Each time he said my boy, the fine hairs on the back of my neck lifted. Why did the bastard look so damn smug? We had him.
“You’re a smart boy. Look around. Did you think I didn’t know you were coming? That I didn’t plan for this?” Snowden gave a slow shake of his head. “My boy, I’ve been planning this moment for years. This whole party is for you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. For the day you finally came home to me.”
The man was insane. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing my surprise.
Mitzy: Forest, what’s happening?
I ignored Mitzy’s question and focused on Snowden.
Snowden spread his arms out wide. “My boy, don’t you see?”
I saw nothing except red. Fury burned in my veins at the audacity of this man. One squeeze of the trigger and he would be dead.
But I held the shot.
The smile cracking his face made me pause. Why did he look like he had won?
“I see nothing but a dead man.” The cold metal of my weapon pressed against my cheek. I moved my finger over the trigger.
One shot.
That’s all it would take.
“I have a present for you.” Snowden’s inane chatter continued. “You’re going to love this.” The fucker sounded far too pleased with himself.
My vision blurred, and I blinked to clear it. Then I heard something that shouldn’t be possible.
Snowden gestured toward the front of the house. A commotion sounded then a spotlight lit the area up.
“Sara?” I dropped the barrel of my weapon and gaped.
Sara stood in the middle of five men. They gripped her arms and pushed her to the edge of the wall. In her arms, a tiny bundle let loose an ear-piercing wail.
Zach?
My nephew screeched his displeasure to anyone that might care to listen.
Snowden had Skye’s son and my assistant.
To my left, Snowden laughed.
Chapter Twelve
Sara
Men grabbed at my arms and pushed me to the edge of a low wall overlooking a courtyard.
Blood roared past my ears, and I mumbled, “No. No. No. No!”
Except I didn’t hear anything. Too scared to speak, my mind kept repeating the words on an endless loop in my head.
This wasn’t happening.
I had to be asleep.
But a light breeze swept across my skin. Humid air surged into my lungs. Calloused fingers dug painfully into my arms, and the stench of men who hadn’t washed in days infiltrated my nostrils.
My toes bumped against the low stucco wall, and I bucked against the men holding me. I clutched Zach tight to my chest and blinked back tears.
Little Zach.
What was going to happen to him? What did these men want?
Terror swam in my veins as my living nightmare continued to unfold. My breaths came in short staccato bursts as my heart hammered away beneath my breastbone.
I held a death grip on Zach, determined he wouldn’t be pried from my arms again, then I worried I held him too tight that he couldn’t breathe.
I didn’t know what to do. I simply clung to him for dear life.
That didn’t make him safe.
They’d already taken him from me more times than I wanted to admit. He was mine to protect, and I failed him. I failed Skye, and I failed the man I loved.
Little Zach cried. He was hungry, wet, and venturing toward inconsolable. Not that I blamed him. I felt the same.
Down below, gathered in the courtyard, I stared upon a scene made from nightmares. Armed men pointed guns at one another.
Forest was there.
He towered over the rest of the men.
Despite the black masks and identical black tactical outfits, I quickly picked him out of the crowd.
He pointed his rifle at a man standing on an adjacent walkway.
If I could only go back to the night when Forest and his team left, maybe I could erase this memory, wake up in my bed, and shrug this off as a horrible dream.
If I hadn’t buzzed up the janitorial crew who gave me a sob story about their keycards not working, I wouldn’t be here.
If I’d been more suspicious of the three-man cleaning crew who were far too young and buff to be simple janitors, Forest wouldn’t be staring up at me in shock with fear filling his face.
There was nothing good about me being here. Zach was exactly the leverage Snowden needed to bring Forest to his knees.
I had done that.
It gutted me thinking how any number of different choices could have prevented this moment.
None of that mattered now.
My problem was that I believed in the inherent goodness of people. How could they do this to little Zach?
The crying bundle in my arms was worth everything, and he was in distress. Didn’t they care?
One look at Snowden and the answer to that question became painfully clear.
Forest never spoke about what he’d endured because of that man. Everything I learned came from his sister, who I’d grown close to over the years.
Zach cried while Forest’s icy gaze turned toward me.
“Sara?” Forest’s stony expression faltered.
On the wall to my left, John Snowden cackled with glee.
Skye and Forest rescued me from an abusive home. When they found me, I confessed to the things which had been done to me.
Over the years, Skye opened up about the monster that was their foster father and the man who terrorized them that final summer.
Evil existed.
I met the man who destroyed Forest’s life and knew genuine fear.
They’d drugged me during the flight, and I didn’t know what they’d done with little Zach.
My throat ripped with my screams as I’d begged for Zach. A twelve-year-old girl brought him to me on the plane.
I remembered the way my arms shook when the little girl put Zach into my arms. Then the guards took her to the back of the plane where they…I cringed with the memory. The men used her in the vilest of ways.
I’d seen abuse. I’d been a victim of it myself. Yet, I had never been in a position where it occurred with the callous normalcy inside that plane.
The girl didn’t struggle. She didn’t fight. Her body went limp, and her eyes glassed over as her spirit died.
I had been a fool to think evil didn’t exist.
And I participated in my abduction like an idiot.
Not once did it occur to me to question why their keycards didn’t work. Or why they were there on a Sunday. I’d been too preoccupied with putting the office back in order after Forest’s men had blown through.
I didn’t pay attention to the janitors as they moved around the office. I should have noticed how they weren’t emptying the trash. How they vacuumed aimlessly and never once moved a chair or passed the vacuum underneath a desk.
I’d been deep in my thoughts juggling what I needed to get done in the morning with the needs of the nine-month-old who was under my care. Zach’s little cries for food had me heading to the break room to pull out a bottle and feed him.
Not once did I notice the men angling toward me.
If I had, I might have seen the determined expressions on their faces, or the length of rope one of them carried. I would have seen the hood.
I could have run.
Instead, one man pulled Zach out of my arms while another threw a hood over my head. While I flailed, they tied my arms behind my back. There was a prick in my arm and then nothing until I woke hours later and half a world away.
A shiver traced its way down my spine. This was happening.
Snowden’s laughter lifted the fine hairs on the back of my neck. The men surrounding me bumped and pushed me too close to the edge.
I clutched Zach tighter, terrified one of the men would shove me hard enough that I would lose my grip on Zach. Images of him plunging to his death on the tiles below sent a shudder down my spine.
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“Oh, I wish you could see the expression on your face, my boy.” Snowden’s oily voice carried through the still air. It tunneled under my skin and put a hitch in my breath. “The horror is simply delicious. I have your girl and something much more precious, don’t I?” He turned his attention to me.
He had this insane idea Forest and I were romantically involved, despite what I said.
Snowden thought he had two things Forest cared about. Sadly, that wasn’t true. I wasn’t really sure Zach mattered to Forest, but Zach mattered to Skye. That was enough to use against Forest. As for myself? I was nothing more than collateral damage.
Snowden meant for Forest to pay. How? I wasn’t sure, but it involved little Zach.
I’d already had far too much of this man’s penetrating intensity boring into me as he tried to determine my value to Forest.
Snowden expected to use me to get to Forest, but Zach had been the icing on the cake. I wish I’d been better prepared and able to resist Snowden’s interrogation, but I’d been too weak. All it had taken was for them to rip Zach out of my arms.
When Snowden discovered the child was not my son but instead belonged to Skye, he roared in triumph.
That’s when I knew this had been a setup.
Snowden planned this entire farce.
As Forest hunted Snowden, his abuser engaged in an elusive game of cat and mouse.
And I gave Snowden all the leverage he needed to destroy Forest.
But what now?
Shock rippled across Forest’s face, followed by fury. His muscles bunched. My boss looked ready to explode, and yet he stood stock still.
Forest’s men surrounded those gathered, but Snowden had others coming up behind them.
Forest’s team aimed rifles at the crowd, and Snowden’s men pointed guns back.
I wanted to tell Forest there were more men on the way, but I bit my lower lip as tears rolled down my cheeks.
Women in elegant ball gowns prostrated themselves at the feet of the men. Soft, mewling noises floated on the air. Zach added his agitated cries.
Something inside of me died.
It was a standoff.
Lasers lit Snowden’s body. They danced between his temples and skittered across his chest.
“You’re a dead man.” Forest’s words came out in a low, ominous growl.
“Is that what you think?” Snowden looked down at the dancing lights on his chest and laughed. “If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already, but you don’t have it in you, do you, boy?”
Snowden swept his arms out wide and gestured at the courtyard below.
“You know, I’m a little upset, my boy. Are you not impressed by the homecoming I’ve thrown for you?”
“You’re insane.” Forest’s words came out as a deadly rumble.
“Am I?” Snowden lowered his arms. His voice turned icy cold. “I think your manners need work. Don’t you remember your lessons, boy? Our time in the basement where you learned to beg for the privilege of pleasing me? Do you remember the cage? The darkness? The bite of my whip? How about the screams of your sister?”
Each cutting word slammed into Forest. The muscles of his jaw bunched, and he flinched with each volley Snowden threw at him.
I hated watching Snowden torment Forest.
Forest’s men never once lowered their weapons. Half had their rifles aimed at the crowd. The others pointed at Snowden’s heart.
No one moved a muscle except Forest.
The strong, powerful man I knew unraveled. It began with slackness in his strong jaw, followed by slumping in his proud shoulders. His core weakened, and his sturdy legs shook.
“You’re a dead man, Snowden.”
Forest’s deadly words slammed into me, bringing a gasp to my lips. I always thought of Forest as a gentle giant, but something within him snapped.
Forest’s low rumble turned ominous. “You just don’t know it yet.”
“We’re all dead men, my boy. But before I die, you and I are going to have so much fun together.”
“As I said, you’re fucking insane,” Forest volleyed back his reply.
“Oh, I think not.” Snowden’s gaze cut across the distance to me. The man looked entirely too pleased.
I couldn’t help but gasp. The man’s icy stare knifed into me. The men to either side of me gripped my arms. I nearly lost my hold on Zach. The man standing behind me grabbed my hair. He forced my head back.
Something cold and sharp pressed against my throat.
My entire body stilled.
“What we have here is a standoff. The only insane thing about this whole situation is how insanely happy I was when I figured out who that little bundle belonged to. I thought it was your secretary’s kid, but imagine the thrill when she told me it belongs to Elsbeth.”
Snowden rubbed his hands together with pleasure. “Ah, but her name isn’t Elsbeth anymore, is it? She changed her name after she killed your foster father. Oh, the memories I have of her tight body wrapping around me. The heat as I sank into her tight pussy, fucking her over and over and over again. It was amazing. I miss your sister, but she is not the one I want.”
“Don’t you dare speak about Skye.”
“Oh, I’ll talk about sweet Elsbeth all I want. Skye is a stupid name. Tell me, what do you think she would do for her son? I know what she did for you, her sweet little beanpole, was it? Isn’t that what she used to call you? I remember her rocking you in the dark after we were done with you, calling out your name. Oh, the memories.”
“You, sick bastard.” Forest shifted his weapon, and one of the laser dots moved from Snowden’s chest to dance between his eyes.
“You really shouldn’t call me names. Have you forgotten your manners? Or what happens when you disobey?”
“One word. That’s all it takes. For a man whose life is literally in my hands, you’re rather bold.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. My men have a knife at your girlfriend’s throat. Kill me, and she dies. Elsbeth’s kid…dies. Is my life worth losing them?”
Two laser beams shifted to where Snowden’s men held me.
I should struggle, but I held stock still.
With his men gripping my arms, I was terrified they would yank them apart. If they did that, Zach would fall. My life meant nothing, but I would do whatever it took to keep Zach safe.
“Let me tell you how this is going to go down.” Snowden’s oily smile spread across his face, splitting it into a grimace. “I sense you don’t fully appreciate the situation. You see, you’re going to tell your men to put their weapons down. Since I’m a generous man, I’m going to let them go. I’m not interested in them. They can walk right out the front of my house and slip back into the water where they came. Yes, I know exactly how you got here. There is nothing about tonight I don’t know.”
“That’s not happening.”
“Oh, it is, and you’re going to order them to do it.”
“The only thing happening tonight is the bullet I’m going to put between your eyes.”
“Do that, and the girl is dead. The child is dead. Tell me…” Snowden’s voice lowered to an ominous whisper, “What are their lives worth?”
“They’re already dead.” Forest gave a shrug, which made me gasp.
Had he given up on little Zach?
“If you kill me, they die. We, at least, agree on that, but what if there was another outcome? This is a welcome home party in your honor, and I feel generous. Do you remember how generous I can be when you do as I say?”
“The only outcome is your dead eyes staring up at the sky.”
“You are going to regret your lack of manners. My patience only goes so far.”
“This conversation is tiresome.”
“Is it? We haven’t even gotten to the best part.”
“And what would that be?”
“The part where you fall to your knees and beg to serve me. Don’t you see, that’s what coming home means. It means returning to you
r roots. You’ll serve me. I’ll have you on your knees begging to please me.”
“Never going to happen.”
“Did you forget I had a gift for you?”
I tracked Forest and Snowden’s conversation with an icy chill running through my veins. Could Snowden make Forest do what I thought he was going to do?
The man holding the knife at my throat eased up on the grip he had on my hair. Controlling my head, he tilted my face until I met the cold brutality of Snowden’s glare.
“As much as I adore Elsbeth, she’s not what I want. I have no use for her, but I have a sinking suspicion you care a great deal about what happens to her kid. But what would a party be without a little fun?”
My heart banged inside my chest like a kettle drum. The depravity of this man knew no bounds.
“You see, I’m going to give you a choice.”
“From a mad man?” Forest’s voice vibrated with fury. “I think not.”
“Really? You should rethink that and show gratitude.”
“You’re fucking insane.”
“You keep saying that, and frankly, it’s getting tiresome. I’m going to forgive your bad manners because I want to see what you choose.”
“Choose?”
“Yes, I really should have said who you choose, not what.”
What was Snowden’s game? He toyed with Forest.
Taking a deep breath in, Snowden puffed out his chest. He beamed with his victory.
“You can save only one. Save the kid or save your girl. I only have one demand. I want Elsbeth to take whomever you pick. I want to see her face when you go to your knees before me.”
My heart skipped a beat, then another, and another. It was as if the entire world stopped and I hung suspended over a bottomless well of despair.
“I’m even going to give you something to show my good intentions.”
His men in the courtyard dropped their weapons with the snap of Snowden’s fingers. They kicked their guns toward Forest’s men, then went to their knees and placed their hands behind their heads.
The bastard planned this. It was the only thing that made sense.
“Go ahead and bind their hands. My men will not shoot you. They won’t resist you.”
Confused expressions filled Forest’s men. A strange churning twisted in my belly. What was going on?
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