Forever Marked (Marked Series Book 1)

by Jesse Lorenzo

  “Don’t fight me, Ellora. I will just fight harder.” He squeezed her neck hard enough so that she gasped for air, proving his point.

  Her eyes grew wide as the realization of his very real threat washed over her. Goose bumps rose on her skin, but Ellora tried to keep her calm. She planned on staying pliant until an opening presented itself to her, then she’d run and keep running. He crushed his lips to hers, and she immediately forgot about her plan as panic set in. She pinched her lips shut, trying to keep him out of her mouth. Bile started to rise up her throat as he drenched her with his saliva. Ellora couldn’t keep her calm with Dalton assaulting her this way. He moaned, her struggles obviously just turning him on even more. Dropping her arms, he kept his other hand firmly around her throat. Ellora rained down punches against his chest. Hot tears ran down her face as her struggles grew more desperate. Dalton just smiled after every strike. He loved it. Finally, he broke away from her. With a satisfied grin on his face, Dalton took a step back.

  “See, now that wasn't so bad, was it, sweetheart? Yeah, I think you kind of enjoyed that, too. Didn’t you?” He sleeked his hair back into place and straightened his tie.

  Ellora shook uncontrollably. “FUCK YOU!” she ground out through gritted teeth.

  Dalton smiled at Ellora like she’d praised him instead of cursing at him. “I want to spend the evening with you, and maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll let you fuck me. I will pick you up tonight for dinner.” He reached out to thumb away a stray tear, just as Ellora’s father walked in.

  She jerked her head away from his touch and spit in his face. “I’m not going anywhere with you!” She shoved through his stance, and ran past her father and through the exit.

  “Just what is going on here, Dalton? Why are you up here alone with my daughter?” Joseph walked right up to Dalton with an angry, protective look on his face. “What was done to have my daughter running out of here like her heels were aflame, crying like she was?” He got right up into Dalton's face, both hands on his hips in an offensive stance.

  “I was just asking your daughter out to dinner with me tonight. That's not going to be a problem with you, is it?” Dalton stated with a stern commanding voice.

  Joseph's face turned red. Anger shook his usually controlled resolve. “I believe she gave you her answer when she ran out of here like she did, and let me tell you, Boyle, it did not look good for you. So, yes, it will be a problem for me. You do not have permission to take my daughter anywhere with you! Stay away from her! Understand? Now, why don't you go back to work in your ivory tower, my friend.”

  Dalton leaned in closer. Now nose to nose with Joseph, his eyes were void of all emotion. “I do not tolerate rejection well. I warn you, Joseph, I will NOT be ordered around, and doing so will NOT end well for you. My FRIEND, remember that. Do not get in the way of my affairs or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “Is that a threat, Mr. Claiborne? I am not afraid of you or your connections. If you want a piece of me, you better step up and take me on yourself! Or are you too afraid of getting your hands dirty? Go near my daughter again… I’ll coat this building with your blood.”

  Dalton lifted one corner of his mouth in a spine-chilling sneer. He tilted his head to the side, almost amused with Joseph's challenge. “I hope you don't mean that, Joseph. Nothing gets in the way of what I want.” Dalton lifted up one eyebrow, walked passed Joseph, and turned slightly on his way out. “Just remember, Joseph, I warned you! I know how far I'm willing to go... Do you?”

  Dalton shook his head at the memory, as the buzzer sounded in the background.

  “Excuse me for interrupting, Mr. Claiborne, but Mr. Antonelli is still holding on line one. Do you want me to have him call another time, sir?”

  “That won't be necessary, Susan. I've got it.”

  “Yes, of course, sir.”

  Dominick made his way down to the garage to the impound lot, using the key card to get past the secured door. He held his cell to his ear, waiting for Dalton to pick up the line. He had been on hold for a while now, and knew he was going to get chewed out for not contacting him sooner.

  He sauntered over to the counter, nodding at the very bored looking man.

  “What can I do for you, detective?”

  Handing a piece of paper over, with the make, model, color, and license plate number of Ellora’s car, Dominick told him, “I need this car located.”

  The man read the paper, grunted, then looked at Dominick, eyeing him briefly. “It'll be a minute. Hang tight.”

  He switched his cell on the other ear, pacing back and forth across the old linoleum floor. Now, he was waiting on two men. Patience was not one of his strong suits. The phone clicked over, and he heard the sound of a man clearing his throat. Here we go...

  “Dominick Antonelli, I know I don't have to express my extreme dissatisfaction at the amount of time you’ve kept me waiting for information. I’ve had to take time out of my VERY busy schedule to call you. What information have you collected thus far? Where is Ellora?”

  “Mr. Claiborne, Dalton, sir... Yes, I have been meaning to get a hold of you, but kept getting sidetracked with all the dead ends. I didn’t want to bother you with something that wasn't concrete.”

  “My man has informed me that you have been to the airport, her house, and the hospital, and you’re telling me that you still don't have anything to tell me yet?”

  “You're having me followed, sir?” Well, this is bullshit, Dominic thought.

  “I always keep a close eye on my investments, Mr. Antonelli. Since I AM paying you a hefty salary, you WILL have eyes on you at all times. Now, what have you found out?”

  “Well,” Dominick hesitated, “I set up an account to monitor her bank transactions. She apparently booked a one-way flight out of Hancock and paid in cash. I found a statement on her account that showed she used her credit card a few weeks ago, somewhere in the U.K., but it will take a bit longer to pinpoint where, sir. I'm not sure if she is still there.”

  Shit! Dominick really didn't want to tell him that, but he knew he had to give him something. Too much time had passed, and he wasn’t a stupid man. He didn’t want to get thrown aside on this one. If Dalton fired him, he’d never figure out exactly what the fuck was going on! He couldn’t walk away now. Something very wrong was going on, and he needed to find out what.

  “The U.K.? Are you sure it was her card? Was it credit card fraud?”

  “I'm looking into that, sir. I’ll find out soon enough.”

  “If this rings true, I want you there on the first available flight. I will arrange everything for you. Just let me know. Oh, and Detective, don't go sticking your nose in, playing the detective. That’s NOT what I'm paying you for! Let someone else do that. It’s not your concern anymore. Understood?”

  LIKE HELL IT ISN’T! Dominick screamed inside his head. “Of course, sir, I will let you know if I'm heading there, so you can make arrangements for me.”

  Dominick heard Dalton's conniving snicker on the other line. “Of course you will. You couldn't afford the trip.” Then Dalton hung up the phone.

  Bastard! Dominick had to figure out where the girl was and head out there ASAP!

  He wanted the chance to question her before Dalton got to her. If his intuition was correct, she needed to be warned. He’d have to cover his ass, too, now that he was being followed.

  Looking past the counter, he saw the man a few car rows down, talking frantically in the phone, sweat beading on his temples and glaring at him.

  Dominick grunted in aggravation, “I don't have time for this bullshit!” Hopping the counter, he walked straight for the man. “Where's my car, son?”

  “You can't come back here… Yes, sir, I will give you an update after I'm through here,” he spoke into the phone. “You need clearance to come back here.” The man almost stumbled over his words, obviously nervous.

  Dangling his key card in the guy’s face, he said, “I have a
ll the clearance I need. Now, WHERE'S my car?”

  The man looked around. “I… I… I… its right, right over here, this way.” The man walked a few car lengths down and a few more rows back, constantly looking back at Dominick. “It's right here. What do you need it for? I need to know, for... the uh ... paperwork I have to fill out.”

  “Fuck off!” Dominick barked at him. “I will fill out the paperwork myself. Now, get the fuck out of here. Leave.” Dominick shooed him away with his hand.

  The man shuffled off, muttering under his breath.

  After pulling out some rubber gloves and putting them on, he circled around the car. He stared with a hawk eye, concentrating on every detail. He could see lots of smudge marks on the window, but knew that dusting for prints and searching the national database for a possible match would take up time he didn't have. Carefully, he opened the door and pulled out a small palm-sized flash light. He inspected the floor, the dash, and the passenger side. He observed some dried up smeared blood on the driver seat back.

  In the distance, Dominick heard heavy uneven footsteps echoing on the concrete. It was coming closer, so he stepped out of the car to see who it was.

  “Holy shit, Dom, is that you? Yeah, I thought that was you! What're you doing here, bro?” A heavyset man with cropped hair and a wide smile strode toward him.

  “Anderson! What's it been, man? How're you doing?” Dominick clapped him on the shoulder. “They got you working down here now?”

  “Yeah, I'm the only one here who knows shit about cars. Dumb ass pansies. I head up crime scene investigations, but mostly when it comes to crimes involving motor vehicles. I can tear them apart and put them back together with my eyes closed,” Andy announced with pride.

  “You always could, brother, no doubt about it.” Dom gave his old friend a wide grin.

  “So watch ya looking at this one for? They got you on the Sutherland case now or what? I thought you left.”

  Dominick nodded. “I did, but yes, I've got someone trying to locate her. The whole thing looks shady to me, so I'm looking a little closer. How'd you remember this was her car? Were you here when it was impounded?”

  Anderson shook his head no. “It wasn't impounded. It was dropped off. Yeah, man, I was down here when they brought it. When I opened the driver’s side door, I noticed blood in it, so I took a closer look, just in case it ended up being classified as a homicide case. I wanted to go through it thoroughly while it was fresh on the scene, you know?”

  He leaned in closer to his friend. “And what did you find, Andy?”

  “Besides the blood, nothing. That is, until I got it on the lift. Come here.” Anderson brought the car back on to the lift, raising it up about six feet. He came back around to Dominick, waving him over, and then pointed at a certain spot under the car. “Take a look, Dom. Do you know what that is?”

  Dominick lifted a questioning brow. “Just looks like a bunch of pipes to me, man.”

  “Look closer,” Anderson urged. “Do you see that hole there?” He pointed again.

  “What is that, Andy? The brakes?”

  “When you press on the brake pedals, you’re pushing on a piston. That piston pushes on brake fluid in the master cylinder, pressurizing the brake fluid. It flows through thin pipes, brake lines,” Anderson pointed at the lines, “to pistons at each wheel. Those pistons apply pressure to the brake pads, and they squeeze against the disk or drum to stop the car. If you have a loss of fluid going to each wheel, nothing would happen when you pressed on the brake.”

  “Did the lines burst?” The detective scratched his scalp as he ran his hands through his hair roughly.

  “If that was the case, it would be from normal wear and tear, but look...” Anderson pointed at small pinholes on the lines leading to both the front and rear brakes. “Normal wear would not happen on all four lines, with the same sized hole, in the same area. These were cut! And whoever did it knew what they were doing.”

  Frustration washed over Dominick, because he was no closer to finding out what was going on. “Well, after she was attacked, it looked as though she got in her car first, but records show that she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I guess that explains why.”

  “Yeah, I've only seen precise work like this on one other car. It was a year or so before this one, and it just so happens to have been her parents’ car!”

  “WHAT DID YOU SAY? Did you say her parents’ car? Is that car in this lot as well?”

  “No, some badge came in a week after we got it and removed it, their reasons being it was an on-going investigation that they were now handling. It bothered me when I saw this car come in with the exact same cuts, in the same place as her parents’ car.”

  “The report just showed that they were in a car accident,” Dominick whispered, still in shock at hearing that news.

  “Yeah, I'm sure they were... when their car didn't stop when they expected it to.” Anderson gave Dominick a sideways glance, showing him that he had the same suspicions as his friend.

  “So, whoever did this either wanted to shut them up or… get them out of the picture?” Dominick mused, staring at the underside of the car deep in thought.

  “Or both,” Anderson added. “Be careful with this one, Dom. The Sutherlands were honest people, working with big-time sharks on this project downtown. They are well known for getting what they want, or so I’ve heard. If you need me for anything, I'm here, man.” Anderson reached his hand out and shook Dom’s, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Will do, man, and thank you for your help. Watch your six. I don't want you getting into some shit for helping me.”

  Dominick jogged out of the garage and up the stairs. He made his way down the hall and out the doors, heading to his car. He had to find out the location of the store she made her purchase at, and make his way there before Dalton found out.

  Two Days Later

  Portree Medical Center

  Room 8

  “Lachlan, tell me all you know, brother. What happened with Ellora? I need to know what's going on with her.” Behr anxiously paced the length of the room, running his hands through his hair over and over.

  After Ellora’s collapse, Behr carried her out of Grady's and settled her into his truck to take her to the Medical Center. Kristy called ahead to warn Dr. Lachlan Sinclair of their emergency. All he knew was that when he lifted her and carried her in, she was burning up and blood was seeping through the back of her dress.

  He’d driven himself crazy for the last two days, trying to figure out when her injury had happened. He had worked with her all that morning. She’d complained about feeling dizzy, sure, but when had she been hurt? Behr stopped pacing and turned to face Lachlan, letting out a worried breath. He glared at him, unblinking, and waited for an answer.

  “Behr, you know I shouldn't discuss her medical case with anyone but immediate family.” Behr gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles clenching tight, and walked menacingly toward him. Lachlan held up his hand, giving him a stern look of caution.

  “But, seeing as she has no immediate family, I will discuss my findings and concerns with you, knowing you will keep this to yourself and respect her privacy.”

  “Privacy! The bar was packed that night. Everyone saw what happened, and I'm sure there are about ten different accounts on what happened!” Behr lost his cool, shouting at his friend as he thought about the rumors that must be running rampant.

  Lachlan stared stone-faced, motionless, and dead serious. Behr knew he wouldn’t go on if he didn't agree to keep this between them, so he finally nodded and relaxed his defensive stance. “I will.”

  “Well, when you brought her in to us, she was suffering from a dangerously high fever. When we got her in a room and removed her clothing, to put a hospital gown on, we were shocked at what we found… There’s a substantially large wound on her back, running from her shoulder down to her hip.”

  “Are you shyting me, Doc?” Behr shouted, interrupting. “When did this hap
pen? She never mentioned she hurt herself.”

  “Behr, this was nae a new injury. It had been sewn up properly by a medic. I'm sure of it. But, it’s been poorly looked after. The wound was terribly infected, and her body was fighting it hard, causing her high fever. We had to remove the old stitches, clean out the infected area, and stitch her back up. We gave her a strong pain injectable and antibiotics to help with the infection.”

  Lachlan blew out a breath, his clinical, serious expression turning to concern. His eyebrows raised as he laid his hand on Behr's shoulder. “My concern is that the wound looked as though it was a laceration… from a serrated knife.”

  Behr's eyes grew wide as he shook his head in disbelief.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I think Miss Ellora was in some kind of danger over there. I'd bet my life on it. While out, she has suffered terrible nightmares.”

  “Aye, we know ’bout them. She’s had them since the day she arrived here. I had my suspicions that she was running from something that very first night.” Behr turned and looked down on her still form lying in the hospital bed. His heart constricted thinking about what might've happened to her, the worst scenarios making his imagination run wild.

  “I'm in agreement with you, Behr. I also suspected as much. She was frightened enough to travel to the other side of the world and start over. She is a very brave lass, in need o’ a new life and people to stand by her.” He regarded Behr when saying the last part.

  Behr's heart swelled when he realized that he would never leave her side now. He cared too much. “I will nae let anything happen to her, not while I live.” Behr's face softened as he watched Ellora sleep. He walked over and sat in the chair next to the bed, then reached out and captured her hand, kissing every fingertip while stroking the back with his thumb.

  “I know you willnae, and I suspect you’re nae alone. I know that whatever has happened, she was obviously nae ready to talk ’bout it. Otherwise, she would’ve done so already. Dinnae press her when she awakes. She’ll confide in someone when she is ready.” Clutching his clipboard, he made his way to the door. “I've got to make my rounds. Holler if you need anything. I’ll be back in a while to check on her again. I know Kristy will bring by food later. She is worried sick and hasn't stopped cooking.”