Lily: Captive to the Dark (34 page)

I answered back, speaking loud in case Slade was listening. “You hurt that baby and so help me, I won’t be the only one gutting you alive. You taking her might have been your biggest mistake. You won’t make it out of this room. You have to know that.”

“They killed Caleb,” Mary said, crying harder. “They—” Her voice diminished at my uncle angling the knife to where she had to lift her neck. More blood escaped, soaking down into the high collar of the dress. Saul spun them slightly, dropping the knife from her throat and pulling out a gun. I moved with their direction, keeping my aim and watching where he had his.

“You’re wrong. You’re the one who’s going to die. As for her,” his hand gripped into her stomach making her cry out, “she’s going to send a message to your new friend that you don’t mess with Saul Amari and get away with it.”

Chapter 45

Lily

“That’s all you saw?”

The detective’s deep voice was drowned out by my worry for my brother. He held his phone, pale, completely still. I nodded. “Yes. I know nothing. Please, excuse me.” I was already walking away as my words flowed from my mouth mindlessly. Slade’s arm shot out to Marcio, fisting his coat.

“Get Gaige on the phone now. I need to talk to him.” Panic laced his words and he broke from Marcio, rushing toward the exit of the Emergency Room. I followed behind, staying silent as Brace moved in close.

“Mr. Roberts, you need to stay here while I get the car. It’s safer that way.”

Slade’s gray eyes darkened as they snapped our way. “Safer? Fuck, safer. That son of a bitch has Mary and I’m going to kill him.”

I didn’t need to ask who. We all knew who was responsible for the events that had gone down. Air would barely come as I thought of Mary being in Saul’s clutches. I jogged behind Slade as he ran for the car. He seemed oblivious to everything but what he was hearing on the phone. The power locks clicked and I followed Slade as he climbed in the back.

“No, you stay.” His hand came out to stop me from getting in and I slapped it away.

“Don’t you tell me to stay. I know Zain is the one who called you and I’m going.”

“Boss.” Marcio got in the driver’s seat, reaching back to hand Slade his phone. I climbed in at the distraction and Slade gestured to Brace, who was already pulling out his laptop from the passenger seat.

“Hurry up with that fucking address.” My brother lifted the phone to his other ear and squinted before he began talking. “Gaige, I need you.”

There was a moment of silence and my brother lowered his head. His shoulders sagged and I froze as I prepared myself for him to break down completely. So many emotions filtered across his profile while he stared down at the floor. All I could think about was how I was invading what should have been a private moment between him and this agent.

“Saul Amari has my wife and Zain is the only one there to help her. I can hear what’s going on and…he’s threatening to kill Zain and my child to send a message.”

Bile burned my throat and I gripped the handle of the door with everything I had. Saul would do it. I knew he would. Something told me if Zain could have killed him, he would have already. There was something holding him back, but what?

Slade’s head flew up. “Address, now!”

“Working on it, boss.”

Deep breaths were coming from my brother and he shifted. “I think I just heard a shot. I’m not sure. There was something. Maybe a bang on the wall? Fuck, I don’t know! The connection keeps breaking up.” He went to say something but hesitated. “How long?”

Brace’s head turned in our direction. “They’re at Zain’s.”

“Address,” my brother bit out.

As Brace told him and my brother repeated it to Gaige, I went over the layout of Zain’s place. Were they downstairs? Upstairs? Were they going to see us pulling up? Had someone been shot or were they fighting? So many question spun wildly in my mind.

Tire’s squealed as Marcio left the parking lot and floored it in the direction of Zain’s. Like my brother, I couldn’t sit still. If something happened to Zain or Mary, neither of us would ever be the same.

“See you there.” Slade hung up and dropped Marcio’s phone at his feet. He pulled back the other, hitting the speakerphone button. Silence.

Seconds flew by and I glanced over at my brother nervously. The loud sound of a horn had me jumping. A traffic jam rested before us and my lips parted in panic. Slade’s head came up at us coming to a stop and he looked around, as if he were lost.

“Come on,” Marcio growled. We all seemed to scan the surroundings, but there were no other options. We were stuck unless we got out and walked the ten miles it would take to get us to Zain’s.

“I told you I wasn’t going to be the one dying.”

Time stopped at Saul’s voice. My nails subconsciously clawed into the seat. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.

“Fuck!” My brother’s hand reached for the door and he seemed to battle with the same thing I did. What was faster? He was in dress shoes, me in heels, and it was a good thirty degrees outside. Neither of us had our jackets and we were now on the freeway. Barriers from construction prevented us from driving into the grass to move around the cars. What did we do?

Static filled the interior and a light noise in the background grew into a loud scream.

“Mary!” Slade’s yell sent chills throughout my body. Loud sobbing and her calling out Zain’s name had the phone Slade held turning blurry as tears filled my eyes.

“Now…it’s your turn
.” Saul’s words were broken up and almost impossible to understand due to the heavy accent, but I knew what he said. Silence suddenly filled the car and Slade pushed the button on the phone, displaying the home screen. The call had dropped.

“No.” His head shook. “No!” The door on his side flew open and he jumped out, racing ahead, in between cars. I didn’t wait, couldn’t, knowing that Zain was supposedly dead and Mary could be next.

I kicked off my heels and pushed myself as hard as I could to try to keep up with Slade. Cold air filled my lungs and cut right through the blazer I wore, but I barely felt it as I focused on running as fast as I could. The further I went, the faster Slade seemed to run. He quickly became so far ahead of me that I knew I didn’t stand a chance in keeping up.

Cars moved at a slow creep along my side and cramping eventually took over my side, but still, I forged ahead. The exit that lay ahead was backed up as well. Slade took it, racing right for the light at the congested intersection.

I cut between two cars, merging to the far lane, following. My legs were growing heavy and my feet throbbed from the pounding against the road, but if I didn’t hurry, I was going to lose Slade completely. And I didn’t know this route to Zain’s. Or even this part of town. I may have grown up in the city, but there were still parts I wasn’t familiar with.

Horns blasted from all around and colors rippled before me. Fear took over, causing me to stumble. No, this couldn’t happen right now. I refused to let this happen! The noise grew louder as I grew closer to the intersection. Slade was already weaving through the cars and making it to the other side of the road. Someone yelling out their window to the people in front of me had my body shaking worse than it already was. Anger swelled and I let the facts cloud everything out. Zain and Mary needed help. Lord only knew what they were going through or what happened. Discomfort or subconsciously harbored fears were not going to stop me from getting there. I had the control. Me.

Brace made it to my side and a sense of calm took over. Traffic began to move at the change of the light and Brace suddenly had his gun withdrawn. His eyes scanned the cars as we stayed even with their flow. One minute, he was next to me, the next, he was throwing open the door of a sedan and was halfway inside. The car jerked to a stop and the man climbed out, running away.

“Get in,” he yelled. My legs were practically numb, but I rushed around and climbed in. My heavy breaths filled the interior and we shot forward. He got in the far lane and turned right at the light, immediately crossing through traffic to take a left at the first road. Slade was so far ahead that I couldn’t believe the progress he’d made.

“How much further away?” I looked at Brace who increased the speed toward the hill ahead.

“A ways. We’ll get your brother and make it there within a few minutes. It all depends on traffic. We’re going to have to go the long way now that we’re off the freeway.”

Slade was suddenly before us and Brace’s yell barely even broke through the zone he was in. A wild look was in his eyes as he turned, looking at us.

“Get in, Boss. Let’s go get Mary.”

The decision shouldn’t have been hard, but Slade was gone. He stared ahead, only to turn back to us.

“Get in,” I said, calmly. “Mary and Zain are waiting.”

He blinked and reached for the door with zombie like movements, climbing in the back. His phone was still clutched in his fist and his cheeks were red from the cold. Dark strands fell over his forehead and he breathed in deeply as he blinked a few times. With a slow look down, he brought the phone up, hitting one of the buttons. A few seconds went by and he brought it down. The car jumped at hitting a dip at the high speed, but neither Slade nor I seemed to really notice as we held each other’s stare.

“If Mary is…” he licked his lips. “I’ll make that motherfucker pay, Lily. I promise you with everything I have, he won’t live another day when I get my hands on him. He’s a dead man.”

“They’re going to be okay.” I forced the words out, regardless of whether I believed them or not. “But, if...” I didn’t break eye contract, “if Zain or Mary are hurt, I’m helping. They’re ours and no one messes with what belongs to us. That’s the way you raised me and that’s the way we finish it. Now promise me.”

A twitch pulled at my brother’s cheek, but he nodded. “You have my word. We won’t stop until this is done, once and for all.”

Chapter 46

Zain

My uncle had never been a good shot, but this time, he hadn’t missed. Fire engulfed the top of my shoulder and I stayed perfectly still as I listened for his footsteps on my wooden floor. My gun still rested in my hand and I was taking a chance by being a sitting duck, but if I wanted not to risk injury to Mary, I’d have to continue to play dead until he at least got far enough away from her for me to do anything.

His voice filled my ears and I tried making my breathing as light as possible.

“Your husband has been nothing but a nuisance since he came into our lives all those years ago. Things were never the same after he took Lily. Her actions when she returned ruined everything. You have no idea the pleasure I’m going to get out of this.”

Footsteps had one of my eyes opening the slightest amount. Saul was still behind Mary, even more out of my sight. He moved in on the side of her, his fingers gripping her hip from behind. “And we’ll get there very soon. But first…” He moved around, his face coming into view. My eye lowered, closing, and I knew he’d probably missed it. One footstep. Another. On the third, I opened my eye the smallest amount again and let them fly open as I caught his gun trained on me only a few feet away. I rolled more toward the wall closest to Mary and pointed away from her as my hand flew up and I pulled the trigger. Blood oozed from the wound in the front of his thigh and he buckled, falling to his knees. I shot at the gun, watching it fly from his hand and slide a few feet away on the floor.

“You were always pathetic when it came to anything but beating slaves. Now,
I’m
going to be the one to enjoy this.”

I stood, keeping my weapon aimed at him as I grabbed his gun and put it at the small of my back. I walked over, untying the rope that restrained Mary. Her arms dropped and I caught her as her legs gave out. Grunts of pain left my uncle, but I ignored them as I steadied Mary.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so,” she said, sniffling.

“Good. I need you to listen to me and follow my orders. Do you understand?”

Blonde hair swayed as she nodded and I untied her hands. She cried out as she tried to lift her hand to wipe away the tears.

“I need you to go sit down against the wall and not move until I come back out and get you. Do you think you can do that?”

Her eyes went to the back wall and then to my uncle. At her glare toward him, she nodded, confidently. “I’ll be waiting. Take your time.”

I almost smiled, but instead, I handed her the gun. “If anyone you don’t know comes up, feel free to shoot them.”

“Gladly.”

I left her side and grabbed the rope. At me stalking forward, removing my shirt, Saul tried to crawl away. I placed my gun in the lining of my pants and weaved my fingers through his hair, jerking him up.

“No, don’t do this. Zain, we’re family. Zain.”

I stuffed the bloody part of my shirt into his mouth, more punching my fingers into his mouth than anything. Saul gagged while I tied the cloth around his head.

“Yeah, we’re family. Can you taste it, Uncle? They say blood is thicker than water, but I’ll take water over bad blood any day.” My palm flattened on his back and I pushed him toward the restroom with everything I had. The door exploded open at his force and he fell to the ground, catching his head on the sink on the way down. I stormed forward, grabbing for his shirt as I tossed him in the bathtub.

“Speaking of blood, I do believe you owe me some. Did you really think you could take my child away from me and live? Did you think I wouldn’t find you and make you pay?”

I pulled out the knob, cranking the water to as hot as it would go. With his head toward the drain, I waited for the temperature to increase.

“The pain you’re about to experience is nothing compared to what you’ve done to me or Lily, but I’m sure as hell going to try to make it as even as possible.”

His shoulder-length hair floated in the pooling water, mixing with the blood that seeped from the deep laceration on the side of his head. I reached into my waistband and pulled out my knife, clicking it open. As I rose higher on my knees, my other hand grabbed at the shirt he was wearing. The blade slid easily through the material until his chest and stomach were exposed. His eyes went wide and I could tell he was still somewhat out of it from the fall. Muffled sounds filled the room and he began to thrash.

“Why don’t we start where you caused the most pain for my slave.” I slammed my hand over his mouth and plunged the tip of the blade into his lower stomach, slicing toward his navel. He screamed and I pushed harder on his mouth. “Do you think that’s the sensation she felt when you repeatedly kicked and punched your fist into her stomach?” I narrowed my eyes. “No? How about this?”

Before I had only used maybe a half inch of the blade, but this time, I pushed in deeper, dragging up the other side. Scorching water burned my fingertips and I lifted my lip in disgust as I stared down at his struggling body.

“Perhaps I’m getting a little closer. If I remember correctly, which, trust me, I haven’t forgotten a single bruise you placed on her body, I do believe you made sure to get her entire midsection. Let’s take care of that area, too.”

The constantly low-pitched screams surrounded me and I didn’t take my eyes off of his while I lightly cut my way higher up his stomach. The blood made my hands slippery and I gripped tighter, using his body as resistance to get better grip.

“Oh, yes. This is definitely making me feel better. How do you feel, Uncle? Are you beginning to regret hurting Lily and all those poor girls? I hope what I’m doing to you isn’t shit compared to what you’re going to experience in hell.”

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Hands were suddenly gripping my arms and pulling me to stand. I jerked against the restraint from behind, not ready to be finished. Gaige’s voice barely filtered through, but all I saw was my knife floating in the water. Slowly, I lifted my gaze and watched Saul’s eyes roll. He wasn’t fighting anymore. Crimson soaked his stomach and chest. Spray littered the side of the tub. He’d bled so much that the little amount of water surrounding him was a mixture of light and dark red.

“Fuck,” Gaige breathed out. “How the hell am I going to explain this?”

“You’re not going to have to.” Blake walked around the edge of the door, a smile pulling at the edge of his mouth as he stared down into the tub. “Nice work. I’m impressed. Although, I’d say you got a little carried away and made him bleed out a little too fast.” He tilted his head and followed the steam up to the ceiling. “But the hot water was a nice touch.”

Gaige let go, shaking his head. “Okay, we can compare later. Blake, call who you need to and…do your thing. Me, I’m getting Zain and Mary out of here.”

Pounding footsteps had all of us looking over. Slade broke up the stairs, barely looking at us as he turned and rushed deeper in the room. Crying told me he made it to Mary and I was about to turn away when I saw Lily rush through the opening. Dark hair hung loosely from the pins and she wasn’t wearing shoes. I could barely process what I was seeing before she was throwing herself into my arms.

“I thought you were hurt or…” She held me tighter and I wrapped my arms around her, wincing at the pain at the top of my shoulder and my side. Both were just nicks, but the stinging was hard to ignore.

“Wait.” She pulled back, looking at my body. “You are hurt. Jesus.”

“Shh.” I pulled her back to me, but she looked up and into the tub.

“Oh…my God.” A strangled sound left her and my stomach flipped. My hands spun her back to face me and I pulled her from the restroom as fast as I could.

“You don’t need to see that. Come here, let me hold you. I was so scared when I heard about the shootings.”

Lilian melted into my arms and I glanced up to see Slade holding Mary, but looking at me. I couldn’t read his face. Couldn’t even begin to decipher what he was thinking. In that moment, he could have hated me or been grateful and I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish the emotion he was so good at hiding.

“Let’s go home,” Mary said, pulling back to glance up. It was enough to break Slade’s stare.

“Of course. We’ll get you home and have the doctor come over to check you out. Are you sure you’re okay?” His finger traced her face and she nodded.

“I’m fine. I just want to go.”

“The moment Marcio arrives, we will. Brace had to ditch the car we came in.”

Gaige emerged from the restroom. “Come on, I’ll take you. Blake needs to take care of things here and we shouldn’t be in his way.”

“It’s okay. I’m responsible. I can stay.” I held Lily tighter, giving her a squeeze before I stepped back.

“No,” Slade ground out. “You’re going. The doctor needs to check you out, too. Apparently, someone doesn’t listen very well when they’re told to wear their damn vest.” At that moment, I knew. Slade didn’t hate me. His expression softened and he shook his head, breaking his gaze and wrapping his arms around Mary as he buried his face in her hair.

As I looked down, Lily’s eyebrows drew in and I could have cursed Slade for ratting me out. He’d probably done it on purpose.

“We’ll talk about that later. Let’s get you home.” I looked over, nodding to Blake, a silent
thank you
I knew he caught. He returned the gesture and I grabbed a shirt, sliding it on. Gaige led the way down the stairs and I knew it was probably the last time I’d ever go down them. Lily wouldn’t want to live here. She wouldn’t want to take a shower in the only tub I had, where my uncle had been killed. I was going to have to start over again, but this time would be the last. No more rentals. No more prolonging what I knew I wanted. The next house would be purchased and it would be the one Lilian and I would come home to after our marriage. It would be the one we raised our children in. It would be the one we’d build the foundation of our new relationship on. My past was history now. It was time to start a new beginning. One with the woman I loved.