“This is good information. Definitely something I can work with. Many thanks, Mrs. Breckenridge.”
Torrence and his men are barely out the door when Lainie releases a heavy sigh. “Quite the tangled web you’ve spun. But I think he walked face first into it.”
“It sounded good?”
“Hell yes. I know the truth and I almost fell for it. You’re very convincing.”
“Good.” I have to be. I have a lot to lose.
* * *
Two days have passed and nothing. No Torrence. No men from The Order checking in. Most importantly, no Sin. What is happening with my husband? He hasn't come for me yet. Something is wrong.
I’ve tried everything I know to find a way out of this place but Lainie is right. It’s locked down. There’s no way out until someone opens that door from the outside.
So I wait. I have no other choice. But sitting on my hands is killing me. I’m accustomed to a proactive course. This pussyfooting around doesn’t cut it.
“We’re running out of food. Do you expect your brother’s friend to come today?”
“Aye.”
I’ve been thinking about this. I believe it’s time to make a move. “We should make a break for it when he comes.”
“No. Torrence will kill Deacon if he allows us to escape.”
Does she forget that the alternative is killing us? “Your brother’s friend won’t be allowing anything. We’ll take him by force. Torrence won’t kill him if he’s overpowered.”
“You’re wrong. It isn’t possible for Torrence to be rational about anything.”
“That’s exactly right. He is irrational. He killed his other wife because she couldn’t give him an heir. If you don’t become pregnant soon, he will do the same to you. You’d better wise up and think about that.”
She says nothing.
“That monster will come for you tomorrow night. Would you prefer to be raped again or be gone when he arrives? Your choice.”
She still doesn’t answer. Maybe her priorities aren’t in order but mine are. “I don’t plan on being here tomorrow night.”
“I can’t put Deacon in that kind of danger. I love him.”
“You love Deacon because he’s your brother’s friend, or you love love him?”
“I love love him.”
Things are beginning to make a little more sense. “Is he in love with you?”
“I think he was before my parents traded me to Torrence.” She covers her face with her hands and her voice cracks when she continues. “It’s like he looks right through me when he comes.”
I’d bet money Torrence knows Lainie loves Deacon. It’s another cruel way to torture his wife for trying to run away. And the bonus is tempting poor Deacon with the accessibility of helping her escape. But every time he doesn’t, he proves to Lainie how little he feels for her.
I need to be brutally honest with Lainie so there’s no mistake. “It boils down to two options: stay to protect Deacon, or make a move to get out of here. Regardless of what you choose for yourself, this is happening when he comes.”
“How do I condemn the man I love to death so I can go free?”
“You do it because staying could leave you with one choice. Death. He has the option to make a run with us if he’s so inclined.”
“But he won’t.”
“If he doesn’t, that’s his choice.”
There’s a sound at the door. Someone’s coming in. “Stay out of the way if you aren’t going to help.”
Torrence and two of his men enter. Shit. He’s either come early for Lainie or something has happened with Sin.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Breckenridge.”
He ignores Lainie sitting next to me. “Evening, Mr. Grieve. To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“I’m guessing you’re hoping I’m here to say your husband has been released from jail and has come forward to trade for you. But that isn’t the case.”
“I thought I was clear about my feelings regarding Sinclair Breckenridge.”
“You were. Except everything you told me was a lie.”
I have fucked up.
I knew Torrence would eventually disprove my story but I thought I’d be out of here before that happened. Now it’s come back to bite me in the ass.
I must remain convincing. “I don’t know why you’d think that.”
“It began when I learned Carrick Abban doesn’t have a daughter. At least not one who still lives and breathes.”
Cassidy is dead? That must have happened recently.
“I don’t know who told you that but they’re lying.”
“I think we know who the liar is.”
“I may have glossed over the truth a little. I’m his other daughter. The illegitimate one by his mistress. I’m sorry I lied but he’s still very much my father and will be upset should anything happen to me.”
“Lies. All of it. There’s no chance of a falling out with Little Abbot. I can do whatever I like with you.”
“That would be a huge mistake.”
“I think not.”
Torrence slithers to stand behind me where I sit at the kitchen table. He fists my hair and pulls me back so hard, I’m balancing on the two back legs of the chair. “You’ll pay for the lies you fed me.”
He drags me from my seat and down the hallway toward the bedroom. “Since she can’t seem to give me an heir, maybe you can.”
Broden and Reuben don’t follow. He has done this to Lainie enough, they’re probably confident he doesn’t require their assistance. Wrong.
I wait until we’re inside the bedroom to escape his grasp since I don’t want to alert Broden or Reuben. I surprise Torrence with a punch to his throat—always unexpected, and temporarily debilitating.
He grabs for his throat because my assault causes him to feel like he can’t breathe. It’s the perfect time to strike a second time so I can wrestle him to the ground and put him in a chokehold, the same one I used on Malcolm when I killed him.
I loop my arms around Torrence’s neck and lock them into a death grip. This is kill or be killed, and I have no intention of being the one to go down.
We scuffle for a moment before landing on the floor. We’re a tangled mess when we crash into the rails of the bed, shoving it across the rotted wood planks beneath it. He struggles against me but his upper body strength is weak.
I count so I’ll know how long he’s been without oxygen. Sixty seconds. One hundred and twenty. I need a full three minutes to accomplish my goal.
This needs to sound like he’s the one winning.
“No!” I yell at the top of my lungs. “Stop. Don’t. Please don’t!”
I’m at two and a half minutes when Broden taps on the door. “Everything all right in there?”
I scream at the top of my lungs to discourage him from investigating further. But the bastard opens the door. Dammit.
He rushes me, gun pulled and aimed at my forehead. “Release him or the wall will be newly decorated.”
Thirty seconds more. That’s all I need and Torrence Grieve will be no one’s problem ever again. But my time is up.
I release his throat and show my hands. He sputters, gasping for air as Reuben grabs him beneath his arms and drags him away.
“Who are you?” Broden asks.
I shrug while continuing to hold my hands out.
Torrence lies on his side catching his breath. His cold eyes stare at me. He grabs Reuben by the shirt and pulls him down so they’re face to face. His voice is scratchy and hoarse. “Beat her until she can no longer move.”
Broden grins. “Gladly.”
“Shoot her if she resists,” Torrence adds.
My children and I are dead if I fight. No question about it. I have the responsibility of protecting the two tiny lives growing inside me so I do the only thing I can. I curl into a tight ball around my precious babies to protect them the only way I know how.
Chapter Four
Sinclair Breckenridge
My father offered The Order everything they could possibly want, plus some. Still, they refuse to return Bleu. That sends my red flag to high alert.
She’s been in the hands of my enemy for three days. I have no idea if she and our little ones are safe. That’s the sum total of what I know about my wife and children.
And I’m about to lose my fucking mind.
I’m finally freed, all charges dropped associated with Malcolm’s death. The whole thing was a conspiracy and I’ve no clue about the instigator. But I will find out. And when I do, he’ll be sorry.
I leave the jail and dash toward the dark sedan waiting curbside. I’m pleased to find Dad in the back seat. I’ve barely shut the car door when Sterling pulls on to the street.
We skip discussions concerning my legal battle and dive straight into planning my wife’s rescue. “Everyone’s at Duncan’s awaiting instructions. We need to come to a decision before arriving so this can proceed as quickly as possible.”
The pub is a ten-minute drive. That doesn’t give us much time to discuss options.
“The Order doesn’t know you’ve been released. That’s an enormous advantage to have over them but it won’t take long for word to spread. You must decide how to proceed.”
If this were about property or possessions, Grieve would’ve gladly taken Dad’s offer. “He’s demanding I come make the trade for Bleu, even willing to wait until I’m freed from jail. I’m predicting he’s planning to kill her in front of me.”
“I agree. This has everything to do with avenging his son’s death.”
“Tell me you know where Bleu is.”
“Debra has been tailing Grieve since Bleu’s kidnapping. He and his men recently made a visit to an isolated cottage not far from here. It’s boarded up. By all appearances, it looks abandoned. We believe it’s very likely Bleu is there.”
But no one knows for sure and maybe doesn’t cut it in this situation. “I need my wife’s location confirmed if I’m to make the best decision concerning her safety.”
“I wasn’t willing to send men into that cottage without your approval. If Bleu wasn’t there and The Order discovered our rescue attempt, they might have killed her without a negotiation. I couldn’t give that order because she isn’t my wife. She’s yours to protect so it must be your decision.”
“My gut says Grieve isn’t visiting a boarded-up cottage for no reason. He’s holding her there. We’ll gather our best men and storm the location.”
Our meeting at Duncan’s is brief. It only lasts long enough for me to choose ten of my most trusted and combat-experienced brothers along with two men to act as drivers. We load into the back of a transport truck. I don’t waste time talking at the pub. We can use the drive to the cottage to nail down our final battle plan. “This is going to be a snatch and grab. The goal isn’t to kill Order members. We’re storming in without warning, taking my wife, and getting the fuck out of there. The battle will come later when they realize she’s gone. The only goal now is to get her out safely.”
“Four of us will go in through the front door. Dad, Alan, Derek, and myself.” I give orders to the remaining eight to surround the cottage and cover from all sides. “Any questions?”
I’ve fought beside these men for years. I trust them with my life. And my wife’s.
We’re approaching the cottage when my father’s phone vibrates in his pocket. “It’s Debra.”
“We’re almost there,” he tells her. “Thank you for calling.”
He ends his call. “Torrence and two of his men just arrived at the cottage.”
“Dammit.” I was hoping we would find Bleu alone so she wouldn’t be placed in danger during an extraction.
“Grieve doesn’t know you’ve been released. He’d have more men guarding her, and protecting him, if that was the case.”
Dad’s right. Torrence would be nowhere near Bleu if he knew there was a chance I was on my way. He’s a coward. He never joins his men in a fight. He sits behind the line of safety and watches.
“You want to stick to the same plan?”
My father is letting me make all the calls. First, Bleu is my wife so she’s mine to protect. But two, this is his way of letting me gain decision-making experience. I’m certain he wouldn’t hesitate to override my plan if he felt I was making the wrong moves.
“We should adjust the numbers since we know we’ll have three Order members on the inside. Six will go in so we have twice their number. Neil and Ross. You’ll join us.”
“I agree. Six men are sufficient.”
“Everyone needs to understand something. I’m out of that cottage with Bleu as soon as I find her. Sterling and Jamie will be waiting for us in the car. You’ll have two getaway vehicles. If you’re detained from returning to this one, I have a second in place. It will be waiting on the south side of the property.”
“Protect the brother next to you so you’ll have someone to cover for you,” my father adds.
The truck stops. My chosen men and I file out through the back. We creep toward the cottage and find the door is unlocked. Perfect. That eliminates the need for a noisy break-in and betters our chances of being undetected while gaining access.
I listen a moment before entering. Nothing. It’s the eerie kind of quiet before the storm. It makes me terrified of what I’m going to find. “Let’s move.”
I open the door. The six of us storm inside but find no one in the first room we enter.
This is all wrong.
Guns drawn, I lead my men through the cottage. I stop dead in my tracks when I see a young blond woman huddled in the corner of the next room. She’s curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her head as to deflect an assault. “Where is Bleu?” I whisper.
The woman lifts her tear-streaked face from her knees. She’s been beaten to a bloody pulp.
She points to the hallway. “I tried to stop them from hurting her.”
I’m too afraid to ask what she’s referring to. My mind imagines the worst. “Someone get this girl out of here. Put her in the car with Sterling and Jamie.”
Without thought for a quiet attack, I stalk down the hallway toward Bleu.
Torrence and two of his men are standing over my Bonny Bleu, looking at her battered body. One of the men uses his foot to nudge her shoulder but she doesn’t respond. She appears completely lifeless.
They’ve broken my china doll. And now they stand over her laughing at what they’ve done.
I see red. My first instinct is to choke the life out of them. But that doesn’t help Bonny.
My men enter the room, guns drawn. The surprise on Torrence’s face when he sees me is perfection. But I can’t enjoy it, not when my Bonny Bleu is lying in a puddle on the floor.
I rush to her. She has a pulse; I listen for breathing.
“Don’t worry. The bitch is still alive,” Torrence says.
She’s so badly beaten I’m afraid to move her. She’s almost indistinguishable, her face a mask of fresh blood. “Someone fetch Jamie. Quickly.”
“Your timing was really unfortunate. Had you given us another five minutes, we could have ridded you of her altogether.” Torrence’s voice is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.
I had so many plans for how I would make my nemesis suffer. Take him to the black site. Torture him. Drag his death out for days. But none of that matters now—only Bleu and our babies matter.
I stroke the top of her hair. “I’m going to take you away from this place. Everything is going to be fine and I’m never going to allow anyone else the opportunity to steal you from me again.”
I hold her hand and kiss her forehead. “I love you, Bonny Bleu,” I whisper.
Torrence laughs. “This is the reason you never love a woman. It weakens you.”
Jamie rushes in and kneels next to Bleu. “She’ll need X-rays to confirm she has no fractures to her neck or spine. The safest thing to do is put her in a C-collar so we can get moving before other Order members arrive.”
/>
“Hold her neck like this.” He places my hands in the correct position. “We’re going to log roll her. I’ll slip the collar on from behind.”
We roll Bleu on to her side and I do as he instructs.
“Where is all that blood coming from?” my father asks.
I glance downward to see what he’s talking about. My heart stutters when I see the dark pool collecting beneath Bonny. “Jamie. Why is she bleeding like that? Where is it coming from?”
He fastens the collar. “We need to get her to the hospital immediately.”
“Sterling has the car at the front,” my father says.
My men lift Bleu and carefully transport her down the hallway to the front door where the car awaits.
I stand and face Torrence and his men. I don’t have time to say or do any of the things I’d like. “You’ll never hurt my family again.”
I shoot them one by one, leaving Torrence for last so he can see what’s coming for him. A single shot between the eyes.
Blood and brains spatter the wall but it gives me no satisfaction. A bullet to the head is too merciful for Torrence and the men who beat my Bonny Bleu.
“Leave their bodies for The Order to find. Their property. Their problem.”
Jamie says Bleu’s neck and spine should remain straight so I crouch on the floor of the back seat so I’m sitting next to her head. He sits with her feet in his lap.
I grasp her hand, kissing it often. I can’t stop touching her. These past three days have been brutal.
“I love you and our babies so much,” I whisper in her ear, remembering how her voice seeped through the dark walls of consciousness while I was sick.
There was so much blood pooled beneath her. My mind knows it’s evidence of a miscarriage but my heart holds out hope. “Do you think she’s losing the babies?”
“Babies?”
“Aye. Twins. We found out the day she was taken.”
“Obstetrics aren’t my specialty, Sin,” he says quietly. That’s all he says but I can guess what he’s thinking. No woman can bleed like that and not lose her pregnancy.