Beyond Revenge (The Ransom Series)

by A. T. Douglas

  Beyond Revenge

  Part Two of The Ransom Series

  By A.T. Douglas

  Copyright © 2014 by A.T. Douglas

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  Author Notes and Acknowledgements

  Other Books by this Author

  About the Author

  To not being afraid

  to embrace that which we love.

  To putting it all out there

  regardless of the consequences.

  To being who we are

  and stepping into the wild unknown.

  This is me

  and I am not ashamed.

  1

  Her Smile

  ∞

  In the lonely delirium of unconsciousness

  I can almost see her face.

  The roundness of it,

  the softness of her skin,

  the light freckles on her cheeks.

  The curve of her lips tease me.

  They create the slightest dimple there.

  I miss her smile.

  ∞

  Darkness. It seems to be where life and fate want to keep me, and I’ll gladly stay. When you have nothing left to lose, it’s a comforting thing to embrace. It’s easy to get lost in it, to become unknowing and unaware, and that’s where I need to be.

  Every cell in my body screams at me to remain in this blissful state on the edge of the conscious world. At least here I can see her in my dreams. I can remember her, the time we spent together, the way she made me feel. I can imagine the life we could have shared before I failed her.

  There is no life for me without Morgan in it. She saved me in so many ways, and in the end, I couldn’t protect her.

  I lost her.

  If she were here right now, she’d save me again. She’d use every ounce of power within her to pull me out of the darkness and give me the strength to live again. I’d have her unwavering support and the drive and purpose to do anything. I’d be who she’d need me to be, and I’d never let her go again.

  How could I have lost her?

  The moment the freezing water hits my face, I’m instantly awake, eyes open, senses alert, orientation realigning. I look around frantically. Was it a dream? Is this the real nightmare?

  And then I remember my last conscious thoughts: waking up on Robert Whitford’s doorstep, the absolute fury on his face, the gun coming down hard on my skull.

  Déjà vu. He stands before me much as before, but I’m not sprawled out on the ground. Not yet anyway. I’m bound to a chair in a concrete room.

  Just like Morgan was in the prison after she was taken from her family and her life.

  Just another reminder of the woman I love and how I’ve failed her repeatedly.

  Despite Robert’s frazzled, graying hair, he looks calmer than before, though still angry and livid with malicious intent toward me. I won’t fight him. I deserve every single thing he has planned for me and more. I actively participated in the total destruction of his daughter’s life.

  This man has no concept of my feelings for Morgan. How can he understand? He knows what I did to her at the prison when Mark held her for ransom. He’s seen Mark’s secret surveillance video of me thrusting inside her, though he doesn’t know it was done under Mark’s orders and to save her from an even worse fate. He’ll never accept that Morgan wanted me, that we were more in love with each other than we even realized at the time, and that despite the horrible things I did at the prison, I would do anything for her.

  “Leo Marini.” Robert says my name in a deep, accusing voice with utter disdain. “How is it that one of the fuckers who kidnapped my daughter magically shows up unconscious on my doorstep?” He forcefully grabs my chin and leans low to my face, demanding that I look at him. “How is it that the man who raped my baby is sitting in my fucking basement?”

  How do I even begin this conversation? How do I explain that I’m not the monster he thinks I am? How do I reason with a parent whose only child has been missing for almost four months because of me?

  I don’t deserve his understanding. He should punish me, throw me in jail, stick a knife in my chest, put a bullet in my head. I should be punished for doing so many awful things in my life, but for my failures with his daughter most of all.

  For two seconds I think to give up, to fall backward off this cliff I’m sliding toward and plummet to the unknown depths below. Then I remember Morgan’s smile, and I can’t go down that dark path any longer. She needs me now more than ever.

  “Mark’s use for me ran out,” I state, completely defeated. “He got what he wanted. He took her.” My anger boils over, my upper body yanking violently against the restraints and my dark hair flying wildly around my face in my burst of rage. “He fucking took her from me.”

  Robert watches me curiously. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He doesn’t question my response, but he doesn’t look fully convinced, either. I need to pierce through his hatred and anger. I need to reach him.

  “I can never repay you for all you’ve given me,” I say, my voice softening as I stare blankly at the wall in front of me before returning to meet his gaze, “and I can never make it up to you enough for all I’ve taken away from you. I’m so sorry.”

  Robert narrows his eyes at me. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Morgan and I…” I start, but I have a hard time continuing. Just the thought of her makes my heart physically ache in my chest. It makes me want to scream. “We’ve become very close.”

  “You mean you’ve forced yourself upon her. You’ve brainwashed her. You stole her away from us.”

  His words cut into me, slicing into my already battered heart. “It’s not like that.”

  “For fuck’s sake.” Robert’s pacing the room now. “You really want me to believe that? Mark’s had you wrapped around his little finger since the moment he took you under his wing. You played right into his plan.”

  His words piss me off. “I never signed up for kidnapping and torturing women. If you knew me at all, you’d know it’s the last thing I’d ever want to do.”

  “But you did it. You went along with it for months.”

  “She chose me!” I retort. “Three months ago. That last phone call. The gunshot.” I wince at the thought of it. “I begged her not to choose me, but you know how stubborn she is.
She’s too damn selfless. She thought she was saving me.”

  My mention of the last time Mark contacted Robert seems to soften his features. The beast inside him goes into hiding, at least temporarily. “What happened that day?” He stops pacing, facing me directly. “That phone call will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

  If only he could understand that I have nightmares about it, too.

  “Mark shot her in the shoulder and gave her a choice. They had me battered and chained to a wall. What was she supposed to do?”

  “She said she fell in love with you,” Robert interjects quietly, sounding like he’s reluctant to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “She said you hold her heart.”

  I can’t look at him. I can’t stand to be reminded of Morgan’s love for me and how much I love her back. “We both fell equally in love. We didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did.”

  Robert ponders my response for a long moment, resuming his pacing of the room while judging my honesty. “I believe you,” he finally says, “and you’re right, she’s too selfless. She gets that from her mother.”

  It seems strange to be talking to this man who is so connected to Morgan. It makes me feel like I’ve known him forever.

  What’s even stranger is that I’m in this man’s basement and not in a police station or other holding facility.

  “Why haven’t you turned me in yet?” I ask, unable to contain my curiosity.

  Robert’s expression turns solemn. “The moment my daughter chose to be part of a criminal organization, she became a criminal in the eyes of the law. The search for her as a victim was called off. They want to arrest her along with the rest of you now, but I won’t let that happen.”

  “You’re trying to find her on your own?”

  He nods, continuing his unhurried walk back and forth across the space in front of me. “It’s become my life’s mission. I’ve heard stories of her exploits working with Mark, but none of it ever amounted to an address where she could be. You’re the biggest piece of evidence to fall in my lap in this entire investigation. I can’t turn you over to the police.”

  Something light and hopeful flashes in my chest. Maybe he’ll work with me. Maybe we can find her together. “Let me help you.”

  Laughter bursts out from deep within Robert’s chest. “After all that’s happened, you expect me to trust you? Are you out of your mind?”

  “I’ll tell you everything that’s happened these past four months. I’ll give you information about Mark’s operation and the people who work for him. Act on that information. See that I’m telling you the truth, and maybe you’ll come to trust me.”

  “What will he do to her?” All hint of laughter is gone from Robert’s voice. I see the scared man behind the detective’s badge and hard exterior. He’s just a father stuck in the middle of his worst nightmare, fearful for his daughter’s fate.

  I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t even fathom what to say. Silence fills the empty room around us.

  Robert’s face turns desperate. He approaches me, grabbing me by the shoulder. “I need to know. Please, just tell me.”

  I shake my head automatically. Just the thought of Mark touching Morgan is absolutely devastating. My chest tightens up. My throat is dry and painfully constrained. “I can’t. I can’t even say it, Robert.”

  He falls to his knees in front of me, staring vacantly at the floor. “What will he do?”

  I know what’s going through his head. Despite the decision that Morgan made the night we found out Mark’s plans, I worry that what we did won’t be enough to save her from his intentions. As I look at the helpless father in front of me, I know he needs the truth, even if he kills me for it.

  “There’s something you should know.” He looks up at me and I pause, needing to choose all my words carefully. “We were warned of what Mark was going to do. We had a plan to get out, but Morgan was worried. She didn’t want to take any chances should we fail in our escape.” I can’t help grimacing at the thought of how horribly we failed. “She asked me to sleep with her… without protection.”

  “Excuse me?” The devastated father in front of me is quickly reverting back to his feral state.

  “Mark has no one. In his eyes, his wife and daughter are dead because you put him in prison and he couldn’t protect them. This is his ultimate revenge: using your own daughter to carry on his family line and give him an heir to his business. It scared Morgan to death. She decided she wanted to make that choice instead of Mark, and she chose me again. She asked me beat him to it.”

  Robert struggles to his feet, backing away from me. “What have you done?”

  Whatever specks of dust are left of my decimated heart quickly drift away from me. My self-hatred hits its peak. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

  He makes for the stairs, stumbling backward. “I can’t even look at you. I need to go.”

  “We need to find her!” I yell after him as he takes the stairs two at a time.

  The door opens and slams shut at the top of the stairs, then I hear all of Robert’s pent-up anger and frustration and grief being released at once. On the floor above me, there are loud crashes and thuds amidst the wailing of a father who has lost everything. Dust falls from the unfinished ceiling above me as it shakes with his fury.

  I close my eyes, letting the screams and chaos usher me back into the darkness, that comfortable place where numbness overwhelms me.

  But I can’t even savor the darkness. Morgan’s image is waiting for me there. Her smiling face taunts me, because I know she is no longer smiling. I fear she may never smile again.

  2

  Her Laugh

  ∞

  In my dreams she visits me,

  gives me comfort,

  reminds me.

  She’s still out there,

  though I can’t see her or feel her.

  But I hear her.

  The crescendo that builds

  from the simplest smile on her face.

  That beautiful face.

  The joyful sound of her laugh.

  ∞

  A door slams at the top of the stairs, startling me awake. In a matter of seconds, Robert is down to the concrete floor approaching me with fiery hatred in his eyes.

  He grabs my shirt, pulling me close to him and holding me there. I’m certain his fist is about to introduce itself to my face when he suddenly lets go, stepping back from me and breathing erratically.

  “I’ve lost it,” he says, completely exasperated. “I’ve done everything in my power to find her, but I can’t do it on my own. You offered to help me, but how can I trust you? After all you’ve done…”

  He’s right in so many ways, but fuck if I’m going to tell him that. All I care about is Morgan. “I’ll find your daughter. I’ll bring her back to us. I don’t care what it takes. Even if it’s the last thing I ever fucking do, I’ll get her back.”

  “I’m not letting you do this alone.” Robert’s circling me now. I see the thoughts churning in his head. “We’ll do this together. Every step of the way. Prove to me that I can trust you. Prove that you truly love my daughter.”

  I see part of him break inside in the pained expression on his face. He’ll never get over the fact that his daughter fell in love with a criminal, with his enemy’s most important asset. “I’ll prove it all to you, but we have to get moving. Mark’s had too much of a head start already.”

  Robert stops and stares at me. I can feel his gaze penetrating into me, as if looking into my soul to determine whether I’ve been sent here to play him or if I’m serious about helping him. I just hope he’s a good judge of character.

  He releases a strained breath before running his hands through his graying hair. “Okay.”

  He doesn’t sound like he’s convinced himself, but he moves behind me to untie my wrists and ankles from the chair.

  When I stand up and stretch my limbs, I feel the need to run up the stairs, out the door, and into the wor
ld to find Morgan, but I know that isn’t how this is going to work.

  Robert grabs me roughly by the shoulder. “Don’t fuck around with my family any more than you already have. I’m going to trust you enough not to tie you up, but the moment you make even the slightest move against me or my wife, or if you show any attempt at escape, I will not hesitate to kill you.”

  I nod my understanding. “Fair enough.”

  He motions me to the stairs, and I don’t wait a second longer to make my way up them. When I open the door at the top, we emerge into a long hallway with cream-colored walls and tan tiled floors.

  I step to the side at the top somewhat awkwardly, unsure of where to go in this place that I never thought I’d see. For a moment my eyes linger to framed collages of photos on the wall. I’m instantly drawn to largest of the frames spotlighted in the center of the hallway.

  It’s an entire frame dedicated to Morgan, pictures of her being held between her parents, laughing with a group of friends, giving a thumb’s up through a volleyball net, making a jump shot on a basketball court. They are all of Morgan, and she looks so happy, so content and innocent and perfect.

  I have to look away. Even in our happiest times together over the last four months, her expressions have never come even close to what I’m seeing in these pictures. I have truly ruined her. I destroyed her life.

  “This way,” Robert directs me, indicating down the hallway.

  My senses become overwhelmed as we get further into the house. Beneath the path of destruction from Robert’s prior outburst–the occasional toppled lamp, broken side table, and flurry of papers strewn across the floor–I see what is a well-maintained and simply decorated home, the furniture and décor lightly colored, warm and inviting. The smell of breakfast hits me: bacon and eggs with that hint of burning cheese. Then I hear it.

  That laugh.

  The most beautiful sound, Morgan’s laugh, is audible from nearby. It’s my most cherished sound, the one that I’ve tried to elicit from her in any way I can every possible day, and it’s coming from somewhere in this house.