by Virna DePaul
Before Dom could even try to respond, Cam pushed his head toward the floor. Blinding pain exploded behind Dom’s eyelids and everything went blank.
Mattie came awake by degrees. The first thing she became aware of was pain. In her head. In her body. Even her fingernails ached. She struggled to open her eyes, blinking until the blurred outline of a man came into focus. Fear filled her as she realized she was lying prone on a hard, cold surface, and that Michael Sabon was straddling her, staring at her with menacing intensity and a mocking grin.
“Where’s Tony—” she managed to choke out.
“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I don’t know.”
Sabon’s face twisted into cruel lines. He grabbed her hair in one hand and yanked back her head. Mattie moaned in terror when she felt the hard edge of a gun barrel shoved under her chin.
A shout rang out behind her. Sabon released her hair. “Shut up!” he hissed.
Voices drifted in from the other room. She distinctly heard a man shout “police.”
“Help—” she screamed immediately, just before Sabon shoved his free hand over her mouth. With both hands occupied, he could barely subdue Mattie as she arched and wriggled to escape him. He struck her in the temple with the gun, splitting open her head so that blood immediately trickled into her eyes. He laid down his gun and grabbed both of her wrists in one of his and stretched them over her head. As she continued to struggle, Sabon shifted the hand covering her mouth to her throat, squeezing so tight that she instantly lost air.
Her wheezing gasps drowned out the voices in the other room and her vision tunneled into a small pinpoint of light. Her muscles went limp and she could feel herself losing consciousness just as Sabon released her.
“Try anything else and I will kill you. Then I’ll kill your daughter. Your mother. Anyone you’ve ever been friends with. Do you hear me?”
Limp and shaking, gasping for air, Mattie’s head lolled back and forth on the floor. Although she strained to hear them, the voices had quieted. Was anyone still there? Her stomach rolled when Sabon released her wrists, and ran his hands over her breasts and between her legs before leaning closer. “Don’t think anyone’s coming to rescue you,” he whispered. “If anything, Cam probably has your brother in tow. I can’t wait to get my hands on him.”
Leaning away but still holding her wrists, he slapped her. Instead of subduing her, the sharp pain, like a vial of smelling salts, seemed to bring her awareness back. Her blurry vision focused until she could see every pore on his face. Turning her head slightly, Mattie honed in on the gun that Sabon had left on the floor.
He grabbed her chin, digging his fingers into her flesh so hard that she whimpered. “That’s right. You’re going to make noise. You’re going to scream when your brother gets here. I’ll make sure I hurt you really good so he’ll know for certain—no one messes with Guapo or his brother. In fact, I don’t want to wait. I want you to scream now.”
Pressing her lips together mutinously, Mattie shook her head.
“Scream!” he shouted.
Come on, she thought. Lose control. Be sloppy.
As if he heard her thoughts, Sabon sat back even farther, balancing on his knees and leaving his groin vulnerable. He raised his hand to slap her again and Mattie’s mind screamed “now.” Curling her knee into her chest as hard as she could, she relished Sabon’s howl of pain, but she didn’t pause. Pressing the flat of her foot against his stomach, she pushed out with all her might and sent him flying. With a slithering lunge, she got hold of the gun, only to scream when Sabon’s foot pressed onto her arm. He stomped on her arm again but Mattie refused to uncurl her fingers from the butt of the gun.
Instead, when Sabon grabbed her by the hair to lift her up, she twisted her arm out from under his foot and slammed the gun into his kneecap. With a yell, he released her and stumbled. Scrambling to her feet, Mattie pointed the gun at him. Quick as lightning, Sabon reached in his jacket and flipped out a razor blade, one that was relatively small but sharp enough to do what he had in mind. Gut her. Kill her. Then kill Tony.
Hands shaking, Mattie flinched when Sabon sliced the knife toward her.
He just laughed and moved closer.
She commanded her feet to move back. Her finger to pull the trigger. But her gaze was mesmerized by the slashing arcs of the blade, her body paralyzed by shock and fear.
The door to the room was flung open. Sabon turned at the same time Mattie saw Tony stumble into the room. “Mattie,” he yelled.
With an animalistic roar, Sabon launched himself at Tony. Tony lifted his arms straight out, but he dropped the gun he was holding as soon as Sabon made contact. Even as Sabon stabbed Tony with the knife, Mattie couldn’t force the scream from her open mouth. As Tony dropped to the floor, Sabon kicked him several times in the ribs and in the face.
Her brother wasn’t moving. He didn’t make a sound.
Sabon looked at her, raised the bloody blade, and waggled it at her. “What’s a matter, lady? Can’t pull the trigger? Too bad your daughter is going to be left an orphan,” he taunted. “Tony always loved the little brat. Now, to finish this little bastard off before we get back to what we started.”
Sabon pulled his arm back to plunge the blade into Tony’s chest.
Suddenly Mattie’s body came to life. Jordan wasn’t going to be an orphan. Even if she and Tony didn’t make it out of here alive, she’d have a father. One who’d insure her happiness. She didn’t doubt Dominic’s ability to love and care for his daughter. Not anymore.
“I’m sorry, Dominic,” she said out loud. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you when I should have.”
Sabon turned at the sound of her voice, a puzzled expression on his face. When she took two steps forward, he frowned.
She didn’t warn him to stop.
She didn’t give him a chance to back off.
She just pulled the trigger without an ounce of hesitation and watched Sabon fall to the ground.
Chapter 18
Pain throbbed steadily at Dom’s temple, tempting him to slide into the darkness once again, but he refused to go. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they remained still, encased in quicksand that was about to swallow him whole.
Desperately, he opened his eyes, blinking until his vision finally cleared.
Dom stared at the man standing before him, leaning against a stack of crates with his arms crossed over his chest. “You killed Joel, didn’t you? You planted the drugs?”
Straightening, Cam walked toward him. “Sorry, bloke. I can’t take credit for the drugs.” Cam pulled at the rope binding Dom’s wrists together, testing to make sure they had no give. “I’m afraid those were already there when Joel and I had our little disagreement.”
“Disagreement about what? How soon you’d be going to hell?”
“Tsk tsk, now. Let’s not make this personal, Dom. It’s not.”
Disbelief couldn’t have hit him any stronger. “You trying to kill me, Mattie and her brother? I take that personally.”
“Well you shouldn’t. This is all Frank Manelli’s fault, you know.” Pulling the gun from his holster, Cam crouched and shoved it underneath Dom’s chin. “He cheated on Grace again and again. After he was out of the picture, I poured my heart out to her and you know what she said? That she could never love me the way she loves him. That she filed for divorce to scare him straight.” Cam looked at Dom, his confusion obvious, but he didn’t lower the gun. “How stupid is that?”
“So you tortured him? Stripped the skin from his body?”
“Maybe I enjoyed that a little too much, but in truth I was counting on Guapo’s men getting rid of him. Only my plan backfired. I needed to know the confidential informant’s identity, Dom, or Guapo was going to come after me.”
“You know the CI’s identity now. Go. Tell Guapo. Let him come after Tony himself.”
He shook his head then stroked the barrel of his gun down Dom’s cheek. “Don’t
play with me, Dom. You know I have to take him to Guapo. But first I have to kill you and Mattie.”
Cam straightened, lifted the gun, and pointed it at Dom.
“At least tell me—why Joel?”
Cam laughed. “The lieutenant would be proud of you, L.B. No flinching or begging from you. But that’s why you can’t understand, Dom. You’re like Robocop. You didn’t even understand about Joel and Tawny. But Grace—” He took a deep, pained breath. “I love her, man. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for her.”
Robocop? Dom felt all right. Despite what Cam or anyone else thought. “Joel understood, even if I couldn’t. So why’d you kill him?”
“He didn’t understand,” Cam roared, his eyes turning wild. “Otherwise he would never have tried to help Frank. My only chance with Grace was getting Frank out of the picture, and I had the perfect opportunity. He’s not just a cheat, Dom, he’s a thief. He took the drugs from Guapo during the raid and Joel found out about it. He made Manelli give him the drugs, then was going to turn him in.”
“How’d you get involved, Cam?”
“He called me. Told me the whole thing. Asked me to take a freaking report and book the drugs into evidence!”
“Why not do it? Manelli’s reputation would have been destroyed. He would’ve gone to prison—”
“And she would have waited for him. No. I wanted Frank dead. And he would have been if Joel had just let Guapo have him.”
“So you killed Joel?”
Cam frowned, bewilderment flashing across his face. “No. No, I never meant to hurt him. That—it was an accident. But once Joel was gone, I tried to set the record straight with Guapo. I told him about Manelli. Instead of taking care of Frank, he decided to use me to find out who the CI was. Only Manelli couldn’t identify him and I had no clue who it was. How’s that for a laugh?”
“So Falcon. Linda Delaney. Even Judge Butler?”
“Falcon wasn’t my doing. All the D.A. and the judge had to do was tell me who it was, but they wouldn’t. And for who? A two-time druggie?”
“A two-time druggie who was trying to turn his life around.”
“You don’t know—” Cam’s hand jerked at the sound of a gunshot. They stared at one another.
“No,” Dom whispered. With a roar of fury, he struggled against his binds.
Don’t die, Mattie-mine. Don’t leave me. Our daughter needs us and I need you, too. More than I ever thought possible.
“Damn,” Cam said. He rushed to a side door, opened it, and peered outside. “Sabon!” he shouted. “Sabon, answer me.”
No answer came.
That was good. It slowed the frantic beating of Dom’s pulse. It enabled Dom to start thinking again. “Cam,” he called, praying Tony had found Mattie and they’d escaped. “Did you ever think that Grace might’ve been scared? That she really did love you?”
Still holding the door open, Cam glanced at him. “What the hell are you talking about now?”
“Frank hurt her, Cam. Maybe she was just reluctant to get involved with another cop. But Frank’s out of the picture now, just like you wanted. You still have a chance with her, Cam. You can leave. Just disappear.”
“And how am I supposed to have Grace if I disappear?” he spat back.
Dom took a deep breath. “I don’t know. But after this, there’s no going back. We were friends, Cam. Do the right thing. Please.”
Cam stared at Dom and slowly smiled. “Sorry, Dom. There’s already no going back. I guess this is it. Our final game. Who still has a pulse out there? Is it Mattie and her brother, or the dirty drug dealer?”
“Damn it, Cam. Wait—” Dom let out a long roar as Cam disappeared. He heard the turning of a lock.
Immediately, Dom began working at his binds again but Cam had restrained him well. He looked around for something—anything—he could use to work the ropes free. Eyes zooming in on the crate Cam had leaned against, he used his body weight to turn the chair. Inch by meager inch, he managed to work himself toward it until it was directly behind him and he could drag his bound wrists across the edge.
It took precious moments for her to rouse Tony and get him out of the warehouse. Supporting his weight, they stumbled outside. When she saw Dom’s truck parked haphazardly with the doors open, she forced herself to walk past it.
Everything Cam had said was a lie. She should never have believed that Dom would turn his back on her for any reason, let alone a fight.
But where was he? And did he know about Cam?
She lowered Tony to the ground as gently as she could, acutely aware of his moans of pain. “I’ll be right back, Tony. I have to get Dom.”
As she rose to her feet, Tony grabbed her wrist. “Wait, Mattie— Think of Jordan. She needs you.”
“I have to help him!” Mattie shouted as she managed to break free. She ran toward a blue metal door kitty-corner from the one they’d exited. “Please, please,” she whispered. “Don’t let Dom be hurt.”
She reached for the door handle and flung the door open. The scream ripped out of her throat like the bullet she’d used to kill Sabon.
Before she could veer away, Cameron Blake, his face contorted into a cold mask of rage, grabbed her, whirled her around and got her in a chokehold. “I’ll snap her neck,” he warned Tony, who’d somehow gotten to his feet and been right behind her. Her brother’s gaze met hers, then darted over her shoulder even as he swayed, blinking and trying to hang on to consciousness.
“Don’t hurt her,” Tony gasped out.
“Worry about yourself, my friend. I’m assuming you got the better of Sabon, but unfortunately for all of us, I still need you. You’re going to talk to Guapo’s men and you’re going to confess what you did or I’m going to hurt your sister here.”
Several loud thuds echoed from inside, making them all jerk. Mattie could barely hear a voice shouting her name.
It was Dominic.
He was alive and still trying to save her.
Tony shook his head. “They’ll kill her. You know they will.”
“No—” Mattie screamed, struggling for a few seconds before the band around her throat tightened. With a jerk of his arm, Cam lifted her off her feet and cut off her air supply. She gasped and wheezed, clawing at his arm even as her vision blurred. She could just make out Tony stumbling forward before he lost his balance and fell to his knees.
Please, no. Not now. Not like this.
Immediately, the vise around her throat loosened and she sucked in breath.
“Better her than me. Now let’s go. Into the car.”
With an arm still around Mattie, Cam frog-marched her to Tony. With his free hand, he gripped her brother by his shirt collar and dragged him up. Another thud from inside had him turning his head to glance behind him. “Now,” he gritted.
He shoved Tony toward his car, then threw him the keys. They fell at Tony’s feet. “Open the trunk.”
The thuds from inside stopped.
“Now,” Cam screamed, jerking Mattie off her feet once more.
“Okay, okay,” Tony said. He picked up the keys, fumbled at the lock for several seconds, then finally opened the trunk.
“Get in,” Cam ordered.
Clumsily, he did.
Cam began to drag her toward the open trunk as well. “We’re going for a ride.”
“No.” Mattie wriggled, throwing herself from side to side. If she got into that trunk, she’d never see Dom again. She’d never see Jordan. And that was not acceptable.
Her shoes scraped against the pavement as he continued to drag her. When she flung herself forward, however, his grip slipped and he struggled for balance. Instinctively, she tucked her chin into her neck and bit into the flesh of his forearm.
He shouted and pulled away, but Mattie hung on, grinding her teeth in even deeper until a sudden blow to her head made her jaw loosen. He swung her around, and slapped her so hard she staggered into the car and thumped her head against it. Pain exploded in the back of her head and s
he felt her feet give way beneath her. Slowly, she slid to the ground.
All she saw were four jean-clad legs walking toward her, the force of the blow causing her to see double. But wait—
Those weren’t four of Cam’s legs. Those were two pairs of legs. That meant…
Forcing her chin up, she saw two large forms wrestling. Dom and Cam, so comparably matched in size and strength. But even in her dazed state, Mattie could see the rage on Dom’s face as well as the small spark of fear that had formed on Cam’s.
She couldn’t see individual movements. Couldn’t separate one punch from another. But she could see the way Cam’s head jerked back over and over again until he was backing away from Dom and into the car behind her, like a heavyweight fighter on the ropes.
“I’ll kill you for hurting her,” Dom shouted. “You’re dead, do you hear me? You’re dead.”
“Dominic,” she tried to shout, but it came out as a whisper. She flinched when she felt something grab her.
“It’s me. It’s Tony.” Her brother slumped against her. Even as Mattie pulled him close, she called out for Dominic, her voice getting stronger with each word until she was screaming.
He finally heard her. With a shove, he pushed Cam to the ground and knelt beside Mattie. Gently, he pulled her from Tony’s arms and embraced her. “Are you okay, baby?”
She nodded. Over his shoulder, she saw Cam stagger to his feet and start to run toward the main road. “Dominic,” she croaked, “he’s getting away.”
“He’s hurt and he doesn’t have a gun.” He gestured to a gun he had tucked into his pants, then gently turned her face towards his. “You’re what matters to me, Mattie, and I’m not leaving your side.”
“But—”
He shook his head. “Shhh. It’s okay, baby. Where’s he going to go? He’ll get his due. I have no doubt about that.”
He leaned back against the car with her and though he tried to hide it, she saw him wince. “Are you hurt?” It was a stupid question, given the fact that his face was bruised, swollen, and cut up. It was what she couldn’t see that worried her, however, and she immediately got to her knees and began running her hands over him.
