Revenge (Phoenix Undercover Book 3) (13 page)

Chapter 35

Josh

“Why?” I asked as I sat down in the metal chair. “What possessed you to help him?”

I had gone back to the hospital every day since Marshall showed up at my father’s.

Four days in a row now, practically begging Margo to help me find Gabby.

She too was a shell of her former self. She was like a drugged-out junkie, staring off into empty space. I wasn’t even sure anything I said to her actually penetrated that dark gloom she was living in, but I had to hope.

“He took her, Margo. He took her away from a son who needs her.” I paused so that I could attempt to control my emotions. Every single time I mentioned Asher I felt like I swallowed acid, the burn was so fucking intense. “I need her.”

I saw her hand squeeze the sheets at her side, yet she never spoke.

“Please. If you know where he took her, even an idea, please help us.” I practically begged her to give me something, even a small ray of hope.

I sat in the chair at her side, that familiar feeling of guilt washing over me, but I fought against the power of it. Every time I felt like crawling back into that hole, I remembered Marshall’s words.

“Hey.” I looked up as Grayson entered the room, followed by a slow-moving Mike.

“What are you doing, man? You should be in bed,” I said as I moved over to open up the chair closest to the door.

Mike took a seat and leaned back, stretching out his legs. “I’m good,” he said. “I wanna help.”

That look of determination I recognized well covered his features. Mike was a great guy, and an even greater agent. He was an asset, and I appreciated anything he was willing to offer, even if it was long before he should’ve been returning back from his injuries.

“Thank you,” I said. I didn’t want to chance saying anything more. I could already feel the emotions taking over, and I needed to get a hold on them.

It was time for us to push hard. It was time to create that fucking wall that kept me grounded. It was time to fight for Gabby.

“Let’s find my girl.” I stood up, and as I was stepping out of the room, I looked over my shoulder to find Margo watching us leave.

“I hope keeping Leo’s secrets is worth your life,” I stated. “Because once you’re well enough to be moved, it will be a long fucking time before you ever see daylight again. I plan on making sure you’re locked away forever. You may want to think things through a little more than you have. He left you for dead. You owe him nothing but to make sure he rots in hell.”

I left the room hoping that somewhere inside she could begin to register what that meant for her. And maybe, just maybe, she could find it in her heart to do one good thing that may save her from all the wrongs she had done.

***

“I want everyone called in,” I said as I walked past the front desk. Katie looked up at me in alarm. Yeah, I know, I hadn’t been in much lately. As far as everyone knew, I had lost it.

But I was here now.

“I need all agents here by two o’clock. We have a lot of shit to go over. Make it mandatory.” I left her staring after me in state of shock.

Grayson had been acting in command since the day Gabby was taken, because fuck, on most days I felt like I needed assistance to breathe. But I was back. I may still need a push to keep focused, as my mind tended to wander and the darkness pulled at me constantly, but I had to get my head in the game. I had to find Gabby, because I owed it to her and to Asher.

“So what’s the game plan, boss?” Trevor asked as he entered the room, taking a seat at the conference table.

“We start back from the beginning, we check all locations, look for any clues,” I began as I laid the files and photos out along the tabletop. “And we push Margo hard.”

I looked up to see Trevor staring at me. He nodded his head without arguing, because he was with me on that. He had felt from the beginning, as well as I had, that she was the key. And I fully intended on pushing her to the point where she broke.

Because she would break, I would make sure of that.

Over the next thirty minutes, agents began to file in and fill the empty seats around the conference room. Each one looked focused and determined as they waited for my direction.

“I have assigned four different teams,” I began as I flipped on the smartboard. I projected the four different lists of agents and their tasks. “Each team will go back to designated areas and begin from the bottom. I want every angle dissected. All clues to Leo’s whereabouts or past locations I want analyzed, and then analyzed again. Every single possibility I want followed once again.” I turned back to face the room full of agents. “I want reports kept and sent back to me daily.”

Murmurs of “Yes, sir” and “You got it” filled the room as they began to shuffle out of the room, leaving behind only Grayson and me.

“We’re going to the hospital, aren’t we?” Gray asked.

“Yeah we are,” I replied, picking up my badge and keys from the table. “And I’m going to warn you, I don’t plan on sugar coating shit. I don’t give a fuck if Margo likes me or not. I’m gonna be an asshole, regardless of what you or any other person there has to say.”

I didn’t wait to listen to any words from Gray, because when I said I didn’t care, I truly meant it. Margo’s stability meant nothing to me. After all, she was part of the reason why Gabby was not at home with me and our son like she should have been.

As far as I was concerned, she was the enemy, just as Leo was.

Chapter 36

Gabby

I hated the way he looked at me. Each day he grew more restless with my recovery.

He began touching me more, gentle touches that made my entire body tense and my stomach twist in such a violent manner it took all I had not to throw up.

I woke on two different occasions to find him standing over me in the darkness of the room, stroking himself as he muttered my name over and over. Both times I closed my eyes tightly and prayed over and over that somehow someone would find me and take me away from my impending doom.

I knew it was coming, that time when I wouldn’t be able to fight him off. To say I was terrified would not even begin to describe the fear I felt inside.

I knew that would be something I would never be able to come back from, and the idea of myself changing, becoming a person no one would recognize, was my biggest fear of all.

My body froze when I heard Leo raise his voice from the next room. “What do you mean she’s alive?”

Another pause before a loud crash made me jump in surprise. “She should be dead, I made sure of it.” Another pause. “I want her found, and I want her dead. She could be the one to bring this entire fucking thing down.”

Leo’s anger was out of control. He was breaking things from the sound of it, and I grew terrified his anger would eventually reach the room I was in.

My body began to tremble, and my heart ached and raced so fast it felt as if it would actually beat out of my chest.

Then the cabin went silent, and that only terrified me more.

I had no idea what was going on.

I’m not sure how much time passed before I heard movement again. I remained tense the entire time and I could feel the ache in my body.

Footsteps echoed along the hall and they only grew louder. It was as if I was in a tunnel, my eyes focused on the door handle, waiting for any sign of movement. And when it began to twist, I scooted back on the bed and braced myself for whatever was about to happen.

The door swung open and smacked the wall hard as Leo’s body filled the doorway. He remained still, staring at me with an unreadable expression, one that petrified me to the point of feeling dizzy.

“It would seem your fiancé enjoys making my life hell,” he said as he stepped into the room. “I planned to just take you away from here when you were healed. I would just disappear and leave him with the unknown. Never knowing exactly what happened to you, only that you would never return, but I think he needs a reminder of who he is dealing with.”

When he uncrossed his arms and pulled a camera from his back pocket, that fear in me only grew further.

He placed it on the bed at my feet then moved in closer.

With my arms still bound and anchored by rope to the bedpost, I couldn’t move to shield myself.

It came out of nowhere as the back of Leo’s hand connected with my face and I instantly felt the burning of my lip.

I barely had time to register what occurred before it happened again and again. I cried out with each connection of his hand.

When the blows stopped, I sagged back against the pillow in defeat as tears leaked from my eyes. I had never before been hit, and the inability to open my right eye told me the damage was heavy.

When the flash of the camera began flickering, I jumped with each click.

“I’ll show that bastard what his actions inflict. He did this to you. Now he can live with that.”
Click.
“And the next time he pisses me off, I’ll send him a video of me fucking you until you scream for me to stop.”

Bile rose in my throat.

“Because nothing would make me happier than to see that bastard suffer. He is the man responsible for where you are now. The man that vowed to protect you only led you into the arms of the man who will destroy you.” Leo gripped my chin tightly in his hand, and I cringed from the pain. “Because, Gabriella, when I am done with you, no one will be able to find the woman you once were. You will be mine to have and do with as I please. You’ll be begging me to feed your addiction. You’ll be willing to fuck or blow anyone for your next hit, and I will make millions off you and your pussy.”

He released his hold on me as he shoved my face to the side.

“Thank Joshua Phoenix for that, because he led me to you.”

With his final statement he left the room with his camera in hand, and I turned to the side and began sobbing heavily into the pillow that now bore my blood.

I cried to the point of exhaustion, slowly fading into a restless sleep.

Chapter 37

Leo

He’ll think twice before making his next move.

I plugged the memory card into the side of my laptop and began unloading the photos I had just taken of Gabby.

Marking her face had not been my original plan, but Josh needed to understand that I held the power, and each action he performed would only lead to Gabriella’s pain.

I wanted him to hurt, I wanted him to suffer, and to do so, Gabby would need to suffer as well.

The images began to fill my screen, and I marveled over their beauty. A feeling of pride washed over me as I observed my handiwork.

Once they were completely unloaded, I picked out the best three and attached them to an email to Nic.

After hitting send I grabbed my phone and dialed his number.

“Hey, boss,” he said in greeting.

My reach amazed me. I had FBI agents, CIA, politicians, you name it, and they were all under my command. I was a fucking god.

“I sent you an email,” I said in response. “Get them printed and delivered to Mr. Phoenix. Now.”

“You got it,” he replied.

I could hear him tapping away on a keyboard before he chuckled. “Damn, this is going to drive that guy insane.”

There was a pause.

“Printing them now, and I’ll have them dropped off at the building within twenty minutes,” Nic assured me, and without speaking a word, I hung up the phone.

I made my way back to the bedroom where Gabriella was asleep and opened the door just enough to peek inside.

She was on her side with her arms stretched out above her head. Curled in the fetal position, her body jerked and twitched, indicating the state she was in was anything but peaceful.

Something about it was satisfying.

Knowing she was most likely dreaming about her fear of me was gratifying.

Soon that fire inside her would fade and she would no longer feel the urge to resist my advances.

I grew hard just thinking of her on her knees before me as I slid my cock between her plush pink lips, her sweet tongue licking along my shaft as I exploded in her mouth.

That day would come.

I would break her.