The Ocean Between Us (A Southern Heroes Novel Book 1)

by Michelle Heard

  CHAPTER 26

  EMMA

  I think it’s Saturday, but there’s no way for me to be sure. The days are becoming too long to bear, and the nights even longer.

  The lock rattles and Katia pushes the door open.

  Keeping the blanket wrapped around me, I dart from the bed, ready to fight. I can’t help but try. I can’t just lie still and let Katia have her way with me.

  “I brought you a present. You can change into this.” She throws a sheer piece of fabric at me. I wait for the door to close behind her before I look at it again. It’s a filmy piece of scrap material.

  I stare at the door, then back to the single item of clothing.

  Does this mean the fight is tonight? Will I see Aiden?

  I’ve been trying to be strong, but just the thought that I might see him in a matter of hours makes this all unbearable.

  Every day I had to fight Katia.

  Her touching me. Her kissing me. Her biting.

  It was so bad yesterday, her teeth tore through my skin. I look down at the bloody bite mark on my breast, and it all becomes too much.

  Sagging down on the concrete floor, I pray, “God, please let it end today.” It’s nothing more than a rasp, my voice gone from all the screaming.

  Knowing I don’t have a choice, I drag the dress over my head and still feel naked with it on. It’s see-through with only two leather strips to cover my private parts. Not that it helps. It’s so tight that the swells of my breasts are clearly visible.

  The door slams open making me cower back with trepidation.

  Colton. My heart launches into my throat at the sight of him.

  “Your boyfriend’s late,” he growls at me. The room feels too small with him blocking the only exit.

  When he comes in with Katia behind him, I move back until I feel the wall behind me.

  Oh God, please. Not again. I won’t survive it.

  Colton tilts his head to the side as his eyes take me in from head to toe.

  “You were right, babe. The dress looks good on her,” he says in a low voice. The look in his eyes is dangerous and ravenous.

  “Maybe we’re lucky, and Aiden doesn’t show. I’d like to keep this one,” Katia says.

  “Aiden will come for me,” I whisper, hating that I can’t talk louder. My throat is still achingly raw.

  Colton’s eyes snap to mine, and I see it, the fear. He’s scared of Aiden.

  I lift my chin and pray I’m right, I hiss, “He’s going to rip you apart, and I’m going to enjoy watching.”

  “Nah,” Colton steps closer to me, “I think he’s bailed on your ass.”

  Meeting his eyes with a disgusted glare, I say. “Aiden loves me. You’re as good as dead for what you’ve done to me.”

  Colton stalks right to me, and I flinch back, with a shriek. The punch to my cheek takes me down, and all I see is black.

  Through dizziness, I hear Katia say, “Don’t mark her face, idiot!”

  Colton’s on top of me before I can regain my sight and his hand wraps around my neck.

  “You’re a fuckin’ nobody, a piece of trash. I’m not scared of Aiden. Don’t fuck with me, whore. I won’t be as gentle as Katia.” He shoves me back down, and I scramble to cover myself, terror coursing like lava through my veins. “Get your worthless ass up. It’s time to go.”

  Relief claws its way up my spine and climbing to my feet, I cover my bruised jaw with a trembling hand.

  They lead me down a passage and up a set of stairs. When I see the other girls, my heart shatters.

  The smallest of us, a girl in a purple dress, looks terrified, to the point that she might faint. She’s positioned at the far end as they start to line us up against a wall.

  I wonder if I look like that? Like I might pass out from fear.

  Colton shoves me hard against the wall, making my shoulder blades dig into the plaster, but I bite back the whimper of pain. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing that he’s hurting me.

  “Stand still, whore. Move, and you’ll regret it,” he hisses, slapping my aching cheek.

  They say everything happens for a reason. Maybe I was abused by my mother to prepare me for this past week so they wouldn’t be able to break me.

  We’re at a different location from the house where they kidnapped me. There’s an empty pool to my right with sand and patches of dead grass covering the area around it.

  A guy comes running toward us, and I hear a strangled cry as a girl wearing blue grabs hold of him, weeping in his arms.

  I keep standing, watching as the fighters arrive, each of them rushing to a girl.

  All the girls are crying, but I can’t manage anything past the lump in my throat. It’s lodged so hard it’s starting to cramp when I breathe.

  Closing my eyes, I picture Aiden. Trying to visualize an eagle soaring throughout my ordeal doesn’t help anymore. Only the image of Aiden can keep me calm now.

  CHAPTER 27

  EMMA

  Aiden, where are you?

  My eyes feel heavy as I lift them to scan all the fighters, but then I see men dressed in dark blue with black vests running across the yard and for a moment I’m confused. Their appearance is in total contrast to the fighters gathering around the other girls.

  I take in the rifles and guns, and then chaos erupts around us as people start to run and shout, but none of it makes sense to my dazed mind.

  Fingers dig hard into my arm, and my body moves automatically forward as Colton yanks at me.

  My vision becomes tunneled as I see fighters, the ones who came to get their women, being thrown down into the dirt by the men in blue. Their hands are being tied behind their backs with something that looks like cable ties, not even handcuffs.

  Caught in a trance of shock, I turn my head and follow the hand gripping my arm up to Colton’s distressed face.

  Suddenly Colton stops dragging me, and as he lets go of my arm, I stumble forward. My knees slam hard into the ground causing stones and sand to scrape my palms and legs raw.

  I slump down to the side and onto my butt while the sound of crying women and men shouting continues to fill the air.

  “Don’t shoot,” Colton shouts next to me, and I flinch at the volume of his voice.

  “Let me see your hands. Let me see your hands,” someone else yells.

  In a daze, I look up at Colton and watch as he raises his hands above his head.

  “On your knees!” the same person as before shouts.

  Colton hits the ground right next to me. He grunts as a man presses a knee into his back, restraining his hands with cable ties.

  “Emma?” My eyes dart up, and I recognize Zac as he keeps Colton shoved down into the dirt with his knee and one hand. In his other hand is a gun.

  He’s dressed in caramel-colored chinos with a black t-shirt and a black armored vest wrapped tightly around his broad chest.

  Unable to move or speak, I watch as Zac keeps his gun trained on Colton while yanking him up to his feet. He shoves Colton towards another officer.

  I don’t understand how I can take all of this in but not move.

  “You have nothin’ on me,” Katia screams.

  Raising my eyes, I see how an officer has to forcefully shove her into the back of a black armored vehicle.

  Colton and Katia have been arrested.

  Exhaustion creeps through me, and my mind shuts down, now that I know they won’t be able to hurt me any longer.

  Tiny prickles start over my scalp, then spread out over my eyes and cheeks. Chills numb all my senses, and I struggle to slowly turn my face away from Katia and Colton as a familiar voice drifts to me from the chaos.

  I watch as someone who’s dressed the same as Zac runs toward me while holstering his gun.

  It takes me a few seconds to register that the person is Aiden. The only thing familiar about him is his face. He stops a few feet from me, and reaches a hand out to me, palm up, as if he’s approaching a beaten dog.

  Tr
ansfixed, I watch as his hand slowly comes closer, but it disappears as someone moves between us.

  I’m losing my mind.

  “Aiden,” I croak painfully. “Aiden.”

  Panic hits hard, gripping my chest until it feels like my heart’s going to stop. I close my eyes, wishing all this madness would end.

  “Emma,” Aiden breathes my name.

  My eyes snap open, and I lift my head. I choke on a sob as he crouches down in front of me. He doesn’t touch me, though. His hands hover near my face as if he’s too scared to touch me.

  “I should’ve brought a jacket,” he whispers.

  He moves away and grabs hold of one of the men in blue. He says something to him, and the man takes off running.

  Aiden sits down right in front of me, and I see the hesitation on his face as he lifts an arm, but then drops it again.

  What if he doesn’t want me any longer?

  I close my eyes against the devastating thought, but then something falls over my shoulders, and I cringe to the side to get away from it.

  “Fuck. I’m so sorry, Em. It’s just a blanket,” Aiden says, his voice sounding impossibly tense.

  Then he brushes a finger lightly over my bruised cheek. Tears flood my eyes, but I blink them back, not wanting anything obscuring my vision, too scared Aiden will disappear if I blink.

  His arms slip under me, and he lifts me to his chest as he rises to his full height.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” he whispers against my hair.

  I have to answer questions before Aiden can take me home. Zac and another man ask them because Aiden’s not allowed to. In a daze, I answer them, just so I can go home.

  “No, they didn’t hurt me.”

  “No, I was alone.”

  “I didn’t see any of the other women.”

  “No, they never talked business near me.”

  “I’m sure I’m fine.”

  “No, no hospital.”

  “I’m not hurt.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “I’m fine.” I lie, not able to force the words of my shameful assault over my lips.

  CHAPTER 28

  EMMA

  I head straight for my bedroom when we get home. I grab my pajamas and walk back to the bathroom so I can shower.

  I only open the hot water tap, then drop the blanket the police gave me to the floor. My body aches as I gingerly drag the dress over my head, then throw it away from me. I never want to see it again.

  I step into the shower and lifting my face, I let the water wash over me before I reach for the soap. Even though the scrapes and bite marks burn, I scrub, needing to rid myself of the awful memories.

  When I’m done washing every part of me, I sink down in the corner, wishing I could cry. But I can’t, and it makes the ache in my chest grow.

  Closing my eyes, I pretend the drops of water pelting me are tears.

  Suddenly the water stops, and my eyes snap open. I scramble to my feet and plastering my back against the tiles, my breath explodes over my lips.

  Then my eyes focus on Aiden where he’s standing with a towel in his hands, a distraught look on his face. He sucks in a sharp breath as his eyes sweep over my body, stopping on every mark left by the ordeal.

  “I’m takin’ you to the hospital,” Aiden breaks the silence between us as he steps forward ready to wrap the towel around me.

  I grab the towel from him and start to dry myself.

  “I’m not going,” I refuse, my throat burning from the strain I’m putting on it.

  My mom will see that something happened to me. I don’t have the strength to face her on top of everything else.

  “You need to get a tetanus shot, Em. At the very least,” Aiden keeps insisting.

  “I’ve had one,” I lie.

  I don’t care about the scapes and bruises. None of that matters. I can’t deal with what’s been done to me, and at the hospital, they’ll ask questions, ones I can’t answer. I just need time to work through the devastation that’s been left inside of me.

  “Emma–”

  “Stop, Aiden!” The words are harsh even though my voice is scratchy. “I can’t…” I shake my head as I put on my pajamas. “Too much,” I whisper as I push past him to get to the sink. I brush my teeth, then leave him standing in the bathroom.

  I understand that he’s concerned and that he doesn’t know what Katia and Colton did to me, but I’m struggling to hang onto what’s left of my sanity.

  I crawl onto my bed and hug my pillow to my chest, and just as I try to switch my torturous mind off, Aiden comes in.

  “You need to phone Chloe. Just let her know you’re okay,” he says softly.

  I’m drained. I want to sleep, but I know Chloe will worry.

  I sit up and taking the phone from Aiden, I search for Chloe’s number and press dial.

  She sounds tearful when she answers.

  “Emma?”

  “Hey, Chloe.”

  “Are you alright? What’s wrong with your voice?”

  “I have the flu.”

  I can’t tell her what really happened. It will crush her. She has enough to worry about. I can’t allow myself to dwell on this horrible week. If I do, I won’t survive. I’ll have to find a way to just put it behind me.

  “How are you?” I ask to divert the subject away from me.

  “Oh, Emma!” She bursts out crying, and it’s only then I realize she’s been calling me by my name.

  “Chloe, what’s wrong?”

  Aiden sits down next to me, his face tight with worry.

  “It’s my Mom,” she sobs. “She’s gone.”

  I don’t know if it’s from the trauma I suffered, but I don’t understand what she’s saying.

  “Gone where?”

  “She gave up. She’s dead.” She takes a shaky breath. “I hate to ask this, but I need you. Come home, Emma. I’ll book you a ticket. You can stay with me.”

  “Of course. Email me the details.”

  “You know you’re the best, right?” she says my line back to me.

  “No, you’re the best.” It’s all I can say as I sit frozen, trying to absorb the new blow life has dealt me.

  I sit with the phone to my ear long after Chloe has cut the call.

  I have to go back.

  Chloe needs me.

  Slowly, my hand slips down to the bed.

  How am I going to tell Aiden?

  Before I can say anything, his phone rings.

  “Hey, Zac.”

  There’s a moment’s silence before Aiden shoots up off the bed, rushing out of the room. “What the fuck?”

  From the bed, I watch as he stalks up and down in the living room.

  “What do you mean it went south? Are Wyatt and Cole okay?” I can hear the panic in his voice, and my heart clenches.

  He shoves a hand into his hair, gripping a fistful. Every muscle in his body is tense.

  My heart starts to pound as he turns his back to me so I can’t see his face.

  “Troy’s dead?” he whispers. “How did it go so bad?”

  I cover my mouth with trembling hands as I watch Aiden’s shoulders drop.

  “But we had to go in. Wyatt knew we were goin’ in. Why weren’t they prepared on that side? I need to phone my mom. I need to know how Cole’s surgery is goin’. I’ll talk to you later.”

  I gasp as it hits. People were hurt… people were killed because Aiden came for me.

  “Mama,” Aiden can barely get the word out. He clears his throat. “Is Cole okay? How bad is it?”

  I can only sit and listen as guilt consumes me. This is on me - because I came here. Because I let myself be taken.

  I force myself to listen.

  “They had Troy’s sister? Did they-” I watch him flinch, and he brings his hand to his hair again, gripping a fistful. “The girl’s in shock, Mama. They assaulted her and killed her brother. Give her time. Let me know how Cole’s surgery goes. I’m
just gonna wrap things up here, and then I’m comin’ home.”

  I can’t look him in the eyes when he comes back into the room, knowing I’m the cause of so much heartache. It’s best I go home to Chloe. I need to face my own demons now.

  “We have to talk,” I murmur as he sits down on the bed.

  Our lives are at crossroads now.

  “We do,” he agrees. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this mess.” I can hear the regret and hurt in his voice. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I shake my head. “Nothing happened.”

  “I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I kept wonderin’ if they were feedin’ you, where you were sleepin’. It drove me insane not knowin’ whether you were okay.”

  “I’m here now. It’s all that matters.” Needing to move on, I ask, “What happens now that you’re no longer undercover.” I keep my voice soft, so I don’t hurt my throat more.

  “We have to wrap things up on Monday with the office here before we report back in Lyman, to our own department. We were only helpin’ here because they couldn’t use their own guys, with them bein’ recognizable and all, and it bein’ part of our case. We work the Lyman and Duncan area with Wyatt.” He takes a breath, and I steel myself for what he’s going to say next. “We’ll be headin’ back on Tuesday. There will be a lot of paperwork to get ready for the court case against Colton and Katia.”

  Just hearing their names makes shivers of shame and disgust rush over me. I’m glad they’ll be dealt with, but right now, I don’t want to know about it.

  “How far is Lyman from here?” I ask, staring down at my scraped hands, feeling exhausted to my very core.

  “About two hundred and twenty miles,” he says, as he reaches for one of my hands. I almost pull away, but then his fingers brush against mine, and I let him hold it.

  “How many hours is that?”

  “It’s just shy of a four-hour drive,” he explains.

  “Oh.”

  “I was thinkin’ we could drive through to Lyman tomorrow. I’d like to go see how Cole’s doin’ and you can see where I’m from.”