by Brook Wilder
Her mind still refused to believe the facts, no matter how many times she went over it in her head. She really had been kidnapped by Enrique’s men. She really was lying in Enrique’s bed, her body as stiff as a board beneath the heavy blanket. And most unbelievable of all, Enrique really was lying next to her, his arm and leg wrapped possessively around her body as he slept peacefully beside her.
He had come to bed sometime later the night before and had slid into bed next to her. She’d just laid there, completely frozen, unable to move. Melody had been terrified of what was to come, but instead of pawing at her or hitting her he’d just whispered that he needed a few hours of sleep before another deal, and within moment he had been snoring lightly beside her.
Melody hadn’t been asleep. She’d just been laying there, trying to figure out how she could get herself and her baby the hell out of this mess. And then Enrique’s big body had pressed against hers, and it was all she could do not to shudder in revulsion.
She hadn’t dared to move since. She hadn’t moved a muscle, terrified to wake him up. Terrified of what he would do to her if he did.
He hadn’t demanded sex from her yet, but she feared that if he woke up to find her in his bed like this, he would. And Enrique had never been very good at taking ‘no’ for an answer. The last time she’d tried to refuse him, she’d ended up with his name branded on her skin, and he’d taken her anyway. Right here. In this bed.
Melody blinked again, this time trying to banish the horrible memories, but in the dark they were the only thing she had.
So, instead of the bad ones, she forced herself to focus on the good. Most of those memories revolved around Christian and the joy and happiness and hope that he’d brought into her life, like some sort of miracle she still wasn’t sure that she deserved.
As the long hours passed, night deepened outside. And slowly, a change began to happen inside her.
It was so subtle at first that Melody didn’t even feel it happening. As memories flew through her mind, her body frozen and the monster from her nightmares trapping her beside him, Melody looked back over her life and it was like she could see it all stretched out before her, clear for the very first time.
Melody could see herself as a child. Just a little girl with knots in her long dark hair because no one ever bothered to brush them out. Her father, always a dark shadow of her childhood, and the emotional abuse he’d dealt her.
In her mind, time moved fast-forward until she was homeless and living on the streets, her self-image and confidence destroyed by years of abuse. Of being told over and over again that she would never be worthy of love, or a family.
Then she was at the halfway house, trying to get herself better, trying to fix what all the terrible years had tried to destroy. Then the counselor had told her that what had happened to her wasn’t her fault. That she’d been just a child at the time. That she could make things different now, have a different life. But she still hadn’t believed, not really.
But she’d learned other things. She had learned how to protect herself. To protect her emotions. To keep them walled off from what was happening to her. She’d become strong, and she’d become brittle.
Melody could see it now, spread out before her like a map. Every choice that she had ever made, every decision that had led her to exactly where she was right now.
It had been so easy for Enrique to fool her, because she had been so desperate. Desperate for love, desperate for connection. Most of all, she had been desperate to prove that she wasn’t weak, that she wasn’t unworthy. That she mattered.
Enrique had woven a web of lies and deceit, just like the spider he was. And she had let herself walk right into it without a clue, and all the while he had been slowly tightening that web around her. He had stifled her wings until she couldn’t remember how to fly any more.
Darkness had become her whole life. She had been so tangled up in his web that she couldn’t find her way out. She’d been trapped, full of despair and pain. Hopeless.
And then Melody had met Christian, and everything had changed.
She still remembered that first night. Being caught by the Devil’s Martyrs gang. Being so sure that she was about to die, and a part of her had longed for it. For an end to the pain and agony. An end to her helpless existence as Enrique’s pet.
And then Christian had saved her. He had stood up for her. The first person in her life that had ever shown her kindness or gentleness. The first person to care about her or put her above themselves.
It had all seemed like bad luck and coincidence then, but, looking back now, Melody knew the truth. It was fate.
Every terrible thing that had happened her, every terrible thing that she had lived through, it had all taught her one thing. That people weren’t always what they seemed. In fact, they rarely were.
Christian had seemed terrifying to her at first. He was big and tough, a biker who was part of a notorious biker gang. And he had ended up being the kindest hearted, honest, and compassionate person that she had ever met.
And if she hadn’t known to look beneath the surface, to ignore a person’s words and to look at their actions, then she never would have seen what an amazing man he truly was. She wouldn’t have fallen in love with him or let him into her life and her heart.
As the thoughts flew through her mind, Melody realized with a shock that the fear that had been her constant companion was gone. Wait, no. Not gone. It just didn’t matter to her anymore.
Because she knew that whatever happened from this moment on, she wouldn’t be terrified anymore. Because she knew that she loved Christian, and that he loved her just as fiercely.
Melody drew in a deep shuddering breath. She could face anything Enrique threw at her because of that. Love shielded her heart like a shining golden wall. A fortress that would protect her and give her strength no matter how bad it was about to get.
Melody wrapped that shining wall of love even tighter around herself as Enrique shifted beside her on the bed. But instead of reaching towards her, he leaned over the other side of the bed, reaching for his buzzing cell phone.
“Yes...? It’s all ready… Good… Get the car ready. I’ll see you soon. And, Simpson: don’t fuck this up.”
Enrique cast a glance over his shoulder at her, his eyes gleaming black in the dark.
“I want to be back here within the hour. I have… other matters to see to tonight.”
Melody remained still and silent as Enrique hurriedly got out of bed and dressed, preparing to leave on a drug run. Pretending to be asleep was out of the question. There was no way she was closing her eyes while he was in the same room with her.
Just before he left, Enrique leaned onto the bed, his face so close she thought he was going to try to kiss her, and then she felt the cold, hard barrel of the gun pressed to her temple.
“Don’t try and run, Melody. You’re mine. And I’m never letting you go again.”
She nodded slightly. Her mouth was nearly too dry to from the words, but she forced them out, knowing he wouldn’t leave until she did.
“I promise, Enrique.”
“Remember that more than one life depends on you keeping your word,” Enrique purred, dragging the gun down her body until it reached her belly, where her baby was growing.
It took every ounce of control she had left to not cry out. Not to scream and push him away. She knew from past experience that it would only set him off, and she had no hope of standing up against his rage. Not when he had a gun pointed at her child.
“I have a promise for you too.” His eyes were black, and lust shined in them. He’d always loved it when she was in distress. “When I get back, I’ll give you the homecoming you deserve, Angel.”
He pressed his face to hers, and Melody forced herself to remain still, waiting for him to leave and the door to shut behind him before giving in to the nausea that filled her, retching until her stomach couldn’t heave any more.
After the sickness passed, a streng
th flowed through Melody, catapulting her out of the bed. She tore through the room, looking for any means of escape.
The minutes ticked by with Enrique’s words repeating in her head, as she tore apart the dressers and closet. But the door was locked, and the only way out was the window. Followed by a two-story drop.
Desperation set in, and Melody bit back a sob. She had to get out of there. It was only a matter of time before Enrique came back, and she knew that whatever would happen next would destroy her.
Suddenly, the handle of the door jerked, first one way and the next. Melody froze, sure that it was Enrique come back to take what he had promised her he would.
She held her breath as a loud crack filled the air, and then the door creaked open.
Chapter 20
Christian stopped his motorcycle far from the edge of the large property that Amanda had directed him to, hiding the bike behind some bushes, and making sure that not a bit of it was visible, before rushing closer.
There was a tree-lined gravel path, and he tucked his body behind one of the trees, hoping it and the darkness, along with his all-black clothes, would be enough to keep him hidden as he spied down the driveway to the big house in the distance. There was a heavy-looking wrought iron gate blocking his path, but he wasn’t about to let that stop him. Not when Melody and their baby were trapped somewhere within.
He moved from shadow to shadow as stealthily as he could, examining the gate from every angle, but there was no way around it, or the twelve-foot-tall wall that cordoned off the property, except to scale the damned thing.
Just as he was about to approach it, to try and find some footing, Christian’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
With a whispered curse, he retreated to the shadows before pulling it out of the back pocket of his jeans and glancing at it. It was a voicemail from Craig. In the last forty-five minutes since leaving the motel behind, he had twelve missed calls from the man and four new ones from his father.
With another sigh he hit the button to replay the message and held it to his ear, already knowing what to expect from his friend.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Christian,” Craig’s recorded voice shouted at him.
It was windy and hard to make out his words. He was obviously on a bike.
“Just wait until we get there… Don’t be an asshole and go and get yourself killed or something. Otherwise, I’m going to be pissed off at not getting the chance to break your neck for myself.”
Christian shook his head. There was a crackle of feedback on the message, and then it ended just as abruptly.
He put it back in his pocket and then thought better, pulling it back out and turning it off completely. The last thing he needed was for it to ring or go off while he was inside and give him away.
Despite Craig’s warning, he had no intention of getting caught, nor was he going to just sit there and twiddle his god-damned thumbs while he waited for the cavalry to arrive. Melody was in there, and she was in trouble. She could be hurt. He wasn’t waiting. He couldn’t.
Christian cursed again. This time hard and thorough. He didn’t have much of a choice. He would have to wait, at least until the time Amanda had told him that Enrique and his men would be gone on a deal, but it was damned near impossible.
He forced himself to stay still in the shadows, but all he could think about were the awful things that Melody would be going through.
I’m coming for you, baby. Just hold on a little bit longer. I’m coming.
It felt like an eternity, although it was probably in reality no more than fifteen minutes, before he saw three black cars pull out of the long driveway, pausing while the gate creaked slowly open, and leave.
Christian held his breath, ducking behind the largest of the tree trunks, until the vehicles had passed, and then forced himself to remain as still as possible until the sound of their engines had disappeared into the distance. Only then did he let himself move, unfolding himself from his crouched position as he bolted through the still open gate and towards the house.
He didn’t care about security cameras or alarms. He knew that he wouldn’t have much time to get to Melody and get them all the hell out of there. He had to use every second he had to find her. To find Melody and his baby. That was all he could focus on.
Christian stalked to the house and was not surprised to find the front door unlocked. If he knew one thing about Enrique, it was that the man’s ego left no room for him to think that someone might try and sneak into his home and steal something from him. No matter that what Christian planned on stealing back was a woman, who had never belonged there in the first place.
Don’t worry, Mel, he promised her silently as he crept through the endless darkened hallways of the enormous home. I’m coming for you.
And he wasn’t going to give up until he found her.
Room after room he searched and found empty. It wasn’t until he reached the second floor, his heart pounding with the knowledge that Enrique or his men could return at any moment, that he found a door that was locked.
He didn’t hesitate. He drew back his booted foot and slammed it against the door. It took three solid kicks before the doorframe cracked and the door itself swung inward, revealing an ostentatious bedroom.
Christian rushed inside and froze when he saw Melody. And then he saw the lamp raised over her head. They both stared at each other for a long moment, lost in shock and joy. And then she was dropping the makeshift weapon and rushing towards him, with a shriek of excitement as she launched herself into his arms.
“Never again,” Christian whispered as he held her tight, his entire body shaking with relieve. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again, do you understand me?”
He drew back just enough to stare down into her beautiful face, taking in the bruised cheek and the cut on her face, and the anger that he’d tried to keep at bay rushed to the surface. Someone had hurt her. And he hadn’t stopped it.
“I’m so sorry, Melody. I’m so sorry, baby.”
“For what?” she asked, her grin slowly fading as she took in his look of desperation.
“I almost lost you. It’s my job to protect you. To keep you safe. You and the baby.” His words were whispered and laced with black despair. “I love you, Mel.”
“I love you too,” she whispered back, her breath teasing his lips. “And don’t you dare apologize. You found me. That’s all that matters. That’s all that will ever matter.”
Melody looked up at him and he was instantly lost in her dark gaze. In the desire that swirled hot and fierce in their depths, driven by the same fear and adrenaline that choked him.
“Kiss me, Christian. Kiss me, now.”
Chapter 21
The trembling that shook Christian’s body only grew worse at her demand, now fired by a need that went far beyond sexual gratification and all the way to his soul. He needed to prove to himself that she was real, that she was safe and whole. He needed to prove that she was okay.
And Melody needed the same reassurance. He could see it shining in her dark fathomless eyes.
“Kiss me,” she ordered him again, more forcefully this time, and Christian was helpless against the entreaty gleaming at him from the depths of her gaze.
He pulled her close into his body, lowering his head to meet hers. He was unable to deny her anything. Unable to deny the dark shadow inside himself, that part of him that had played all the most terrible things, all the things that could be happening to her and their child, over and over again in his head as he’d searched for her.
Christian kissed her, his lips pressing against hers, but as soon as they touched, Melody flinched back with a sound of pain that had him jolting back as well.
Instantly, he froze, pulling back far enough that he could examine her more clearly, and his eyes found the cut on her lip, could see the bruises just starting to form.
“He hurt you.”
Christian ground out the painful words. He didn’t need to say wh
o. He couldn’t have forced the man’s name out anyways. It stuck in his throat like shards of glass, shredding him from the inside out.
“No, it wasn’t… it wasn’t him,” Melody whispered, her voice faltering as her eyelashes fluttered at the memory. “It was one of his men. When they grabbed me at the diner I tried to fight back, and one of them didn’t like that very much, so he gave me this little souvenir.”
Melody shrugged and turned away, emotion flickering in her gaze now that made Christian’s stomach churn.
“Don’t do that,” he whispered roughly.
“Do what?” Melody asked.
But she still didn’t look at him. Her eyes were locked on the black wall on the other side of the room.
