Rescue Me Please

by Nichole Matthews

  “I’m going to wring her neck.” Parker gripped the back of his own neck and glanced down at the note in his hand once again. He swiped his hand roughly over his face and took several deep breaths in an effort to clear his mind. He felt so goddamn helpless. A sick knot formed in his stomach. They knew who it was now. They knew who had done these unspeakable things to her. They knew what he was capable of and so did she. I’m coming for you, Persephone, and I’m going to kill the son-of-a-bitch who did this to you.

  He needed no additional urging. He sprinted from his room past footmen and maids going about their afternoon duties and called frantically, “Dobbin’s! Dobbins!”

  “Yes, my lord,” Dobbins called up the flight of stairs mystified by lord Ashford’s uncharacteristically undignified behavior.

  “Have Rockwell’s horse and my horse saddled immediately.” First he flew up the stairs to the nursery, scaring Mrs. Collins in his haste as the door crashed open.

  As soon as he stumbled into the room, he cried, “Tillie.”

  “My lord,” Mrs. Collins cried, her hand flying to her chest. She rose unsteadily to her feet. “Is anything the matter?”

  “Is Tillie well?”

  “She’s sleeping sound, my lord.” Mrs. Collins gestured towards the cot, peaking over the edge making sure she hadn’t awoken with his unceremonious entrance.

  He walked towards the cot, his gaze drawn to the pink-cheeked infant. Her red curls wild atop her head. He hated the hope that sprung to life within him when he saw her still safe in his home. He knew that Persephone wouldn’t leave her daughter. Not forever and not without great cause. He knew how important this was for her, but he wished the little fool would have asked for his help. Asked him to accompany her on her dangerous journey. He rubbed his hands over his face and then gripped the back of his neck. He turned, almost running into Mrs. Collins.

  “Are you alright, my lord?” she asked worriedly.

  “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Mrs. Collins.” He managed a weak smile, then he hurried out of the room.

  Damn woman.

  He knew enough to know why she felt compelled to confront her demons, but she shouldn’t have gone alone. These men were dangerous. Desperate to remain nameless. One thing he knew for certain, he was going after her and bringing her back to Rosebriar. He didn’t care if she was kicking or screaming when he did.

  He flew down the stairs and stormed into the sitting room interrupting a burst of laughter as Aunt Adele, Piper, and Rockwell sat talking and sipping tea after a long afternoon of finishing the decorations for their Christmas celebration.

  “Parker?” Piper came to her feet as he banged through the doors. “What’s wrong? Is it Poppy?” She rushed forward to meet him.

  He grabbed her hands tightly between his and shook his head. He needed a moment to gather his wits before he could speak. “Have you seen Persephone?”

  Piper glanced towards Adele, worry in her eyes. “She said she was going to her room to rest.”

  Adele put her teacup down so hard it rattled the other dishes. Her hand flew to her neck, worry evident in her eyes.

  Parker dropped Piper’s hands, holding up the crumpled piece of paper that had been left in his room. “This says she is going after Granville.” He tossed a look at Rockwell. “I have to go after her.” His eyes burned. “He will kill her. She knows too much.”

  Piper pressed both fists to her mouth to stifle her frightened cry. “Dear lord.”

  Adele grew even more pale, her hand shaking as she brought it to her chest. She raised her head so that her gaze met Parker’s. “Parker?”

  Parker lifted his hand. “We will find her.”

  Rockwell paused long enough to press a soft kiss across Piper’s cheek. “Saddle the horses.”

  “Being done as we speak.”

  Adele stood. “Have you checked on Tillie?”

  “She is safe and sound in the nursery with Mrs. Collins,” Parker assured.

  Adele’s hand rested atop her heart. “Thank goodness.” She sighed, deep and heartfelt. “Then Persephone will be returning.”

  “If Peyton should arrive within the next bit inform him we’ve gone after Granville. He will know where we’ve headed.”

  Parker turned to Rockwell. “I’m sending a rider to Allingham Park. We have need of Hawksley’s assistance.”

  Rockwell’s brow furrowed. “Hopefully not.”

  “I’ve written to Hawksley and so has Piper.” Adele looked up, her face etched with worry. “He was going to visit Rosebriar soon at our behest.”

  Parker leaned down to kiss his aunt’s cheek, overwhelmed by the unwavering support of his family and friends. “You’re a godsend.” He managed a small smile. “An interfering busybody, but a godsend, never-the-less.”

  “Bring her home, Parker,” Adele whispered.

  ***

  “You’ve tracked her where?” Granville sputtered.

  “She’s been found in Ashford, my lord,” Cooper repeated. “She’s a guest of the Marquis of Ashford. She is staying at Rosebriar, his country seat. I gathered that she had been there for some weeks.”

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Granville muttered under his breath rubbing his forehead. “This can’t be happening.”

  “What, my lord?” Cooper backed up. Granville looked angrier than he had ever seen him before. Cooper’s gut knotted because he was scared to death of this man.

  Granville pushed up from his chair sending it clattering to the floor, his eyes wild. They played me. The bastards played me and I fell for it. He paced back in forth behind his desk. Then with a growl he sent the contents of the top crashing to the floor with one swipe of his forearm. Papers scattered and ink splattered across the spines of the priceless books lined neatly on the shelves.

  Cooper cowered. “My lord?”

  “That bastard Peregrine was here a month ago.” Rage exploded in Granville’s eyes. He upended his chair as he shot forward. “Son-of-a-bitch!”

  “I-I-I don’t follow, my lord.” Cooper lifted his gaze to Granville, fear evident in his eyes.

  “Do you not know anything?” An angry flush spread quickly down Granville’s neck and across his cheeks. “Peregrine is Ashford’s brother, you idiot!” he said wildly. “They fucking played me and greedy bastard that I am I fell for it.” Granville walked around his desk and stood in front of Cooper, laughing.

  Cooper instinctively stepped back as Granville neared and backhanded him. His head flew back and he could taste the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

  Granville eyed the line of blood that slid slowly from the corner of Cooper’s mouth and licked his lips. His eyes dilating as irrational pleasure spiked his heart rate. He watched as fear flew into Cooper’s eyes, his throat working furiously to swallow the terror.

  Granville reached for the fall of his trousers and pushed Cooper to his knees. Cooper dropped without question. He didn’t want to die.

  Granville’s head fell back on his shoulders and his eyes closed as Cooper’s firm lips and wet mouth surrounded his engorged flesh. “Make it better, Cooper.” He groaned. “Make it better or else.”

  Fear shone brightly in Cooper’s eyes as he looked up from where he knelt. Granville’s fingers threaded tightly into his hair holding him steady.

  A Prisoner.

  A reluctantly, willing prisoner.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Oh, the grand old Duke of York,

  He had ten thousand men;

  He marched them up to the top of the hill,

  And he marched them down again.

  “My father knew there was something unsavory about you, Uncle.” Persephone pulled a face, sort of a sneer crossed with wrinkled nose, to convey her disgust. She held the pistol she’d pilfered from Parker’s desk drawer trained on Granville’s chest, level with his heart, knowing she stared into the eyes of unadulterated evil.

  She was afraid she would be sick with the fear that ran through her veins and nearly froze her in place,
but she wet her dry lips and forged ahead. “He knew.” She shivered even with the fur-lined, long, sturdy traveling cloak over her shoulders. She should have asked Parker for help. She should have trusted him with her past. Even though exhaustion mingled with her fear, she forced herself to stand straight and push back.

  His eyes sparked hatred, but he immediately shuttered them. “You’re just distraught, Poppet.” A corner of his mouth tipped up. The power of his voice swept through her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around her body and hide.

  She hated him. She despised him for how weak he made her feel. She hated all of the men who gained pleasure from inflicting pain and humiliation. Their life of privilege and ease not enough to give them peace, they felt it necessary to hurt others for their own amusement. “Don’t call me that.” Her heart pounded and cold sweat trickled between her breasts, but she was careful not to show any outward reaction, but panic curled in her stomach. After a few slow, deep breaths, she gathered her wits.

  He reached out a hand to touch her, his mouth curved in a sneer. “Would you prefer that I call you a harlot?” He stared coldly in her direction slowly walking toward her.

  She instinctively edged away, his gaze chilling her right to the bone. “Do. Not. Touch. Me. Again. Ever.” Her hands shook with the force of her anger; her face flushed bright, her teeth gritted painfully at the evilness reflected in his eyes. Her fist clenched tighter on the pistol.

  His menacing gaze ran over her slowly, inch by inch. “Got a little backbone since you’ve been gone, I see.”

  She bit her lip to hide its tremble, at the same time she searched the darkened room. “I’m surprised to find you alone, Uncle.” Her heart pounded hard beneath her breastbone.

  “I won’t be for long.” He stepped closer.

  A tremor ran through her. “Don’t come any closer.” She forced herself not to retreat, to stand her ground even with the panic wrapping around her and filling her head.

  He raised an eyebrow at her reaction. Nothing had ever escaped him. Not a flinch. Not a hitch in breathing. Nothing. “I’m impressed with your ability to evade me for so long a time.” Granville smiled like a snake. “I’ve had men scouring the countryside for you for weeks, months even.”

  It took all of her strength not the drop her eyes. “Perhaps if you had found me worthy to expend your own energy and your own time and sought me personally you would have found me.” She looked at his face with an indifference she didn’t truly feel. “The only thing you bother to expend energy on is your own perverse desires.” She stood stiffly waiting for him to strike, because he always did. When you least expected it. He would lash out and pain would always follow.

  “My brother was a weak man.” Granville scowled at her, his eyes cold, his nostrils quivering with scorn. “He should have sold you to the highest bidder as soon as you came of age.” An icy brittleness layered her uncle’s words.

  She raised her cold, oddly vacant stare to meet his eyes. “My father was a kind and loving man. He trusted you. He trusted you to be a man of honor.” She paused to draw breath. “He gave you everything you needed and it still was not enough.” Persephone’s voice rose higher with each word. “And you are a bastard with perverse inclinations of whom I am no longer afraid. Without ropes and chains to hold me, are you afraid of me, Uncle?” she controlled her voice, pitching her tone to sound uncaring of his response, steadying the pistol in her hands as best she could. Her arms were growing tired with its heavy weight but she had to persevere.

  “Of course not.” He snorted derisively.

  “What was it about me that offended you so?” Her resolve strengthened with each of his disparaging comments.

  “Everything about you offends me,” he snarled.

  “I will echo your response,” she said bravely. “I will expose you as the monster you are.”

  He gave a deep laugh. “You have no proof, Poppet.”

  She cringed at the pet name he had given her. “I have a daughter,” she replied darkly. “What other proof do you require?” she asked quietly, her lungs clenched, squeezing out the meager amount of air in them.

  “I know for a fact that you have been intimate with more than one man. You on the other hand have no proof the babe is mine.” He flicked his wrists. “It could be the bastard of any number of men.”

  Persephone swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat. “You only know that I’ve been intimate with more than one man because you are the one who sold me to the highest bidder with less than honorable intentions. Night after night you tossed me from man to man with no regard to my feelings, my future, or my soul.” She glanced up, with a flash of self-derision. “And you cannot prove that she is not,” she added. “I would tell the world what you have done if the repercussion of your actions would not harm my daughter. Unfortunately, the effects of your actions would fall on her and she would be branded a bastard forever. I will not have that,” she cried out. “I will not allow you to ruin her life as you have done mine.” Sparks flew from her green eyes burning with rage.

  “Whore.” His mouth twisted, he gave her such a venomous glare she nearly fell back in fear.

  Persephone forced herself not the flinch at his cruel words, swallowing hard as she saw the malevolence in his gaze. “I am only what you have made me.” She stated flatly. “And that you can use the word intimate when you speak of the despicable acts performed on me. Actions that you sanctioned and watched with such pleasure makes me sick.” Her voice cold. “The least you owe me is honesty. You and your cronies raped me. Used me as a plaything, then discarded me when I could no longer help you line your purses. Because of you I was afraid of everything and everyone, but no more.” Her heart thudded as her uncle moved toward her.

  Granville smiled viciously.

  Her heart stopped cold as he lifted the cane that he had been holding loosely in his hand and she went completely still. “Perhaps you need to be reminded of your place.” His cold voice nearly shriveled her willpower to nothing.

  Persephone shrunk back, raising her hands in front of her face to protect from his impending blow.

  “If anyone is going to put her in her place it will be me, Granville.” Parker curled his left hand into a fist at his side keeping a fragile grip on his already fraying temper. His momentary relief at finally having her back in his sights faded and became a fireball of anger that burned deep in his gut directed at Granville. His words the spark that lit the flame.

  Granville looked up, his eyes focused on a spot behind Persephone’s shoulders and froze where he stood, a flicker of unease skittering across his face.

  Persephone’s back immediately went stiff, the color draining from her face, leaving the freckles dark against her pale skin. Although she hadn’t wanted him to know of her past, she could feel her shoulders relax as his warm, smooth voice spiraled around the top of her spine and slid down like a warm blanket, then his words sank in, her heart sank and she trembled.

  She started as the hairs along the nape of her neck stood up in warning, a chill sweeping down her spine but it was too late. There would be no hiding her past. She slowly turned, her eyes crashing into Parker’s narrowed blue gaze and her legs went weak. A soft cry escaping as she sucked in a breath.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” A sneer rolled over Granville’s lips.

  “You’re here,” she whispered; her focus entirely on Parker. “You came? How did you know where to find me?” Her heart tripped over itself just with the sight of him. Nausea welled in her gut at the knowledge he now knew the whole unvarnished truth.

  “I would never allow you to face this monster alone.” Parker swore under his breath. Rage seared through his veins at the sight of Granville lifting his cane to harm Persephone. It took every ounce of his self-control to keep a cool head and not kill the bastard where he stood in that split-second. Parker’s gaze never left Persephone even as he took several deep breaths to calm his racing emotions. She had already endured more than any human
being should; he would not be the cause for more pain. He strolled forward, his expression intentionally bland.

  “I asked you a question,” Granville snapped. “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

  Parker ignored Granville’s demand, his arms crossed over his chest, his muscles bulging. “Did you not believe me when I said that I would take care of you?” Parker’s face drawn, his eyes filled with pain. He could feel himself doing a slow burn, not at her, at Granville. He was going to kill Granville for putting fear in Persephone.

  For making her distrust men.

  For making her run.

  When he heard the full truth spoken out loud from her very own lips, his eyes had squeezed shut to block out the pain that coursed through his body. He had known her experiences had been horrific, but he had never expected the truth. He had seen the scars with his own two eyes, but it had been so much more. Anger flared hotly inside him once again.

  “They were just words spoken in the heat of the moment, Parker.” Tears pooled in her eyes, her chest squeezed painfully as she stared at him. “I do not hold you to them.” Persephone closed her eyes for a moment. Afraid of where this might lead. Then she lifted her haunted gaze back to him.

  Persephone’s statement hit Parker like a hammer, he held up his hand. “What…” he began, but he could not read what she was thinking. A cold sweat drenched his spine. He was anything but calm, his outward appearance merely a façade for his wounded heart.

  She interrupted before he could say anything else. “Did you hear…?” Humiliation forced her to stop herself from saying the words out loud, revulsion continuing to well in the pit of her stomach.

  Parker nodded, his throat tightened. He felt as if someone had yanked the rug out from under him. Out of all the horrible scenarios he’d imagined, this wasn’t something he’d contemplated in his wildest dreams. He had assumed she had been raped, but never that she had been used in such a despicable manner and by her own uncle, at that.

  Persephone’s chin lifted in a gesture of mock strength. “Then you know that what he says is true.” She closed her eyes again and he watched as a single tear slid slowly down her left cheek. “I am a whore,” she blurted, the words a hoarse rasp. “I am not fit to be near your family.” She stepped back, her heart stuck in her throat.