by René, Dani
“Please don’t hurt me,” I plead helplessly, but he only smiles when he nears me. The looming figure taking up all the light in the room, filling it in darkness. I scurry back on my hands, trying to get away from him.
The look in his eyes is filled with desire. Hunger that he shouldn’t be showing me shimmers when he takes in my thighs that are exposed because my dress has ridden up.
My stomach tightens with so much fear I can’t swallow, I can’t breathe. He doesn’t race after me. Like a predator, he merely saunters toward me. I’m on my feet, taking steps back to ensure the space between us is large enough that he can’t grab me. But I know I’m going to lose this fight.
Even if I raced toward the exit, he’s blocking it, and he could so easily catch me before I even managed to get a grasp on the handle.
“I thought you were a good girl, Autumn,” he tells me, and the sneer on his face turns angry. I haven’t done anything to disobey him, but I have a feeling he’s going to tell me why I’ve disappointed him. “I want you to obey me. This place you’re living in is mine, and everything that goes on in here I see.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I haven’t done—”
“Shut up!” His booming voice sends cold dread through my veins. I’m frozen to the spot, and if he walked toward me now, I’d be captured like a butterfly in a net. The dark gaze that locks on me stops me from trying to speak. “I think you need to learn a lesson tonight.”
Once again, my mouth opens, but nothing comes out. I’m too scared. I’m shaking. His gaze drinks in the fear, and he smiles. It’s genuine happiness that appears on his face.
“Take off your dress.” The order comes out harshly. My trembling fingers don’t want to disobey, so I tug at the hem, pulling the material over my head. The door behind him opens, and I almost faint when I see three men enter the room.
I didn’t even look around and notice the opulent furnishings in dark wood. I never noticed the crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling. And I certainly didn’t realize how the windows are all blacked out.
“Gentlemen,” the deep voice sounds from my captor. The three men make their way up to us, and I take in their suits, which look tailored to each of them.
Wealth drips with poison, and seduction emanates like cologne. These are men who get anything they want, and at this moment, they want me. Each set of eyes linger on me for too long. I’m only wearing a pair of white cotton panties. My body is exposed, and my eyes prick with tears I don’t allow to fall. I want so badly to fight and scream, to tell them they’re monsters, but I believe they know that already. And I know they enjoy it.
“She’s far more pristine than you mentioned,” one of the strangers says. He’s easily over six feet, but he’s not as broad and imposing. I would describe him as lanky, with messy, dark-blond hair, which reminds me of straw. His eyes are a bright blue, and they seem almost endless when he pins his stare on me.
Suddenly, I’m forced to my knees by one man. Fear catapults my heart into my throat as two others hold my arms. I close my eyes as the tears trickle down my cheeks, and my mouth is forced open.
Even though we had the guards who would never offer us any privacy, it was nothing like this. They only stood at the door, violating us with their leering gazes. But thankfully, none of them touched us.
But now, as one man finishes and another takes his place, all I can do is cry. My mind is gone. It’s in a place so far from where I am, at least, I think I am, that I go there and stay there as they enjoy their time.
Three more take me. But they don’t do anything more than what the first man did. I never learn their names, just how their flavor makes the bile in my stomach rise to my throat, and once I’m thrown to the ground, I puke.
“I think she’s worth more than the five mill you asked for,” one of them says. This one is short, about a head taller than me, which would make him about five-six, or five-seven. He’s dark-haired with olive skin and almost-black eyes.
“That was the asking price,” Christopher tells them, “but I’m open to more offers.” The smirk that graces his expression has my stomach plummeting to my feet.
“I’ll put down an easy ten.” A man—who looks nothing like I pictured a monster to look like—steps forward. He shrugs off his jacket and hands it to me. I can’t tell why he’s being kind, but I glance at Christopher before he offers a nod for me to take the offered item.
Tentatively, I take it and slowly slide my arms into the large jacket, which threatens to drown me. His appraisal doesn’t last long, not like the others, which confuses me. Most of the men in here are leering, whereas he’s given me something to cover up. Suddenly, Christopher’s hand grabs my neck, pulling the hair at my nape and dragging me against him, until I’m shielding him from the gun that appears out of the kind man’s waistband.
My heart attacks my ribs, and I let out a scream that bounces off the walls. The man holding the gun doesn’t seem at all perturbed that I’m in front of his mark. Instead, he grins.
“Do you think I’m scared of filth like you?” he sneers at Christopher who tightens his hold on me. Christopher's fingers dig into the flesh of my hip, and the other feels like it’s tearing hair from my scalp.
“You going to kill the girl?” my captor challenges with a haughty chuckle. “Because if I do this,” he speaks, then suddenly shoves two fingers into my butt, where the man holding the gun can’t see, and I cry out.
A shot rings out, deafening me, and the man holding me goes down as a scream peals from my lips. I’m shaking, shivering as I look down at the body that’s shaking on the expensive carpet.
My captor’s body is on the ground, the blood oozing from his shoulder, and I realize the bullet wasn’t fatal. Unfortunately. Fear grazes over my skin, knowing he’s not dead, only wounded.
Seconds later, I’m being dragged away from the scene before me and shoved into a small room where I’m blinded by the darkness until light springs from the lightbulb overhead, and I’m met with familiar brown eyes.
Chapter Nineteen
JD
Her shock is clear.
She doesn’t move for so long, and neither do I because I don’t want to scare her. The eyes that have haunted me for months are right before me, staring a hole through me. She’s so beautifully perfect.
“Songbird?” The moment I whisper her nickname, she falls to her knees, and I’m right there, wrapping my arms around her. I’ve prayed for this day since the day I left, and now that she’s in my arms, I don’t know what to do with myself. And I don’t know how to make her stop shaking.
Fear has clearly rattled her, but her sobbing, shaking frame has me holding onto her as if she might disappear if I move. I stay still, holding Autumn like a lifeline, but I have a feeling I’m the lifeline in this situation.
“JD?” Her voice is croaky, the agony of what she’s been through dripping from my name like a plea. Her watery eyes gaze up at me, and I can see the happiness mingled with sadness as she watches me. I love this girl, she’s everything to me, and I don’t know how I would’ve ever lived without her.
“I love you,” I tell her, my voice breaking on the words because I can’t focus on anything but her. I know we need to get a move on, get out of this fucking place, but for now, all I can see is her. “We need to go.”
I pull her to her feet. Her body is nothing more than a puppet for me to control, but all I want is for her to be safe. The door flies open, and Jackson pins me with a glare that tells me we need to move. And I do, I pick Autumn up into my arms and walk through the rooms until we’re near the hidden back exit where all the other girls are.
“Stay here,” I tell her. “They’ll keep you safe. There’s something I need to do.” Her wide eyes find mine, and I know she’s scared. It’s written all over her face, but I reach for her cheek and gently graze my thumb along the smooth skin.
I can hear the gunshots ringing out as Marlin’s men enter the main club area, and I know I need
to get in there. The screaming, the shouting echoes around us, and I have a feeling it’s not going to end any time soon.
I move through the house with men shouting and women screaming, but nothing can compare to having just had the woman I love being in my arms again.
When I reach the doors, I pull out my Glock, making sure the safety is off. Moving stealthily toward the room they had Autumn in, I duck for cover as I pull the trigger, hitting two men as I crouch down. Thankfully, we got most of the girls out. There are a few more being held by the goons who work for Marlin, but I know the team will get them out safely.
By the time I reach the doors of the dining room, I’m crawling, shooting any asshole who tries to stop me. I look around, finding Jackson and Mark, both covering me, and I get a nod from Jackson who’s hidden behind a pillar as bullets fly around us.
Inside the dining room, I shut the door with a resounding thud. I find my target, the man who stole Autumn, bound to a chair waiting for his judgment, but I lose all my fucking cool the moment he looks at me with satisfaction in his expression.
The wound in his shoulder is still seeping blood, and I realize it won’t be long before he bleeds out. But that’s not good enough because I want to see him suffer. I want to see the pain in his eyes when he’s taken to jail, spending his life being tormented by assholes on the inside.
“If I didn’t want to see you suffer with a lifetime in prison, I would kill you right now.” I make my way closer, keeping my ears pricked for any more goons attempting to enter the dining room, but my focus is on Christopher.
“I waited for you, and I knew taking her would bring you right to me.”
“Here I am,” I tell him, chuckling as I stop inches from his face. “But there’s nothing you can do to me now because I have my girl, and you’re going to rot.” Placing my hands on the arms of the chair, I lean in, my sneer inches from his. “And I’ll be the one to put you away. My father got you, and you couldn’t handle it.”
“Your father was nothing more than a pawn. But your mother was the star. Did she tell you how much she loved me?” His words slam right into the middle of my chest, and the shock of his admission must be written all over my face because he grins. “Oh yeah, your mother was in my bed every fucking night while your daddy played the good guy. You can try to break me, but you never will.”
The door slides open behind me, and it’s only then I realize the noise from outside, the violence that echoed around me has stopped. I turn to find Jackson.
“Ready?”
“Your mother was my whore.” The words from Marlin send me over the edge, and I quickly lift a heavy glass jug as I bring it down on his face with a loud crash of bone and glass. I revel in the blood that spurts from his face, and even as he grins, I know I’ve got my penance. It will never be enough for what he put my girl through, but for now, it will suffice.
“Fuck you.” I turn and walk out, making my way through the house to where I know Autumn is.
Christopher Marlin will get what’s coming to him when he’s put away for life, for multiple life sentences where he’ll be answering to men three times the size of me, and he’ll no longer be the one in charge. And that’s what makes me grin.
As I reach my girl, I offer her a small smile before lifting her into my arms once more and walking through the exit, feeling her gaze on me. I look down at her, and the soft yellow glow from the house illuminates her pretty face. Her eyes blink in the muted lights of the evening sky, along with the harsh spotlights of the house we found on the lower end of Long Island that held more than fifteen young women.
After all this time and all the pain we’ve been through, she’s mine. When we reach the car, we find a couple of the team standing by. They allow Autumn into the backseat where I settle beside her. Hastily, she nestles in my arms, and as much as I wish this were real, I know she’s only fighting the fear that’s taken hold of her. When she realizes what’s happened, I have a feeling my girl is going to pull away from me. Jackson warned me that he’s seen this before.
My world falls apart the moment the SUVs pull away from the building. She scoots into the corner, and I’m left alone, trying to figure out just what’s happened. I don’t blame her, and I’m not angry, but the hurt that stings my eyes makes me realize she’s been through more than I have ever thought about. And in that moment, I realize I’m raging inside rather than on the outside. I’m not breaking down the house we found her in; instead, I’m tearing through the walls of agony I’ve lived with for so long, being without her. But even in these moments of pain, I feel helpless because I see her flinch with every movement or touch.
I want to go to her, to hold her and comfort her, but I know she needs time and space. And as much as I want to fight it, I know it’s easier if I give her that right now rather than fighting through the barriers that have spurred up since she’s been taken.
All I have to do now is to make sure my girl heals.
* * *
Pacing back and forth in the sterile hallway of the hospital, I’m tense. We came straight to Stony Brook, and I’m thankful we were close enough to get her here. Even though she wasn’t shot, all I could think about was getting Autumn to a doctor.
Jackson gave me the time off from heading back with them and talking to the police so I could bring Autumn to get tested, treated, and cared for. I needed to be with her, and he understood. She’ll still have to answer questions when the cops arrive, but for now, all that matters is for her to get checked out.
“JD?” Autumn’s mother’s voice carries over the space, and I still my steps to look up at her. She races toward me. Her eyes are teary, her face streaked with pain.
I wrap her in my arms, holding her as she falls apart from relief. Her shoulders shake with the sobs that wrack through her, and my chest tightens. I can’t tell her where I found Autumn, but at least I can tell her that Autumn will be okay.
“She’s alive, not hurt, but she’s going to need to talk to someone. I’m not sure what she’s been through, but the doctor is in with her now.”
“Can we see her after?”
“I’m sure we can.” I nod. I don’t see why they won’t let us in, or perhaps only her mother will be allowed into the room.
“I don’t know how to thank you for bringing my baby back to me,” Mrs. Starling tells me with a smile that’s pure relief. I can’t imagine what she’s been through, missing her daughter, not sure what the hell had happened to her.
The squeaky footsteps behind me have both Mrs. Starling and me turning to regard the doctor. When she nears us, there’s a kind smile on her face as she glances between us.
“Are you Autumn’s mother?” the doctor asks.
“Yes, is she okay? Can I see her?”
“I’m Dr. Rogers, and she’s doing just fine. You’ll be able to see her shortly. We’re just administering some painkillers. I’ve done a full workup and examination. I found some scarring in her throat, bruising along her upper thighs and around her genital area.” The doctor looks toward me. I’m still dressed like I’m heading to war, all in black with the Cole Security logo on my jacket. “I know you mentioned you can’t talk about where you found her, but do you know if there were other girls?”
“There were. My team, along with the FBI, have ensured they are checked out by medical professionals.”
“Great. Look, I have to be honest, she’s told me she wasn’t sexually assaulted, but there have been other illicit acts that she’s endured. I’m not sure how comfortable she’ll be alone with you, but I’ll allow you both to go in for a short time. She needs rest.”
“Thank you, doc,” I tell her. Glancing at Mrs. Starling, I offer her a smile. “Perhaps you should go in first. As much as I want to see her, I know she’ll need you. If she’s ready to see me, let me know.”
“I will. And I’m sure she’ll want you close by,” she assures me. After hearing that Autumn was hurt, I need a moment to calm down before I can fathom seeing her.
&n
bsp; Mrs. Starling leaves me, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. Placing my palms on the wall, I drop my head and breathe through the agony holding my chest hostage. My lungs struggle to pull in air. I want nothing more than to kill the bastard who hurt her, but it’s not going to help me one bit.
The only thing I can do is wait for my girl to want to see me.
Chapter Twenty
Autumn
My mother walks through the door, and my heart leaps happily in my chest. Her eyes are filled with tears, and when she reaches the bed, they trickle down her cheeks. She pulls me into a hug, and I can’t help but sigh in contentment at the warmth radiating from her.
I spent my days and nights being cold, so icy cold I never thought I would thaw. But with JD’s arms wrapped around me last night and my mother’s today, I’m slowly feeling again.
“Oh my god,” my mom sobs into my hair, her mouth at my ear. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe it. You’re here. Oh, thank god,” she says, her voice muffled as she kisses my forehead, my cheeks, and then she cups my face in her hands, looking at every inch of me.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I finally manage to say before I break down. The tears I’ve held back while the doctor examined me fall freely down my face, and my mother wraps her arms around me once more.
I’m not sure how long we sit like that, but when she pulls away, she watches me in silence. I prefer it like that. I don’t want to talk about what happened. I don’t even want to think about what I’ve been through.
My mother doesn’t ask about my ordeal; instead, she says, “JD is outside. He said he doesn’t want you to feel uncomfortable around him. We’re not sure . . . He’s not sure . . .”
“I’d like to see him,” I tell her. “But I want you to stay. I want you both here. I’m not sure I can do this alone.”