by Ryan Michele
I should’ve just called in sick, but with all the days Pax forced me to take, I had no choice. Another thing to be seriously pissed at. Even now, I couldn’t move on easily because every where I turned there were reminders of him. It didn’t matter that I’d moved on from him, he was never far from my mind, and I didn’t think that would change anytime soon.
Riley decided to meet up with some of his friends tonight, and I was happy to have the house to myself. It was great having him here, but I really missed my quiet, my routine. Everything felt off and not just because of Paxton. I couldn’t seem to remember what normal was, and I needed what I had before.
Shoving my take-out in the microwave, I rushed up to shower and change. I had dinner for one on my couch with a marathon of Sons of Anarchy playing one after the other. Fuck, Jax was hot.
He was the only thing keeping my mind off another man that I refused to name. Yes, I had a night of a bad boy and his bike planned.
Damn, I loved Gemma too. She was such a badass who didn’t take shit from anyone. Then you had Tara who started to beat Gemma at her own game.
Strong women.
I’d always been one of those, but somehow lately, she seemed to have gone dormant. I hated it. Watching these two on screen started to help me find the confidence that was ripped away from me.
Granted, this was a made up television show and all, but the meaning was still the same. No man should hold you down. They should be at your side to lift you up and be your support. You didn’t need them to hold your hand one bit, but they would be there for you whenever you needed them.
That was what a relationship should be. Give and take. No man should ever choose to hurt you and hold you back. It was what I wanted at one time, but now, I didn’t see that for myself in the near future. How could I trust anyone when I couldn’t really trust myself? I failed myself in keeping my heart safe from Paxton.
Jax lifted his gun and began shooting while riding his Harley. The double mint chocolate ice cream fell from my spoon and into the container. Damn, that was hot. Even his white shoes that he managed to keep clean had my attention. I loved shoes, but never bought white ones because for the life of me they never stayed white.
The door handle jiggled, and my heart sank. Loved my brother but I needed a break, and this one was short. I wasn’t expecting him home so soon. Then again, knowing the way I was feeling, it was hard to go out and have a good time when inside everything was just plain off. I guess going out didn’t help his mood, and he decided to come home. I stayed in my seat waiting. It didn’t open, yet I watched it jiggle again.
“Dammit,” I growled, tossing off the throw blanket and setting my ice cream down on the table. “Forget your key again?” I yelled through the door then flipped the lock. We were going to have to get a hide-a-key or something because this was the third time in just a few days. Yesterday even, he had to drive to my office and snag my keys to get in after a job interview.
Reaching down to pull the door open, it slammed open and tossed me back a bit. I was off balance and in shock. Several big men with black suits came barging into my home.
One gripped me around the arms and pulled me hard to him. Pain shot down my arms as adrenaline spiked through my veins. Fight or flight kicked in, and I felt the urge to do both.
“Let me go! Who the hell are you?” I fought, but each movement was nothing on the big man. His grasp only tightened.
“Shut the fuck up,” the guy holding me said, his breath smelling like garlic.
“You should really brush your damn teeth,” I bit back, watching as the other men started tearing through my home. One took out a knife and started slitting through my couch. “What the hell are you doing!”
I was fully ignored by everyone. I didn’t know what they were looking for or doing. My mind blanked as they trashed my living space.
“He’s not here.” One of the men came out from down the hallway holding a few of my brother’s things.
“Of course he’s not here! If you would’ve asked me, I’d have told you!” I yelled, hoping someone would hear the commotion.
I was shaken hard, and one of the other black suit men came out of nowhere and backhanded me so hard my knees went weak. Riley and I had mock fought before, but never had I been hit like this. Even roughhousing, Riley always went a little easy on me for being a girl. This, this was vicious. He wanted me to feel pain, and I did.
My cheek stung while burning went up to my ear. My eye felt as though it was swelling. I was unable to talk for a moment so shocked, stunned, and in pain. What the hell was going on here? Who were these men, and why were they looking for Riley?
“Bring her,” one of the men said, and I fought. I had seen enough bad shit in the movies to know if they took me from my house, I would be in more trouble than anything they could do to me here. I kicked, tried to bite, and used my already battered head to get free. Even screaming did nothing because a hand covered tightly over my mouth, making it sound like nothing was coming out.
I was fucked.
“Fuck this shit,” one man said, coming toward me. “Drop her.”
The big man did, and I landed on my unsteady feet. I tried to run, but something touched me that made every muscle inside my body freeze and then convulse. I dropped to the ground with a twitch. Then I only saw black.
28
Paxton
My cell rang, and I swiped to answer the call. “Yeah.”
“You piece of shit! You didn’t already hurt her enough, you had to come and take her again!” Riley boomed through the receiver. “And you fuckin’ hit her! There’s blood on the floor. I’ll fuckin’ kill you, Paxton Williams. You’re a dead fuckin’ man!”
Awareness took center stage as my body went on high alert. “Riley, slow the fuck down and tell me what happened.” I grabbed things from around my office and darted out the door to the elevator. I had been working late since I knew Laurel was tucked in for the night, watching television and eating ice cream. Yes, my creepiness was in overdrive.
“You fucker! Where is she?” he barked, not giving me what I wanted. He was frantic which only put me more on edge because people who were panicked didn’t think clearly and that meant they didn’t communicate clearly either.
“I don’t have her, you fuckin’ idiot! Someone else does. Tell me what the fuck you know. Now!” The order was fierce, and I felt my control start to slip. Nothing could happen to her. That was why I stayed away in the first damn place so nothing like this would ever happen.
“I know you did it!”
The thread I was hanging onto was about to snap. “Riley, I don’t fuckin’ have her, and you said there’s blood? Where are you?”
“You really don’t have her?” he pleaded as if he wanted me to have Laurel, that he feared worse. The kicker was, so did I. There were a lot of enemies that had come and gone over the years, but hell if I knew who would cross me by going after her. It may have had nothing to do with me. Fuck!
“No, dipshit. Talk!” I raced to my car, jumping in, and peeling out of the parking lot. “Where are you?”
“Her house. Got here and shit was torn up like she put up a fight. There was blood on the living room floor and there was an odd smell in the air.”
“Fuck. I’ll be there in ten.” I hung up on him and called Garrett.
“Yeah.”
“Need you and the guys at Laurel’s house. Riley thinks someone took her from there. He found the house trashed and blood on the floor.”
“Fucking hell!” he growled. “I’ll call ‘em out.” Garrett disconnected.
I tried Laurel’s cell phone, and when the other end picked up I had hope. Instead, it was her damn brother hoping I was her. I guess she deleted my number since my name didn’t show. It stung, but I knew she was coping and I couldn’t take shit personally, especially right now.
Speeding, I got there in seven minutes and didn’t even bother shutting the car off as I darted into the house. Riley stood there with an an
ticipatory expression on his face, like I knew where the hell his sister was.
Ignoring him momentarily, many things in the room stood out to me. The cushions on the couch were slit, a lamp on the floor in thousands of pieces, blood splatter on the floor and wall. Magazines were shredded and tossed.
“Who do you think has her?” he asked, trying to get my attention, but I inhaled deeply. It was so faint I barely recognized it.
Onyx came barreling into the room. “Details,” he swiftly ordered, making his way through the room.
“No forced entry, door is intact. Whoever it was, they were looking for something. The blood splatters indicate that her head was tossed to the side, so my assumption would be she was punched or slapped in the face—twisted and caused the stains. Smell,” I told him as watched as he did.
“Son of a fuckin’ bitch. They stun gunned her.”
“That’s what I got too.”
“Wait, what? They stun gunned my sister!” Riley chimed in, and I did something I’d waited a while to do. I lifted my fist and plowed into his face, hearing bones crack and break. If this was what I had suspicion of, Laurel could be in serious trouble.
“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Onyx asked, but before I could answer both Dane and Garrett stormed through the door.
“Andrei’s goons took her. Hacked into the video feed from the streets, and we have visual until Stanbarge Street where they disappeared,” Dane interjected, taking in the room for himself.
“Why would they want my sister?” Riley groaned, and I had half a mind to punch him again just to feel better. But nothing would feel better until Laurel was in my arms unharmed.
And that was the bitch of it. Even with me staying away, her blood was on my hands. There was no washing it off. It would be all my fault, and I’d fucking die before that happened. She would have a fucking life.
Anger like no other blazed through hot and fresh.
“Because you’re the fuckin’ idiot who got involved with Melanie. Who was a fucking loose end, dickhead. His people are searching for her and took Laurel instead.”
He stopped, eyes widening. “Fuck. We’re not even together…”
Garrett took the honors of slapping Riley upside the head. “They’re the fuckin’ Russian mafia. You think for one second they give a shit about that? This was a way to find her and they’ll do whatever they have to, to Laurel to get the information they want.”
My gut twisted and part of me felt like I was going to puke, but I didn’t have time for that shit. I had to get my girl safe.
“Follow me, I have a lead,” Dane said, and I nodded as we made our way outside to our cars.
I didn’t pay attention to a damn thing but Dane’s taillights as we weaved through the traffic to a downtown warehouse.
Parking in the empty lot, Dane got out of his car and opened his trunk. I climbed out and walked up to him as Garrett pulled up with Onyx and Riley in his car.
“They’re holed up three doors down. I got a crew closing in. You need to suit up,” he said, tossing me a Kevlar vest. “Laurel needs you in one piece. So, I’m gonna set my men up on the perimeter. Petrov is on the top floor with the baby. Word on the street is he lost his shit, locked himself in this building for work, and taking care of the baby because he can’t handle it all.”
“He’s about to not have to handle shit because I want him not breathing before we leave here.”
Dane smirked. “Noted. What about the baby?”
“He’s mine,” Riley piped up. “DNA doesn’t mean shit. I made promises to that baby, and I’m gonna keep them. We get my sister and the baby.”
“We nothin’, you fucker,” I told him as Dane tossed him a vest.
“You wanna risk it all, so be it,” Dane said as I just looked at him wide-eyed. “Look, Pax, he wants to man up, let him. The men in that building won’t blink, they’ll shed blood. If he lives, he lives; if he dies, he dies. The goal here is end Petrov and get Laurel out alive. You worry about your woman, I’ll do my job, and if the dipshit who wants to be a daddy gets the kid what’s it matter?”
I shrugged my shoulders. It didn’t fucking matter. In the end, I wasn’t concerned about anything but getting Laurel out.
In minutes, Dane had organized a freeze in the security system and we were breeching the entryway. While the men were surprised by our movement, I didn’t care as I fired my gun, taking out the two men I passed on the way to finding Laurel.
Level by level we took out men until we got to the fourth floor where Laurel sat gagged, tied, and slumped in a chair beside a baby crib. I rushed to her just as Petrov came from a closet behind the crib. His gun was aimed at my head. I didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
I felt the sting of the bullet hit my vest. It made it hard to breathe, but I didn’t waver as I unloaded my clip, round after round into the Russian gangster. Blood splattered on the wall, the baby, and Laurel’s face. She was unconscious as I reached her.
“Hang on, baby. Angel, stay with me. I’m getting you out of here,” I whispered to her as Riley went to the baby.
“We got four heads not accounted for,” Dane informed. “Garrett, cover them to get out. Onyx, have Doc meet y’all at a point, we’ll get her and the baby checked.”
“Go,” Garrett ordered Riley to take the baby as I scooped Laurel up. Breathing hurt, but I wasn’t slowing down.
“I’ll get everything cleaned up here,” Dane told us as we made our exit.
This was his expertise. I didn’t care that I killed a few men tonight. I only cared that I got Laurel out of here.
“I’m never letting you go again. I fucked up, and I swear, angel, I’ll spend the rest of my life making this shit up to you,” I told her as she seemed to stir but not actually come to in my arms. “I fuckin’ love you, Laurel.”
I kept repeating myself and making promises as we got out of the building and left Dane to do his job. Onyx had a doctor on the way, I just needed Laurel to be okay.
I meant it. I wouldn’t let her go again. I hurt us both unnecessarily, and I wouldn’t be away from her anymore.
29
Laurel
Everything hurt. My jaw throbbed. My arms felt like noodles. Worse was my brain; it was foggy, and everything over the last few hours was slowly coming back to me.
Arms were wrapped tight around me and as I inhaled, I smelled him. It had to be a dream because he wouldn’t come for me. He told me he didn’t want me. My heart began to crack once again.
My eyelids were heavy and felt like grains of sand as I tried to open them, but succeeded. Memories smacked me in the head as the room came into focus. Paxton’s room. This couldn’t be right.
“Angel,” his deep voice breathed with relief.
Looking up, the worry lines around Paxton’s face were so pronounced I’d have sworn he aged since the last time I saw him.
“She’ll be just fine.” My gaze snapped to the other man in the room, and I remembered him from stitching up Riley. “She’ll need rest, but should be good to go.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Paxton responded, and I shook my head.
Why was I in his arms? In his room? In his bed? The last thing I remembered was being tied to a chair with some sort of cloth that stunk with strong cologne in my mouth. It was taped on so I couldn’t spit it out.
“Paxton?” I asked stupidly and felt the feeling come back in my limbs. He gripped me tightly, but I shifted, needing to get out of his grasp, needing distance.
“Angel, how are you feelin’?”
“Why am I here?” I slid off the bed and moved to the open door, needing to be near an exit. This man had hurt me one too many times, and it wouldn’t happen again.
“I got you out of that place.”
“Where’s the baby?” That innocent child had screamed not wanting that man to hold him. I wanted to hold him and soothe his pain, but couldn’t.
“Downstairs.”
I breathed out deep.
“Good.”
I turned to make my way to the baby. Paxton was done with me, there was no reason to delay the inevitable.
At the entryway, his voice halted me. “I fucked up, angel. Twice with you, I let my head get filled with shit that wasn’t true. There is no safer place for you than in my arms every night and every day.”
A smile came to my lips, but it wasn’t humorous one bit. “So what, you save me from some crazy man that I really had no connections to except through you and my brother, and now we’re going to be together in some fantasy world—live here and have a happily ever after. No, Paxton. You had your shot, and you blew it.”
I turned to leave but a hand grabbed my arm. “Angel, please.”
Turning to him my heart constricted, and it took every amount of willpower I had to stay strong.
“I’ll give you everything. All of me, holding nothing back from you. It’s been my fault from the beginning with us and I’m not making excuses, but my childhood made trusting and believing that I deserved good things almost impossible. I let those thoughts control me, but I’m done with it.”
“Right. And for how long, Pax? Until you fuck me again, then decide you’re going to leave because you can’t be with me? No.” I shook my head. “It’s not happening. I’m done with your games. I’m done with you thinking so little of me that you could just scrape me off at any time.”
He tried to interrupt, but I bulldozed over him.
“You gave me up, Paxton, twice. Twice, I gave you everything, and both times you threw it in my face like I didn’t matter. Screw you, Paxton Williams. I’m done.”
I ripped my arm out of his grasp and darted down the stairs, breathing in and out slowly, trying my damnedest not to let the tears that threatened to fall succeed. Each breath was more painful than the last, but I made it to the living room where Riley was holding a small bundle wrapped in blue.
Riley looked about ready to shit himself. “Please help me,” he pleaded, making me smile for the first time since being in this space again.
