by Jessica Gray
Fred approached her from behind and she froze when he slipped his hand around her waist in a possessive gesture. She hated the man with a passion and without any forewarning, she was unable to hide her revulsion to his touch. I can’t believe I ever thought I was in love with him.
Her expression must have given him pause because he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I will never let you go.”
She bit back her tears of desperation. What had she gotten herself into? Fred seemed to enjoy this game of cat and mouse. He continued to find her throughout the evening, making sure she never forgot to whom she belonged.
Irena put up a brave front and kept him content, smiling to everyone and making sure he always had a full glass of wine in his hand. But by the time they arrived at their home way past midnight, she was a ball of fear.
He led her up the stairs and into their bedroom.
“I’ll just use the bathroom,” she said
“Fine. Don’t be long.”
Irena took her sweet time in the bathroom, carefully removing her make-up and combing her hair before she slipped into her nightgown. Then she took a deep breath and pushed the door to the bedroom open. Thank God! Fred was already fast asleep. Whatever evil, twisted, cruel thing he had in store for would wait until tomorrow. She could have cried out her relief, but didn’t dare to make a sound. She quietly slipped into the other side of the bed, hugging the edge of the mattress.
The excitement of the last days finally took its toll and she fell asleep within minutes. Nightmares of her locked up in a cage with phones she couldn’t reach dangling just outside the stanchions tormented her dreams, as did the worry about Georgia and Ben.
Chapter 24
Ben’s pain levels improved the next day and he’d even gone to the gym to cover his usual shift. He was working at the bar in the reception area when a stunning blonde stepped through the entrance door.
Shit! What is it with beautiful women and my gym? First Irena and now this doll?
He waited for his employee to deal with her, but she skirted around him and came right up to him.
“You’re Ben, right?”
“Yes.”
He racked his brain where he could’ve met her, but he rarely crossed paths with up-town girls like her.
“I’m Georgia, Irena’s friend. Is she here?”
“Friend? You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here!” Ben turned and busied himself wiping the blender.
“Hey! I’m talking to you. I’m worried about Irena. Where is she?”
“Ah, nice way to worry, bitch. First you stab your best friend in the back and now you got a twinge of conscience?”
Ben leveled her with a glare that would have sent lesser women running for cover, but she simply stood her ground, her hands on her hips.
“No, you hear me out, asshole. Irena is my best friend and I believe she needs our help. Does that fact get into your stubborn brain?” Georgia rose to her full height of five-foot ten and stepped into a threatening pose.
Ben bit down a chuckle and raised one eyebrow.
“Lady, you actually think you can threaten me? You’re barely half my size.”
Georgia smiled and gave him a measuring glance.
“Good. Now you’re listening to me. I didn’t betray Irena. Not so sure about you.”
“Talk.”
Ben knew exactly what she was doing and he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of riling him up. As far as he was concerned, she could still be a spy for Fred Delaney.
“I was worried to death after she ran from the bar and apparently spent the night with you.” She looked him up and down and he shifted uncomfortably. “She sent me a text yesterday morning to meet her here, but my car wouldn’t start and then I got robbed in the garage. That goon emptied my handbag onto the floor, took my phone and ran off.” She clasped a hand over her mouth. “That’s it. He was after my phone. The thief must work for Fred. I thought it strange he hadn’t taken my money, just the phone.”
Ben couldn’t quite follow her and raised an eyebrow. “And how does that help?”
“He found Irena’s text telling me to meet her at Tough as Nails.”
Ben cursed, but didn’t stop to observe Georgia to see whether she was telling the truth or not. Finally he relaxed.
“I believe you.”
“It’s about time.” Georgia smiled at him, but then worry clouded her eyes. “I’ve sent her a hundred texts and calls begging her to send a sign of life to my work cell, but nothing.”
“That’s because she went home with the asshole she mistakenly married.”
“You let her go with him?” Georgia paled.
“Not exactly.” Ben rubbed a hand over his bald head and clenched his jaw at the memory. “Stubborn lady that she is, she insisted on going with him to keep his bodyguards from kicking the shit out of me.”
Georgia raised a brow as her eyes traveled down his muscle-packed torso and up again to his still battered face.
“Oh.”
“Hey. Wasn’t my fault. I tried to talk her out of it.”
She grinned. “You have no idea how many times I’ve tried unsuccessfully to talk her out of something.”
Ben did get the idea. Irena was the most stubborn, determined woman he’d ever met.
Georgia stepped closer. “We have to get Irena. You don’t know what Fred’s capable of.”
Unfortunately he knew very well what that man was capable of, because Ben had done his dirty work for years. Some of those acts still weighed on his conscience.
“Right, I’ve been trying to come up with a plan all morning. It’s not that I can just walk up to the front door, ring the bell, and then walk inside.”
At that moment, Fernando arrived and gave Georgia a suspicious look. Ben introduced them. They tossed around a few ideas about how to rescue Irena from her husband, but it all came back to the problem of getting inside the house.
“We have to break in,” Ben said and looked at Fernando.
His friend could get past any door. He’d been one of the best pick-locks before he turned his life around and started working for a logistics company as chief of security. But he didn’t dare ask him. Ben knew first-hand how difficult it was to go legit and Fernando would get into hot water if they were caught.
“I could maybe—” Fernando mumbled, but Ben cut him off. “No you don’t. My girl. My fight. No need to get you into deep shit.”
Fernando visibly grew a few inches. “Man, you don’t know how badly I wish I could help…”
Ben slapped him on the back. “No worries.”
“I’ll come with you,” Georgia offered. “They might let me inside.”
The woman was plain crazy. Ben shook his head. “No way. It’s way too dangerous.”
Georgia sputtered, “She’s my friend…”
But Fernando chimed in, “Look. Ben’s right. Things might get ugly and that’s not a place for a nice lady like you.”
It took them both some more convincing, but finally Georgia relented.
“Fine. I’ll wait at home. But you call me the very second you have her.”
Images of Irena’s body beneath his flooded his system and Ben’s entire body tingled. He definitely wouldn’t be calling Georgia while he was having Irena.
Chapter 25
Irena woke up late, relieved to see that Fred had already left. She dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and headed downstairs. But as she rounded the corner of the dining room, her hopeful mood evaporated when she saw Paul, the other bodyguard sitting at the dining room table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the morning newspaper.
So much for trying to escape.
She eyed the phone in the dining room. If I could only call Georgia. And Ben. The image of his battered body spiraled hate through her veins and she wished she could use her new fighting skills to kick Paul’s oversized ass.
Paul looked up from his newspaper. “Good morning, Ma’am.”
“Morning.”
&
nbsp; Her voice dripped with hate and she disappeared into the kitchen, where she made herself a bowl of cereal with yogurt an orange juice. Sitting at the dining room table and possibly making small talk to her guard was out of the question, so she ate it standing at the kitchen island. Then she rinsed her bowl and spoon and set them in the dish strainer to dry. What now?
She didn’t dare call Georgia from the phone in the dining room, so she passed the bodyguard to step out into the hall. But rather than walking up the stairs, she turned toward the only other room on this side of the house – Fred’s office.
Unfortunately her hope to slip inside unnoticed was dashed when she heard the scrape of shoes on the wooden floors behind her.
“Ma’am?”
Irena turned and gave Paul a fake smile.
“Oh, I didn’t want to disturb you. I’m going to grab a book from my husband’s office and then I’ll be up in my room.”
She turned around and opened the door to Fred’s office. When she didn’t hear steps for a few more seconds, she approached the desk with the phone.
But she hadn’t even begun to dial Georgia’s number when a large hand reached over her shoulder and removed the phone from her hand.
“You are not allowed to use the telephone. May I escort you back upstairs?”
Irena swallowed down her disappointment and then laughed, a tight lifeless chuckle.
“No need. I wanted to make sure Fred’s suits came back from the laundry today, but I guess you can do that.”
She walked toward the bookshelves and blindly pulled down the first book she reached. A biography of Roosevelt.
All she wanted was to retreat to the relative safety of her bedroom. But before she could climb the stairs, the guard stopped her and gestured toward the hallway table.
“Your husband left a note for you.”
“Thank you,” she said tight-lipped as she picked it up.
I’ll be back in the afternoon. Wait for me in your best outfit.
On the way upstairs she crumpled the note in her hand. How dare he! He’d been serious about holding her as his prisoner. Back in her room, she paced back and forth across the luxurious throw rug, trying to come up with her next steps. Right now she didn’t have many choices. Climbing through the window and making a run for it crossed her mind, but the ten-foot high fence around the property would prevent her from escaping.
Her situation could be described with one word. Hopeless. With several hours to kill, she opted for a leisurely bath, but the steaming water never eased the tension in her body. She longed for Ben, but at the same time she wished him far away, in safety. Irena had no doubt that her husband had been serious with his threat to send Ben behind bars for the rest of his life if she made contact with him again.
The book didn’t help either to keep her mind off of her predicament. The letters blurred in front of her eyes and after reading the same sentence ten times, and still not remembering a word of it, she put it down.
For now, her best option was to please her husband. If he believed she accepted her fate, he might become negligent and she’d find a way to escape. Sooner or later. Her entire body tensed and she prayed it would be sooner rather than later.
Irena applied makeup, did her hair and then stood in front of the full-length mirror in the walk-in closet, trying to figure out what to wear. Fred hadn’t mentioned where they were going, or what he intended to do. Given the time of day, she finally opted for a pale pink suit with a lace cutout around the edges. It was ultra-feminine and she loved the ensemble. The color contrasted nicely with her dark brown hair and brown eyes. The pencil skirt ended mid-thigh and showed off her trim legs, while the fitted jacket accentuated her waist.
She paired it with matching three-inch heels in the same color and finally added a string of pearls. Her reflection in the mirror was stunning and she hated herself for it. Just because she had agreed to come back to Fred and play his trophy wife didn’t mean she needed to look this good.
In an act of defiance, she kicked off the shoes and slipped out of the jacket and skirt, and stood in front of the mirror in nothing but her bra and panties when she heard the lock on the bedroom door disengage and Fred walked in.
Irena started and spun around.
Fred looked her body up and down and then smirked in a way that made her feel dirty. He closed the distance between them and leaned down to kiss her on the mouth. She turned her head at the last second and he growled at her and slapped her cheek.
“You are my wife and I will take what is mine.”
Caught by surprise she stood frozen in place, while he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. He followed her down, kneeling atop her, forcing her hands down by her sides and pinning her arms and hips between his thighs so she couldn’t move.
Fear overwhelmed Irena. Her heart raced, but her mind couldn’t form a coherent thought. She struggled to get free, but Fred only laughed.
“Haven’t you promised to be a good wife? Did you already forget?”
Chapter 26
Ben was still trying to figure out how get into the house and rescue Irena when the phone at the gym rang.
“Tough as Nails,” he answer gruffly.
“Could I speak with Ben Moretti?” a feminine voice asked.
“This is him. Who’s this?”
“Ben, this is Georgia.”
What does she want again?
He tried to sound friendly as he asked, “Anything wrong?”
Her voice was full of exuberance. “Irena was staying with me for a few days and I found a house key in her things.”
“That’s the best damn news I’ve heard today. Can you bring it by the gym or should I pass by your place?”
Ben grinned from ear to ear. This was the lucky break he’d needed. But his grin didn’t last longer than Georgia’s next sentence.
“Meet me in front of Irena’s house. I’m already on my way.”
“Wait! We agreed you’d wait…”
“See you soon.”
Georgia disconnected the line, cutting off any protest he wanted to make.
“Damn women, why are they so stubborn?” he said, slamming out of the gym after instructing Tim to lock up at the end of the day if he didn’t make it back in time.
Ben jumped into his car, plugged the address Georgia had given him earlier into the GPS on his phone and studied the screen. Nice neighborhood, asshole.
He took the fastest route, thankfully at this time of day there wasn’t much traffic and thirty minutes later he arrived to see Georgia’s slick sports car parked a few houses away. He pulled in behind her and walked up to her driver’s window. She rolled it down.
“That was fast.”
“Yeah, yeah. Give me the key and wait here.”
Georgia shook her head. “No. I go with you, because I know the house. And I can distract the bodyguards, should they be around.”
Ben scowled. He sure had no desire to be slowed down by her.
“That’s not a place for a lady like you.
She gave him a smug smile. “I have no doubt, bruises and all, that you are more than capable of protecting me.”
“Of course I can protect you!”
He rushed to assure her but a pang of guilt hit him. He hadn’t been able to protect Irena, even though he’d promised her he would. He sighed and searched for his inner calm. It didn’t do any good to get all worked up with guilt, shame and the need for revenge. Fred and his goons had taken him by surprise yesterday, but today he came prepared and the element of surprise was on his side.
Georgia slipped from the car, waving the keys in her hand. “Let’s go then.”
He cursed. He better save his energy for the real action than trying to convince that pigheaded woman to stay behind.
“Okay. But you stay out of harm’s way and do exactly what I say.”
She nodded, but he didn’t believe her for one second. With all his senses in high alert, they approached the house as leisurely as possibl
e and when noone appeared, Georgia opened first the gates and then the front door. They managed to sneak inside and shut the door behind them without incident. Ben gave a small sigh of relief, but otherwise remained attentive.
Adrenaline rushed through his veins and gave him the needed alertness for what was to come. Memories transported him back in time to his short stint as an MMA fighter. This was how he’d felt just before a fight. Bow-taut from top to toes.
Georgia had already moved into the hall, when suddenly one of the bodyguards appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. The man’s eyes widened as he saw her.
“Hey, lady—“
He couldn’t finish the sentence, because Ben slid up to the man and knocked him out with one precise blow. The large man slumped down, but Ben caught him and carefully lowered him down to the floor. He’d be out for at least fifteen minutes. Ben searched him and removed both a handgun and knife, before he locked him inside the kitchen.
Georgia grinned at him when he saw her. “Well done,” she said.
If he wasn’t still in a fighting mood, Ben would have laughed at her antics. Irena’s friend seemed to think this was an action movie.
They quickly searched the rooms downstairs – all empty. Ben’s body tensed up, nervous energy coursing through him. If Irena wasn’t here… He looked over to Georgia, who waved at him to follow her up the stairs. Halfway up, they heard voices coming from the end of the hall. Ben froze and grabbed Georgia’s arm to make her stand still. She trembled under the strength of his grip.
“Go back downstairs until I call you,” he whispered into her ear.
“Ye…es.” Now her eyes betrayed her fear and he almost felt sorry for her. He should have insisted she stay in the car.
He prowled upstairs and down the hallway until he reached the closed door from where he’d heard the muffled voices. Everything around him faded out as he focused on the door handle and what he might find behind. Strung tight, his body was primed to jump into action.
