Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three)

by Blakeley, Rissa

  Elaina’s voice echoed behind him and Gabriel. Thomas struggled, but Gabriel stepped around the back corner of the building, pressing flat against the wall. They watched her, Chris, and Jake pass by. Thomas wanted to shout a warning…something, anything. His eyelids fluttered and his body fought Gabriel’s strength.

  A snapping sound traveled toward them. Gabriel chuckled into Thomas’ ear. “Whoopsie. Looks like Rhys is no longer. I suppose it’s my turn to have a little fun with Liam.” Thomas flailed around with the last of his strength. “It’s been great fun, lad. Enjoy your trip to the other side.”

  Gabriel reached behind his back, unsheathed his knife, and brought it around, viciously jamming it into the side of Thomas’ head. Yanking the knife out, he licked the blood from the side of the blade. A groan slipped out over the metallic warmth tantalizing his taste buds.

  “Mmm… So delicious. If I had time, I would suck you dry,” he murmured in Thomas’ ear. Without another thought, Gabriel threw Thomas to the ground and stalked off.

  “Henry!” Elaina swiveled around and around. “Strip him of any weapons,” she ordered Chris and Jake. Then she looked around again as if she could see.

  Henry was still yelling for Thomas. Elaina decided to walk a little. She had no idea what direction she was moving, but she had to help find Thomas, especially if he was in need of medical attention.

  Henry’s voice was getting further and further away. Elaina stopped and tried to get her bearings. She turned around several times, then was startled when a hand wrapped around her mouth and pulled her into a hard body.

  “Well, hullo there, little bird,” the rough British voice growled in her ear. In an instant, the sadistic sound made Elaina’s legs get weak. He plucked the axe out of her hands and threw it aside, pulled the handgun out of her pants and tucked it in his. “I suggest that you do not scream. If you do, my recruits will beat Liam to the brink and he will turn. I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth. Do not scream. Am I understood?”

  She nodded, allowing the tears hovering on the rims of her eyelids and clinging to her lashes to roll down her face.

  When he released her mouth, she took advantage of it. “Henry! Help me!”

  “You bitch!” The man popped her in the mouth. While holding her tight to him, he searched himself, then tied a gag around her mouth. He yanked her arms behind her back, securing them.

  “Elaina! Elaina!” Henry yelled through the darkness, but what she heard next tore at her every fiber.

  The agonizing, pain-filled scream that came from Henry left her panicked. She realized that, because she had a beef with authority figures and didn’t like to follow orders, she just made her husband true dead. The sobbing hit hard, knowing it was her fault.

  She had killed Henry.

  An evil laugh stabbed at her. The man picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder. Flailing around like a fish out of water, she wanted to scream, but it was useless. Hearing Henry let out that scream left her with no will.

  “Stop fighting me or I will send more of my recruits into your little hideout and make everyone true dead. So if you want all your little friends to live, I suggest you stop fucking around. Understand?” Elaina nodded and her sobs became more intense to the point that she was nearly throwing up. “There, there, little bird,” he murmured, petting her like a dog. “When I get you back on the ship, I’m going to tend to your needs.” He chuckled.

  Elaina’s skin crawled. Petrified, she hoped he would just kill her and be done with it. She didn’t want to live knowing it was her fault that Henry was gone forever.

  I ran toward the direction of Elaina’s screams. She was in trouble. I was worked up, knowing she didn’t listen to me, but knowing she was in danger threw me into overdrive. As I ran, it was like I hit a brick wall. “What the fuck?” I growled, stumbling back.

  “Hullo, mate.” It was a familiar voice. Had to be another recruit. Finlay, maybe? I couldn’t place it. “You forget your manners? A proper hullo back would be lovely.” The voice circled me. I reached for the rifle I had slung over my shoulder, but realized I had left it back where I was minutes before. I pulled out my knife. “You think that’ll stop me? I can see you,” he taunted. “I’m using this great technology called night vision. Sadly, you aren’t. This should prove to be exciting.”

  Turning around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, I whispered, “Finlay?”

  “Oh, bloody hell… You guessed. You take the fun out of the surprise.” Finlay laughed with such venom that I growled.

  I was kicking myself for not investing in night vision supplies. Continuing to circle, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, more shuffled footsteps approached from behind. I worried because they had Elaina and possibly Thomas, as well, but I worked hard not to show my weakness.

  The shuffled steps stopped. “Finlay, my mate! Look at what you’ve found. You’ll be rewarded greatly for this.” I ran the voice through my head. Gabriel, I thought, clenching my teeth. Gabriel was a friend and my former roommate at the complex. “So what do you say? Shall we get this show on the road?”

  “Absolutely!” It was apparent to me that Finlay and Gabriel were completely pleased with themselves.

  The knife was firmly palmed in a reverse grip in my right hand while I continued to circle.

  Stopping and listening, I envisioned Finlay’s and Gabriel’s physical size, remembering their strengths and weaknesses. During training, I had taken on two recruits blindfolded many times. I didn’t always win, but I usually fared well.

  I calmed myself mentally and prepared for the battle. Focusing, I shut my eyes and steadied my breathing, heightening my senses, locking myself into program mode.

  There was a cool breath pushing toward me from my left side. The air moved behind me and I lunged to the right with my knife. Missed. A low growl sounded behind me. All of a sudden, blaring pain screamed through my shoulder and I cried out.

  The malevolent laughter began again. “What happened to Drew, Dex, Malcolm, and Bas?” Finlay asked.

  “I killed them. All of them!” I spit out while feeling the blood run down my arm. I was seething that he cut me.

  “They never completed their mission…or did they?” Finlay and Gabriel erupted in laughter.

  Rage filled me. I remembered the feel of Quinn’s lifeless body in my arms and the sight of Gunther crumbling into millions of pieces. He would never be the same. His emotional pain was far superior to any physical pain I was feeling at the moment.

  I was going to avenge the both of us.

  Snap out of it, I told myself. “Where did you take her?” I growled.

  An air of joy filled Gabriel’s voice, “Who might you be speaking about?”

  “I want her back right fucking now!” I yelled.

  “Oh no. That won’t happen. Roger’s probably fucking her right now. Our turn later,” he taunted.

  They continued their vicious prodding, trying to make me crack. I tightened down my jaw and mind. The air moved to my left. Once again, I lunged, connecting this time.

  It was my turn to laugh.

  “Fuck!” Gabriel screamed. “Finlay!” he coughed.

  I had stabbed Gabriel right in the chest. Perfect. When he fell to the ground, I yanked out the knife with a twist, making him scream again. Then the sounds of bubbling came on hard and heavy when he tried to breathe. Raising the knife over my head, I used both hands and jammed it down, right into his head.

  One down.

  I stood, chest pumping. The adrenaline coursed through me, allowing me to feel the sounds in the air crawling over my skin.

  “Come on, Finlay!” I screamed in rage. “Let’s have a go!”

  The air swirled around me. Finlay whispered in my ear, “I never liked Gabriel anyway.”

  “Quit fucking around, you lass. Fight me like a man!”

  “Now why would I want to do something like that?”

  “You wouldn’t because you know I will
beat you. I have many times, you pussy. You’re weak! You can’t think for yourself! You are useless and nothing but a motherfucking pawn in a game that Roger will lose. This is my game to win and I will see to it that you’ll never become anything more than true dead!”

  “I have one advantage. I can see you,” he taunted.

  “Then fight me!”

  The air stirred in front of me.

  A snapping twig sounded to the right. “Oh, look. You have mortal saviors.” Then the air stirred to my left.

  “We stand together,” Chris’ voice echoed in the darkness.

  Finlay buckled in laughter, then a punch connected to my face. I fell to the ground. Feeling around, I grabbed Finlay’s legs and pulled them out from under him. Launching myself on top of him, he flipped me onto my back. The knife was still palmed, but Finlay held my arm, working to twist it around to use against me. His free hand grabbed around my throat, squeezing hard, trying to choke me. My injured shoulder was giving way to his weight. The pain was nearly unbearable, and I was losing consciousness. Someone grabbed Finlay and choked him.

  My voice strained, “Chris…Jake! Kill him!”

  I don’t know who did it, but the knife was torn from my hand. There was a sickening crunch and Finlay went limp on top me. I pushed him off and got on my hands and knees, trying to catch my breath.

  “You all right?” Jake asked.

  “No. My shoulder… I’m bleeding badly,” I growled. I felt hands feeling around, grabbing at me. “We have to find Elaina and Thomas!”

  “We already found Thomas.” Chris paused. “He’s severely injured. It doesn’t look good, but Cora and Gunther are tending to him right now.”

  My stomach knotted. If he was dead, it would kill me.

  I needed to focus on finding my wife before I could even think about Thomas. He was in good hands. I staggered to my feet and screamed, “Elaina!” Nothing but silence filled my ears. Tears formed in my eyes. My love, where is she? “Elaina!” My voice echoed through the still night air. “Elaina…” I dropped to my knees. “He took her!”

  “Let’s get you inside,” Chris insisted. “Cora needs to assess your arm.”

  I fought against their grip. “No! I have to find her.”

  “Henry, you can’t find her in the darkness.” Jake was trying to reason with the unreasonable. “Let’s get you treated, then we can go find her. Together.”

  I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to go right then, but Jake and Chris dragged me, kicking and screaming, back toward the building. It took several wrong turns before we found the door.

  “Let me go!” I screamed.

  “No!” Chris shouted.

  “She’s out there!” James met us in the hall with a lit candle. “She’s out there!” James led us to the clinic as I screamed and hollered. He threw open the door and Gunther jumped up, ready to fight.

  “Henry! What the fuck is going on?” Gunther yelled.

  “They have her! He took her!” I bellowed.

  Gunther looked at James, Chris, and Jake. “Elaina,” Chris spoke sullenly. “They took her.”

  “Why was she even out there?” I collapsed on the floor, woozy from the blood loss and the emotions colliding within me.

  I had lost my Elaina. My wife. My forever love… She was in the hands of a monster who would do horrific things to her that would scar her eternally.

  “Someone clear off that other cot!” Cora demanded. “Help me get him on it.” Chris and Jake grabbed me and put me on the cot. Cora pulled off my vest and cut off my shirt.

  “Cora, I have to find her…,” I cried.

  “I know. You will. Right now, we need to fix your shoulder before we can do anything else.” She grabbed my face and looked me in the eyes. “Henry, we will find her. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “I love her so much,” I cried. Horrible thoughts of my past plowed through me. “I’m scared for her. I don’t want them to do to her what they did to me.”

  “I know. You have to calm down, okay? It’s not helping you right now.” My body trembled with fear, sorrow, hate, and pain. “Oh god, Henry. This is bad.” I growled, then panted, jumping as she dumped vodka on it. “It’s sliced wide open.”

  “What do we do to fix it?” Chris asked in panic.

  My eyes drifted to the other cot. There was a bloody sheet covering a slim body. “Oh fuck, no…,” I whispered. “No…not him.” I sobbed.

  “He’s graying, Gunther,” Cora barked out. “I need you calm, Henry.” I watched her ready the needle and thread.

  “Chris, can I tap you?” Gunther asked.

  “James, Jake…hold Henry down,” Cora said. They rushed over to me. James grabbed my legs, and Jake pinned my good arm and torso down.

  “I can only stitch the very surface. I’m going to pour more vodka on it. I have to make sure you won’t get an infection.”

  “Fuck!” I screamed and my breathing went ragged. “Please…stop,” I begged.

  “I know. I’m so sorry, Henry. I will try to make this as quick as possible.”

  Cora began sewing me up. I growled and tears flowed from my eyes while I thought of all the horrible things that could be happening to Elaina.

  I failed her. I failed my wife, the one person I always thought I could protect.

  “Henry, I’m so sorry,” Cora tried to comfort me.

  Tears stung the cut on my cheek. “I have to find her.”

  “You will. Just hold still for a few minutes.” She worked at a feverish pace to stitch the skin together.

  The emotions in the room were heavy. We were sick over Thomas, and worried about Elaina.

  The pain in my shoulder was so tremendous, blackness finally took over…

  Chapter 50

  Halfway up the road, Elaina and her captor were met by another program-issue SUV.

  “About time, you fuck up!” her captor barked.

  “Sorry,” the driver said as he opened the liftgate. “Had an issue with a few prisoners. Had to make a few true dead.”

  They tossed her in the back with no regard for her physically. Her head slammed against the back of the seat and her knees were shoved into her chest when he slammed it shut. However, she didn’t care anymore and wished they would’ve just run her over. She didn’t want to live without Henry, nor did she want to live within the program.

  “I left Finlay and Gabriel to deal with Liam. This one caused me enough issues, the little whore.”

  “Is she Liam’s?”

  “By the way she was screaming for him, that’s my conclusion. It’s a near guarantee he will come for her. He will either be coming with Gabriel and Finlay, or he will be on his own.” Elaina knew he wouldn’t be coming for her. Henry was dead. She already heard his last sounds. She listened as they continued to talk, “Wait until he sees what I have waiting for him on the ship.” They erupted in laughter. “I can’t wait to have him on his knees, begging for his life.”

  The truck sped down the road, hitting several bumps. Bouncing around the back, Elaina hit her head on the side wall. Her arms were cramping from being tied behind her back. To top it off, her eyes were swollen from crying and her throat was still burning from her screams.

  Finally, the truck came to a stop. She tried to sit up to see where they were, but she was too weak. She didn’t give a fuck anyway. With no Henry, she was lost and done with life.

  The doors of the truck opened. “Sir.” A new voice.

  “Niles,” the first captor said curtly.

  “Do we have any passengers?” Niles asked.

  “Just one. Liam’s whore. Finlay and Gabriel are dealing with him. Honestly, I don’t think they could take him. He already made Rhys true dead. He always had the upper hand on all of them. They were disposable. I’ll check their signals when I get into my quarters. I know he will come. We just have to be patient. In the meantime, I will keep track of him and enjoy…this.”

  The liftgate opened. A large younger man, maybe in his late teens and d
ressed all in black, who brought a new meaning to creepy and looked oddly similar to Gunther, hovered above her, leering with a sadistic smile on his face.

  “What a pretty little bird you are.” As he reached for her, even more fear riddled Elaina. Her eyes opened wide and she chomped down on the gag, breathing heavy. His knuckle rubbing her cheek sent her body quaking. “Don’t worry, pretty little bird. We will take fantastic care of you as we do all our whores,” he laughed as he pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

  “Niles! Back off! She’s mine.” The man who abducted Elaina came into sight. He had familiar facial features…cheekbones, jawline, lips. Her eyes ran down his strong body. He smirked. Oh god. It couldn’t be, she thought. “Now, let’s get her on the ship. I want her in my quarters,” he commanded.

  Niles and the driver of the truck grabbed Elaina and dragged her up the dock. She hung in their grip like dead weight, the toes of her sneakers skidding behind her. She wasn’t going to fight, but she wasn’t going to cooperate, either.

  “You are a spirited little bird, aren’t you?” Niles commented, laughing.

  They forced Elaina onto the ship, dragging her onto the upper deck and down the stairs into what looked like the captain’s quarters. They dropped her onto the hard, wood plank floor.

  “She’s all yours, Roger,” Niles said.

  Elaina looked all around. Roger? Where is he? If I get my hands out of these bindings, I will choke the life out of him.

  “Off you go now, Niles. I have things to do,” he said. After hearing his voice, she almost gasped, knowing Roger was the man who kidnapped her.

  Elaina struggled to roll to her side, as a loud laugh came from behind her. She managed to push herself up and leaned back against the wall.

  Roger grabbed a chair and turned it backward, straddling it much like Henry did. He looked like an older version of Henry, except he had icy blue eyes. He ran his hands through his thinning dark hair, much like Henry did. The half-smirk…much like Henry’s. Their mannerisms were eerily similar.