by Melody Anne
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2016 Melody Anne
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781503940758
ISBN-10: 1503940756
Cover design by Eileen Carey
Cover photography by Regina Wamba of MaeIDesign.com
This book is dedicated to Patrick Falk. You are the epitome of the confident, sexy pilot, and you always make me laugh. Ladies, beware. ☺
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PROLOGUE
Rubbing her eyes, Lindsey Helm slowly stood up from her post at the nurses’ station in the hospital and walked down the quiet hallway to the back room to organize supplies. Most nights, she loved the quietness of the calm hospital. This wasn’t one of them.
She was carrying a full course load to finish her nursing degree and working forty hours a week, and it was beginning to catch up with her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a night out on the town, seen her best friend, Stormy, or done something as luxurious as take a long bath.
But it would all be worth it in the end. She’d inherited her family’s work ethic, and growing up, her parents had taught her that the only way to succeed in life was to put in one hundred percent effort no matter the situation. She’d been taught to work hard, and she wasn’t going to start complaining now. Lindsey would never be happy being handed something for free. It meant nothing unless she’d earned it.
Her brothers—her wonderful, amazing, over-protective brothers—always tried to help her, to carry her along, but that wasn’t what she wanted. They’d managed to better their lives, just as her parents had wanted, and she needed to prove she could do the same.
Though her family hadn’t had a lot of money while she was growing up, they had always provided ample love. Even though the finances had changed, thanks to the hard work of her brothers, the love remained as strong as ever.
Leaning against the dim storage wall, she rubbed her temples. Was it terrible of her to hope for a trauma just so she could stay alert? Yeah, that probably wasn’t the best thing to hope for.
Another lesson her mother had always taught her was to be careful what you wished for.
A loud crashing noise, followed by the echoing shout of a male voice, snapped Lindsey into high alert. She took a step toward the door and a chill ran down her spine. This wasn’t the sound of EMTs barreling into the ER.
An uneasy fear gripped her. She tried to tell herself that it was nothing more than a violent patient whom the staff was trying to restrain. Still, something didn’t feel right, which left her frozen where she stood instead of rushing ahead. Even though, normally, she would be in professional mode, she felt as if she should stay exactly where she was.
Ridiculous.
A scream sounded and prisms of fear shot through Lindsey’s entire body. Moving away from the door, she found a wrapped scalpel, grabbed it, took off the covering, and stuck the unsheathed blade in her scrub pocket. She couldn’t just continue to hide in the closet, though. It was three in the morning, and there was only minimal staff in the ER. They would need her in there.
Her coworkers were out there. Patients needed her, and she had a responsibility to help. She was trained for this and didn’t have time to panic. Gathering every ounce of courage, she cracked open the door. She couldn’t see anything, but she could hear cries from down the hallway.
Leaning against the wall, Lindsey slowly made her way toward the nurses’ station, listening for further sound. There was nothing. The lack of noise had her more worried than the scream she’d heard not long ago.
When she reached the end of the hallway she peeked around the corner, but didn’t see a single person. It was okay, she assured herself as she moved a little quicker to go down the next hallway, which led to the ER doors.
She was sure her friend Sandy was in there helping Dr. Stamos with an unruly patient. The paramedics who had most likely brought the patient in must have already had the situation fully under control since she’d taken too long in the supply closet.
Pushing open the ER door, she didn’t immediately see the crew. Her worry was for nothing, she assured herself.
“Dr. Stamos,” she called out.
The ER door slammed shut behind her, taking her breath away and causing her to jump at least a foot in the air.
“Hmm. What do we have here?” A man in desperate need of a haircut and shave took his time perusing her body from head to toe with beady eyes as he shifted from foot to foot in front of her. “Had I known such hot doctors were in this hospital, I woulda come in a whole lot sooner.”
Lindsey took a few seconds to assess the situation. The man was obviously high on something, or more likely, many somethings. She didn’t want to be within grabbing distance of him. Taking a couple of side steps, she scooted away, trying to nonchalantly put much-needed distance between them.
He wasn’t necessarily acting violently at this point, but she almost felt naked with the way he was staring at her, as if he could see her body through the loose scrubs. Where in the hell were the paramedics and the doctor? And where was Sandy?
“What are you doing in here?” Lindsey asked him with as much calmness as she could muster.
His scabbed lips went up in a grin. “I need some medical care, doc,” he said, taking a step closer to her. She shifted sideways and backward.
“I’m not a doctor, but I can get one for you,” she said, wanting to get away from this man and to a phone where she could call for reinforcements.
His laugh sent a chill through her. “This place seems like a ghost town to me, lil’ doc,” he told her.
Lindsey weighed her odds of getting through the door she’d just come in, but the man was nearer to it than she was. Plus, she wasn’t sure where Dr. Stamos or Sandy were and she felt like an animal in a small cage.
“There are plenty of staff here, sir. If you just sit down over there, I’ll get someone to help you right away,” she said with bravado.
“I think you’re telling me a lie, lil’ doc. I have a feeling you’re all by your lonesome in here. Now, that just don’t seem right,” he told her as he continued to box her in. “Matter of fact, I bet we have us at least a good hour or so before we get more docs coming to your aid.”
His meaning was clear, and Lindsey had to swallow the bile in her throat. She’d grown up with four brothers, and this man wasn’t going to take her down easily. The problem was that she didn’t know where Sandy or Dr. Stamos were or when anyone else would enter the hospital. She needed to get help.
The man took another step toward her and her fear was almost all-consuming. Fight or flight had most certainly kicked in and she was ready to knee this guy as hard as she could and then run for help as he flopped on the ground like the weasel he obviously was.
“You’re wrong. There are plenty of people in the halls, but more importantly, the ambulance will be here any second now,” she bluffed. If only her voice was stronger. Even in her own ears, it sounded weak and pathetic.
There was a light of victory shining in the man’s eyes that told her that her bluff wasn’t working. He knew they were virtually alone, and he held a royal flush in his hands. It was her strength against his, and though he wasn’t a big man, he was bigger than she was.
Just as she decided to run, a pained scream sounded from the only other emergency room. She twisted her head for only a moment to gaze in that direction.
That moment was all her attacker needed. He pounced much faster than she would have believed possible. Before she had a chance to defend herself, he wrapped one arm around her waist from behind and the other reached up and gripped her neck, making it instantly difficult to breathe.
“Was that one of the other staff members you were talking about?” he whispered cruelly in her ear.
Lindsey couldn’t help the pain rolling through her heart. He had at least one accomplice, and it appeared as if they’d already found Sandy, and most likely Dr. Stamos as well.
The door opened, and Lindsey stopped struggling against thug number one as a new man entered the room, this one far larger than the guy holding her. She knew her chances of getting away from him were slim to none.
Why hadn’t she just called 911 immediately when she’d gotten the bad feeling? Wouldn’t it have been better to beg for forgiveness if she’d been wrong? Maybe she could have saved her coworker and friend if she had trusted her instincts.
“You found a new one,” the large man said as he took his time examining her.
“Yep, appears she wanted to join our little party in here,” the smaller man holding her said with a laugh. “I just wanted some easy drugs, but this is so much better. Remind me to thank Pete again for the recommendation. He said last week the night shift was a skeleton crew. Guess he knew his shit.”
“Yes, Pete’s pretty damn smart,” the larger man said as he stepped right in front of her and ran a filthy finger down the side of her cheek and then over one breast. “I prefer bigger, but she’ll do. She’s feisty. That makes up for her lack of size.”
Lindsey jerked back against the man holding her, but his vice-like grip didn’t loosen at all. He just laughed as he stepped back and leaned against a counter as if he had all day. The longer these men took, the more chance of someone arriving.
“Hey! You got the last one. This one’s mine,” the small man behind her snarled.
The good humor on the large man’s face vanished as he shot a look at the man holding her. Another chill traveled through her because she had no doubt who the boss was in this relationship. The man behind her shut up.
“No. They are all mine first,” the large man said almost pleasantly.
The man behind her let go of her throat and she sucked in a much-needed breath before it was knocked back out of her when he pushed her forward hard enough to drop her to her knees on the hard floor.
The large man gripped her arm and yanked her back to her feet, sending shooting pain arrowing through her shoulder before smashing her to his chest. Up close, she could see dents in his face, and missing teeth from years of drug use.
Fighting tears, she tried to plead with him. “Please, just let us go.”
Leaning back, he smiled before his fist came out and knocked her in the side of the head, making her see stars for a moment. She almost wished blackness would overtake her vision just to free her from the hell she was in.
“If I want you to open your mouth, I’ll let you know when and how wide,” he told her. “We’re going to have a good time here, and then you’re going to unlock these nice pretty cabinets with drugs in them.”
The man’s stinky spit splashed her in the face, making her shut her eyes for a brief second as she tried to regain her bearings.
“I don’t have access to any of that,” she told him. That was partially true. The sort of drugs they wanted had to come from the doctors.
The man slapped her again for her less-than-satisfactory answer. She tasted copper in her mouth and couldn’t help the whimper of fear and pain that escaped. It was exactly what he wanted, but she still couldn’t help herself.
He shook her for a moment before a gleam returned to his eyes. “I’ll just have to get you a bit more relaxed and then you can give me what I came for.”
“Where’s Sandy?” Her voice was a bit stronger this time, but still not as forceful as she would have liked.
“Me and Sandy had a good time a few minutes ago. If you’re a real nice girl, then both of you will get to walk away from this. Do you understand?” he said. He then began pulling her toward a curtained room.
“I get her next then?” the first man hollered as the giant continued moving.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get her nice and prepared for you,” he replied back.
“Fine. I’m gonna search this place then.” The first man stomped out of the ER.
Pushing Lindsey down on a hospital bed, her attacker leaned close as he pointed his disgusting finger in her face and smiled, his rotten teeth showing.
“We’re gonna have us a good time, sweetness. If you cooperate and do what you’re told to do, then no one gets hurt. If you fight me, then I’m going to carve you up into so many pieces they won’t be able to identify your body unless they’re real good with puzzles,” he told her.
Then to make sure she understood he was serious, he took out a huge knife and stabbed it into the bed only a foot from her face.
“Where is Sandy?” she asked. The more she kept him talking, the more time she was giving herself.
“She’s tied up at the moment,” he said with a chuckle, standing there, admiring her. In that moment, Lindsey had a sick feeling that her friend was gone. He’d done what he’d wanted with Sandy, and then disposed of her like he was planning on doing to Lindsey.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged. She hadn’t given up, but the situation seemed so hopeless.
He backed up a bit and Lindsey knew she had to try something. She lunged for the door. But she made it no more than a foot when his meaty hand wrapped around her arm and swung her back to him before shoving her face first into the mattress.
Time stopped having meaning as he yanked at the tie in her hair. When it was loose, he pulled the long strands while he pushed up against her behind. She choked back sobs and bile as he struggled to undo the drawstring on her pants.
If he got them off, the battle would be over. She continued fighting against him, but she knew she was losing. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the struggle continued. She could hear his belt buckle jingle and felt him fidgeting with his own pants. The sounds of his grunts and her whimpers mixed through the air. The
n she could feel that he’d gotten his pants down and only her scrubs barred him from violating her.
“That feels good now, doesn’t it, princess?” he jeered as he pressed himself against her.
As he struggled again to get her pants undone, Lindsey remembered the scalpel in her pocket. Reaching down, she managed to pull it out, and then she struck without giving it a second thought.
With all her might, she swung her arm backward, aiming as high on his leg as she could go, hoping to hit his femoral artery. God willing, he’d be too busy bleeding out to retaliate. Then she could call for help.
Lindsey knew she hit something, because his howl of pain and rage assaulted her ears before she managed to pull the blade out and push him away.
He stumbled back and Lindsey turned around, trying to decide whether to stab him again or make a run for it. He made the decision for her when he lunged back into her face, his cruel eyes completely arctic now.
His hands circled her neck, and instantly her vision blurred as he looked into her eyes with vengeful hatred. She knew if she lived through the night, that look would haunt her for years to come. Lifting her arm again, she stabbed him once more, this time in the side.
The man let go of her neck and punched her hard enough that the room went black. When she became aware again, she felt deep pain in her abdomen, and then felt the stickiness of blood as it trickled down her side.
Lindsey felt a tear slip as she realized she was going to die. There was nothing she could do to stop this man. It was over. The last thoughts were of the pain her family was going to go through. Her mother and father would be devastated. Her brothers would seek revenge. So much pain was going to be caused by this evil man, and she’d been too weak to stop it.
Devastation consumed her.
“I warned you to play nice, you stupid whore.” He screamed obscenities at her as he lifted the scalpel and sliced her again. The pain stopped and she knew that was bad—knew that meant her time was almost up. She just hoped they caught this bastard before he could ever harm another person again.
As his arm lifted to administer the final blow, a gleam of victory in his eyes, his clear intent to go for her throat, a banging sound echoed off the ER walls.
