by Nia Arthurs
“Push!”
The instruction came from somewhere past her thighs, which were raised on either side of her. Jewel complied, writhing with pain and exhaustion.
“Go on, Jewel. I can see it. Push!”
She pushed again.
The movement was punctuated by a sudden cry.
Sacred silence crept into the room.
“Jewel, you’ve got yourself a healthy baby—”
“Stop.” Jewel turned her face away. “I don’t want to see it.”
Even though she couldn’t see the doctor’s face, she heard her consternation. “What? But—”
“Take it away.”
“Jewel, you may regret this.”
She drilled a hole into the wall, not stirring a millimeter. The doctor whispered to someone and then she heard the sound of footsteps. A door opened and closed.
“You can look now,” the doctor said.
Jewel allowed herself to turn around and focused on the woman who’d seen her baby before she did.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” But tears filled her eyes, making the statement null and void.
The doctor nodded. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“I can’t give it the home and care it needs,” she croaked. “Could you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Find it a good home where there are two parents who’ll love and protect it. Somewhere with a swimming pool and a swing set in the backyard.”
“I’ll do my best.”
She was in so much pain, but all she could do was weep from the emptiness of her womb and heart.
The door to her prison burst open and Kross stormed in. She was so stunned she couldn’t even move.
He grabbed her roughly and slapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. They were the fuzzy ones she’d seen him use on his women before.
At least they didn’t bite into her skin.
“What’s going on?” she croaked. Her voice was torn and shredded from dehydration. She hadn’t touched the food and water he’d brought earlier.
“Get up,” Kross spit. He hauled her to her feet and dragged her to the door. Jewel stumbled behind him, shocked and afraid.
He led her up a flight of stairs. Stopping to pick a set of keys out of his pocket, he opened the second door and dragged her through it.
Jewel’s eyes squinted as she adjusted to the sudden blare of light. From what she could see, they were in a lavish living room. Vaulted ceilings. Extravagant chandeliers. Plush sofas. And a thick Persian rug.
“Is this your house?” she mumbled.
Kross ignored her and swiped a strange radio that had been resting on the shelf. Muted voices filled her ears.
“Who’s that?”
Kross cursed and grabbed his things from around the room. He looked distracted, distressed. Jewel started inching away. If she neared the door, she could make a run for it.
She was halfway across the room when Kross’s head whipped up.
His gaze locked on her.
Her heart clenched in fear as he stalked over. Jewel screamed and fled to the door, grabbing the handle and pulling with all her might.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Kross grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back so violently her neck almost snapped.
She cried out in pain and slid a hand over his to free herself. She stumbled instead, landing hard on the floor. Kross dragged her behind him and tore a set of keys from a hook.
“You always do this,” he seethed. “You always run when I’m trying to be nice to you. Why do you like seeing my bad side?”
“Please. Let me go. Please!”
He tossed her head and she crashed against the floor, her forehead smacking the hardwood. Stars flitted around her vision. Her fingers clenched in the air, struggling for purchase so she could steal the keys from him.
Kross rolled her over and slammed his fist across her face.
Dazed, Jewel went still.
Blood spurted from her lip. Pain. She was in so much pain. But she couldn’t let Kross whisk her away from her only opportunity for escape. She had to make this count.
She struggled to sit up, but when she did, Jewel found a knife at her throat. She lifted her head slowly, her gaze colliding with Kross’s. His eyes burned and he hissed, “Don’t make me regret my decision.”
Terror overwhelmed her. She was trapped in Kross’s hands and there was nothing she could do about it.
“That’s right.” He caressed her face with the knife, the sharp edge pressing into her skin. Not deep enough to cut but intimidating enough to keep her as frozen as a statue.
If she moved the wrong way, that knife would lodge in her throat.
Kross knelt on one knee, pressing his body into her side. He smelled like cologne, like sunny days on his private yacht. She guessed he must have taken a bath before he decided to yank her out of his dungeon.
His brown eyes were ringed with thick lashes that bounced slowly, lazily. As if he had all the time in the world. He leaned closer, pressing his thin lips against her temple before pointing the knife there.
She shivered from fear and revulsion.
“It would be so easy to kill you,” he whispered, letting his tongue dart out and lick her ear. “I could snap your little neck before anyone even noticed.” He leaned back, his lips quirking up. “Would you like me to do that?”
The question was posed in an innocent, casual voice. He might as well be asking if she’d like ranch with her salad or eggs for breakfast.
“No,” Jewel croaked.
“Are you sure?” Kross arched an eyebrow. “Because I wouldn’t want to do anything without your consent.”
“I’ll stop fighting.”
“Good, girl.” He patted her on the head. “Remember who you belong to Jewel. I don’t want to have this conversation again.” The radio squawked and Kross whipped his head that way. “We’ve got to move. Now.”
He grabbed her elbow and jerked her up. Too scared to cry out from the pain, she clamped her mouth shut and stumbled behind him as he led her through another hallway.
As soon as Jewel got inside, he slammed the door closed and turned the lock. Kross ran a frantic hand through his wet hair and pointed to her. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Just do it!”
Jewel slowly spun on her heels. A few moments later, she heard something beeping and then the whirr of a machine. Unable to hold her curiosity, she glanced over her shoulder and found Kross standing in front of the bookshelf.
Only it wasn’t a bookshelf.
It was a door.
“Cool, right?” He winked at her. “Come on.”
Jewel took her time walking over. Kross loped to her side and dragged her forward, tugging her through the cramped hallway. The secret door closed behind them with a thud.
They were thrown into darkness.
Kross seemed to know where to go and led her confidently into a room that held several cars. “My old man was paranoid; God rest his soul.”
Jewel wasn’t sure what to respond to that so she didn’t. Her only chance of escape was growing smaller by the minute.
Someone save me .
But hope dwindled to nothing when Kross stuffed her into a car, started the engine and drove off in a clean getaway.
30
Finn watched Carrie walk around the fancy living room. Silver moonbeams slid through the curtains and shed soft light on the thick sofas and fancy flat screen. He moved carefully, searching for signs of Kross.
“I don’t think he’s here.”
“Me either.” Carrie tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder. “Did you check downstairs?”
“There was a small room where he could have kept her if he’d hidden out here, but I didn’t see any proof that Jewel had been there.”
“So we might have barked up the wrong tree,” Carrie murmured.
Finn turned away as he struggled with his own doubts
. He’d been so sure that this was the place. They’d shown up two minutes ago to an empty house.
No Kross.
No Jewel.
“Even if Kross had been here,” Finn murmured harshly, “he could be anywhere by now. We don’t even know if he still has Jewel, if she’s alive…” His throat closed up.
“What’s this?”
Finn turned and saw Carrie kneeling on the ground. She picked up a small object. He lifted his flashlight and trained it on her so he could identify the tube. “It’s…”
“Lip gloss!” Carrie shot to her feet, an excited tremble in her voice. “She was here.”
“How do you know that?”
“Last year, Jewel came to see me at the club. We had a heart-to-heart and I gave her this lip gloss.” Carrie held it up. “She never goes anywhere without it.”
Sirens chirped in the distance.
Finn cursed. “The cops.”
“Let’s go.” Carrie stuffed the lip gloss into her jeans pocket and ran to the door. They slipped out and dashed to the car seconds before a police vehicle skidded to the curb.
Finn hunkered down in his seat, watching from the side mirror as two cops jumped out and banged on Kross’s front door.
“That was close,” Carrie whispered.
Finn nodded and tapped the bluetooth headpiece in his ear. “Nolan, you copy?”
“I’m analyzing the photos you took with your phone now. Given the groceries on the counter and the dishes drying in the rack, someone was definitely living there, but I’ll need to see more to determine if that person was Kross.”
“Jewel was there,” Carrie said confidently.
Nolan paused. “What does she mean by that?”
“I’ll explain later.” He tapped out of the call and swung toward Carrie. “I’ll take you back to Sweet Treats.”
“So we can make a new plan?”
Finn remained silent.
“I guess you’re not the talkative type.” Carrie rolled her eyes. “Okay. What do you plan to do if we”—Finn slanted her a look and she amended—“when we face off with Kross?”
“I’ll do what’s necessary.”
Carrie frowned. “No, see, the answer I was looking for was not that vague.” She squirmed. “You don’t plan on actually killing him do you?”
He’d dreamed of nothing else for years. “Do you have any idea the damage Kross has done?”
“To be honest, I can’t really wrap my head around it, but we can’t just kill him. He’s still a person.”
“He has Jewel.”
“So he deserves to die?”
“He killed my sister.”
“Now that…” Her finger floated into the air and then drooped. “There’s not much I can say to that except we should let the authorities handle things. Even if the police weren’t doing their jobs before, with Jewel testifying we can nab him.”
“Sure.” Finn decided to leave Carrie to her naiveté. If he faced off with Kross and had an opportunity, he’d take the shot.
No regrets.
He parked the car in front of Sweet Treats ten minutes later. The moment he stepped inside, Finn froze in shock. The room was filled with Jewel’s friends, including Benson, Sun Gi, Sky and Joon.
Sky barreled over. “Where the hell is Jewel?”
“Babe.” Joon strode toward his wife and calmly pried her hands off his collar. “We talked about this.”
Brown eyes still spitting bullets, Sky snapped, “You have a lot to answer for, Finn.”
“I know.”
“We’ve already read him the riot act.” Carrie stepped forward. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t you guys see my message?” Sky demanded.
Carrie and Jo exchanged looks.
Sky rolled her eyes and gestured wildly with her hands. “I saw your missing posters on Facebook. When I tried calling, no one answered. What was I supposed to do?”
“We hopped on a plane and came home,” Joon said with a sober nod.
“I already filled Benson and Sun Gi in.” Joana strode forward and joined the circle of women in front of him. “What’s our next step? How do we find her now?”
Finn glanced over their heads. “Nolan?”
“I’m hacking every camera I can, but Belizean streets don’t have many of those.” He spoke with his eyes glued to the screen. “I’m trying.”
“Try harder!” Sky shrieked.
Finn glanced at her. “Nolan’s a prodigy. He’ll find her.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Sky narrowed her eyes. “Gosh, I’m such an idiot. I should have never pushed Jewel at you.”
“It’s not your fault.” Joana soothed her back.
It wasn’t his either, but Finn knew the Sweet Treats women weren’t open to hearing his excuses. His revenge mission had quickly become a rescue mission. Kross came second to Jewel’s safety.
He strode toward the door. “Nolan, call me if you find something.”
“I will.”
“Hey!” Joana yelled at his back.
Finn glanced over his shoulder and found the entire crew staring at him. “What?”
“Where are you going now?”
Finn settled his hand on the butt of his gun. “I can’t sit back and wait. I have to do something.”
Sky glided toward him, her chin high and her shoulders back. Finn braced himself for a slap to the face, but when she stopped a couple inches and didn’t raise her arms, he let out a breath.
“Don’t make me regret trusting you,” she said in a low voice.
Finn nodded and disappeared into the night.
31
The car lurched. Jewel dug her fingers into the passenger seat and stared at the gas tank. It was idling on ‘E’. Kross cursed and yanked on the wheel, forcing their vehicle into the grassy embankment.
They’d been driving for what felt like hours but was probably only thirty minutes. She had no idea where they were, but there were no houses around that she could see. Thick woods sprang up on either side of the abandoned highway.
The night was still. Even the moon was hiding from them somewhere behind the stars. Insects chirped from the foliage, their sounds amplified by the eerie silence.
She would prefer not to be out here at all, but at least she wasn’t alone in her unease. Kross seemed as out of his element as her.
“Wait here,” Kross said. He shoved the door open and climbed out.
Jewel eyed the key in the ignition. Her hands were still tied, but she could maneuver around those barriers if she was careful.
Her heart sped up. She glanced outside to where Kross was fiddling with the trunk. Leaning forward, she stretched for the keys.
Jewel could escape.
Just a little further…
The slam of the trunk shattered the night air and caused her to jump. Kross stomped back to the car, dragged the door open and climbed in. The entire vehicle rocked as he slammed his door shut.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a mechanic!”
Jewel flinched. “I think we’re out of gas.”
“I didn’t notice.”
Seeing him this unraveled reminded Jewel of the night Kross’s father summoned him.
Kross had been busy with her and two other girls when a bunch of men stormed in and dragged him away, unmindful of the naked women in the room. It was the only time she’d ever seen him lose his cool.
He was about to lose it again. She saw it in the snap of his eyes, the tremble in his fingers.
“We’re stuck here.” Kross slammed his hand against the horn and let loose a flurry of expletives. She winced, waiting for the noise to end.
Her head thudded.
Kross had punched her earlier and she could feel the skin swelling. She’d been determined to fight, but this night was going on forever. At this point, she was just ready for it to end.
“How did they find us?” Kross turned in his seat and glared at her.
�
�It wasn’t me,” Jewel said tiredly.
“Mr. Robinson is determined. I’ll give him that.”
Jewel stiffened at the mention of Finn’s name.
Kross took note of it and smiled darkly. “Did you find out about the real reason he approached me?”
“If I think about what you did to him, I can understand. You killed his sister.” She shook her head, a new wave of hatred and regret boiling in her chest. “Do you even remember her?”
“Why? Are you jealous?”
She gritted her teeth. “Don’t you feel sorry? You murdered all those women.”
“I don’t remember you being this chatty before.” Kross massaged his forehead. “Enough of this. Give me a minute so I can think.”
Jewel didn’t feel inclined to listen after he’d slammed her into the ground. In fact, now that she’d decided she had nothing to lose, she’d do whatever the heck she wanted.
“Even if you wanted to get your daddy’s attention, there were better ways to do that. Were you so insecure that you needed your own personal cheerleading section just to feel good about yourself?”
Quicker than a flash, Kross had her pinned against the headrest with his fingers around her throat. “It would be so easy to end you.”
“Then do it,” she croaked.
Kross tightened his hold.
She saw black spots dancing around her eyes.
Then he released her.
Jewel sucked in a deep dreg of air and coughed.
Kross cursed again. “Don’t test my patience or I’ll really call your bluff.” He started the car. It croaked and sputtered but sprang to life. Kross guided it back to the road and started driving.
She knew better than to say anything. His jaw was coiled tight and, from the way he’d choked her, she knew the next time he wouldn’t stop until she was dead. Jewel was prepared to die but now that she’d come seconds away from it, she didn’t really want to.
Especially if Kross was right and Finn was behind the sudden raid on the hideout.
Finn…
Jewel had mixed feelings about him. Compared to Kross, he was the lesser of two evils. To be fair, comparing anyone to Kross was not a great determinant of character.
