by Cerys du Lys
“You can’t leave like this. I need you to understand.”
She attempted to calm herself. Despite the horror of the situation, this was Colin. She knew she had to remember that.
“I won’t hurt you,” he repeated, relaxing against her slightly.
She looked up into his eyes. The demon she’d seen there was gone and he was the Colin she’d grown to love. But he wasn’t… not anymore. Not after what she’d just witnessed. Not as he was standing in front of her covered in someone else’s blood.
“You knew what I do, Gabby.”
She shook her head. “It’s more than that. I saw… the look…”
His frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“You were enjoying it.” She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “You loved killing him.” She shook her head with more vigor. “It’s not about justice or doing the right thing. You did it ‘cause you wanted to.”
His jaw clenched as he stepped back from her, his expression becoming unreadable.
“I won’t say anything. I just want to go. Please. I’m taking Butch and Oscar and we’re leaving. Don’t follow me.”
She saw the indecision in his eyes. A part of her hoped he’d refuse. That he’d fight to keep her, to make her understand. But another part of her was terrified and needed to process what she’d just witnessed.
His jaw clenched as he took another step back. “All right. Just… please. Don’t…”
She didn’t wait for him to finish his thought, she opened the car door and hopped in. She needed to get out of there, fast, now and she had no intention of allowing him time to change his mind. Starting the car, she drove out of the driveway more quickly than she should have, leaving him in the center of the driveway watching her go.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“He wouldn’t talk,” Colin informed Felicity as she entered the garage where he was packing up his tools, followed by three men.
She shrugged nonchalantly. “No big deal. Mine did.”
“Yours?”
“Yup. They sent one after me as well. He’s in a secure location singing like a canary. Barely took any persuasion.” She shrugged as she looked down at his victim. “We didn’t need him, but it would have been nice to have him back up my guy’s story.”
“Hmmm.”
She stepped closer to the dead man. “Wow, you worked him over real good too. And nothing?” She raised a skeptical brow at Colin.
“What? You doubting me?” He had to admit, he felt a little disgruntled hers talked while his remained mute.
“Nah, some are harder than others. But nothing at all? Not even to brag?”
Colin’s world stopped for what felt like an endless second. The boss has big plans for her… the assassin’s words rang out in his head. Holy shit, they were going to take Gabby!
A rush of fear so intense, so real, it nearly took him to his knees swept over him. He sprang into action. Not giving a shit that covered in blood he looked like a serial killer on a rampage, he rushed from the garage, Felicity hot on his heels.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Gabby. They’re going to take her!”
“Do you –”
“Just take care of the mess, she only had a fifteen-minute head start; I can catch her.” Oh please God, I hope…
Grabbing his keys, he raced to his car and got in, starting it up. The engine roared to life and he peeled out of the driveway. I’m such a fucking idiot, why did I let her leave? I don’t deserve her. I should have known this would end up bad. He pounded on his steering wheel in frustration as he negotiated the roads with expert precision.
The drive to her place took longer than it ever had, despite him racing through the streets at a reckless pace. Pulling into the parking lot of her apartment building, he was opening the car door even before he’d fully turned off the car. Luckily a young couple was opening the front doors as he was approaching, saving him critical seconds. The couple froze in their tracks, their eyes widening as they watched him pass by, no doubt unsettled by the blanket of blood he was covered in.
He pressed the elevator button and when it didn’t immediately respond he impatiently pressed it several times in succession. Didn’t the elevator know this was an emergency! When the doors slid open he hopped on, pressing the button for the fourth floor and pulling his gun from his jacket pocket.
He was through the elevator doors before they were even halfway parted and pulling her keys from his pocket as he approached her door. As he approached the dogs began barking and his sense of urgency simmered. She was home – safe.
Opening the door he walked in and his jaw dropped. The apartment was a mess. Not the usual Gabriella Simons mess that he’d grown to know and love, but there had been a struggle type of mess. Lamps overturned, ornaments broken and on the floor. She put up a good fight, though he wouldn’t have expected anything less.
It was a futile act, but he checked the few rooms of her small apartment for her, the two dogs following closely behind, begging for his attention; he came up empty.
His heart sank. If he didn’t find her now, he’d lose her forever. And losing her wasn’t an option.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialled Felicity’s number. “She’s been taken,” he stated as soon as she answered.
There was silence on the other end for the span of several beats. “Are you sure?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course I’m sure!” Colin nearly screamed into the phone. He attempted to calm himself. Losing his head wouldn’t find her.
“Just sit tight and I’ll send a team out to overhaul her apartment. Maybe we’ll get a clue on where they’re taking her.”
Fat chance in that.
“Yeah.” He released the call without any further word.
Oscar snorted and began to dig at something under the sofa. “What are you doing, buddy?” He patted the bulldog on the head, more to soothe himself than please the dog. As he looked down at Oscar, a white cardboard business card caught his eye. Picking up the card, which was for a storage company in Newark, NJ, he flipped it over to see an address printed on the back.
Newark? What in the name of God would she be doing with a business card from some place in Newark?
His hopes rose slightly. It was the only lead he had. Maybe it was nothing, but it was what he had until Felicity’s canary gave it all up. But by then it may be too late for Gabby. Getting to his feet, he rushed from the apartment, leaving the door unlocked and the dogs whimpering behind him.
He made a quick call to Felicity as he drove, once more at breakneck speeds, pushing the Mercedes and his driving skills to the limit. He had to find her. Losing her was not an option.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gabriella groaned as she began to regain consciousness. Her memory was fuzzy and her head was throbbing. When she’d gotten home a man was sitting on her sofa. When she tried to escape, he grabbed her and then… She gave her head a shake; she didn’t know.
Slowly she opened her eyes to see nothing – blackness. She was blindfolded. Upon realizing she was blindfolded she became aware of the pain in her arms and shoulders, which were secured over her head, holding her body up. Her bare feet dangled under her, her toes barely skimming the floor.
Almost as soon as she realized her position she realized something even more disturbing. She was naked, with the exception of her blindfold. A series of shudders took over her body as it became clearer what was going on. She’d been abducted, presumably by the people Colin was tracking.
Flashes of the faces of the women Colin had shown her a while back came to the forefront of her mind. She was one of them now. She was going to be “broken,” whatever that actually meant, and sold as a sex slave.
She attempted to calm herself. She had to think. Had to keep a clear mind. As she calmed herself she began to hear soft whimpers and moaning coming from all around her. The sounds echoed in the room. There were several girls with her.
“H
ello?”
The whimpers and moans stopped immediately and it became deathly silent.
“Please. Talk to me. Where am I?” Were the others strung up and naked like her? Blindfolded? Or were there dozens of people looking at her, taking in every inch of her nude body? Another series of tremors rushed through her.
It was cold. Real cold. Her nipples were rock solid and she felt goosebumps covering her body.
“Please…”
“Shhhhh,” one female voice finally said.
“What? Why?”
“They don’t like it when we talk. They’ll punish us.” The woman’s voice sounded young – maybe sixteen.
“Please be quiet,” another voice piped in, this one sounding even younger than the first.
Gabriella suddenly began to get sick to her stomach. She had to swallow down her urge to vomit. She wasn’t sure if it was the throbbing pain in her head or her fear causing the nausea, maybe both.
She didn’t speak again. The last thing she wanted was for anything to happen to the other girls because of her. Instead she focused on the one thing in her life that made her feel safe – Colin. She didn’t get it until just now. Who gave a shit if he enjoyed what he did?
I shouldn’t have left him. I should have stayed. I should have tried to understand.
Her musing over Colin was interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open. It was metal. She wasn’t in a house. Shed maybe?
Several pairs of feet entered the door and she heard several of the women in the room begin to whimper. One started to sob. While two pairs of feet moved to the left and right of her, a third pair approached her straight on.
“Hmmm. Well. You’re the agent’s girl, huh?”
His accent was thick, but words clear. It had to be the one Colin was tracking.
“Appears so,” she responded, thrusting her chin out defiantly. She wasn’t sure where her burst of defiance came from, but if he planned on breaking her, he was going to have to bring his A-game.
“You’re a little old for the trade, but I could see myself using you. Passing you around as a little reward for the boys.”
“Fuck you, Dominik,” she spat.
The man in front of her made a low clucking sound. “So you know about me?”
“More than I’d like to.”
“Hmmm.” A large, strong hand grasped her chin roughly, forcing her head to the left and to the right. His hand released her chin and he traced his finger down her collarbone, to her chest and cupped her breasts, squeezing her nipple painfully; it felt as though he were going to rip her nipple straight off.
Gabriella yelped and on reflex kicked out. Her breast was released instantly as she heard a low “oomph” sound. She made contact, she wasn’t sure where, but by the sound of the oomph accompanied by gasping she was pretty sure she’d hit the jackpot.
“Fuckin’ cunt!” he growled.
She smiled widely in triumph, but her smile was short-lived when a fist came in contact with her jaw. Her head began to spin and she again felt the need to vomit.
“I don’t have time to deal with you right now, but rest assured. I’ll teach you some manners when I come back. Men!”
Gabriella barely heard his words and vaguely heard retreating footsteps moments before darkness overcame her and she was thrust back into unconsciousness.
Chapter 21
Gabriella was awakened by the sound of shouting, accompanied by a loud crash. She was hurting – hurting bad. The muscles in her arms ached worse than she even imagined they could and she could feel her lip had swollen from the blow she’d received.
The door to the room came open with a loud bang and there was a gunshot. Her body tensed as she waited for what was coming next. Were they killing off the girls? Did someone cross Dominik and was now paying the price? She cursed the blindfold. Whatever was going on may be horrific, but she wanted to see. She wiggled and groaned, tossing her head back and forth attempting to move the blindfold, if even a crack. It didn’t budge.
She was grabbed, a hand on each of her shoulders. Her sense of fight kicked in and she jerked out of his grasp, her feet flailing out, attempting to make contact with the person in front of her.
“Baby, it’s me.”
She immediately stopped squirming, tears beginning to fall from her covered eyes and saturating her blindfold. “Colin?” She could barely believe it. How did he find her? Did the man he killed say something before he died?
Her blindfold was removed, and there he was. She looked around her and discovered four more women, all naked and strung up as she was. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her off the hook that her wrists were tethered to.
“Them. Free them,” she gasped through her sobs, when he began to fuss over her.
He stopped and nodded. She couldn’t feel her arms or legs; her body was numb as she sat on the cold cement floor, but she didn’t care. She wanted those other girls freed. She watched as Colin removed their blindfolds and helped them down. Three of the four were so traumatized that as soon as they were free they scampered into a corner and cowered there, scared of the man who rescued them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
As Colin called Felicity and gave her the address to the warehouse he’d found the women in, a hurricane of emotions were rushing through him. Seeing Gabby strung up, and bloodied couldn’t have hurt worse than if someone had broken through his ribcage and torn out his heart.
He was the reason she was in pain. He was the reason she was naked and crying on a filthy warehouse floor. He was toxic and he’d pulled her into his darkness.
He fell to his knees beside her, tears in his eyes as he removed his jacket and wrapped her within it.
“I’m so sorry, Gabby. Just the thought…”
She lifted her teary eyes to meet his and shook her head. “It’s my fault.”
“Jesus, Gabby, no it’s not. I pulled you into this madness.”
She reached out to him and he pulled her into his arms, rocking her gently as she wept.
“He was here,” she gasped between sobs.
“Who?”
“Dominik.”
He pulled back far enough to look into her large blue eyes. “Are you sure? He did this to you?”
She nodded. “And others.”
Rage filled him, but he pushed it back. Felicity had information. They’d get him, now wasn’t the time to worry about him. His priority was wrapped in his jacket and clinging to him.
As her sobs subsided she attempted to smile as she fingered his shirt. “You’re covered in blood. Are you okay?”
Colin laughed, ignoring her question. “My God, I love you, Gab.” He brushed the hair from her eyes, tears filling his eyes again. “I love you so much.”
Despite her cut and swollen lip, she managed a weak smile, her teary eyes showing a small sliver of happiness. “You finally said it.”
“Said what?”
“I love you.”
“Oh. That.” He gently placed a kiss on her forehead. “That was the whole plan for tonight. I had a romantic meal and all that set up for you.”
She sniffed, tears filling her eyes again. “Really?”
He nodded. “I want you and Butch to move in with me. I don’t ever want you away from me again. Never.”
She pressed herself tight to him, burying her face against his neck. “My hero.”
He sighed as he stroked her golden hair. The bastards responsible for this would pay and he was determined that she’d never, ever be hurt again. Not by him, not by anyone. He would fix this wrong.
~*~*~*~*~
“I’ve never been poked and prodded so much in my life. And what is with all the questions?” Gabriella collapsed onto the massive king-sized bed of the hotel room they were set up in. Guards were assigned outside their door and outside the hotel – just in case.
She was exhausted. The agency insisted she and the other women be inspected by their doctor and lots of tests taken – an exhausting amount of tests, which near
ly killed her in her already exhausted state. She got it. She didn’t know what those animals could have done to her while she was unconscious, so it was important that she undergo a thorough examination. But still, she was tired - so tired.
Aside from that and some cuts and bruises she received from a number of blows, she was in relatively good condition. The other girls, who had been held captive for days if not weeks, hadn’t fared as well. The youngest of the group, a thirteen-year-old girl named Sarah, was currently in the hospital in critical condition. If Colin hadn’t found them when he did, Sarah wouldn’t have made it more than a couple more days.
Colin shrugged off his jacket and made his way into the bathroom. She sat up when she heard the sound of the bath running. God, could she ever go for a long soak before falling to sleep.
Upon seeing Colin walking back into the room, she couldn’t help but laugh. He was a royal mess, rivalling the day he came home after being attacked, although this time it was the blood of other people that was smeared over his clothing.
He grinned as he loosened his tie and pulled it up and over his head. “What’s so funny?”
She grimaced as she stood and then fell back onto the bed. Her legs had turned to jelly, no longer able to support her weight.
Alarmed, Colin rushed to her side, kneeling in front of her on the bed. “Don’t get up, sweetie. I’ll carry you into the bathroom when the bath is ready.”
With his assistance she pulled herself back up into a sitting position. Smiling, she picked at a piece of dried blood that was causing a lock of hair to stand up on end at the top of his head. “You even have blood in your hair.”
He wiped his face with his hand. “Yeah. It’s a pitfall of the trade I suppose.”
“Haven’t you seen the show Dexter? He wraps the victims up in plastic wrap before offing them. Helps with the blood splatter, or at least that’s how it’s shown on the show. Maybe you should consider doing that next time.”
Colin threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He took her hands in his, brought her knuckles up to his lips and kissed them tenderly. “But I was running low on time. I needed the guy dead and gone before you got home so we could have our romantic dinner.”
