A jolt shot through Emmett's chest as he sat up in alarm. His heart hammered in his chest. A light flickered in front of him amid the darkness, but it seemed so far away. It took him a moment to adjust to his dim surroundings. Goosebumps checkered his bare arms and legs. He realized he'd been stripped down to nothing but his boxers as he shivered.

"Fuck." Emmett grasped his pounding head when he sat up. Memories came crashing back, how Griffin had trapped him and drugged him. But where the hell was he?

Rough concrete laid beneath him and the walls were made from stone. Emmett reached out, dragging his fingers across the granite. He pulled himself to his feet, abandoning the flimsy pillow and blanket his captor provided. His legs wobbled with each step as he navigated the room he'd been confined to.

There were no windows or loose stones in the wall to crawl out of. When he reached the end of the room, he touched cold bars. Was it an underground prison? He yanked on the metal as if his trembling arms could break them right off. It was no use.

There had to be a way to escape. He refused to just lie down and wait for death. It wouldn't be long before his rebels realized he'd gone missing. They'd do everything in their power to find him. Until then, Emmett would do whatever he could to get the hell out. But there was nothing around him that could break the lock and the bars felt impenetrable.

Without thinking, Emmett screamed into the void. He wanted to provoke his captors. He wanted them to come rushing down to shut him up.

Was he alone down there? Did they plan to starve him to death? Were there others like him trapped down there too? Emmett yelled until his voice felt hoarse. He wanted to grab their attention. He wanted beat the fucking hell out of Griffin for this. That rat bastard survived the bullet wound and has been hunting him down this whole time.

"Be quiet." A woman's soft-spoken voice drifted through his ears. "They'll beat us for misbehaving."

"Where are you?" Emmett asked. "I can't see in this pitch black."

"Next cell beside you," she replied. "Corner of the room."

Emmett moved away from the bars, edging closer to the sound of her voice. She spoke in a hushed whisper, probably afraid of their captors overhearing them. It bothered Emmett none if they heard him. He wanted to provoke their asses.

"Where are we?" Emmett questioned, pressing his body close to the wall to hear her better. "I was drugged before being thrown in here."

"I don't know," she whimpered. "I was drugged too. Woke up in here. I'm not sure how long I've been down here. I've lost track of the days."

"Are there others down here?"

"Yeah, but the group I was with before... They've never returned," she said.

"They're dead then?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know. I think they sell them," she explained. "The guys always come down here, telling them how they're being bought, like merchandise."

"Ah, so this is Mayor Kaufman's huge secret," Emmett said. "Human trafficking."

Brian must've had a role in it. Perhaps he kept bringing their girls back to his house and it was causing problems. They were afraid that they'd get caught with him acting so ignorant. Everything was coming together now, and they'd thrown Emmett in the middle of it all.

"There has to be a way out of here," Emmett told her. "Maybe we can fight them when they visit. I know of two men, are there more?"

"Men come down to visit all the time," she replied. "It's not easy to fight them off."

"That doesn't mean we can't try it. Next time someone comes in here, I'm gonna attack the fucker." Emmett balled his hand in a fist. "Nobody's gonna treat me like their fucking prisoner."

"Hey, can I ask you something personal?"

Emmett frowned. "What is it?"

"Are you really a man? You sound like one, but I'm not sure."

"Fuck kind of question is that? Of course I am."

"I mean... Never mind. It's just, they've never brought a guy in here with us."

"I probably wasn't part of their plan," Emmett told her. "This is what Mayor Kaufman meant when he warned me to back off. I should've listened. He was trying to get me to back off. All along, he was nothing but a puppet, but he wanted me to stay away."

"What do you mean? I don't understand. Are you like, a cop?" she asked.

Not wanting to divulge his true identity, Emmett decided to go along with that. "Yeah, I've been investigating a recent strand of abducted women. I got led here and fell into their trap."

"Can't you call for backup? They can save us, right?"

"I'm stripped down to my underwear, lady. They took everything I had. How do you expect me to call for help?" Emmett scoffed. "No, our best chance at escaping is catching one of these bastards when they come down here. We're going to fight for our freedom."

"It won't work. I tried it before" she replied. "They're too strong. He has a taser."

"Doesn't matter. We can still take them on. You just need to have faith. You can trust me."

"Alright." Her voice didn't sound convincing to him. "What's your name?"

"Emmett," he answered honestly. "Yours?"

"Juliette."

"What's the last thing you remember before they kidnapped you?" Emmett asked.

"I'm not even from this town," Juliette said. "I came here to visit and somehow ended up meeting the wrong man. He promised me cocaine, and I was hooked by him. It didn't take long for him to lure me in here when I passed out. From what the last girl in your cell told me, I've been down here for over three years now."

"Jesus."

"All I want to do is see my son again," Juliette told him. "I want to apologize and beg him for forgiveness. Being down here made me realize a lot of things. I was a horrible mother to him, and even though I can't take that back, I'd do anything to hug him again."

"Oh yeah? I'm sure that's what a lot of moms think. Mine thinks she fucked me up too," Emmett replied. "No parent is perfect. What's your son's name?"

"Kazimir."

Emmett froze. It wasn't possible. She couldn't be... How..? What kind of fucked up coincidence was it that he'd been kidnapped with Kazimir's mother?

Then, realization clicked. They'd hatched this plan a long time ago. Emmett wasn't even their intended target anymore. It was Kazimir. Griffin wanted to lure him out with the people close to him. It explained that night with Kazimir hanging out at Jordy's. They had been after Jordy too.

"That's, um, a lovely name," Emmett stammered. "It's Russian, right?"

"Yeah, his father named him. He was from Russia. Bless his soul. He'd hate me for everything I've done to our family." Juliette sniffled. "I pushed him away. I called him a killer when he was just a scared child."

Keeping his ruse up would be impossible. Emmett couldn't just sit there and listen to her when he knew full well what she did to Kazimir when he was a mere child.

"You tried to kill your boy by injecting him with cocaine," Emmett spat, unable to resist himself. "He's still addicted to this day, blaming himself for everything because of you."

"Y-You know my Kazimir?"

Emmett bit down on his trembling lip. "I love him. More than anything. That's why I'm getting the fuck out of here."

💀

Emmett had been determined to keep his guard up and not fall asleep, but his mind battled against his wishes. He came to, disoriented and uneasy of his surroundings. What time was it? How long had passed since he'd been thrown in there?

"Son of a bitch," Emmett cursed.

Darkness surrounded him. That speck of light from before vanished. He pushed himself off the ground, pacing around the spacious cell. No matter where he felt around the room, he couldn't find an exit anywhere. Only those bars could grant him a way out. He needed Griffin or one of his goons to come check on them. When would their mealtime be? Emmett could pretend to play nice and beat the shit out of the next person who unlocked the door.

There was a chance that they came back down to check on them earlier and he slept through it. Nobody left him any food though. It wasn't like they considered him merchandise like the ladies either, so maybe they did plan to starve him to death. His cellmate, Kazimir's mother, didn't utter a word. Only her soft breathing could be heard amongst the silence. She probably wasn't dead yet.

Sitting in the darkness would make him lose his mind eventually. His stomach gurgled, making him realize how hungry he'd gotten. Would they feed them? If so, that could be his chance of escaping. If Juliette survived down there that long, then they had to be providing her meals. But when would that be? Did they feed her often?

"Hey," Emmett whispered. "You still alive over there?"

"Yeah," she croaked. "How are you doing?"

"I feel like I'm starving. Do they feed you every day?" Emmett asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe? I've lost track of time."

That wasn't too useful, but it didn't surprise Emmett. He couldn't determine the day or time either. How long had he been down there? Were his rebels looking for them? Kazimir must've known something was wrong when he didn't come back to the fair. When he got himself free, he'd be sure to make it up to him.

"They do feed you though, right?"

"Yeah. It's nothing special. Snacks usually. But sometimes they bring take-out. Like pizza."

"They probably pay in cash too, so nothing looks suspicious," Emmett said. "Snacks are also clever. I'm sure they don't want to provide utensils either, in case we'd use them as weapons."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

"I also think we were chosen on purpose," Emmett told her. "They're using us to get to Kaz. Not long ago, one of his close friends, Jordy, was attacked. Now that I think about it, Charlie was shot at too, but I assumed it was a gang hit. But maybe not. He might be a target."

"None of those names ring a bell. They're friends of my boy's?" Juliette asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"So, you're dating my Kazimir?" she asked. "How'd you guys meet?"

Emmett smirked. "He created a lovely portrait of me. It was history from there."

"He's still painting then?"

"Yeah, he's got his own art studio now too. Kaz is doing great without you," Emmett snapped.

"I know I was a horrible mother to him. I guess he told you everything."

"Why'd you do that to him?" Emmett asked. "You know, his life might not be so fucked up if it weren't for you. He never would've gotten addicted. He could be clean if it weren't for the gaslighting you did to him. Even now, he thinks being an addict and suffering is his punishment."

"I don't know. I was in pain and I... I wanted him to hurt too."

"You think he wasn't hurting already? Fuck, he'd just lost his dad and now his mother hates him. You were supposed to comfort him. You were supposed to tell him everything would be okay."

"He took the love of my life away from me. You have no idea how that feels."

"You're right, I don't. But if I had a kid like Kaz, I never would've done something as fucked up as you did," Emmett told her. "And that's saying a lot because I've done some fucked up shit."

"I'm not asking you for forgiveness. I'm just telling you what happened and why I did what I did," she replied. "I know I messed the poor boy up. If I could go back... I'd do everything differently. Abandoning Kaz when he needed me the most is something I'll regret until the day I die. If I don't make it out of here alive, I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Tell Kazimir I'm sorry, and that it wasn't his fault. It was a tragic accident. We all messed up."