by Becca Van
Sam, Griff, and Connor Ramsay, owners of the Triple R farm, were also there to help out. The Ramsay men had been the first to share their woman, now wife, and the newspapers and media had hounded the four people until Simone had stood up for herself and her three men.
The three Ramsay brothers were quick to add their ideas on the best place to launch their attack, since they knew the Victorian countryside better than any other man present. The three men planned to be in on the hunt and attack, just like the rest of them. They were all firearm experts and knew they would be needed.
Alec was in awe of the way everyone rallied around to help him and Duncan find their woman. When he and his brother had moved to Passion he hadn’t expected to develop such strong friendships but was glad that they had.
Dillon, Chance, and Roman Spencer arrived not long after Colt had called them, armed to the teeth with weapons. The men were ready to head out a couple of hours before dawn. They planned to surprise the mobster and his henchmen as the sun rose in the sky. Everyone headed to their respective vehicles, armed with rifles, pistols, and whatever other firearms they had on hand or borrowed. The Daylesford police were going to be backup with some of the men who were not going in for the first attack. Tom had been the one to direct everyone, and two teams would be going in, a total of eighteen men from Passion and another five from Daylesford. With so many men to help, Alec felt his heart lighten a little and hope began to push the darkness out.
Duncan and Alec rode with Noah, Zach, and Tom. He and his brother were too distracted to be driving and didn’t want to be a danger to themselves, or anyone else on the road. A total of six vehicles left Passion in a convoy as they headed out toward Daylesford to rescue one of their own.
* * * *
Samson, Connor, and Griffith’s wife, Simone, had opened up the Four Passion Club, where all the women converged, supporting each other in their vigil of prayer, as their men went off to help rescue Crystal. Simone poured soft drinks from behind the bar with some help from Hailey. Toni and Tasha sat close to each other holding hands, while Beth held a portable handheld radio, listening in on the men and keeping the women updated.
Nikki sat at Beth’s side, and as Simone kept busy she prayed that all the men would be kept safe and that they would be able to rescue Crystal. A shiver of apprehension ran up her spine, but she pushed it away. The men of Passion would do everything they could to get Crystal back safely.
It was going to be a long night.
* * * *
Crystal’s face and jaw were throbbing like a bitch. The pain was making her head thump so viciously and she felt ill. She knew she was in deep shit. She only hoped she had damaged Christoph Blane’s balls enough to do permanent damage. The thought of him putting his hands on her again made her shudder. She was back in the bedroom, no doubt locked in again. She desperately needed to use the bathroom but was too scared to move. She didn’t want to alert her abductors to the fact she was awake once more.
Crystal’s full bladder eventually won out. The last thing she wanted was to pee her pants. She gingerly rose from the bed, biting her tongue as the ache in her jaw exploded up into a full-blown stabbing pain. When the pain diminished slightly, she walked over to the other side of the room and opened the door, relieved in more ways than one to find a bathroom. After using the facilities and washing her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror and gasped with horror when she saw how much damage had been done to her face.
There was a large black-and-purple bruise on the lower right side of her jaw and it was so swollen she looked like she had been in another car accident. She tried to open her mouth and had to hold in a scream of pain, and her vision blurred. She gently probed around the bruised flesh, but even that was too much pain for her to bear. When the pain finally settled down to a harsh, aching throb, Crystal rummaged around under the vanity until she found a clean washcloth. She wet the cloth with cold water and applied it to her jaw and hoped the cool material would help get some of the swelling down.
The pain diminished a little more as she applied the cool compress to her jaw over and over again. Crystal’s brain began to work, and she placed the cloth on the sink and then set about searching the vanity, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. She searched in the bedroom closets and drawers then went back to the bathroom again. She studied the mirror when she realized it was sitting out from the wall a little more than was usual.
Grabbing hold of the bottom corner of the mirror, she tugged hard and nearly fell backward when the mirror opened up to reveal a hidden cabinet. She found a pair of nail scissors, a small metal nail file, and an unused hypodermic needle. Finding that needle scared the crap out of her, but she pushed her fear away and when she saw the small vial of liquid medication in a bottle, she picked it up to read the label. It was a bottle of insulin. Obviously someone here or a previous lodger was, or had been, a diabetic. Crystal pulled the plastic safety covering from the sharp needle, plunged it into the upside down vial, and pulled the syringe back. She watched the needle casing fill to the brim with insulin, carefully recovered the sharp end with the protective plastic, placed the needle on the counter, and rummaged some more. There was nothing else useful for her to use.
Crystal put the nail file and scissors into the pocket of her jeans, picked up the needle, and went back to the bedroom. She lay down on the bed, placing the needle beneath the pillow, and thought about her men.
She thanked God for the night her tire blew out and she’d crashed her car into a tree. That had been the best night of her life. She’d never planned to become attached to one man, let alone two, after watching the way her father had treated her mother. Crystal had vowed she would never fall in love. She’d shied away from any man, not even interested in a relationship. Her father had taught her to be wary of men for two reasons. One was because of the strength they had and the damage they could do to someone weaker, and the second was how little control men had when they were angry. She now knew she had lumped all men under a too-hard basket and kept herself in the too-scared-to-commit basket.
Alec and Duncan had shown her how wrong she was. Not all men were like her father. Duncan and Alec hadn’t even known Crystal, yet they had taken her into their home and then into their arms and hearts without a backward glance. They had broken through the hard wall she had caged her heart in, breaking it wide open.
Crystal was never going to look back again. She had the rest of her life ahead of her, and she intended to live it to the fullest, which included returning the love of her two men. She wanted to make babies with them and spend the rest of her life loving, living, laughing, and fighting with them. She wanted to grow old with them, and she wasn’t about to let the three men out in the other room take that away from her. If she was going to go down, she was going to make sure she took at least one of them with her.
* * * *
By the time Noah pulled his car up no more than half a mile away from the secluded house, set amongst the bush, fifteen minutes out of Daylesford, Duncan’s hands were aching. He’d spent the whole trip with his fists clenched as he tried to keep his fear at bay. Two police cars from the Daylesford station were waiting on the side of the road and the five other cars following behind stopped. Everyone got out of their cars and the men convened on the roadside. Tom kept his voice low as he issued orders, and the rest of the men made sure to keep their voices down, too. They all knew what their roles were, but Tom warned them all to stay vigilant, as they had no idea how many men were with Blane.
“We’re hoping that it’s only his two henchmen,” Noah said quietly. “But with an arsehole like that, we won’t know until we go in. We have no idea if this bastard has called in any more of his men. I want you all to be very careful. I don’t want you going in there with your guns blazing until we’ve reconnoitered the situation. Roman, Chance, Dillon, I want you coming in with me, Tom, and Zach. We’re going to meet these bastards head-on. Tony, Colt, and Bear, I want you three coming in from the ba
ck. Sam, Griff, and Connor, I want you coming in from the east side, and you guys”—Noah pointed to the other police officers—“from Daylesford come in from the west. Anyone else, choose which of us you want to back up, and cover us if necessary. Don’t shoot unless absolutely necessary. I don’t want to have Internal Affairs coming down on our heads.”
“All right, are we ready?” Tom asked.
Duncan nodded along with everyone else and hoped his rapidly beating heart wasn’t visible at the base of his neck. When everyone nodded in the affirmative, they took off and then began to move in.
Duncan decided he was following Noah, Zach, and Tom. He wanted to be there when they rescued Crystal. Alec moved at his side, and he knew that his brother was with him every step of the way. It was eerie to see all such big men moving with the stealth of jungle cats. Not one man among them stood on any branches or made any noise loud enough to alert the enemy they were coming. Tom, Zach, and Noah moved in the lightening shadows until they all had their backs to the wall of the cabin-style house. It wasn’t very large, and Duncan thanked God the nearest neighbor was more than a kilometer away. The last thing they needed was an innocent person getting caught in the crossfire.
Dillon had supplied the leader of each of the four groups with specialized communication equipment, which came in very handy. Noah let them know he was about to go in with his partners by clicking the microphone three times. Duncan knew the other three teams would be in the house any way they could within seconds of Noah and the others breaching the front.
Duncan gripped Alec’s shoulder when he stepped forward as Noah moved around the corner to the front door. Even though he wanted to go inside, too, more than anything to find Crystal, he and Alec had to let the law do their job first. Noah kicked the door in and stormed through the doorway, his partners on his heels. Duncan heard the sound of glass breaking on either side of the house and another door being kicked in at the back, and knew the teams coming in from the west would be in the house as fast as possible, too.
Duncan nudged Alec forward, and they were just in time to see Noah point his gun at the stunned mobster lying on the sofa in the living room. He watched Christoph Blane blink the sleep from his eyes and a murderous expression begin to show on his face, and then the fucker slowly inched his hand to his waistband.
“Just give me an excuse.” Noah pointed his weapon at the mobster, and when the hardened criminal flopped back on the sofa, his inevitable surrender plainly on his face, Duncan sighed in relief. Zach moved in, patted the bastard down, removed two weapons from him, and then cuffed him tight.
Tony, Colt, and Bear entered from the rear of the house with Blane’s two henchmen trussed up like turkeys in cuffs. Sam, Griff, and Connor, as well as the five members of the Daylesford police station, entered from the east and west sides of the cabin.
“Did you guys find Crystal?” Noah asked, not taking his eyes from the three men now seated on the sofa together.
“No,” they all answered at once.
“Well, spread out and find her,” Noah ordered.
Duncan was having trouble breathing. He had expected to find Crystal restrained somewhere in the house, and now that no one had spotted her, the fear he’d tried to keep away came back with a vengeance. The whole house was searched from top to bottom, but no one could find his woman. They looked under beds, in cupboards, drawers, anywhere they could think she might find a hiding place, and even some that were just plain ridiculous. They couldn’t find her.
Alec’s face paled and he leaned against the wall. Duncan was in the same predicament. He’d had to lock his knees in place so they wouldn’t buckle out from under him. He ground his teeth together and tried to get his fear under control by breathing deeply and evenly. It didn’t work.
“Fuck!” Zach grabbed Blane by the front of his shirt. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know. She must have escaped. The last time she was checked on, she was in that room asleep on the bed.”
“If we can’t find her, I’m going to knee you in the balls harder than that little woman did.” Bear’s voice was as icy as his eyes.
“Bear, I found Crystal’s shoe in the bathroom. You want to sit down and see where she is?” Tony threw the shoe to his brother.
* * * *
Bear caught the shoe in one large hand. He didn’t even have to close his eyes to concentrate. Crystal’s essence was so strong he knew instantly where she was. Bear was off. Crystal’s shoe all but forgotten, but still in his hand, Bear entered the bathroom, his brothers, as well and Duncan and Alec, on his heels. Bear looked up at the roof access hole. The square of plaster was in place, and if he hadn’t known from holding Crystal’s shoe, he would never have thought to look in the ceiling. Alec and Duncan had one hell of a smart woman.
“She’s up there. She has weapons ready and is fired up to use them. There is no fucking way I could fit through that hole, and besides, she’s got a hypodermic on her and is not afraid to use it.” Bear turned to grin at Duncan and Alec.
* * * *
Duncan’s breath whooshed out of his lungs with relief. Tears pricked the back of his eyes, and he swallowed audibly around the lump in his throat. Alec was actually the taller of the two brothers, but he was also a little leaner, so Duncan urged him to climb up to get their woman.
“Crystal, we’re here, baby. You’re safe now.” Duncan hoped his voice would calm Crystal down.
“Crystal, I’m coming up to get you, darlin’.” Alec looked at Duncan when Crystal didn’t reply.
Duncan hoped like hell that Crystal was okay.
* * * *
Alec climbed up onto the vanity counter, nearly bent in half so he wouldn’t hit his head on the ceiling, and pushed the plaster square covering the manhole in the ceiling to the side. He took the torch Tony handed him and stood up straight. He had to turn one hundred and eighty degrees before his torchlight hit his woman. She was curled up on her side sound asleep, but she was clutching a hypodermic needle in the hand beneath her cheek. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. And the fear that had been with him since the moment he’d found out Crystal had been kidnapped finally diminished. Using the strength in his arms, Alec pulled himself up through the hole into the roof cavity and crawled over toward Crystal.
“Crystal, wake up, darlin’.” Alec brushed the hair back from Crystal’s face and stroked her cheek.
She jerked upright, nearly hitting her head on the roof truss, but as she sat up she put the needle to her mouth and pulled the plastic covering from the sharp metal end. Alec enclosed her wrist with his hand and held her gently but firmly.
“It’s all right, darlin’. We’re here now. Put the needle down, Crystal,” Alec crooned as he crawled through the low space on his belly.
“Alec?” Crystal asked so quietly he barely heard her.
“Yes, darlin’, it’s me, Alec. Duncan is waiting for you down below. Are you okay? Did they hurt you, baby?” Alec kept his voice low and soothing, hoping to keep Crystal calm.
“No. I’m okay. Oh, I think Baldy broke my jaw,” Crystal said through her teeth. “It hurts like a motherfucker.”
“Turn your head so I can see, darlin’.” Alec didn’t know how he managed to keep his voice so calm when inside he was consumed with rage. When he saw Crystal’s face, he began to shake with fury and drew in a ragged breath. Her lower jaw on the right side was black and blue and swollen out of all proportion. He pushed his fury back down as he concentrated on Crystal. “Do you think you can crawl back over to the manhole, darlin’?”
“What sort of question is that? Of course I can. I’m not helpless, you know.”
Alec didn’t let her know he could hear the tremor in her voice as she spoke to him. He could tell she was talking through her teeth and hoped like hell her jaw wasn’t broken, just badly bruised. He’d been on the receiving end of a broken jaw before and knew the pain she would be going through. He’d had his jaw wired shut and had to drink anything he consum
ed through a straw for over two weeks. It had been pure hell.
Alec shone the torch and lit the way so Crystal could see where she was going. He kissed her on the temple when she lay down next to him in the small space as she took a breather.
“Not much further, darlin’. Come on, let’s get out of here. Duncan will be pulling the ceiling down if we don’t show up soon.” Even though she was battered and bruised, she was alive. That was all that mattered right now, plus getting her back home where she belonged so she could recuperate.
Crystal finally made it to the manhole. She turned her body around one hundred and eighty degrees and rolled over onto her stomach. Alec moved up close to her and held onto her arms and hands, slowly lowering her through the hole. He was down beside her moments later.
* * * *
Crystal slid down into Duncan’s arms and knew she was safe, she was home. Duncan’s warmth and scent enveloped her, making everything right in the world once more. Alec lowered himself down from the roof cavity until his feet touched the vanity, and then he jumped off and moved in close behind her, enclosing her within his embrace and warming her with his body heat. She looked up into Duncan’s eyes and went deaf when he roared loudly.
* * * *
Duncan had only caught a glimpse of the bruise on Crystal’s jaw. He had been so set on getting her back in his arms, he hadn’t taken much notice. When she looked up at him and he saw her swollen, distorted, bruised jaw and face, he roared with fury.
“Who did this to you?”