Dazzled by Silver

by Lacey Silks

  “How the fuck did they get through security?” Gabe scanned the room as he let his instincts take over.

  “I don’t know, but the time on some of the appliances is flashing.”

  “They took out power. And the generators. What time is it?”

  “Eight.”

  “Tristan?”

  “He’ll be here in five minutes.” She shook her head.

  Gabe dropped the blood-smeared towel to the floor and rushed to the side of his bed, fumbling in the drawer.

  “What are you doing?” Kendra asked.

  “I can track Sam.” He reached for his cell phone and hope cracked the ice around his heart. He punched in a few numbers. “She’s here! Samantha!” He ran towards the bedroom door, leaving a trail of blood leaking from the cuts on the soles of his feet.

  Kendra followed him as he ran downstairs. “Gabe, that’s impossible, I checked the whole house.”

  “No, she has to be. Her charms have a tracking device.” Gabe froze again. Out in the backyard, beyond the glass door, something sparkled in the sun. He looked at the app on his cell phone pointing in the same direction. The sinking feeling in his stomach returned, acids churning as he hurried outside.

  On the patio table lay Samantha’s bracelet, holding down a note.

  He couldn’t move. Gabe’s only hope of finding Samantha vanished.

  “What is it?” Kendra asked, stepping out onto the patio.

  Gabe stared at the note, unable to force his feet forward.

  Kendra ran to the table and picked it up. “History repeats itself,” she read. “What does that mean?”

  Bitterness filled his throat. Before he threw up, he said, “They’re going to bury her alive, the way they did Joanne.”

  * * *

  Shallow breaths fed my lungs with trickles of air. I could no longer cry, and my eyes stung. Blood oozed down my legs from hitting the wood with my knees. Banging on the low ceiling over and over again was a survival instinct and I couldn’t stop it until my legs had no more strength. My palms ached, and my fingertips throbbed. They had been filled with slivers when I slid them across the wood, searching for a hinge or any kind of opening. I had cut my palm on a protruding nail. The laceration burned.

  I gripped my bare wrist where my charm bracelet was supposed to be. My hand had made the same motion every few minutes, looking for hope I knew wasn’t there. All the strength had left my body. The pounding of my heart slowed to quiet thumps. The smell of death surrounded me.

  I began saying Hail Marys.

  * * *

  “Gabe, how long has it been?” Tristan stepped out of his Bentley, dressed in jeans and a white shirt.

  Kendra stood quietly in the corner, aware of every move Tristan made. Feelings from a past long forgotten rushed through her body. Her ex-boyfriend still had the same effect on her as he’d had when they were dating and, for a moment, she regretted her decision to leave him. At a time when she needed commitment, Tristan couldn’t offer it. Now she knew he wouldn’t be able to for a long time. She scarred his heart layers deep, inside and out.

  “I don’t know. We went to bed after two,” Gabe said.

  “Did you track her? Hello, Kendra.”

  “Tristan.” When her heart settled down, she managed to step closer and give him a quick peck on the cheek. Her limbs shook. Kendra wanted to scold Tristan once again for involving Gabe in her affairs, but it wasn’t the right time, and it wasn’t Gabe’s fault Sam had been kidnapped. That honor belonged to her.

  “The bastard took off her charm bracelet.”

  “Shit!”

  A phone rang in Gabe’s pocket. He looked at the display then back at Tristan and clicked the speaker on.

  A raspy voice sounded. “It looks like someone hasn’t learned her lesson.”

  Kendra felt her knees shake. Tristan stepped in to support her weight.

  “Where is Samantha?” Gabe said.

  “Closer to hell than you think.” Martinez laughed. “Tell your little druggie it was supposed to be her, but she wasn’t home. She’s next.”

  Tristan ripped the phone out of Gabe’s hand.

  “Listen to me, fucker! Tell us where she is, and we’ll settle the payment.”

  “It’s too late for your little bitch.”

  “I swear, I will find you and rip your throat out,” Gabe threatened.

  “That won’t settle the payment either. You know I’m just a messenger.”

  “Then take this message. We’re coming after you, your boss, and your boss’s boss.

  A click, followed by deadly silence.

  “Shit!” Gabe looked at Tristan.

  “I’m so sorry, Gabe. It should have been me.” Kendra couldn’t contain her tears. It was her fault this had happened. Why did she have to be so messed up? Why couldn’t she have listened to Gabe and to Tristan when they tried to help her? “I’m so sorry.”

  “Just let me think!” Gabe screamed. “There has to be a way!”

  “Let me see that.” Tristan pointed to the tracking app.

  Gabe handed the device to Tristan. “It’s no use. The bracelet is here.” Gabe picked up the chain, grasping it tightly in his hand. He knew Samantha wouldn’t have taken it off by herself. The bastard was smarter than Gabe gave him credit for.

  Narrowing his brows, punching something into his cell phone, Tristan didn’t pay attention to Gabe. His mouth curved up. “Where’s Joanne’s boat wheel charm?” he asked.

  “Upstairs, why?”

  “Because you had it fitted with a tracking device, but you never gave it to her.”

  “What does that have to do with Sam?”

  “The beacon is on, and the charm is not upstairs.”

  * * *

  How long has it been? I wondered. Was I still alive? I thought so, but I also knew I had only minutes left. There was barely any air. The heat of my breath in the box forced beads of sweat down my face.

  My ears buzzed with sounds from the outside. They must not have not buried me deep but still deep enough to kill me. I moved my aching leg a little. New banging vibrated the crate I lay in. They had probably hidden me at a construction site.

  What a cruel way to die. At a time when I’d found my way in life, understood what I needed and wanted, I would die. I had finally found love, only to lose it. And Gabe would suffer once more. What if they’d taken him too? Was he still alive?

  The hammering from above became louder each time I thought about the outside. Were they piling more soil on top of me? My lungs burned, deprived of oxygen. I knew I only had a couple more breaths left in me. I took a shallow gulp of air, almost a wheeze. I opened my eyes once more, took a last inhale and saw the first spark of bright light welcoming me to heaven.

  ***

  “She’s not far.” Gabe had insisted on driving.

  “Just get there alive, Gabe.” Tristan had every faith in his cousin, but even he didn’t dare to go faster than the odometer would show. Perhaps he hadn’t been pushed as far as Gabe. Grateful for one of the few straight dirt roads on the island, Tristan kept watch on the blinking dot on Gabe’s cell phone.

  “Trust me.” Gabe clenched the steering wheel.

  “Here.” Tristan pointed to the side road.

  Gabe pressed on the brakes. They locked on the tires like Crazy Glue to skin. The smell of heated iron and rising dust surrounded them.

  “We have to go on foot from here.” Tristan scanned the rocky plains to the right.

  “Like hell we do.” Gabe pressed the gas again and veered to the right. “I can’t lose her.”

  The car’s bottom scraped against the rocks.

  “We should have taken your Hummer, Gabe.”

  “Not as fast. She doesn’t have time. I’ll get you a new Bentley for your wedding.” Gabe laughed, but his nerves shook his voice.

  “So you mean, never?” Tristan laughed too, holding on as the car bounced up and down. It reminded Tristan of a night he’d spent with Kendra, long ago, at a m
otel with a vibrating bed and a pocket full of quarters. He’d revisited the memory of their break up often, but in the end, she wasn’t for him. She scarred his heart layers deep, and they were too complicated together.

  “Don’t say that. You just haven’t found the right woman.”

  “Samantha really means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Tristan felt his teeth clatter as smaller rocks grinded under the wheels.

  “She’s the one, Tristan. If she dies, so will I.”

  “She won’t die. Stop there.” Tristan pointed to a small area where a pile of fresh soil was beginning to dry up in the heat.

  Dust rose above them, and Gabe jumped out of the car.

  “Sam! Hold on, Sam! Please hold on.” He crouched on the ground and began digging with his bare hands.

  “Gabe, move!” Tristan dug into the soil with a shovel.

  Gabe grabbed the other spade from the trunk and rushed to move the dirt. Digging relentlessly, the sun blazed down upon their backs. Within minutes they hit a hard surface. Both men fell to their knees and removed the remaining soil off the makeshift coffin.

  Gabe slid the edge of his shovel under the lid and pried it open, peeling two of the middle boards away.

  Sam’s pale face and blue lips devastated him. He placed his mouth to hers and blew a breath of life into her lungs.

  Tristan worked on the next board.

  Gabe blew another breath into Sam. She didn’t move. Was he too late? He listened to her heart but couldn’t hear or feel its beating.

  “Get her out, Gabe.” Tristan removed the last board, and they pulled out Sam’s limp body.

  Gabe gave her another breath of air and this time she gasped, filling her lungs.

  Her eyes barely opened, but when they did, she smiled. “You found me.”

  “I did. Leave that beautiful mouth of yours open, Sam. Breathe.” Gabe lifted her into his arms and carried her to the car.

  “How?” she asked.

  “It’s a long story. Let’s get you home.”

  Sam leaned her head against Gabe’s chest.

  CHAPTER 21

  “I know you’ll miss your family and work. But this is for the best.” Gabe lifted my suitcase out of the trunk.

  I examined the house, its size similar to the mansion where we’d stayed in New Zealand. In place of glass walls, stacked wooden beams supported the structure, their horizontal lengths running to each end where they interlaced with the other side at the corners. The cottage-style home smelled of pine and freshly cut wood. Above the steep shingled roof, smoke strayed in silver puffs into the night sky.

  “It’s beautiful.” Evergreens surrounded the property. It was a perfect spot to build a house. “Owned by Cross Enterprises?” I asked.

  “No. This one’s mine.” Gabe led me inside and set the luggage down.

  All the lights had been lit, but I didn’t get a chance to look around. Gabe pulled me quickly through the house to the back yard, squeezing my hand as he opened the back door.

  My breath stilled. Beyond the infinity kidney-shaped pool and a hot tub to the left, far in the distance, glistened the lights of Vienna. The scene reminded me of our night with Kendra, though I would never trade another minute for anyone but Gabe.

  “You’re sure Kendra will be all right?” I asked.

  After they had rescued me, Gabe and I had flown here. Gabe said it was safer this way. He never let me go back to work or my apartment. Gabe ensured all my belongings were sent here.

  “She’s safe. Tristan is taking care of her and the club.”

  “And Martinez?”

  “He’ll get what’s coming his way, don’t worry. We’re safe here.”

  Chills ran along my arms. Gabe grabbed a blanket off a chair and wrapped it around my shoulders.

  “I love it here.” My breath left a trail in the air. “I don’t know how you managed to convince my boss to give me the time off, but thank you.”

  “Well, when your family owns the company, it makes the persuading easier.”

  “What kind of family do you belong to, Mr. Silver?”

  “One I’d like you to belong to some day. Open it.” He pointed to a gift box on a table by the pool.

  Intrigued, I stepped forward. It seemed too big to contain what I thought he’d been hiding for a week while my body healed from being buried alive. I pulled on the silver ribbon and lifted the top. Inside, two shot glasses, a bottle of Amaretto, coffee liquor and Irish Cream nestled in soft paper.

  “Orgasm?” Gabe asked.

  “Not the kind I had in mind, but all right.” I giggled.

  Gabe’s silver eyes sparked. “Be careful what you ask for, Samantha. Let’s take this into the kitchen, shall we?”

  “Yes, definitely some good memories involving kitchens.” I laughed.

  The sparks in Gabe’s eyes grew brighter as we made our way back inside. I gasped. On the kitchen counter, another box waited. This one was half the size of the first one but still not small enough. “For me?”

  “Open it.” He grinned.

  I couldn’t wait to see what waited inside. My fingers untied the ribbon in a rush, and I removed the top. Inside, a silver charm in the shape of a sailboat’s steering wheel glistened with diamonds fitted between each silver spoke.

  “Oh, Gabe, I can’t keep this. It’s yours, and it means so much to you.”

  “You’re everything to me.” He pulled out his silver chain where an identical wheel hung. “This kept you alive.”

  “I wanted to use it to make something special for you.”

  “It’s already special. May I, Samantha?”

  “Yes.” I held out my hand, and Gabe hooked the new charm on my bracelet. The touch of his fingers on my wrist reminded me of how many times I searched for my bracelet while buried in the crate.

  “You’re safe now, Sam. I promise.”

  “I know.” I stood on my toes and kissed him.

  We hadn’t made love since Gabe had saved me. I’d spent a week in a private clinic where nurses had taken care of my injuries and all my needs. But there was one need only Gabe could satisfy, and I couldn’t wait until he did.

  “Let me show you the bedroom,” he whispered.

  “You know I’m planning to christen each room of this house,” I said, lowering my hand to his crotch.

  Gabe responded with a pulse from underneath. His eyes flamed. “I hope so,” he said, lifting me into his arms. Taking my lips, he dominated my mouth.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist. Gabe held my behind, his needy fingers digging into my ass as he carried me to the fluffy white rug at the foot of the glowing fireplace.

  He lowered me to the floor and unwound my ankles from around him. With one swift pull, he removed my leggings.

  I pulled my sweater over my head.

  “No bra?”

  My palm-sized breasts had been ready for hours. Gabe had seemed too nervous on the plane, and in the car, to caress them the way he usually did.

  “I thought I’d surprise you.”

  “You have.” He lowered his mouth to the left nipple and licked gently around its rim, teasing as if he were paying me back for keeping the secret.

  I pushed my chest higher until he could no longer resist me, and he took the whole nipple into his mouth, stretching the tender flesh and letting go. Gabe trailed kisses along the shallow valley to the other side and nurtured the right one as well.

  He knelt between my legs. The only clothing remaining on my body was my lace panties, but Gabe simply stared.

  I propped myself up on my elbows. “You’re hesitating.” I narrowed my brows, “Why?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” He touched the freshly healed wounds on my knees with his fingers.

  “I’m fine, Gabe. They’re just scrapes. And I really, really need you.”

  For a moment, Gabe looked toward the stairs then his gaze returned to me. He lifted the gray v-neck over his head, exposing his perfect pecs.

  I sat up. The d
elicious path from his navel down to below his belt called out to me. I ran my finger down along the sweet trail that disappeared underneath the waistband. Under his zipper, another flex, when I undid the button.

  “What do you want me to do?” The heat returned to his eyes.

  “Stand,” I said.

  He listened.

  The unfastening of his zipper sounded enticing, and I felt my panties dampen. I lowered his pants and stood up to meet him.

  His body glowed from the fireplace, matching the shading in his eyes.

  I took Gabe’s hand, guiding it between my legs.

  “Oh my God, Samantha.” Gabe closed his eyes. His fingers spread my moisture.

  I lowered his briefs, and he sprang free. I gripped his cock, gently stroking up and down, Gabe’s hips helping with the motion. I spread my legs, letting his fingers work their magic.

  Gabe knelt and removed my panties with his teeth. He lifted me up into his arms.

  I wrapped my arms and legs around his body. “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Upstairs. And we’re not coming down for three days.”

  I laughed.

  The bedroom was even grander than the one in New Zealand. A fireplace and a glass wall with blinds between two sheets of glass for privacy divided this room from an en suite.

  He set me down in front of the bed. A silver box glistened in the light. It was the same box Gabe had once used to hold his sailboat wheel charm.

  “Open it.” He nudged me forward.

  I hesitated, taking the perfectly sized box into my hand. With a deep breath, I lifted the cover while biting my lip. “It’s empty.” I whipped around to face him.

  Gabe knelt on one knee. “I may have forgotten to put this inside.” Between his fingers, he held a diamond ring that sparkled even more brightly than his silver eyes.

  I held my breath.

  “Samantha, we may not have been on a date, but I’d love it if you did me the honor of dating only me for the rest of your life. Will you marry me?”

  I threw my arms around his neck, “Yes, Gabe, I will.”

  As if on cue, Gabe’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

  “Your timing is always so perfect,” I teased.