by Khloe Wren
She didn't know how far she would get before he caught her, so she took out her phone while she ran. She needed to check if Dominic was listening. She un-muted the call and took it off speaker. Holding it up to her face, she called out to Dominic.
"Please, please be there Dominic."
"Adele? Can you hear me? I'm right here beautiful." Damn, his smooth voice had never sounded so good.
"Dominic, help. He's got us--" A loud bang cut her off and she felt pain shoot through her hip. She stumbled but regrouped quickly and made it to the tree line. She paused behind a thick trunk to look at her side and put the phone back to her ear.
"--answer me, damn it! Adele? What the hell is going on?" Dominic's voice was frantic now.
"I'm okay. He shot me. The bastard shot me! It's just a graze, over my right hip. I'm okay." She pushed the pain down and started walking through the bush to get further from the house. No matter what, she had to stay focused. She had to get back and save Kelly.
"Do you know where you are? Where's Kelly?"
"He's brought us to the outskirts of Strahan. The street name was Mountain View Lane. It's a small dirt road. Third house on the right. He was waiting in her room, Dominic. He made me drive. I got away. But he's still got her. I can't hear him coming for me. I think he's taken her inside the house. I have to go back; I promised I'd keep her safe, Dominic. I have to go get her out."
"I know you promised, love. You're doing real well, ringing me like you did was brilliant. But you can't go back in there. It won't help her. He'll just get you too. We are already on the road coming to get you both. Please just stay hidden and wait for us to help you get her out. Can you do that for me, Adele?"
She knew he was right. Her mind was a mess, logical thought just wasn't on the cards.
"Please hurry, Dominic. I'll try to wait."
"How about you tell me what he looks like? Anything distinctive?" She pictured him in her mind and gave Dominic the best description she could.
"Umm, he's about my height, so five foot four. He's got real short hair, like he cuts it with clippers and it's ginger. His eyes, they're brown and you can see the evil in them." She couldn't stop the shudder that ran through her as she remembered his dead evil eyes.
"Bloody hell, that sounds like one of the blokes who got fired from the docks after the fire a few weeks back. What was his name..." Adele could hear voices in the background as Dominic was obviously in a car with the others "...Cole Jones. That's the bastard’s name, and he's got a place on the outskirts of Strahan. Damn, we should have put this together sooner. The timing all makes sense."
"Umph." Adele cursed as she instantly felt the pain radiate up her leg from her injured ankle as she landed on all fours and dropped her phone. She snatched up the phone as she looked down to see what she had tripped over as she spoke.
"Sorry, Dominic, I tripped...over a bloody wire!" She looked around in a panic expecting a gun shot or an arrow or something to come flying at her. Yes, she watched way too much TV.
"You tripped on a what? Are you okay? What happened?" Dominic was peppering questions at her through the phone.
"Yeah, a trip wire, but nothing happened. I'm fine, my ankle's not real pleased with me though." She reached down to rub her ankle before getting back on her feet and limping away.
"If nothing happened, the bastard must have it linked to sensors. Keep your eyes open, love, he'll probably be coming for you now he knows where you are. Put your phone back how you had it before and try to stay as quiet as you can. We're coming as fast as we can, but are still about twenty minutes away. We are coming for you, Adele, for you and Kelly. Just hang on. I love you, beautiful." The sincerity in his voice had her eyes blurring with tears. Oh, mon Deiu, she loved him too. She hoped like hell she would get through this so she could show him. It seemed so cruel she finally found happiness and was going to lose it before it really even began.
"Please hurry, Dominic, I can hear him coming. Oh shit. I love you too, so much."
Adele quickly sorted her phone out and put it back in her pocket. Just as she started moving forward again, she felt his hot heavy hand on her. As she spun with the force of him jerking her arm, she remembered what Kit had taught her. Kit had told her that paramedics could find themselves in the thick of things, and she should know a few moves so she could help herself if the need arose.
She sent up a quick thanks for Kit's foresight before she raised her fist so she could use the momentum of her spinning to crack him a beauty in the jaw. As soon as she made contact, her hand felt like it was on fire. Damn, that hurt! Kit failed to mention how much it stung to punch someone in the face. He released her to grab his jaw and curse. She didn't waste time; she took off, weaving between trees and making sure to watch the ground. She didn't want to trip again. She did her best to move silently, but her ankle and hip slowed her down and made moving difficult.
She must have run for a good ten minutes before he caught her again. This time he grabbed her ponytail and pulled her into his body hard and fast. She stomped her foot, aiming for his, but missed. Damn it. That always worked in the movies. She raised her elbow forward and swung it back into his ribs. He released the hand in her hair and lowered his arm to protect his now--hopefully--sore ribs. His other arm was around her waist. She started to turn to get out of his hold.
"Bloody hell, bitch, you'll pay for all that."
She'd just spun from beyond his arm's reach when she felt pain radiate through her skull as her head cracked backward. He'd backhanded her, and she hadn’t seen his hand before the pain kicked in knocking her to the ground. With her increasing count of hurting body parts, she had no chance of fighting him off. After a minute, he hauled her up and dragged her back to the house. Her head spinning from the blow, and her hand, ankle and hip throbbing, she couldn't do anything other than stumble along behind him.
He dragged her through the house and down a flight of stairs. As they went through the door leading down, she said, "Basement," as clearly as she could, hoping like hell Dominic could hear her and he wasn't far away. She had a sinking feeling she wasn't destined to be coming back up these stairs alive.
"Shut up, bitch. Fuck, I think you stuffed my jaw again. It had only just stopped hurting. Damn it." Good. She hoped it was hurting like a bitch. Her hand certainly was.
"Only fair since you shot me," she bit out before she really thought about how dumb it was to back-chat a psycho. He tightened his grip on her arm, digging his fingers painfully into her flesh as he dragged her down the rest of the stairs. Yeah, that was definitely going to leave a mark.
As he threw her forward into a room, she froze as her brain momentarily shut down. Kelly was bound with her hands above her head hanging from a hook. Her head hung down but the tears dropping to the floor were easy to see. The most disturbing thing was all the red around her. The walls and floor were heavily stained with old blood. Adele's vision blurred as she thought about how much of that red was Kelly's. She snapped to attention as she realized Cole had turned his back on her to grab some rope from a nearby table. He really wasn't the brightest man on the planet. She steadied herself and landed a solid kick to the side of his knee. When she heard the crack, she spun and ran for the stairs. She was about half a dozen steps up when he grabbed her leg and pulled. She landed with a thud on the stairs. Her hands took most of the impact. As the pain shot up her arms, her brain began to short circuit; she vaguely felt him drag her back down the steps. Once he had her on the floor of the basement hall, he delivered another backhand. Adele's eyes wouldn't focus anymore, she blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision.
"Try anything else and I will start putting bullet holes in you, bitch." He spat the words at her then bound her hands above her head and dragged her back into the room. He lifted her up and hung her from another hook in the ceiling not far from Kelly.
As Adele teetered in and out of consciousness, she watched Cole lay out various weapons. Her stomach rolled and she felt sweat bead all over
her body, Mon Deiu, was that a metal rod? A whip? She had seen Kelly's injuries, but she hadn't really thought about what would have been used to cause them. The reality of what was about to happen fired adrenaline through her system, rousing her to full awareness. He laid out a couple of knives next. Her chest tightened as fear froze her breathing. Bile rose up her throat as he checked his gun and tucked it into the back of his jeans.
"Now, slave, like I told you in the car, you did not have permission to leave me, yet you did. You. Are. Mine. Forever. Now, before we start your punishment, there's one thing I need to do."
He reached over the table and Adele heard the rattling of chain. Adele's heart rate went through the roof when he turned around to reveal a blood stained thick brown leather collar complete with padlock and chain attached. She followed the chain with her eyes and it appeared to go out the doorway and up the stairs.
Adele tugged on her arms as he stalked toward Kelly. Her chest tightened further as Kelly's sobbing grew louder. Kelly pulled at her hands to no avail. Unlike Adele, who'd been tied with rope, Kelly's delicate wrists were secured in locked leather cuffs. The loud snap of the collar being locked brought a whimper from deep within Adele.
"There. Now that's never coming off again. Not even down here. You will never escape me ever again, slave."
As he walked back to the table, he pulled his shirt from over his head. He carefully selected a knife from the table before he headed toward Kelly. Adele struggled to get free. She screamed as loud as she could for him to get away from her. Tears burned her eyes as she pulled on the ropes holding her. She didn't care about the pain that ripped down her arms with renewed fire or that her fingers had gone numb. She was not going to let him hurt her! She'd promised, dammit! She stared at Kelly as he approached her with the knife. The look on her face broke her heart. There were no more tears streaming down her face, and her eyes were glazed over as if she'd left herself. As if this was an every day occurrence and nothing to get worked up over. Just something she needed to block out to survive. Her rage took over as she thought about the abuse Kelly must have suffered. She pulled harder on her hands and finally felt the ropes loosen.
"Hmm, keep screaming bitch. It makes a lovely sound track, and soon we'll be adding to them, won't we slave?"
Kelly's monotone response of "Yes, sir" made Adele's vision turn red.
Where the hell was Dominic and the boys?
~ * ~
Dominic was literally vibrating. Being stuck sitting in a car--in human form--having to listen to his mate being beaten was not something he was dealing with very well. They pulled into the drive behind Adele's Corolla. Jake turned the engine off then faced his son.
"Dominic. Look at me. And listen up. You need to find your calm, son. You go running in there with no plan, you'll all get shot."
"I know, Dad. You heard what he's done to her. You listened to her screams. I can't sit here. I have to get in there." He reached for the door and bolted toward the house as soon as he was free from the car.
"Dominic, hold up! We go in together, just like always." Conner's voice managed to break through the anger haze filling his mind and he stopped a moment to let his brother catch up. When Conner reached him, he grabbed his head between his hands and rested their foreheads together.
"Deep breath, Dom. We will get them out. Together." Conner released him just as Kit ran up behind them.
"I'll get the door boys, no need to kick it in and announce our arrival now is there?"
Within seconds, Kit had the lock picked and all three silently entered the house. Dominic felt his heart stop and his knees began to buckle as they entered the house and Adele's rage filled screams rung out from a doorway leading down some stairs. Conner silently caught him, stood him back up, nudged him with his shoulder and they headed toward the stairs together. Kit had moved off to search the house. She mouthed the word "clear" as they all reached the stairwell. Dominic led the way, with Conner and Kit behind him. Within seconds they were at the bottom of the stairs in a dark hallway. Dominic pressed up against the wall next to the door for a moment and listened to the movements inside the room to get a position on where everyone was. Using hand signals, he let Conner and Kit know where they were. He pointed at Kit and mouthed "Adele and Kelly". He looked to Conner and nodded. No words were needed; they would take out the bastard then help Kit get the girls out. Dominic held three fingers up counting down.
Three.
Two.
One.
He made a fist then spun and bolted into the room.
He roared as he changed into his leopard. The sight of Cole taking a knife to Kelly's shirt was more than he could stand. Add to that the sight of his blood covered barely conscious mate and there was no chance of him holding back. At the sound of his roar, Cole spun around with a "What the fuck?" He was quick to pull out his pistol but not quick enough. Dominic had leapt into the air, aiming his sharp teeth for the bastard's throat by the time he got his shot off. Dominic felt pain and fire rip through his hind leg, but it didn't distract him from his goal. He landed with his front paws on Cole's shoulders, knocking him to the ground. He didn't waste time, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of his throat and ripping it out with a triumphant roar. Once he heard Cole's heart cease beating, he looked around the room. He just caught the horrified look on Adele's face before blackness took over his vision and he passed out.
~ * ~
A few moments after Adele had wondered where Dominic was, he appeared in the doorway. Her heart lurched at the sight of her beautiful guardian angel barreling into the room. As she watched Conner and Kit coming in behind Dominic, she sighed in relief and a little in awe at the three very fierce looking firefighters who had come to save them. The relief of imminent rescue evaporated as quickly as it had begun as she heard a deafening roar vibrate the entire room, rattling the tools on the table. Her body stiffened as she scanned around the room to see what had made the noise. Her eyes flew wide and her mouth fell open as she saw what appeared to be a bubble of blue electric energy surround Dominic. Moments later, Dominic was gone and a snow leopard appeared.
She carefully catalogued the large cat's spots and features against her memory. Bloody hell, it was her chaton standing where Dominic had been just moments ago. Her head spun and she saw spots as her mind attempted to process what was in front of her.
Dominic.
Snow leopard.
Her snow leopard.
Her chaton that had been visiting her dreams for the last nearly five years.
Maybe she was unconscious and dreaming that her chaton was here, charging in to save the day. She could see herself having this dream. Suddenly feeling calmer that this must all be a figment of her imagination, she raised her eyes and jerked back in shock. Kit's face was right in front of hers, wearing a mask of seriousness, fury and purpose. Adele stared at her friend. The muscles of her neck and shoulders looked hard and strained as she was obviously clenching them. She saw the light gleam off the knife Kit took from the holster on her belt. With a sigh, Adele watched as Kit cut the ropes, freeing her from the ceiling hook. As soon as the rope came away, strong twinges wracked her hands and fingers. She gasped out in pain as Kit carefully lowered her arms. As soon as they were all the way down and her blood pumped back through her veins, the agony began to overwhelm her. It was more than she could stand, and she crumpled to the floor as her limbs refused to function. Kit was there the whole way, wrapping her in a warm embrace, anchoring her in the mist of the chaos that had taken over her body and mind.
"Shh, Adele. You're safe now. I've got you."
Adele started to think that maybe this wasn't a dream after all, surely she wouldn't imagine this amount of suffering.
A loud crack cleared her head of fog and brought her eyes up to look over Kit's shoulder. She watched as her chaton latched onto Cole's throat and tore it free with a roar. The animistic brutality was so far outside her realm of normal her mind couldn't register it.
Then all her eyes saw was red.
His hind leg. There was a rapidly spreading pool of blood beneath his rear paw.
So red.
Too much red.
He was loosing a serious amount of blood. Her eyes flicked up as she felt his gaze on her. They held contact briefly before he collapsed and lay in a heap of black and white fur, out cold on the concrete floor. Then as if they were linked, she felt her eyelids droop, the light dim and she joined him in the darkness that pulled at her.
~ * ~
Jake paced. He felt the pain, sorrow and fury flow from the open front door of the house, but he didn't know who was putting out what. The waves of emotion crashed against him, making it hard for him to breathe. This is why he got sick at jobs that involved injuries. He was strongly empathetic and the strong emotions of the gravely injured would make him physically ill. When he knew that not only were his two sons in the mix but two women and a child who he held very dear too, it was even harder to bare. Especially when he knew Adele had to be injured. His lips quirked a little as he thought about the fight they'd heard between Adele and Cole. She'd knocked him a few beauties by the sound of it. Good for her. He hoped they'd hurt like hell. It was the least he deserved. How could any man raise a hand against a female, adult or child? That bastard needed to be taken out. Jake might look human at the moment, but his heart was that of an animal and at the moment the animal inside him was begging to be the one to deliver the justice of taking the bastard out.
His radio squawked, forcing his attention back to current events. He seized it off his belt.
"Rosebery P1 here. Please repeat."
Conner's voice came over the line, sounding serious and strained.
"Rosebery P2. Come in Rosebery P1."
"I'm here, Conner. Was that a gun that went off earlier? What the hell is going on down there?" He didn't have the patience to worry about radio protocol, nor could he keep his emotions from his voice. He noticed that as he'd spoken, the others had gathered around him to listen in. All the cats that were on duty were here. The others were on their way. Including Clint and Sophie in the ambulance. If a shifter got injured, Clint was the only one who knew enough about them to be able to help them.
