by Skyla Madi
My heart batters my ribs, my lower lip quakes, but I can’t let him think, not even for a second, that he has power over me.
“Yeah, well, when you’ve been chasing a girl around the world for well over a year, her psycho ex-boyfriend on your tail, panache gets old quick.”
“Not ex.”
“Yes, baby. Ex.” Skull dips his chin, peering down the length of his slender nose at me, and plants a gentle kiss on Jacob’s head. “Come with me—quietly—and I’ll give this precious little cherub back to his mom.”
I open and close my fists. It’s a no brainer. Of course I’ll hand myself over for Jacob. He knows it too. I’d die for that kid.
I flick my head at Benji. “The boy too.”
“No. He stays. I need an incentive for them not to follow.”
“Damien—”
“I didn’t ask your opinion.” He drags the gun along Jake’s cheek and Monique whimpers. Joel inches forward, whispering his pleas, as if a normal tone will set the gun off. “So? You coming?”
Gritting my teeth, I force myself forward and it’s fucking hard. I feel like I’m up to my knees in sticky, dense mud, each step toward my doom taking a lot of effort. As I pass Jai, he snags my wrist with a grip so tight blood is cut off from my fingers.
“Emily…” he orders under his voice and I cut my eyes at him.
His concern is awfully believable for someone who had to know this was inevitable. What did he expect? That we were going to live happily ever after when the big bad “Wolfe” was out there hunting us?
“You lied to me. Fixing this mess is on you.” I snatch my arm free and keep my chin high. I have no doubt Jai will rectify his mistake. When he does, of course I’ll forgive him. I don’t want to, but I’m powerless when it comes to staying mad at him. The only way he can salvage this, is by showing me Skull’s blood on his hands.
* Jai *
Fuck!
I’m kicking myself for not carrying a gun.
I’m such an idiot!
I’ve been so caught up in Joel and Emily’s lives that I stopped paying close attention to Skull. I went from checking his whereabouts every hour and cross-checking every ping of my device with flight arrival times at each airport. I should have crossed checked the alert I got when it told me he landed in Ukraine. The fact he was in Italy so briefly should have been a red flag, but I was too distracted to bother following it up. I promised Joel I’d stay alert, for Jacob’s sake, that I’d leave again just as soon as I came up with a good enough story for Emily to believe. I threw the idea of lying to her out the window and I was going to come clean to her at the hot springs today. Instead, we’re suffering the consequences of my neglect.
Emily closes the distance between her and Skull. With every step she takes, his sardonic grin widens, his eyes raking over her long, taut legs, snug jean shorts, flat tummy, and a long sleeve crop that hugs her generous breasts. She chose the outfit for me, for our trip. She told me she’d wear something sexy and fun and she did. She looks stunning and playful. I want nothing more than to parade her around in front of everyone, claiming her as mine as we walk side by side, our fingers threaded together. Now, I don’t get to because of this asshole in front of me and his sick obsession with Emily and her likeness to his late wife.
I get it’s sad his wife was murdered, along with his unborn child, but that doesn’t give him any right to take mine.
Skull plants another kiss to Jacob’s temple before holding him out for Emily. She eagerly scoops him into her slender arms, pulling his chubby onesie-clad body to her chest, and he lets out a soft cry as she turns toward Monique.
As she widens the distance between them, Skull slaps his hand against Benji’s shoulder, pointing the gun toward his ribcage. Ben visibly shakes, his large brown eyes watery, but I can tell he’s trying to hold it together in front of his dad.
Poor guy.
How can Skull threaten a child? Especially after what happened to his in utero? He really is soulless.
“You thought you were so clever, didn’t you?” he sneers at me, the arrogance thick in his aura.
“We fooled you for a while.”
“But you must’ve known I’d figure it out eventually. The world may be big, but there’s only so many places you could’ve hidden her from me.” He tips his head to the side. “Aren’t you the least bit curious how I figured out where you were hiding her? How I tricked you?”
I tighten my jaw, refusing to answer. I can’t bear to hear the mistake I’d obviously made somewhere along the line.
“It was real easy once I realized what you were doing,” he simpers. “The first time I saw you was in Damascus. You were too busy staring off into the distance to notice me walk by and I could not believe my lucky stars. I thought I’d finally found what I’d been looking for…until I realized you were alone. Foolishly, I assumed you were looking for Emily too, so I moved on to Beirut, hoping to get to her first. That’s when it became clear that you were following me and if you were following me, well, that meant you knew exactly where to find her.”
I ask no questions, offer no commentary as Emily hands Jacob over to Monique, who all but collapses on the stairs in relief. Jake squirms and whines as she squeezes him against her and rains kisses onto his head and face. I turn my head and look at Joel. His shoulders are slightly more relaxed, his face the perfect picture of respite. If we can get Benji to safety too, then I can get a little more reckless with my planning. So far, my plan consists of chasing them down in my car, pulling Skull out of the driver’s seat, and beating his head into the asphalt.
“You remember that pretty little maid in Beirut?” he asks as Emily heads back toward him.
I do my best to remain uninterested. “The one you threw out a window?”
“That’s the one.” Skull grins. “I paid her good money to listen in on your phone conversations with your brother. I even paid her to go through your hotel room one morning when you left early for breakfast.” His lips pull even wider. “For a guy who had everything to hide, you sure didn’t try too hard. Wasn’t hard to set up fake alerts to your device once I figured it all out.”
I slide my teeth together. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that the three of us ended up in that hall after all and, maybe I hadn’t taken all the necessary precautions to shield what I was doing, but fuck, by that point I was exhausted. Maybe I didn’t care if anyone found out. Maybe I subconsciously wanted Skull to see me, to find out where Emily was hiding so I could end the wild goose chase I was on.
I. Was. Exhausted.
I still am.
It was hard trying to find the right place and time to end him. He was always in public places and was rarely alone. It seemed he knew someone in every country. Nightly, he took women back to his hotel and I couldn’t risk dragging a civilian into our mess.
Whenever I caught wind of a routine, he was gone by the time I could plot and enact my plan and I’d have to start from the beginning in a new city.
Scouting. Plotting. Moving.
Scouting. Plotting. Moving.
As hard as it is for me to admit…maybe I gave up.
When Skull arrived in Naples, I didn’t bother finding out which hotel he was staying in, like I normally would. Instead, I rented a car and I drove from Naples to Siena. I couldn’t stop myself. Energy vibrated up my calves the moment I stepped onto Italy’s soil. I could smell Emily on the wind, feel her in the sun’s rays. Knowing I was on the same continent as her sent fire through my blood and filled me with an excitement I thought I’d never feel again.
Emily’s birthday wasn’t the first time I’d seen her in a year. It was the day before her birthday. I was walking down the main street, looking for nothing in particular. With my hands in the pockets of my black bomber jacket, I heard the gentle ringing of a metal bell attached to a door and a familiar melodious laugh that pierced through my chest. I turned my head toward the sound and there she was, carrying a transparent box that held a chocolate cake insi
de.
Wind was sucked from my lungs and I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was beautiful—more beautiful than my mind recalled.
The old Italian gentleman spoke English, but his accent was thick. He told her to enjoy her birthday and he hoped her friends would spoil her. She thanked him and turned toward the street. I slipped into the doorway of a jewelry store and watched through the glass as she placed the cake in the passenger side of her sleek black sedan then smoothed her hands down the front of her fitted black slacks before climbing into the driver’s seat. I stepped out of the doorway as she pulled away from the curb. It killed me to know I wasn’t going to be with her on her birthday for the second year in a row.
I turned back toward the glitzy jewelry store and stared at the sparkling assortment of rings and necklaces…and I went inside. I purchased a delicate gold necklace with a single floating diamond that’d sit in the hollow of her throat, where her collarbones almost meet. It was beautiful and understated, yet full of personality, everything I loved most about her.
The second thing I purchased was a gold solitaire engagement ring that came with a single prong eternity band. Both rings were littered with small diamonds, save for the single large diamond in the center of the front ring. I didn’t know when I’d give it to her, only that I would.
I blink, dragging myself back to the present. I want to give it to her now—right now—but this asshole stands in my way.
Emily returns to Skull and my stomach turns as he slides his hand around her bare, slender waist and squeezes her against him. “We’re leaving. If you follow us, the boy dies.”
“You’re just going to take the kid along with you? For the rest of your life?” Ted asks and Skull shakes his head.
“No. I’ll dump him on the side of the road when I’m comfortable with the distance I’ve put between us.”
“He’s a kid. You can’t just—”
“I can do whatever I want. I thought that was obvious by now.”
Ted licks his lips. “Give Benji to us. You still have leverage without him.”
Skull gently tips his head to the side. “How so?”
“She’s pregnant.”
“Ted—” His name flies from my mouth before I can register it and Emily frowns.
I know what he’s doing, and it might work, but it’s insensitive given her condition.
“Not possible,” Skull snaps, baring his teeth. “She can’t carry children.”
Ted shrugs. “Miracles happen. Right, Huss?”
Jealousy flares inside me. It makes sense to use Huss since I’ve only been here a few days…doesn’t make it sting any less though. I’d sooner prefer Joel be the father of Emily’s imaginary baby. I don’t mean to disrespect Huss, but he’s not good enough for her. The thought of them together…I make a deep noise in my chest and ball my fists at my sides.
“Right,” Huss shouts from somewhere on the porch.
Skull contemplates what they’ve said before peering at Emily. “Really? That guy?”
She shrugs her shoulders and Skull shoves Benji forward, pointing the gun toward Emily’s empty womb, none the wiser. Ben sprints away from Skull as fast as he can, crying as he bounds up the porch steps toward Huss.
Slowly, Skull backs Emily away, and she can’t bring herself to look at me. I don’t blame her. I betrayed her. I kept the fact he was alive from her. She hates me.
Emily doesn’t fight him as he opens the passenger door of his all black SUV. Hell, she even climbs inside without help.
When she’s settled, her belt fastened, she lifts her gaze to mine and it all but rips my heart from my chest. She holds my gaze for a second before dropping her head into her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cries.
I turn away, unable to watch as he backs them out of the drive.
I’m going to get her back and Skull will die today.
I’m going to end this once and for all.
Fourteen
Emily
Love Me
Every quarter mile we drive I expect something to happen.
Gunfire.
A car chase.
An explosion.
The death of an enemy.
The reuniting of two lovers.
A final, epic action scene to end it all, finally leaving me to my happy ever after…
…but there’s nothing.
The further we get from the beautiful chunk of land I live on, the more it settles in my stomach that Skull is alive. He’s here. And he has me.
I haven’t looked at him, not even a glance in his direction, simply to avoid that sinking feeling, the same one I felt the night he dragged me out in front of everyone and I saw Joel tied to a pole.
I swipe at my tears, uncaring that my mascara is running, that my cloudy tears hit my white top.
Foreign flesh touches my thigh and my muscles clench of their own accord. Surprisingly, the touch is soft and gentle, much like Jai’s was before dinner last night. Jai. He’s filled with good intentions, but he’s blind to reality. Even after all this time.
I clench my jaw until my joints ache, fighting the urge to slap Skull away from me. What would that achieve? He’s proven time and time again that he gets what he wants and, besides, he likes it when I fight him.
“I’ll give you a good life,” he says, not looking at me. “If you let me.”
I swipe at my nose, my spine shuddering as he drags his thumb back and forth. “I have a good life now—a great life—and you’re ruining it.”
“I’ll give you a better one,” he simply says, as if it’s no big deal, as if the one I have is worthless.
I peer sideways at him and he steals a glance at me, his eyes leaving the road for a second. “Stop crying. I haven’t hurt you.”
He hasn’t hurt me? Doesn’t he realize by now that he doesn’t have to physically overpower me in order to hurt me? What game is he playing, anyway? I was certain he’d hogtie me and throw me in the trunk. I wasn’t expecting to ride up front with him, unhindered. If I wasn’t so terrified of dying, I could tug the wheel or open my door and jump out.
“You’re not mad at me? Not after that night? Not for what happened to your house?”
He shrugs his broad shoulders, his white tee tightening along his back. “I handled the whole situation wrong, I admit.” He dances his fingers along my skin, eliciting goosebumps from me—and not the good kind. “But we’ll start fresh. It’ll be good for us.”
For us? He’s even crazier now than he was before. There is no us. There never was an us and there never will be.
“That’s it?” I tuck my hair behind my ears. “We move on? There’s no punishment?”
Skull moves his slender, long-fingered hand back to the wheel. “The way I acted that night was out of line. I’ll never hurt you again, especially since you’re…”
Pregnant. With Huss’s baby.
I turn my head and grimace out the window. I’d sooner breed with Joel. “You’re delusional.”
He grips the steering wheel tight in his hands. “I’ve had over a year to think about us—”
“There is no us.”
“And I realize that if I want this to work, you need to be able to trust me.”
My tears dry up as frustration leaks in, replacing my sadness. Trust him? Is he kidding? “I don’t trust you.”
“Not yet.”
“I hate you,” I spit at him. “How hard is that to understand?”
His jaw flexes imperceptibly. “You don’t hate me.”
“I hate you more than I’ve ever hated anyone in my life.” I lean across the cup holders between us, getting as close to his ear as I can stomach. “You’re a selfish, rude, despicable, murderous—”
He lifts his hand and slams it down fast, smacking his palm against my thigh. A loud slap echoes through the car sending fire tearing down my thigh. I scream and he clenches my thigh muscles in his hand, digging his fingers in, threatening to pull the meat apart like a piece of chicken. I grab at his hand
and try to pry him off, but he’s too strong. He’s always been too strong.
Tears choke me until the pressure is too much and I burst into tears.
“I’m trying to play nice, Kitty-Cat,” he hisses through his teeth, slamming his foot on the gas. “You’ll let me finish what I’m trying to say or I’ll flip this car and kill us both, do you understand?”
“Yes!” I howl through the pain, gritting my back teeth, hating how the speed is pushing me into my seat, hating how the road feels like ice underneath our tires.
He releases me and I hunch over, sobbing into my hands, as the car slows. Eventually, I feel it roll to a stop and Skull exhales. There’s a gentle click and then there’s a hand on the back of my head and one around my wrist.
“Hey,” he whispers, his voice the softest I’ve ever heard it. There’s no malice, no devilish undertones, only compassion and empathy. “Look at me.”
I don’t lift my head so he eases me up, straightening my spine. I squeeze my eyes shut as he shushes me like a baby, his hands moving to my face, brushing my hair away. My stomach rolls violently when he leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my lower lip, all while swiping his thumbs under my eyes, collecting my tears.
Swallowing as much of my emotion as I can, I open my eyes and meet his black irises and his terrifying appearance.
“If you come with me, I’ll leave them alone.”
My heart stutters. “Don’t use them against me.”
“I have to,” he murmurs, pain filling his face. “I have to make you love me again.”
I frown. Love him again? I missed the part when I loved him in the first place. “I never loved you.”
“You did.” He drags a firm thumb over my lip. “We were happy. We…we were going to be parents to a little girl.”
We stare at each other and it feels different. Realization dawns on me, as he’s staring into my eyes, that he’s caught in one of his moments. The ones where he confuses his present with his past.
“I’m not her,” I tell him and I can’t help but wonder if he ever got the help he needed to come to terms with what happened. Has he grieved his loss? Because he certainly hasn’t let go.
