Cian kicked in the door and the two separated, each searching rooms on either side of the front entrance. When they came up empty, the reunited in the hallway and Gabe signaled that he was going upstairs while Cian took the kitchen and other lower rooms. When they still came up empty-handed several minutes later, he began to panic thinking that Clarence had been all wrong about the address.
Gabe waved him over and pointed and that’s when he spotted the door to the basement. It was reinforced with several locks on the outside which was a dead giveaway that something was down there the occupants of the house didn’t want getting free.
They had a silent argument of who was going first, eventually have to resort to Rock, Paper, Scissors. Gabe won, much to Cian’s dismay and he descended the stairs first, with Cian taking up the rear.
Halfway down the stairs, they heard the screams and cries. Nothing could have prepared them for the scene before their eyes. A half dozen women were being held captive; some suspended from the ceiling by chains, others on the floor with longer chains attached to their hands or feet. All were covered in multiple cuts and gashes and looked like they hadn’t been fed in weeks. There was a commotion over in the left corner and glancing over, Cian spotted a man towering over Athena and Sabine, attempting to drag an unconscious Sabine away while Athena tried to fight him off.
“Jesus, fuck. It’s Dr. Daniels,” Gabe muttered. Cian had no idea who Dr. Daniels was, but Gabe was obviously not a fan as he charged at him and tackled him to the ground, feeding him punch after punch.
Cian rushed over and snatched Athena into his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did he cut you?” He looked her over from head to toe, trying to find injuries.
“I’m okay, I’m okay, but Cian, please. Get us out of here before he comes back. He cut Sabine bad on her arm and she passed out. And h—h—he killed one of the other girls just for talking to us. Please get us out of here.”
“I will, baby. Just try to stay calm. He had no keys for the cuffs she was wearing and that fucking pissed him off. He spotted a saw over in the corner and grabbed it, intent on cutting through the chains. Gabe had finally stopped whaling on Dr. Daniels and from the state of his bashed in face; he was dead.
He walked over and took the saw from Cian. “Here, man, I’ll get that.”
“Athena, where are the men that brought you here?” She shook her head, still in shock over what they’d been through.
“There was only one man. He killed that girl and then he cut Sabine when she smart-mouthed him. I thought he was going to kill us too. He escaped—” she pointed to a small cellar door in the corner. “—out that door when he heard you guys upstairs. He was furious...so much rage.” Her whole body started to quake and Cian pulled her into his arms again. The sirens wailed in the distance just as Gabe got finished cutting through Athena’s chains. The other women in the room started crying tears of relief that they’d been found and it was all too much. The despair and torture in that basement was sickening. She was so lucky that Cian found her before she was subjected to anything like they’d endured.
“Take us home, Cian. Please just take us home.”
ATHENA SPENT THE three days after her rescue tucked into bed at Cian’s apartment. He’d insisted she stay with him after everything that had happened and too exhausted to think, she hadn’t argued with him. He’d been patient and kind with her the entire time, making sure she had everything she needed at all times. If she hadn’t already fallen for him, she would have during those few days. The man that they had met, Gabe, had disappeared almost immediately after all the girls had been freed, not wanting to be involved with the police. Apparently his hunt for this Marcus person was his own personal vendetta and not one sanctioned by the authorities. Cian seemed to really understand his reasoning, which confused her but she let it go.
He was distant with her but attentive at the same time and it was driving her mental. She could tell there was something on his mind, something that was eating at him and had him pacing the apartment like a caged cat.
“Cian,” she called out to him one evening after watching him circle past the bedroom door for the fifth time. “Please come in and tell me what’s bothering you. You’re driving me mad.”
He sighed and crossed the room to sit beside her. She moved back until she was in his arms and could lay her head on his chest. She felt safe and protected; exactly what she needed.
“I’ve been going over this for a few weeks now. It’s finally time I share my past with you and open up about who I am, Athena. If we’re going to do this for real, you deserve to know the truth about everything.” Her olive eyes were trained on him, so expressive and full of love and trust. If he hadn’t already fallen for her then he would have in the next moment when she laid her hand over his heart and spoke softly to him.
“I already know everything I need to know about you, Cian. You’re a good, kind man. You’re the man I love.”
He pressed his lips to hers in a hard kiss, feeling more alive in that moment than he had in years. “I love you too, Athena. Please remember that.” She nodded and slipped her hand in his, encouraging him to tell her whatever was on his mind.
“I was married once...her name was Hannah and she was the joy of my life.” He walked her through their life together and what happened on that fateful day when she was stolen from him. His heart filled with more love for her when her eyes filled with tears that spilled down her cheeks when he laid out in detail how she was stolen from him.
“Cian. I’m so, so sorry. I can’t even imagine the pain you must have felt losing her.”
“I didn’t lose her. She was stolen from me, and that’s a wrong I plan to make right one day.” He saw her puzzled expression and took a deep breath before continuing.
“There’s something else I need to tell you. Something that I do, that I’m a part of. Athena, I hunt criminals. Criminals that have somehow escaped the justice system and ended up back on the streets. Scum of the earth like the men who killed my wife. People that are in need of killing. I hunt them, I bring them to my OR and I dispose of them once and for all. I am their justice. Their executioner. I’m the monster they have nightmares about. Once they end up in my OR, their sins become mine to avenge. And I do avenge them, Athena, in brutal, terrible ways. I make them suffer just as they made their victims suffer. I’m their Hell on earth.”
Athena was silent for a long while, processing what he’d told her. He kept quiet and let her think, but with each passing second he feared she was pulling away from him. When she finally looked up at him, he saw the change in her eyes.
“I want to be a part of your team. Teach me, Cian. Teach me how it is to serve justice to those that deserve it. I’m ready.”
DANE CLIMBED OUT of his car and walked along the dirt path to the deserted warehouse he was meeting his contact at. Since the disaster in New York, he and Marcus had decided that it was best they say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. Neither needed the other anymore and working together was causing more friction than it was worth.
Dane had his own plans and was anxious to see them come into play. Spotting the lone figure standing in the doorway to the warehouse, he made his way to the entrance and followed him inside. He looked around the building, nodding approvingly.
“This should do nicely. Good work.”
Oscar Breyers turned to face him and flashed a cold smile. “Thanks, boss. I can’t wait to get this place up and running. It’s pretty amazing what an intern and a cop can do once they put their heads together, isn’t that right, Detective Seth Holloway?”
Dane let out a laugh and held up his hands. “Hey, that cover was working just fine until recently. Got my head messed up over a damn female, but I’m straightened out now. And I’m more than ready for my revenge. I want you to keep up spying and leaking information on O’Reilly. When the time is right, we’ll make them all suffer.”
THE END
Jerzie, Charlee, Jessica – This book meant so m
uch to me to write and I couldn’t have done it without the three of you. Thank you for being there for me through all of my up’s and down’s...I truly love you guys so much.
Toni Thompson – I couldn’t ask for a better PA and friend. You’re always supporting me and making me laugh when I need it the most. You’re truly amazing and I can’t wait to see what awesome things happen for you this year. THANK YOU! xoxo
River Savage, Gilly Jones, Alissa Evanson Smith – There isn’t even words to say how much I love you three. Our daily chats are what I look forward to the most and I love how we have each other’s backs no matter what. Bring on Cleveland! Can’t wait to get our tattoos xoxo
Lance Jones – You’ve become one of my bestest friends! I’m so lucky to be partners with you and can’t wait for all the exciting things we have planned for our businesses this year. Thank you for everything and all the support xoxo
Brendan James – You rocked this cover for me! I love it so much and I’m so grateful that we met in New York and it worked out for us to work together. You’re pretty awesome and a great friend, looking forward to more to come in the future!
Judi Perkins – You are amazing, lady. Thank you for putting up with my endless changes to LH’s cover and making it what I envisioned. I’m so lucky to call you one of my best friends – thank you for being you! xoxo
To My Betas – You ladies rock my world and I’m so grateful to have you! Thank you for working with me and helping me bring my writing up to the level I want it to be on. You’re amazing, all of you.
Sirens – This is my favorite place in the world. My safe place, my comfort zone. I love how each of us supports each other and that we have a place to escape and be ourselves and share our love of books. You’re my biggest cheerleaders and I couldn’t be more grateful for each and every one of you.
To My Family – I’m a lucky girl to have such an amazing family. You support me through all of this, through my goals and ambitions and offer me guidance when I need it to see the end result come to light. Thank you for all the love and encouragement through one of our toughest years. I love you all so much.
To The Book Community – Being an indie author isn’t an easy thing. It takes true hard work and dedication. The friends that I’ve made, the readers and fellow authors that I’ve met on this journey—I cherish you all and I’m so grateful for the support I’ve received. Just one PM message can make someone’s day and every one that I receive warms my heart more than you know. Thank you for taking a chance on my work even when it’s more twisted than expected lol ;)
Cassia Brightmore is a dark romance author. She loves writing dark stories with twisted characters that she hopes will thrill the reader as well as make them fall in love.
She loves hockey, video games and online shopping. If she's not writing or editing, you can usually find her doing one of these things. Writing is her passion and publishing her first book as an indie author is truly a dream come true.
Cassia lives in Ontario, Canada with her two furbabies; Molly and Harley.
Her titles include:
The Darkness Series
Book One: Malevolent
Book Two: Evanesce
Book Three: Denouement
Book Four: Repentance
To look for in 2016:
New Dark Romance Standalone: Unworthy, expected release: June, 2016
New Dark Romance Standalone: Mercenary, expected release: September, 2016
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Lincoln Hospital (Trauma #1) Page 16
