Knock Down, Drag Out / Book One

Chapter Twenty One

Darcy woke up with a jolt, heart racing and bile rising in her throat. She barely made it off the bed and into the bathroom in time to aim at the toilet, nothing but stomach acid hitting the water and burning the entire way up.

She wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand and stumbled through the room and into the hallway. She was starting to panic, could feel that something was wrong deep in her bones, and she knew the only way to calm her mind was to check on everyone inside the cabin.

She made her way downstairs and saw everyone in the living room, huddled together by the front door with Elijah on the couch; and her blood ran cold when she didn't see her twin at all.

"Where's Lylah?"

Darcy's heart felt like it was going to explode when Ruby looked over at her, tears rolling down her cheeks. Maddox moved towards Darcy and pulled her into his arms despite how much she resisted.

"We'll get her back. I promise, we're gonna get her back," Maddox soothed, pressing a kiss to the top of Darcy's head before passing her off to Stanford. He wrapped an arm around her waist to ensure that she wouldn't bolt for the front door and gave her a reassuring smile he didn't feel when she looked up at him.

Maddox made his way back over to the door and gently pushed his mother and brother out of the way so he and Damion could look into the yard.

"What happened to my sister?" Darcy asked, voice breaking and thick with unshed tears. She knew that this is what had woken her up. She couldn't explain it to anyone if they asked, knew that it would sound crazy. Twins really didn't communicate without words and couldn't feel each other's pain, but Darcy knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her sister being in danger is what jolted her awake and made her feel so sick to her stomach.

"She went outside to grab the extra bandages we picked up at the grocery store. She wanted to have them in here for when you had to redress Elijah's wound. I told her I would watch from the doorway to make sure she was okay. I turned back inside for just a few seconds to ask Elijah if he was okay when he started to moan, and when I turned back around she was gone."

Darcy looked over at Damion after his explanation, saw the anger and guilt in his eyes and gave him a weak smile.

"She would have gone out there with or without you watching from the door. Elijah was hurting and you got concerned, it's totally normal. The only person to blame is Steven."

Damion shook his head at Darcy but kept quiet. She might not blame him for her sister getting snatched by a psychopath, but he did.

Darcy relaxed against Stanford so he would loosen his grip and slipped out of his arm, going to sit on the couch beside Elijah. She saw Ruby's gun on the coffee table and casually reached forward, grabbing it and the bloody bandages from treating Elijah earlier all in one hand. She glanced around to make sure no one was really paying attention to her before standing up and making her way to the kitchen.

"I'm gonna go with Darcy and make some her some tea," Ruby said softly, trailing behind Darcy and raising an eyebrow at her once they were out of the line of sight of the living room.

Darcy threw away the trash and tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants, squaring her shoulders before facing Ruby. She didn't know how she saw her picking up the gun off the coffee table but she had to do this. She couldn't let her sister suffer when she had the power to make it all better.

"Don't ask me to stay," Darcy begged, reaching out and tangling her fingers with Ruby's. "I can't sit here and wait around while he has her. I can't let him hurt her when all I have to do is go outside and tell him that he can have me. I'm not built that way."

Ruby squeezed Darcy's fingers with her own and shook her head, almost positive that this was going to get someone killed. But she understood where Darcy was coming from. She wasn't so sure she could let the people she loved be in danger either, not if she had a way to stop it.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Ruby asked, nodding to the gun that was poking out from underneath Darcy's shirt. Darcy blushed and shook her head, not really wanting to admit it but she wouldn't lie to Ruby. Not when Lylah's life was on the line.

Ruby let go of her hand and walked back towards the doorway, looking in on the living room before nodding her head and making her way back to Darcy.

"They're still discussing a game plan. And since I know that you're doing this anyway, you stubborn little idiot, this is what we're going to do. My husband taught me how to shoot and I'm damned good at it. I'm coming with you. I can watch your back and if given the chance, I'm shooting Steven Lambert in his fucking head. The backdoor squeaks when you open it, so we'll go out of the window. It's about a three inch drop so we'll be fine. Go slip your shoes on."

Darcy stared at the woman in front of her and threw her arms around her, squeezing tight before locating her tennis shoes by the backdoor and slipping them on. She didn't exactly want Ruby to come with her, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't happy about it. Ruby gave her courage.

She made her way across the kitchen and came to a stop beside Ruby, looking around anxiously while she opened the window. Ruby went out first and Darcy followed behind her, landing softly on her feet.

She took the gun out of her waistband and handed it to Ruby, nodding her head towards the trees. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to find Lylah and Steven, but she knew one thing with absolute certainty: she was getting her fucking sister back.