29
Abby
I stood slowly and looked down at Nic. He was so pale and so still, the only brightness was the blood on his face and the dark stain soaking his shirt. I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve and I thought of his wife, his daughters. I’d never even seen them but my heart ached with their loss. They didn’t even know he was gone…
A fresh wave of grief washed over me and I blinked back more tears. I couldn’t help Nic anymore and I couldn’t help his family. I stood up straight and leveled my shoulders. But Dane was out there and I loved him. I picked up the gun he’d given me. I was going to find him.
I tucked the gun into my waistband, its coldness against my belly. I only knew the direction Dane had headed. I had no idea where to look for him or where Macek and Lazar might be. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed or who I might find first. I only knew I had to try. It’s what Dane would do for me.
I kept close to the wall as I moved as silently as possible. The compound felt enormous as I crept down the hallway. My footsteps were silent but my heartbeat seemed to echo off the walls. I reached the end of the hall and looked at the stairs leading upward. I thought about the room Cutter had locked me in and pulled out my gun. I knew that room was on the west side of the compound and my thoughts started to fly. It had felt evil in there, so unlike every other room I’d seen.
Lazar’s office was classic, even beautiful. The halls leading to it had been light, the walls hung with the work of master painters. There was no way the Red Room was part of Lazar’s world. It belonged to Macek. I started to move faster as I put the pieces together, something inside me leading the way. Dane and Lazar would look for him in the west wing, knowing Macek would head for his part of the compound on instinct alone.
I climbed the stairs with my heart in my throat. I was breathing hard and it took effort to stay quiet. I gripped the gun tightly in my damp hand and thought of how much Nic had loved his wife Hope…and perhaps how much he loved her still. I trusted my heart would take me to Dane.
I reached a landing with doors leading into a hall beyond. A man was dead beside them with an ugly wound across his neck. I thought about the knife Lazar had taken from his desk and I stepped over the body. The smell in the air sent a shudder through me and told me I was heading in the right direction. I pushed slowly through the door, leading with my gun. “I love you Dane,” I whispered as I moved in inches. “Where are you?”
“Abby.” I heard my name whispered back. Powerful hands took me by the wrist, pulling me through the doorway and I was captured. Dane crushed me to his chest and silenced us both with his mouth on mine. My heart pounded against his as he ran his hands over me, molding my body to his. His hands moved, taking in all of me. I felt dizzy with his warmth and I leaned my head into his chest. “Are you okay Abby?” He lifted my face to his and kissed me hard. “It feels so fucking good to hold you.” He pulled me into his arms and then I saw Lazar standing behind him. “Why did you leave Nic?” Dane’s voice was soft in my ear. Lazar was watching my face and I could tell he knew from the look in his eyes.
“Oh, Dane, I’m so sorry.” I put my hand up to his face, hating what I had to say. “I was with him… I’m so sorry.” I saw his eyes blacken, the muscles working along his jaw. “He’s gone Dane.” A sob caught in my throat. “He died in the stairwell, thinking of you and his father…and Hope.”
Dane stiffened against me. I looked up to his face, dark with rage as he towered over me. He pulled me into his arms and held me as I listened to the pounding in his chest.
“You did all anyone could do for him Abby. And he wasn’t alone.” He took my face in his warm hands and wiped my tears with his thumbs.
“I couldn’t help him anymore Dane, and I had to find you. You left your gun with me and I had to find you.”
He kissed me hard, the tension in his body making him feel like granite against me. “We found Macek and we have men with us.” Dane let go of me and turned to Lazar. “The bastard is finished.”
30
Dane
My guts wrenched at the sight of Lazar’s face. Nic had been his only son.
Fucking Macek had shot him because I had demanded Abby. He had wanted me to prove my loyalty by finishing off a man I’d considered my brother and so he’d wounded him, expecting me to finish the job. I looked at the rage and grief in Lazar’s eyes. I felt sick inside.
“Dane,” Lazar’s voice was quiet but steady. He put his strong hand on my shoulder. “This was Macek, not you. This was not your fault, son. Nic would have taken the same risk to save Hope. The same choice I would make for my Sophia.” Lazar looked at Abby and back to me. “This was all Macek, Dane. And it’s fucking time he paid. For everything.”
I reached out, catching the back of Lazar’s neck in the cup of my hand. I owed so much to this man.
I took Abby by the hand and the three of us moved fast down the darkened corridor. Ender met us and a thickly muscled man passed out assault rifles as we moved. We headed toward the black wooden door at the end of the hall. Every man there knew what to do and what was at stake. I pulled Abby up behind me as the other men took their positions and I pushed her into a niche in the far corner.
“Stay low. Stay here until it’s over.” I kissed her hard and felt her lips trembling against mine.
“I love you.”
“And I love you back Dane. Always.” her voice was soft and strained. Her beautiful blue eyes glistened.
I looked from her to Lazar who stood ready, his weapon raised. I sucked a breath and waited for his nod. In the next second my shoulder hit the door with a crunch of bone and the shattering crash of splintering wood.
I roared into the room firing in blasts spraying the room with bullets while Lazar had my back and the other men rushed in behind me. The room was dark, lit only by the shots fired back at us. I hit the floor and rolled. The room was heavily furnished with two doors at the rear. Lazar was low and in a corner. The thick man was already dead, a bleeding wound in his forehead. Two of Macek’s men were down. There was no way to know how many more we would face.
I was crouched in front of a massive desk. I fought to keep my breathing silent and listened. There was a man on the other side of the desk. I nodded to Lazar and then crashed over the top of the desk. I caught the man with the butt of my rifle in his face and landed with my elbow in his neck. I heard bones crack, his legs thrashed once and he was still beneath me. I was on my feet fast, low behind the desk. The room was empty except for Lazar and Ender behind me. I looked to them and jerked my head hard. I trained my rifle on the left door as the other two men flanked the right. Ender and I took out both doors on my signal and the room erupted in gunfire. From the corner of my eye I saw Ender fall. I heard Lazar’s answering shot and a dull thud. I hit the floor as bullets tore into the wall where my head had just been. I fired back into the darkness and watched as a dead man took a final step out of the shadows and fell forward.
A flash burst near the window. I heard a shot whine past me and heard Lazar’s gasp as it struck him. I sprayed bullets toward the invisible shooter, buying a second to check Lazar as my heart pounded through my chest.
Lazar had been hit low in the leg. He was bleeding but still standing, his eyes blazing with a furious light.
I caught movement in the shadows near a window and a surge of fury lifted me. I ran, firing as I moved headlong toward the bastard who’d shot my father. I heard bullets tear past me but rage carried me, crashing into the window and ripping the drapes aside. I caught Macek by the throat, wrenching the gun from his hand and shoving it into his ribs in a single motion.
“Lazar,” the word came from deep in my belly. My muscles twitched and my jaw clenched as I watched the sweat drip from Macek’s chin. Lazar came forward. I could hear his foot drag the ground as he moved, but he was steady. His eyes never left his target. I saw the glint of cold steel. His hunting knife was tucked into his waistband.
My hands itched to finish Ma
cek but it wasn’t my right. It took all my strength to back away. This belonged to my father and I wouldn’t take it from him.
I turned to see dozens of our men, loyal to Lazar, slowly filling the room. Sully arrived with the Dalcas and several of Kozlov’s men. Some were badly wounded from fighting for my father but still they were there. Ender, bleeding but alive entered the room with his weapon drawn and tucked his phone back into a pocket. I nodded, realizing he had called them there, to witness Macek’s end.
Ender stopped to stand tall at Lazar’s side. He drew a long breath and exhaled slowly through his nose. Moving in slow motion he looked from Lazar’s bleeding leg to Macek’s white face and frowned. He dropped the barrel of his gun low and squeezed one loud round into Macek’s knee. Macek fell screaming, writhing to the floor.
“Seems fuckin’ even now,” Ender said quietly. I dropped my head as the corner of my lip twitched upward. It was the longest sentence I’d ever heard him say.
I turned to Lazar, my father, and put my hands on his shoulders. He took my face in his hands, gently shaking my head as he nodded his. We locked eyes, a lifetime of love and pain between us, binding us. “Go find your girl Dane. She needs you now.”
I caught him in a hard embrace and was gone. I closed the door behind me and headed for Abby, the rising sound of Macek’s wail ringing in my ears.
31
Dane
I moved past the dead, wanting nothing but Abby in my arms.
I’d made things right for Lazar. As right as they could be with Nic dead. His organization was his own now, the threat gone. We had done what was right and I had no regrets. But all I wanted was Abby now and this was no kind of life for her. For us. I loved Lazar and I’d always be there for him, but my life was with Abby. Nothing mattered to me more than making her happy, keeping her safe.
I headed past the bodies and toward the hall where she waited. My body surged with adrenaline from Macek’s takedown. I could still hear him, his screams shrill and getting louder. I knew Lazar. He would take his time. Macek would pay for Nic’s death in ways even he couldn’t imagine. And I was going to take Abby as far away from this place as possible and spend days exploring her and giving her pleasure. I wanted her to forget everything but me and her own desire.
I found her where I left her and she flew into my arms, her golden hair streaming behind her. She buried her face in my neck as I lifted her, feeling her soft yielding curves in my arms. I sought her mouth and captured her lips, swollen with need and desire. I held her tight against my chest and plundered her lips. Then I leaned down to her breasts, lifting them with my hands and burying my face in her warmth.
“There was so much shooting Dane,” she breathed the words warm and soft into my hair and my cock raged in answer. “I didn’t know what was happening in there.” A sob caught in her throat. “I was so afraid for you.”
I pulled her against me, aching to bury myself inside her, to give her joy instead of fear. “I want you Abby. I want every inch of you and nothing’s going to stop me from having you.” I lifted her off her feet and cradled her in my arms. “We’re getting the fuck out of here.”
I took off toward the stairs and headed down. I’d left the Rover parked near the main entrance. I moved fast, my only thought getting Abby away. I never wanted her to see this place again. I reached up a hand and tucked her face into my shoulder. We’d have to pass a lot of dead on the way out.
I headed for the foyer. We were close now, but the doors were blocked by two bodies, the floor slick with blood. I stopped before we reached them and shifted Abby in my arms, setting her on her feet. “Don’t look baby. Just wait.” I kissed her and tucked her against a doorway. “We’re nearly there and once we’re gone, we’ll never come back Abby. This is all over.”
“I love you Dane,” she said, her trusting blue eyes wide.
“And I love you Abby, more than you’ll ever know.” I turned to shift the dead men aside when I heard him behind me, his breath whistling through his teeth.
“Well Mister Harrow… If it ain’t the boss man and his fuckin’ princess.” I turned to see Cutter, a gun in his hand and blood streaking his face. He stood behind Abby, her face frozen and her eyes huge. He put his hand on her back and shoved her roughly toward me. She stumbled and I caught her in my arms. I moved her gently behind me and watched as Cutter smiled. I wanted to tear the man’s throat out.
“I been fuckin’ lookin’ for you…Boss,” he hissed as he paced in front of us. His eyes were glazed with pain and he had the mad look of an injured animal. He stopped and dropped his head, looking out from under his brow, eyes darting.
“Yeah, I been lookin’ for you and fuckin’ Tits here a while.” He aimed his gun at my face. “You keep fuckin’ taking what’s mine Dane. Lazar’s goddamn right hand wasn’t enough for you. You take fuckin’ Macek from me too?” His voice was rising, getting louder. He crept toward me looking up into my face, the gun shaking in his hand.
“I was gonna be his right hand, you fuckin’ bastard, and Tits was gonna be my fuckin’ girl. Me and Macek were gonna have every fuckin’ thing we wanted and you were gonna die, Mister Harrow. For goddamn once I was gonna be the power and I was gonna have the life.”
I spread my chest wide between this crazy fucking son of a bitch and my Abby. His hand shook hard and his finger was on the fucking trigger. I needed to calm him the fuck down and somehow get Abby out of the line of fire. I had nothing but my hands to take him down and he could get off at least one round first...
“You did good work for Lazar, Cutter. He’s a loyal man and he rewards loyalty,” I spoke in a low voice. “Things will change but there’ll always be money and position for loyal men.” I looked into his twitching face. “I can help you, but only if I’m alive to do it. You hate me Cutter, but I’m still worth more to you alive than dead.”
“Shut the fuck up Dane!” he shouted, spit flying in my face. “It’s not the fuck about you anymore. You took everything else from me but this time I get what I want. I want the fucking cunt and I want you fucking dead. Now shut your mouth.” He rammed the gun into my ribs and shoved me toward the entrance doors. “Move you fuckin’ asshole. Move!”
I pulled Abby tight in front of me with Cutter’s gun in my back as we headed out to the drive where the Rover sat waiting. If I could just get her inside it where she’d be protected. The driver’s door was open...
Cutter walked us to it and stopped. “Get the fuck back from her Dane. This is where you two fuckin’ say goodbye.” He put his gun to my throat and searched me fast. He pulled the keys from my pocket and smiled. “Get the fuck in, bitch,” he snarled, wrapping his hand in her hair and shoving her. He slammed the door and I saw her white face and terrified eyes through the glass. Cutter jammed his gun into the back of my neck. “Now fucking walk.”
I headed for the trees at the edge of the drive, gritting my teeth and balling my fists. My eyes darted, taking in everything around me and whatever I could use… He stopped when we reached the grass covered in fallen leaves. I looked out toward the woods beyond and a branch cracked sharply under my foot...
“This is where you die Dane,” his voice ugly behind me. “Get the fuck down on your knees.” He forced me down, his gun to the back of my head. I reached for the ground and made hard fists in the leaves with my hands. “Before I blow your fucking brains out,” his voice was soft in my ear, “know that I won Dane. I fuckin’ won. I’m taking what you want most in the world, like you did to me and I’m gonna fuck her, boss. I’m gonna fuck her ‘till she screams and don’t even remember what you look...”
I spun to face him, my entire weight behind the power of my arm and the jagged branch I held tight in my fist. He fired off three fast shots into the ground beside me as I drove the inch thick rod of wood through his neck, the ragged end breaking through to the other side. His face froze in shock, his pale eyes wide and a torrent of blood running from the side of his open mouth. He blinked as he stared, his mouth
working silently.
“I’m afraid you’ve lost again Cutter,” I said looking into his glossy eyes, watching intently as they slowly began to dull. “Because you are a dead man. And the girl belongs to me.”
He shuddered, the veins pounding in his forehead a moment longer and then he fell slack, his body suspended by the shaft through his neck and his eyes staring blindly. I lowered his body to the ground and stood. I turned to see Abby as she climbed out of the car and ran for me. I met her in the middle lifting her in my arms and cradling her against my chest and felt my heartbeat fall into time with hers. There was so much to say but we looked at each other in silence and needed no words. There would be time enough for that. We had a lifetime.
We drove for hours and I never let go of Abby’s hand. By the time we stopped, the need that ran between us raged like wildfire.
We were in thickly wooded country when I pulled off the road toward a tiny cluster of cabins. Five minutes more and key in hand, I lifted Abby into my arms and carried her inside. I put her on her feet and took her in my arms. She looked up into my eyes and I was lost in hers. I watched the heavy rise and fall of her breasts as her eyes darkened and her lips parted.
“I need to touch you Abby. I need your skin… I need the feel of you naked, with nothing between us,” I breathed against her.
“Hold me Dane,” she said, her voice husky, low. “I want nothing but you.”
I reached for the hem of her sweater and lifted it off her body, my eyes drinking in the sight of her. Her breasts strained against the lace of her bra as she reached for me. I tore off her bra and followed with my own sweater as she unzipped my jeans and unleashed my hot aching cock. Her eyes flickered up to mine and she took me hard in her hand. I was slick and seeping, ready for her. I kicked off my jeans as she held me by the cock and it raged and swelled in her grip. I had her fully stripped in an instant, our clothes in a pile at our feet and I pulled her naked and lush against the full length of me. Her skin hit mine like electricity and I sucked in a ragged breath. The feel of her huge tits against my hard chest was almost more than I could take. I ached to ram myself inside her and take my release, but I reined in hard. I wanted this to last forever for her. I had so much pleasure to give her and I wasn’t going to rush this. I wanted her delirious with desire before I took her.
Steal Me Page 25
