At the door, the man she’d heard them call Victor stopped and smiled. “Actually, you’re going to pay for it. Or at least your daddy will. Now, do what she says or I’ll mark up that pretty face even more.”
When the door closed, Skylar swung around and connected her head with the woman’s cheek.
“Dammit.” The woman jerked back and snarled, “If you don’t behave, I’m going to knock you out again.” Grabbing Skylar’s arm, she pushed her onto the bed. “Understand?”
Landing on her side on the mattress, Skylar glared up at the woman. Damned if she’d answer her.
Her hands on her hips, she frowned at Skylar. “Look, just do what he says, whenever he says it. You’ll be fine.”
“I’ll pay you to help me get away.”
“Thanks, but I’d like to keep all of my parts exactly where they are.”
Before Skylar could react, the woman flipped her over onto her stomach and untied her hands. Holding them tight, giving Skylar no time to move, she wrapped handcuffs around her wrists and locked them to the railing of the bed. “Now, behave. It’ll be over soon.”
Skylar rolled around for a more comfortable position. Settling her head against the bed rail, she looked up at her female captor. “Why are you doing this?”
A catlike smile curved her lips. “It pays the rent.”
“Do you know anything about Kendra?”
For an instant, Skye saw confusion. “Who?”
“The girl abducted earlier.”
“I don’t know a Kendra. You’re the only one here.”
Sorrow filled Skylar. “Oh God, I’ll never find her. She might even be dead.”
“Victor doesn’t kill unless there’s money in it.”
“Not Victor … the other men. The first ones who took me. They took her, too, but wouldn’t tell me anything about her.”
“Those kind of men don’t kidnap to kill either.”
“Then for what?”
A fleeting shadow darkened her face. “I don’t know.” Her eyes narrowed as they examined Skylar. “You know, you’ve got some nasty bruises on your face and you’ve been drugged. Maybe you’re just imagining it.”
“No. I went to the warehouse to look for Kendra, and that’s when I was taken.”
Another odd look flickered across the woman’s face. “Well, we don’t have her.” She glanced down at her watch and then at the door as though distracted. Then, as if realizing she’d lost her meanness momentarily, she gave Skylar an ice-cold smile. “Just pray your papa loves you as much as you think he does.”
Skylar examined the woman more closely. Beneath the thick makeup, she saw skin that was unbelievably clear and youthful-looking. This woman couldn’t be more than twenty-two or so, if that, though it was obvious she tried to age herself with the harsh makeup and brassy bleached hair color.
Coming from a world where everyone tried to appear as youthful and attractive as possible, Skylar was intrigued by fact that this woman tried to do the exact opposite.
“How old are you?”
The woman snorted. “Older than you think or none of your damn business. Take your pick.”
Her wrist aching from the cuff, Skylar rubbed her skin. “Why—”
“Listen, I’m sure you’d love to have a girl chat, but it’s not really my thing. And I don’t get paid enough to waste my time on it. Just stay out of Victor’s way. Keep your mouth shut. Do what ever he tells you to do. And do not even try to get out of here on your own. I promise, you’ll regret it. When your daddy pays the money, you can go. Till then—”
“Can I at least have some water?”
With an exasperated sigh, the woman turned her back to look around. “I don’t see—”
Using her shoulders for balance, Skylar raised a long leg and made a hard swipe at the woman with her foot, knocking her backward. On the way to the floor, the woman’s head thumped the edge of the bedside table. Her glazing eyes wide with surprise, she muttered, “He didn’t mention how much trouble you’d be.”
Skylar knew she had only a few seconds to act. The woman was unconscious, but there was no way to know how long she’d stay that way. Stretching her leg, grateful for her long, slender toes, Skylar eased her foot into the woman’s pocket. She’d seen her drop the keys there after she’d cuffed Skylar.
Tension pounded through her, followed by overwhelming relief when her toes touched the keys and slid them from the pocket. Twelve years of dance classes were finally paying off. Her body supple and limber, she brought her foot to her hands and grabbed on to the key. Fingers shaking with exhilaration and fear, she inserted the key into the hole. A click indicated the sweet sound of freedom.
Swinging her feet to the floor, she bounced from the bed. Her eyes fixed on the unconscious woman, Skylar skirted her body and skulked to the door. Hand on the knob, she took a bracing breath and twisted. The door burst open. Skylar fell back and swallowed a scream. One of Victor’s men—the one who’d made some of the most offensive remarks—stood before her. Hair cut in a buzz and almost no eyebrows, the man looked as though he’d just escaped from an insane asylum. The almost maniacal laugh that burst from him told Skylar she might well be right.
“Going for a walk, little girl?”
Skylar backed away and glanced around for a weapon. Dammit, why hadn’t she thought to look for one before? There was nothing to grab on to, nothing to throw. She braced herself as he came toward her. Two years of self-defense classes and a lifetime of living in New York City—she could defend herself. She’d been caught by surprise before, and there had been two of them. Handling this one bastard should be no problem.
Knees slightly apart, arms at her side, she waited. An instant before he grabbed for her, Skylar shot her fist into his throat. Then the side of her foot flew to his knee. He clutched his throat, gagging.
Triumph soared. Agony followed a second later as his fist slammed into her jaw. Her legs went out from under her. She barely comprehended the pain of slamming backward onto the floor before he threw himself on top of her, wrapped his hands around her neck, and started to squeeze.
Her vision rapidly blurring, she recognized a killing hatred in his expression, along with the erection he was grinding against her.
Her savior came from an unlikely source.
She dimly heard the woman’s voice. “Edmond! What the hell are you doing?”
Her vision full of black spots, Skylar gurgled, gasping. Underneath the deafening roar in her head, she heard the satisfying clunk when the woman bashed her gun against the man’s head.
He snarled, “The bitch hurt me. She’s going to find out what real hurt is.”
“I don’t care if she killed you. Get off her.”
When he continued to squeeze, Skylar closed her eyes against the ugly, vicious face above her. With one last desperate move, she forced her knee up and rammed him in the balls. Just as unconsciousness blacked out her vision and blanked her mind, she felt the pressure around her neck disappear. Unable to hold on, Skylar passed out.
McKenna glared at the man she’d just knocked the hell out of as she checked Skylar’s pulse. She didn’t know who she was more angry with—Skylar James for trying to escape, Edmond Fritz for trying to rape the girl, or herself for letting her guard down. If Victor found out, there would be hell to pay.
“What the hell’s going on?”
Oh shit. McKenna sprang to her feet and whirled around to face Victor. The rage in his cold, mean eyes wasn’t something she hadn’t seen before, but she didn’t like it when it was directed at her or her charge. “Edmond got carried away.”
They both looked down at the unconscious man lying beside the unconscious Skylar.
“How she’d get unlocked?”
Hell, she hated this part. “Edmond unlocked her … said he wanted to get a taste before you let her go.”
“Fucking bastard. I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his dick in his pants. Get rid of him.”
Ignoring the nausea in he
r stomach, she nodded. When she’d told the lie, she’d known what it would lead to. Getting rid of Edmond meant one less man she had to worry about. That didn’t mean that she would enjoy the deed. Even though she knew Edmond had murdered and raped most of his adult life, killing never came easy to her. She figured when it did, the soul that had been shrinking for years would finally dissolve forever.
Victor picked Skylar up and dumped her back on the bed. McKenna turned to see him pull out a small bottle of liquid and a needle from his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Just ensuring she won’t cause any more problems. With the right amount of this stuff, she’ll sleep through Armageddon.”
As McKenna tugged Edmond’s still-unconscious body from the room, a thought came to her that if Gabe Maddox got hold of him, Victor would be wondering if Armageddon really had happened.
McKenna had worked with Gabe on several ops, and if there was one man she figured she never wanted to piss off, it’d be Gabe. More the type to beat the hell out of a person first and ask questions later, Gabe didn’t shrink away from the hard stuff.
Unlike her.
Gritting her teeth and holding her breath, McKenna squeezed the trigger and ended the worthless life of Edmond Fritz. Then, doing what she always did, she ran to the bathroom and threw her guts up.
Turning to the sink, she cupped water in her hands to rinse the vile taste from her mouth. Not seeing a towel, she pulled her shirt up and, ignoring the deathly pale face in the mirror in front of her, wiped her mouth. Then, taking a deep breath, McKenna straightened her spine and opened the door. “I’m taking the garbage out, be back in a few minutes.”
Victor came to the door. “Lester and I will load him in your car. My other prize is stashed just a few miles down the road, so I’m headed over there. Lester and Stan will stay here till you get back.”
They both glanced down at Edmond, who looked no different really, other than his eyes were closed and he had a neat little hole in the middle of his forehead. “Take Eddy boy over to the morgue on Sixty-first Street. Wait for payment. I’ll call and let them know you’re coming and how much I want. Fresh, young body like that ought to bring in more than that old geezer I sold them last year.”
McKenna swallowed a shudder. She didn’t want to know what these people would want a dead body for, other than burial. She had more important things to worry about. Two people who were still very much alive and she could do something for. Unfortunately for Edmond, she’d done all she could do for him.
She heard soft grunts and some curses as Victor and Lester carried Edmond to her car. The trunk squeaked open and Edmond’s body made a loud thud when they threw him inside. She was glad she’d lined the car with plastic right after she’d picked it up from the rental company. Explaining massive amounts of blood when she returned it wasn’t something she wanted to deal with.
With a nod to Victor, she jumped in the car and headed to the morgue. She’d give Victor about five minutes before she called Gabe. The last thing she wanted was for Victor and Gabe to have a confrontation. Lucas Kane was somewhere close by. Until she knew where, Victor had to stay alive.
For the first time in a long time, McKenna thought she might not mind having to kill when the time came. She could think of only one other man who deserved death more than Victor.
Like a caged panther, Gabe paced back and forth in his hotel room. Even after years of freedom, staying locked up in a room for more than a few hours still drove him crazy. The fact that he hadn’t heard from McKenna sure as hell wasn’t helping. What was taking her so long?
Ever since he’d learned of Skye’s kidnapping, he’d done his best not to think about what she was going through. For years, he’d been angry with her. Only recently had he realized the anger no longer existed. They’d both been young and foolish—reckless. After the hell he’d just come from, Skye had seemed like a godsend. An innocent, beautiful angel. He had projected onto her so many qualities she’d never possessed. His blindness and naïveté had led to the destruction of his dreams. Not Skye.
For the first time in a long time, Gabe allowed himself to think about the vivacious, seemingly wholesome beauty he’d met all those years ago.
Eight years ago
Kalamina Island, South Pacific
“What do you think?”
Gabe turned from the mirror he’d been grimacing into. Wearing a tie felt as foreign to him as shoes would to a dog. It was almost unnatural.
He caught his breath on a gasp, his discomfort completely forgotten. Never had he seen a more beautiful sight in his life. At any time, Skye was beautiful, but today she went beyond into a sphere he didn’t know existed. The short, white satin dress lovingly hugged every beautiful curve. The only time he’d ever seen her more exquisite was last night, when he’d seen her nude for the first time. He hardened at the sweet memory.
“Uh-oh, you don’t like it?”
Hard to believe that someone with Skye’s looks could sound so uncertain and vulnerable. One of the many reasons he loved her so much.
Gabe shook his head as he slowly walked toward her. “I just can’t believe how incredible you look. You do know you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, don’t you?”
Her smile tightened for an instant, her eyes revealing that vulnerability even more. “You’re the only one I care about thinking that. You know that, don’t you?”
Stopping within inches of her, he gazed down at the beauty before him. In just a few short hours, she would become his wife. How the hell had he gotten so lucky? After the past few years, Gabe had figured any happiness in his life he’d already received. And then, the instant he met Skye, all of that had changed.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather wait and have a larger wedding with your family?”
She scrunched her pretty nose into a cute grimace. “Trust me. Having a big wedding doesn’t interest me in the least. My mother would turn it into a circus. This way, we get to have the wedding we want.” Her hands grasped his shoulders as her lips lifted in a sexy curve. “And we can have the honeymoon we want, too.”
Dipping his head, his mouth covered hers, devouring her sweetness. Skye groaned and pressed deeper into him. Memories of the night before appeared in his mind. Skye’s beauty. Her passion. And the never-ending want he had for this woman. The instant they’d made love, he’d wanted her again.
Gabe abruptly pulled away. One more second in her arms and he’d say to hell with the marriage vows and head straight into the honeymoon. He wanted her like nothing he’d ever wanted in his life, but he wanted her permanently. Legally and forever. An unbreakable bond.
Giving him that oh-so-sexy, satisfied look, she whispered, “Let’s go get married.”
The cellphone in his pocket vibrated, jerking Gabe back into the present. He grabbed the phone, eager to get to the job he’d come here for. Thinking about the clueless idiot he’d been back then served no purpose other than to make him angrier at himself.
Now it was time to go rescue the girl who’d started it all.
seven
The dream started as it always did. Gabe was lying beside her in bed, whispering soft, sexy words as he caressed her face. She loved this part of the dream. The part where he was so warm and dear. The part where there was still hope. Soon the nightmare would begin. No. She wanted to hang on to the good part as long as possible. “Stay,” she whispered. “Please stay. Don’t leave me.”
“Skye, wake up … we’ve got to get out of here.”
“Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not about to leave you, but if you don’t get up, we’re going to be in big trouble.”
Skylar tried to lift her heavy eyelids, realized she couldn’t and decided not to bother. Besides, if she woke up, the dream would end. She would give anything to stay in this dream forever.
Two hard hands bit into her shoulders. “Dammit, Skylar. Wake up.”
“No.” She heard the childish tone of her voice and gigg
led.
Fingers pried one of her lids open. Someone cursed.
“What’d they give her?” a harsh, masculine voice asked.
A female voice said, “I don’t know. Nothing too bad … he wouldn’t want her dead. Just said it would put her out for a while.”
“Hell, I’m going to have to carry her out of here. That means you’ve got no backup.”
“I don’t need backup. I just need you gone before he comes back. I’ve got to get out of here and get back to my car. He needs to be the one to find Lester and Stan. Not me.”
“I’ll come back.”
“No. I have to find where he’s holding Kane first. Just go before he comes back.”
Skylar moaned and tried to turn away from the loud voices. Did they realize how loudly they were speaking? Didn’t they know she was trying to sleep? She wanted to return to her dreams. When her body suddenly moved, she realized she was being lifted off the bed. How fun … she felt like she was floating. Giggling again, she snuggled up against the hard chest.
A man growled, “Skye, either stay asleep or wake up and help me out.”
Skye. No one called her Skye except Gabe. She’d always hated being called Skye, but when Gabe said it in that growling, sexy way of his, she loved it. Moaning again, she snuggled deeper against him. The dream was back. This was the best one she’d had in years.
“Is she waking up?”
Skylar frowned. Why was a woman speaking in her dream? That was odd.
Forcing her eyes open, Skylar squinted up at Gabe. He looked different from the usual dreams. Older. He had lines around his mouth and eyes; his hair, still thick and black, was shorter; and anger sparkled in his dark blue gaze.
Doing what she always did when she dreamed of him, Skylar reached out and touched Gabe’s face. She always met with empty air but it never stopped her from trying. When she felt the warm, solid face, she pressed her fingers against him and caressed a crease at his mouth. Oh, this was definitely the best dream yet.
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