Finding Beauty

Chapter 41

~Beauty~

My breathing picks up as I eye the gun he so proudly holds. With his mask up, I have a clear view of his face. He looks a lot like his brother except a bit older. And wilder. His eyes shine with a wickedness I've never seen before. His smile stretches from ear to ear like it's been pinched up by the edges. He shakes his head at me and slowly places his arm down, resting the gun at his side.

"How wonderful," he says, his voice dark like blood. "How wonderful it is to get revenge." His words float out so easily it frightens me. Has he any humanity left? He's as giddy as a kid in a candy store.

I let my eyes wander the room. The ceiling is low and it's dark. The only light coming from the lamp above me and two others spread across the room. The floor is concrete and there is nothing but the occasional box in sight. A sign rest near a staircase a few get away. Basement.

Basement of the museum, right? Don't tell me I've been kidnapped by another criminal. My worries are relieved by the faint and distant pound of music.

Gale can't be far.

Tyler takes a chair from the corner of the room and casually sits on it while I watch from the ground. I'm so terrified I can't move. My bones have frozen up.

"This is nothing personal but that man...he killed my brother." Pain is clear on his face. He covers his mouth with his hand and shakes his head again. "He took him away from me. I can't forgive that. I can't just move on. I have to get revenge. I have to make things right."

Tyler's broken and because of that has gone unhinged. The death of his brother really messed him up. All the anger and sadness piled up and hardened into something ugly. Gale was similar to him once- when he lost his mother- but he changed. This man- I'm not sure if he could. He's gone too far. He has me here, ready to kill me. I won't turn into a rose. I'll die. Is there any turning back for him? What is the place of no return?

He cocks his gun. I jump back and yelp. My hands scrape the floor and I push myself up as if there is some way I could escape. I'm cornered. He stands up from his chair and paces across the room.

Maybe if I distract him- at least for a little while Gale will come and help. Where is he anyways?

"How did you know?" I blurt out, my voice shaky. "How did you know where The Beast lives, who he really is, and about me?"

He sharply turns and stares for a few long moments. Then shrugs. "I guess I can tell you. I mean, two can keep a secret is one of them is dead." The word makes me wobble in my spot.

Dead.

"I got an anonymous tip. I found a letter in front of my house." He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and takes out a rolled up paper. He tosses it at me and with shaky hands, I catch it.

The paper is old and yellow. The words written in scripted black ink.

The Beast killed your brother.

"Then, over the next few days I received more notes with more information. I was able to find his mansion and do some spying." He laughs even though nothing he said was funny. "I don't know who sent the letters but they sure are my new favorite person."

Who would know those things about Gale? And why would they tell Tyler Daniels?

He looks back at his gun and weighs it in his hands. I need to distract him some more.

Think. Think. Think.

"Did you drug me? Are you the one who sent the drink?" I wonder out loud.