Mika." I almost whimper and he starts stuttering, calling for Ollie almost immediately.

"Raphe, are you okay?" Mika asks while tapping away at the computer I know is in front of him.

"I'm fine, he hasn't done anything yet. How are you? How's Ollie?"

"I'm doing okay, his nightmares have gotten worse but he's doing as well as he can considering."

"Wait! You have a mole, you have to be careful."

"I know, love. It's Blade, he doesn't know a thing. Ollie, you wanna say hi to daddy?"

"Daddy?" I almost break down at Ollie's voice, he sounds so tired and desperate that my heart jumps to my throat as I stop my tears before they fall.

"Hey little man." I try and reassure him but my voice breaks as I continue to fight with my emotions.

"You have to come back soon." He demands and I laugh softly.

"I will, hijo, I promise." (son) I don't even know if that's true but if it makes today easier for him then that's enough for me.

"Can you go and get Saviour for me, little man?" Mika asks and I can hear shuffling on the other side as Ollie hurries off to do so. "We're coming for you tomorrow night, you have to be okay by then. Promise me, Raphe."

"I will come back to you, Mika. I told you, forever."

"Yeah, I guess you did." The phone is then snatched from his hand and Saviour's voice rings in my brain as she shouts down the line.

"You little shit! You have me worried sick!" I then explain how long he's been stalking me for and why he's taken me and she kicks it up another notch, "I swear to God when I get my hands on that sick freak I will cleve his skin from his fucking bones and feed them to his fucking dogs."

"Sounds fair." I laugh softly but subsequently jump when a loud knocking sounds at the door. "Shit, I have to go. I love you all." They can only just reply with the same sentiment before I slip the phone behind the pipes under the sink and head over to the door, checking the clock on the way.

"Dinner." The gruff voice of my favourite guard, Stanza, shouts from the other side and I find myself swinging the door open with a shit eating grin.

"Thanks Stanz." I smack his cheek - face cheek not butt cheek - before heading up the stairs ready to wreak some more havoc. With renewed hope and spirit hidden inside, I get ready for the normal routine.

We all eat dinner with me expertly ignoring Douchebag before we head to the cinema to watch some stupid movie where I sit like an idiot and pretend snore for the entirety of the film before 'accidentally' spilling soda and popcorn everywhere when I jolt 'awake' in 'surprise'.

Unfortunately, when I get to the dining room I only see Maria - sorry, Laura - no kids to entertain and no Douchebag to piss off. "Maria, where is everyone?" I ask in Spanish, watching as her back tenses and her movements stop.

"He got a call from the Russian Mafia to take and the kids are at a friends house." I jolt in surprise as she effortlessly replies, seemingly no longer worried about her husband catching her speaking Spanish.

She looks over her shoulders and out all of the doors before shutting them and hurrying over to me, placing her hands gently around my wrists with tears in her eyes. "Raphael, I'm scared. He's involved with so many bad people and I don't know what to do. Daddy won't let me go back home and mama says that she'll only think about it if I leave him. He'll hurt me, he'll hurt my babies, Raphie please, help me." She starts sobbing and I quickly bring her into my embrace, soothing her with soft whisperings that mama used to whisper to us when we were children.

She starts whispering apology after apology, begging for my forgiveness and my heart breaks further for her. I know she did what she had to do to keep herself and her babies alive, especially because she didn't know any other way but I guess now she understands that I'm here now and I can help.

"It's okay, Maria, we will get out of here and I'll help you get out of the country. Maybe you could go back to Spain and start over. No mama or papa looking over your shoulder, no Douchebag, just you and your babies in a nice little villa and a nice job."

"How?" She wipes her cheeks, looking up at me with wide but hopeful eyes and I just give her a smirk.

"Trust me, baby sister, I'll get us out of this." She laughs softly and kisses my cheek. My heart feels a lot lighter now, knowing that I won't be leaving her here at the mercy of Douchebag and his idiot guards who don't have a moral compass or a flicker of empathy.

I can't fucking wait to torture this sick motherfucker after everything he's done.