The Ocean Between Us (A Southern Heroes Novel Book 1)

by Michelle Heard

  Ready to kill the fucker, I growl, “Where the fuck is she?”

  “Katia,” he wheezes.

  “Where?” I shout.

  I will snap his fucking neck.

  “Insurance,” he forces the word out, his face red from exertion to breathe past my hold on him.

  I shove him hard into the floor and get up. My blood is boiling with rage as I glare down at him coughing at my feet.

  “Fuck!” I shout as the panic sets deep in my gut.

  I glare at Colton as he struggles up. “When’s the fight?”

  “Next Saturday.” He rubs at his neck as he glares at me.

  “That’s a whole fuckin’ week,” I shout. “No fuckin’ way!”

  “Calm the fuck down,” he shouts back at me. “She’s with the other girls, dude. You know this is how it works. Just make sure you win so we can get paid.”

  Grabbing hold of his throat, my fingers dig in deep as I slam my fist into his face.

  “If anythin’ happens to Emma, I will kill you.”

  “Chill, man,” he yells. “You’ll win the fight and have her back in no time. This is how it works. I have a shitload of money ridin’ on this. Just show next Saturday at the address they text you, win the fight, and everythin’ will be fine.”

  The other guys step into the ring, and I have to let go of Colton because I’m out-numbered and I’m about to blow my cover which will only put Emma’s life in danger.

  Fuck, they have Emma.

  They have my girl.

  CHAPTER 22

  AIDEN

  “Calm down,” Zac says again. But he’s the one pacing a damn hole in the living room floor. “She’s clever. She’ll be fine. We’ll find her.” He keeps saying the same words over and over.

  “Zac!” I snap. “Stop it. You’re gonna drive me insane walkin’ up and down like that. Sit your ass down. I can’t think worth shit if you’re goin’ on like that.”

  When Zac finally takes a seat, I ask again, “How did they get by you with Emma?”

  “They didn’t come out the front with her. Trust me, I was watchin’ that house like a hawk. No one left with a woman, not until you came out and she was already gone.”

  I drop my head into my hands and go over a year’s worth of work again. I keep coming up with the same damn thing. I have to wait for Saturday. I have to wait and pray. They fucking outplayed us.

  Six more days.

  Zac stays the night, and I let him take my room. I stay in Emma’s. I can smell her on the pillows, and it’s driving me insane.

  By the early hours of the morning, my heart is breaking.

  “I’m so fuckin’ sorry, Em,” I whisper to the new day which doesn’t bring much hope.

  She’s alone, and they’re doing God-only-knows-what to her.

  She forgot to take her phone. That’s what was bothering me before the fight. I didn’t make sure she took it.

  She couldn’t call for help.

  I found the thing next to her bed with more texts and missed calls from her mother.

  She never told me. Not that any of it matters now.

  Day four is a killer. I’m torn to shreds with worry.

  When her fucking phone starts vibrating again, rage burns through me.

  Just in time, I notice the name Chloe flashing on the screen. Knowing that she’s Emma’s best friend, I bring the phone to my ear.

  “Sunshine! Where the bloody hell have you been? You don’t answer your emails? You don’t text-”

  “Chloe,” I say so she’ll stop talking.

  “Who’s this?”

  “It’s Aiden, Emma’s roommate,” I don’t know what to say.

  “Oh, it’s nice to finally talk to you. Thank you for helping Emma.” She says. “Is she there?”

  I can’t bring myself to say the words. I can’t tell Chloe that Emma’s been taken, that I failed her.

  “Aiden, is Emma all right?” Her voice tense with every word.

  “She will be. Can I ask you to hold on until Saturday? I know I’m askin’ a lot, but everythin’ will be fine on Saturday. I’ll get her to phone you then,” I say, not being able to tell her Emma’s been taken.

  I close my eyes and wait for her response. I pray it’s not a hysterical one.

  “I’m only agreeing because I know she trusts you. If I don’t hear from her by Saturday, I’m coming to get her myself,” she warns.

  “Not a day later. You have my word.”

  “You look like crap,” Zac says two days before the fight.

  I just glare at him from the couch. Crap does not begin to describe all the turmoil I feel inside. My mind’s turned into a goddamned nightmare. I can’t stop thinking of all the previous cases I’ve worked. I can’t stop thinking about the things they could’ve, and can still do, to Emma.

  “You need to get up and at it. Emma needs you at your best, Aiden. Go for a run. I’ll get everythin’ ready for the briefin’ with the team. We need to make sure everythin’ is in place, so we don’t screw things up for Cole and Troy.”

  He’s right. Zac’s right.

  I drag on a sweater, because it’s cold out, and I glance at Zac.

  “Do you think they’re keepin’ her warm?” I ask. I just need to hear him say it.

  He nods, but it’s not enough. I can see the fear in his eyes, and it makes my gut twist even more.

  CHAPTER 23

  EMMA

  I can’t remember what happened. I can’t remember how I ended up in this room. One minute I was still listening to Katia while watching Aiden and Colton, and the next I woke up here. I think they drugged me somehow.

  It’s an empty room, with a single bed pressed against a stark, white wall. At least I have a blanket and pillow.

  There’s something very frightening about not knowing where in a foreign country you are. I can’t believe I forgot to bring my phone.

  “They would’ve taken it anyway, Emma,” I mutter to myself, wondering how I let this happen.

  A shrill scream echoes through the air just as the lock on the door to my room rattles.

  What’s happening out there?

  My eyes are glued to the door as shivers of fear race down my spine.

  Pressing my back to the cold wall, I watch as Katia pushes the door open. She locks it behind her before she turns to look at me.

  “I thought I’d come and visit,” she says, sauntering in.

  Another scream from somewhere beyond the door, makes my body start to tremble.

  “Colton’s testin’ one of the girls,” Katia says with a cruel smile around her full lips. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him touch you.”

  The way she looks at me as if I’m something edible, makes my stomach churn. I press further back into the wall and lift my chin, not wanting her to see my fear. “Where am I?

  Ignoring my question, she says “I like you, honey. Don’t take this personal.”

  “Yeah, right,” I murmur, and then regret saying anything.

  “Aiden’s good. He’ll win,” she says, and I hear the warning in her voice. “He better win… for your sake.”

  “What happens if he doesn’t?” I ask. I need to know, so he’ll know what happened to the others.

  I know he’ll come for me.

  “You go to the highest bidder. Sorry, honey. It’s just business. My mama always said; ‘if you could bottle sex, you’d be a millionaire.’

  “Highest bidder?” I interrupt her.

  “Yeah, the one who pays most for you takes you. How do you think we make our money? Bets don’t come cheap.” She sits down next to me, and I try to scoot away, but I bump into the wall instead. I clench my arms tighter around my legs.

  When she reaches for me, I can’t sit still. I flinch away from her hand. I don’t want this woman touching me. I’d rather die.

  “Are you cold, princess?”

  “No,” I snap, just wanting her to leave.

  “It’s goin’ to be a long week,” her voice drops to a purr. It
raises hackles all the way from my spine to the tiny hairs on my neck. “You can either make it a nice stay or things will get ugly for you.”

  I glare at her as she reaches out to me again. When she tries to cup my cheek, I slap her hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Tsk… Tsk.” She gets up, and just as I think she’s going to leave, she spins around and darts toward me.

  A startled shriek escapes my lips as she grabs hold of my shoulders and slams me back against the wall with so much force, the thud of my head hitting the plaster sounds sickening. My vision goes spotty, but I shove back against her, fighting not to be pinned down. Only when I hear the hammering of my heart in my ears, do I realize how fast it’s beating.

  Her fingers wrap around my neck, and she squeezes hard. “I fuckin’ like it rough, kitten. Keep fightin’ me, and I’ll get Colton to hold you down. You’ll like that, won’t you? Both of us fuckin’ you?”

  A fear, unlike anything I’ve felt before, explodes through me.

  “You’ll have to kill me first,” I scream as I fight to get her off of me.

  She just smirks at me. “I’ve been dreamin’ about this for a while now. I can’t wait to taste you, princess.”

  Her fingers tighten around my throat, and I gasp at the pain. As she starts to cut off my air supply, I grab hold of her wrist and dig my nails into her skin.

  “Oh yeah, kitten, let me feel your nails,” she purrs again.

  I’m gasping for air when she shoves me up against the wall and crushes her mouth to mine.

  My stomach heaves, and I yank my head away, only to feel her hand grab at my breast.

  “Don’t touch me!” I rasp the words out. My vision is starting to blur, and I try to drag in another breath of air, but nothing is getting past her tight grip around my throat.

  She leans in close to my ear. “We’re goin’ to have so much fun.”

  She shoves me hard, slamming my head against the wall again. The pain is blinding, darkening my vision.

  As she lets go of me, I suck in gulps of air, refusing to cry. I won’t be weak. I won’t let her win.

  I’ve survived my mother. I can survive this woman.

  I bite my lip until I taste blood to keep back the tears of anger. My eyes are glued to Katia as she leaves the room.

  CHAPTER 24

  EMMA

  I’ve realized fear isn’t a feeling. It’s a living, breathing entity. Its sole purpose is to rob you of your will to live.

  With every cry I hear echoing into my room, dread spins its web around me to the point where it makes it feel like my skin is stretched thin over my body. Every inch of me prickles with apprehension until it feels like death itself is scraping its skeletal fingers down my spine.

  The lock on my door rattles and I scramble from the bed so Katia can’t pin me down again.

  Only, when the door opens, she’s not alone. Colton follows her in, and before I can recover from the shock of seeing him, he charges toward me.

  The force of his body slamming into mine knocks all the breath from my lungs in a pain-filled gasp. Still reeling from the blow, Colton somehow gets behind me and drags me to the floor.

  Horror washes over me as his arms lock around me, and using his sturdy legs, he hooks them over mine, keeping me from closing them.

  Pinned to Colton’s body, I hear him chuckle in my ear. “She’s all yours, babe.”

  My eyes dart up to Katia, and it’s with a sickening feeling that I watch her undress.

  Shit. No.

  This can’t be happening.

  When she pushes her panties down her legs, I feel bile burn up my throat. She kicks the fabric to the side, and it’s only then that I see the bag next to her on the floor.

  “Let me go,” I demand. “If you hurt me, Aiden will kill you.”

  Keeping one arm locked around me, Colton slaps a hand over my mouth. I scream as I try to pull myself free from him, but it only makes him use more force to keep me in place.

  Katia opens the bag and takes a pair of scissors from it. “Kitten, I’m not going to leave a mark on your body. I like it too much.”

  She takes something else from the bag. It looks like a rubber cucumber. My mind races to catch up with what’s happening, but as Katia comes closer, I stop trying to figure out what’s happening and focus on trying to get free from Colton.

  He tightens his grip on me until a cry tears up my throat only to be muffled against his hand. I don’t stop fighting, trying to free my arms and legs.

  Katia sits down between my legs and grabs hold of my dress. As the scissors cut through the fabric, the crunching sound vibrates through my mind. Adrenaline courses through my veins, making my heart slam against my ribs.

  The pain from Colton’s brutal hold on me doesn’t register anymore, as Katia cuts the dress from my body.

  Even though it's useless and my mouth is covered, I keep screaming until a copper taste fills my mouth. With every cry, I yank against Colton only to have his cruel laughter filling my ears while Katia cuts away my underwear. My muffled cries just seem to excite them.

  When Katia places the scissors on the floor, and my body is totally exposed to her, she leans forward with an evil gleam in her eyes.

  As her tongue touches my skin in the middle of my stomach, my screams fade to a mixture of sobs and cries. She leaves a streak of luke-warm spit up to my throat.

  “You taste so fuckin’ good, kitten,” she groans as she brings her face to mine. I can feel her hot breath wafting over me as she shoves her hand between my legs.

  I squeeze my eyes shut as a tear escapes, rolling down until it’s stopped by Colton’s hand.

  Katia’s sharp, long nail stabs into me, tearing a battered cry from my aching throat.

  “Doesn’t that feel good?” Colton growls low in my ear. “Fuck, babe, that’s makin’ me hard.”

  Trying to escape this nightmare, I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to see what she’s doing to me.

  A hopeless anger shudders through my body. Even though I know they’re both stronger than me, and that they can kill me, I fight against Colton’s hold.

  For a moment, my mind drifts away, only to be yanked back when something hard is shoved in between my legs. My eyes dart open from the pain tearing through me as my body lurches forward against the steel barrier that is Colton.

  I wish I had kept my eyes closed, because seeing Katia insert the other end of the substitute for a cock into her, makes me feel violently ill and debased. She moves closer until her ass touches mine, then starts to ride the thing.

  As my body jerks, Colton moves his arm up until it presses hard under my breasts.

  With his mouth to my ear, Colton whispers, “You’ve got nice tits. I’m going to fuck them before you leave.”

  His words make a violent tremor rake through my body.

  Stop. Please Stop.

  I feel as he grows hard against my lower back, making a new fear spread through me like a devastating fire.

  I haven’t realized I’ve stopped screaming until silent tears spill down my cheeks.

  The prodding pain becomes unbearable when she speeds up her thrusts.

  “Ahh… fuck, I’m gonna come, kitten,” she cries as she shoves herself right up against me, rubbing hard. “So fuckin’ good,” she groans.

  I feel her hair on the side of my face as she presses her breasts against mine. Wet sounds of Katia and Colton kissing, and slapping skin fills my ear.

  My whole body stills except for the involuntary jerks from Katia’s assault.

  CHAPTER 25

  AIDEN

  “Hey, Mama,” I say as she answers the phone. I’ve called her more over the last few days than I have since I started this undercover job.

  “How are you holdin’ up?” she asks, concern lacing her words.

  “Honestly, I’m about to lose my mind,” I answer. “I just want Emma back. I don’t care about the case any longer.”

  “Aiden,” her voice is stern, “don’t
do somethin’ stupid. Not only will you risk Emma’s life, but also Wyatt and Cole’s. My heart won’t survive losin’ another child.”

  “I’m not an idiot,” I snap, but immediately feel bad. “Sorry, Mama. It’s drivin’ me up the wall not knowin’ if Emma is okay.”

  “I know, darlin’. I wish I could be there.”

  Zac comes in from his morning run, and I quickly say, “I’ve got to go. Zac just walked in.”

  “My boys take care of each other, you hear,” she warns.

  “Yeah, Mama. Talk to you soon.”

  “Go take a shower, Aiden,” Zac says as I drop the phone on the coffee table.

  I close my eyes, not being able to think of something as mundane as a fucking shower.

  Is Emma okay? Have they hurt her? Is she warm, or hungry?

  Zac crouches in front of me, his face torn with concern. “Will you be able to focus tonight?”

  Meeting his eyes, I shake my head. “Not as long as they have Emma.” My voice cracks on her name and hopelessness pushes up my throat.

  “I’ll take the lead. You hang back until we’ve neutralized the scene. I’ll check with Wyatt, back home, to make sure his team moves in at the same time as us, and Cole and Troy don’t get blindsided. You okay with that?”

  I nod, knowing I’ll just fuck things up with the state of mind I’m in.

  Unable to stop it, a tear slips free. “I never knew anythin’ could hurt this much?”

  Zac places his hand on my shoulder, and only now that I’m at risk of losing the woman I love, do I recognize the grief in his eyes.

  “How do you cope with it every day?” I ask.

  “I don’t. You just learn to live with it. It’s like a tumor, weavin’ its tentacles through every part of you.”

  “Fuck.” I hunch over and grab hold of Zac, and for the first time since Laurie was killed, I cry. Sliding from the couch, my knees hit the floor.

  Feeling my brother’s arms wrap around me, I cry because I know deep in my heart, I won’t get the same Emma back.