“Not yet, baby.”
“Please.”
“Oh, I so love to hear you beg.” Smoothing his hands across my ass, his eyes blaze with desire. “Do it again.”
“Please let me get up, so I can undress, and then we can lose ourselves in each other,” I tease, knowing he can’t resist that type of plea.
“Holy crap. When you put it like that, how can I say no? Get off, and get it off.”
Laughing, Devin lets me go. Then he starts removing his suit and taking everything off without caring what happens next. He ends up ripping the buttons along the way, and almost falls stumbling out of his pants.
We spend the entire night lost in each other. We don’t talk about what just happened. The morning will be consumed with all that. We don’t talk about what we should do next. We just reconnect with each other on a primitive level, without a care in the world other than ourselves. After all, that’s why the security detail is here, to look after us should trouble arise.
***
Jason starts driving Devin everywhere after that day. The shadow startled everyone so much that security has become extremely heightened—to the point of exasperation. Once he drops Devin off at work, Jason will come back to be near me—either at the house or the condo. It doesn’t matter where, Jason is always right there, keeping an eye out.
On those rare occasions that he has a day off, one of the higher-level security detail personnel Jason employs will take his place. It isn’t the same, though, as I only feel secure when Jason himself is around. It isn’t that I have feelings for him, or anything like that.
No one can replace Devin, but the knowledge that Jason has such a vested interest as part of the family makes his protectiveness that much better. Whenever he watches after me, I feel as though he’d step in front of a bullet to ensure my safety. The intensity of his vigilance is just that intense.
Getting back to a routine isn’t easy at first, even with the additional eyes on us, but after several weeks, we manage it. Walking toward the bakery hand in hand, we just left the condo only moments ago. I can sense Jason steadily walking somewhere nearby, just out of sight.
Suddenly my skin begins to tingle with an awareness that someone is watching us. Normally this would send me into a panic, but this time I chalk the heightened awareness as nothing more than Jason’s watchful gaze.
Removing his hand from mine, Devin takes a phone call and walks ahead of me just enough so that I can’t make out the conversation. It takes only a moment for me to realize I can still feel the lingering glance of someone. Jason wouldn’t normally linger, watching me alone, so this makes me pause before looking around.
I follow passerby as we walk toward an alleyway, darkened between two buildings. Suddenly a hand reaches out, out of nowhere, grasping my upper arm, then muffling my mouth and helpless cries.
***
Now aware that Clara is no longer behind him, Devin stops abruptly. Then Jason runs past him, pushing against his shoulder as he jerks to the side, cursing under his breath.
“Jason, what the…”
With little to no regard for Devin, Jason turns into the alleyway toward where she has been captured, with Devin following closely behind. Additional personnel run to catch up to Jason.
“Shit!”
Waving his hands in the air in agitation, Jason stops and turns toward Devin.
“What? What’s going on? Where’s Clara?” Thrusting forward and taking Jason’s shirt in his hands, Devin pulls at him and grabs onto him like a lifeline. “Where is she?”
Jason just steps around Devin and his men and runs through the alley, screaming her name.
“Clara!” Clara!”
“Jason! She was just here! Where did she go?” Devin suddenly finds it hard to breathe he begins to process the situation. “Oh, God, Jason, she was just right here.”
Tears stream down his face and he collapses to the pavement, but he doesn’t care.
“Jason, where is she? She was right here, just a minute ago. Where is she?”
He just rocks back and forth as Jason barks out orders to his men to search for anything that can help determine where she’s gone.
Adjusting his shirt and then kneeling to look into his brother’s eyes, Jason holds Devin’s gaze as he begins to speak.
“We need to act fast. Go back to the condo, and tell Frank to secure the building. Then I want you to wait for me. I’ll tell you everything once I get there.”
“Oh, God, Jas. Someone took her, didn’t they? She was just starting to feel secure, too. Just starting to get a piece of her life back. Now it’s gone forever. Please, Jason. Please get her back to me. Please.”
“Devin, go back to the condo.”
Jason stares into Devin’s eyes with his stern gaze, and tells him that he needs to get on with this now. Then he instructs the two security team members to stay with Devin. Clara’s been taken in broad daylight, no less, and in the presence of a well-trained security detail who have managed to lose her as they were keeping an eye on her.
Jason runs down the street toward his SUV, where he can get his gear and try to find out more information. Throwing the door open, he feels as though his heart is exploding out of his chest. He knows Devin is dying, unsure of what’s happened to his woman.
God, what he must be going through right now. The woman he loves more than anything in this world is gone, taken while he had his back literally turned for only a few moments.
You can’t think about that right now. If you want to save her, you need to focus on the situation, and not that you let them both down.
Jason swears loudly as he slams his hands into the steering wheel. Releasing the frustration is required so he can get his head together and find Clara. He needs to get her captor, and do this all without Clara getting hurt in the process.
Stepping out of the vehicle. he makes his way to the back of the truck. As the tailgate lifts, he grabs his surveillance bag and removes the hard case as the beeping sound gets louder with the freedom from its encasement. Then the strength intensifies as he watches the flickering light glide along the screen.
“Gotcha, you son of a bitch.”
His fist connects with the side of the truck. Moments later, he takes the location down from the screen to his smart phone, sending the coordinates to the security detail he assigned to help him.
I’m coming, Clara. I’m coming. I won’t let you down this time.
***
I thrash and push against him as his grip increases, his glove-covered hands muffling the sounds I make as I cry out in terror. I could hear Jason curse after I was taken, followed by Devin’s breakdown when he realized I was gone. My heart constricted hearing his muffled cries. I listened to him talk with his brother about what had just happened, and how I could possibly be gone with so many people watching.
I don’t blame anyone, though, because I always knew this monster of a man was coming for me. I always knew that he wouldn’t leave me alone.
As the voices fade to a whisper and the footsteps subside, my thoughts race, thinking about the last time I felt Devin’s love surround me. That was just a few hours ago.
Now look at me.
“Did you miss me, too?” the monster asks, piercing my last few moments of peace. His hand caresses my face as he twists a curl of my hair around his finger. “I’ve thought of our time together so much throughout the years. I’ve been waiting for this moment, so we could be together again.”
I feel the bile rise in my throat, nearly choking on it.
He’s playing with me, a predator toying with its prey.
“Have you thought about this moment, too?”
His whisper is unwelcome hot air against my skin. I want to crawl away from the feeling of his nearness, but I can’t without him reciprocating in some horrible way.
“You have, haven’t you?”
His voice is laced with venom now, and lust, with a touch of contentment as his face brushes against mine.
> My body shudders in revulsion from the contact.
“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping Devin or Jason are still close enough to hear me.
Snarling, he kisses my lips menacingly, clamping down tightly on my mouth, as though he’s about to rip my lips off.
“Scream again, I dare you.”
He narrows his eyes as he grasps my hands painfully together.
I can’t do anything but stare at him with eyes so wide they burn.
“Scream again, please.”
He hisses out his plea coldly, all the while struggling to contain his temper. I can tell the effort it takes for him not to snap and give in to the lust-filled temptation killing me invokes.
I’m unsure how long I can keep him calm. The pain from his hold is unbearable, but I know the alternative would be worse. I have no choice either way right now. I’m back in this sick bastard’s hands, with little hope of getting away any time soon, so I begin to scream at the top of my lungs again.
His eyes dilute with pleasure as my voice fills the void in the space surrounding us. His hands clench and his body shakes from the joy he finds in my subjugation. When my screams subside, he slaps me so hard that my head flies back, right before I land on the concrete floor.
***
Passed out from the shock and the hit to the head, Clara lies motionless as her captor moves about the room, eyeing the door and preparing for a fight. When no one comes through the door, he kneels beside her, pulling her into his arms.
“Mmm, you have no idea how much I loved hearing that.”
Then he draws her tighter into his embrace. Within a few moments, however, someone outside starts pounding on the door.
“Looks like our time is up. Too bad, I was just starting to enjoy our little reunion.”
***
When I come to, I watch him take out his knife with his other hand. Then I see my face in its reflection, as well as the terror in my eyes.
He let me watch him, slowly lowering it to my chest. I struggle again against his hold, but he just tightens his arm around me for support.
“Shhh.”
It’s all I hear when he plunges the knife into my belly. The slow burn from the blade entering is something I remember vividly from our last encounter. Dizzy from the wound, I hear the door crash open in the distance.
Then I’m dropped to the floor as my captor flees. His footsteps echo as he makes his way out the building.
“Clara! Oh, God, Clara!”
Jason reaches me just as darkness pulls me under. He’s the last thing I see before complete blackness overtakes me.
***
Devin runs into the building next. He’s come as quick as he could after Jason called him with the knowledge of her location from the tracking device he gave her. As soon as he gets within distance of seeing her, a security team member begins to push him back.
“Let go! I need to be with her. Clara! Clara!”
Jason is busy applying pressure to the wound, but the blood keeps pooling under her. He works on triaging the wound before the paramedics get to them, but with the wound was so deep, he isn’t sure she’ll make it.
“Tim, let him through!” Jason calls out so Devin can come closer and see Clara for himself. He knows it would kill his brother if she doesn’t make it and he misses her final moments.
“She was awake only for a moment when I arrived. The guy fled out the back, but I couldn’t leave her like this.” Jason presses on the wound with a fresh dressing from his pack, trying to divert Devin’s attention to him. “Dev, go flag down the paramedics. I’ll take care of her the best I can until they get here.”
But Devin can’t move. The mere sight of her blood causes him to shut down in panic as he takes in the scene in front of him. The woman he loves might possibly die right here, all because he took that damn phone call. How could this have happened? How could he have let this happen?
“Devin, Goddammit! Snap out of it! Go flag down the paramedics!”
Shaking his head, Devin finally acknowledges his brother’s request, making his way out to the street and waving his hands in the air as the sirens grow louder.
“Over here! Please hurry!”
He catches the ambulance as it turns the corner toward the building where Clara lies bleeding. His brother is working triage on her to keep her alive as the paramedics run out, bags in hand. They race to the injured person who requires their help.
Devin catches up with the paramedics as they work on stabilizing Clara so they can transport her to the hospital. Jason rambles off stats of her vitals, along with what he could see of her wound. Then the police arrive and decide it best to close off the area and meet with Devin at the hospital.
Jason stays behind to work on finding Clara’s attacker, alongside the detectives on the scene.
Chapter Ten
Breaking through the emergency room, the stretcher parts the doors as it makes its way through the corridors with Devin close behind. He’s trying desperately to stay by her side. He slips, coming to a halt as the nurse stops him from going any further. Looking down, he realizes it was Clara’s blood he slipped on. And with that, he bends over and vomits.
The nurse calls over her shoulder to get someone to clean up the floor as she places a hand on his back, assisting him toward a chair to sit down. Keeping his head between his knees, he breathes deep as she comes back with a wet cloth to wipe his mouth.
“Better?” she asks as she holds his arm.
Just nodding, Devin keeps breathing deeply, unsure what in the world to do next. Leaving his side, the nurse tells him she will keep him informed on Clara’s condition, and then she takes her leave behind the double doors. As soon as Devin is able to collect himself, he calls his brother, Adam, along with his parents, even though he knows he won’t get any news on her condition anytime soon.
Several hours pass without word on Clara’s condition. Jason finishes working with the police at the crime scene and then now takes his position at the entrance to the ER, with several members of the security detail posted throughout the area as well. With permission from the hospital, the security team has rights to watch over the waiting area, as well as any areas Clara may need to be in for treatment. Thankfully due to a large donation the Robinson’s gave to this particular hospital, these abilities aid in allowing Devin to not completely lose it.
A nurse and doctor make their way into the room, walking toward him and his family. Shooting out of his chair when he realizes they are approaching, Devin runs toward them, begging for information.
“What’s going on? How is she? Where is she? Can I see her?” The solemn looks on their faces give him pause. “Is she…”
He can’t say the words. He doesn’t even want to think them—let alone say them out loud.
“Mr. Robinson, Clara lost a lot of blood, and the wound to her abdomen was excessive enough to cause internal injuries.
“Dammit, doctor! Is she alive or…”
“Devin!” His mother warns him with a tone not to be taken lightly.
“Please. Just tell me.”
Then he collapses into the seat closest to him, with his head in his hands.
The doctor sat next to him takes a deep breath.
“Mr. Robinson…”
“It’s Devin.”
“Devin. Like I said, Clara lost a lot of blood and suffered extensive damage to her abdomen with internal bleeding that nearly killed her.”
“Nearly? She’s alive? Oh, thank God! She’s alive! That’s all that matters!”
“Yes, she’s alive, but it will be touch-and-go for the next seventy-two hours. Once we are through the woods, we can determine if additional surgery will be required.”
The doctor’s hand connects with Devin’s shoulder just as he is about to shoot up and run to her side.
“Whoa! Hold on, Devin. She’s just out of surgery in post-op. Let’s give her a few more minutes to get situated before you go running in there. Why don’t I ans
wer the questions I’m sure you have about her condition?”
The doctor informs Devin of what they hope will happen over the next several days. Even though Devin and Clara are not married, Jason informs the hospital that they were engaged, and that he is her only family. Otherwise, they would be bound by privacy laws and not be able to disclose any information on her condition.
“Devin, the stab wound punctured her stomach and spleen. We worked on repairing both organs as best we could, and we were able to save her spleen. We are very optimistic she’ll make a full recovery, but we’ll know more over the next few days, like I said.”
“Thank God.” Devin expels the breath he’d been holding. “Can I see her?”
“She needs her rest.”
“Please, she needs me. She’ll be scared to death when she wakes up.”
“Sir, we don’t think she’ll be awake anytime soon, so why don’t you go home get some rest, and we’ll call as soon as she begins to regain consciousness.”
“With all due respect, doctor, I want to be with her—here.”
Then Devin’s father stands up and holds up his hand.
“Hold on a minute, Devin. Let me make a call.”
A few minutes later, a gentleman in a suit walks up to the doctor, whispering in his ear.
“We don’t usually allow visitors while a patient’s in recovery, but in this case, for the well-being of the patient, we’ll allow you access to remain near her. Okay, Mr. Robinson. She’s down the hall. Let me walk you there, and inform the on-call nurse of the situation.”
Devin hurriedly excuses himself from his family, mouthing a “thank you” to his dad as he leaves the room to head to Clara’s recovery room. Unprepared for her condition, he takes a few breaths before turning the corner to her open room.
Her appearance still takes him by surprise, and he gasps as he watches her ashen face, pale from the blood loss. Standing a short distance away, he can’t believe the sight before him.
Heart's Desire (Game of Hearts Series Book 2) Page 12
