I blinked. Die? I didn’t want to die at all. Every time I thought I might die, my girls’ faces flashed before my eyes.
“Oh, Alex… You’re scaring the piss out of her.” Marie strode into the room, but she didn’t come to the bed. She remained standing across from Alex and me. “Devyn, I told you. We don’t want to kill you.”
“But you would. If Brody doesn’t… If he doesn’t help you…”
“Perhaps we would consider a more efficient way of convincing him, yes.”
“Why Brody? Why me?”
“I told you why, love,” Marie said.
“That can’t be all.”
“You were the easiest target to get at the man who killed my husband.”
“What?” Now that made Marie’s rage more believable. She’d lost a husband. So was it Brody who’d done it? Or another of the team?
“Of course, now that we have him, we stand to be in a good position to gain some information about this new plague they call a team.” Alex’s voice was so matter-of-fact. If it had been under different circumstances, if I had met him out on the street, I’d have found the man charming. His French accent combined with the low timbre of his voice was like a taste of really good sex. “Speaking of, would you accompany me downstairs?”
“For what?”
“It seems your husband does not believe that we are treating you as well as possible, considering the circumstances. I wish to reassure him.”
“Why?”
“You do ask a lot of questions.”
“I told you she would. She’s a smart girl.”
Alex nodded. “It’s not a bad thing at all. I promised him we would not hurt you so long as he cooperated. He’ll see you, see that you are well and unmarked, as we promised.”
I glanced at Marie. Her face had turned hard at the mention of Brody, her eyes distant. Even if I behaved myself as they requested, I highly doubted I would get through this alive. But right now, it was my best bet to do as they said, to go see Brody. I wanted to see him, to reassure myself that he was still alive.
“Okay.” I nodded. Alex stood up, and I followed suit. He motioned for me to walk in front of him, so I stepped toward the door. Marie grabbed my arm as I passed her. Her searing blue eyes narrowed. “You’re playing a very specific purpose, here, Devyn. Step out of that purpose, and you become a liability. I don’t want to see that happen to you.”
I wrenched my arm from her grip and set my jaw. “You know, I’d believe that more if you weren’t threatening to kill me every five minutes.”
Marie looked livid, but I didn’t care anymore. She wasn’t who I’d thought she was. She’d lied to me, betrayed my trust. I’d never let her manipulate me like that again.
Alex chuckled as I stepped out of the room and into a hallway. “Oh, I like her, Marie. She has solid balls.” He motioned toward the stairs at the end of the hallway. “This way, my dear.”
*
My body had been strung up tight and every muscle tensed since we’d been brought to this house. As we walked down the hall, the stairs became more and more ominous. Not because they were hard to maneuver, but because they were the path to my husband. What scared me the most was that this was possibly the only opportunity I would have to see him. After this, I’d have no guarantees that he was alive, or that I would remain so myself.
We all stopped as the tall blonde rounded the corner and froze in shock. Alex cursed under his breath. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out for a moment and then she blurted, “What the fuck is going on?” Addison Hardy, Chris’s twin, turned her head to Alex, her expression expectant. She was a little different from the last time I’d seen her. Her hair was longer, her eyes seemed tired.
“She’s… I thought you were out shopping, my love.” Alex stepped over to Addy, putting his hands on her upper arms. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Obviously. Why is Devyn here, Alex?” Her eyes narrowed. “This isn’t… Alex?”
Addison was part of this? It didn’t make sense. Her brother was on the team. Why would she partner up with the Giroux family when it would be against her brother? And the shock of seeing me? I wasn’t completely sure what to make of it, but based on Alex’s earlier reaction, I didn’t think he’d expected her there.
“Addison, I will explain everything, I promise. I can’t right now.”
“Oh, you bet your ass you can do it right now.” I almost laughed. That was the Addison I knew. The one who developed a deep Southern accent when she was angry, and man, right then, it was thick. She glanced at me. “And she looks terrified, Alex. What the ever-lovin’ fuck are you doing?”
“Addison, I’m not going to fight with you here.”
“You better believe you are, unless you have a good explanation of why Devyn Rose is standing in the hallway halfway across the world from her home.”
“We are not going to do this here.” Alex’s face was turning red with anger. He turned to Marie. “I’ll be right back.”
Marie rolled her eyes. “I told you not to bring her here. Idiot.” Alex growled, but he didn’t say anything back to his sister. Instead, he grabbed Addy by the arm and hauled her away. I could hear her voice rising, the anger streaming through loud and clear even as their footsteps receded. Marie sighed. “This is why I told him to keep his little girlfriend in Paris. Now we’ll have deal with her too.”
“Why is she here?”
Marie shrugged. “We had our reasons… Alex has grown attached to the little thing now.”
God, this was just getting worse and worse. Now Chris’s sister was there, too? How long had they known about the SEAL team and its members? Would they go after Bonham’s wife now, too?
“What will he do to her?”
“To Addison?” Marie laughed. “Nothing. He will attempt to explain his way out of it. She will get angry and try to leave him, and then either Rene or I will have to step in and take care of the mess. As usual.”
“Rene?”
“My older brother.”
“Are you going to kill her?”
Marie shook her head. “No. She’s insurance as well. Her brother doesn’t know she’s here yet, but he will soon. Unfortunately, she’s seen you, which makes containing her much more difficult, because now she’ll want explanations.”
“Who are you people?” I asked. Monsters. That’s what they were. And poor Addison. She’d been a prisoner and didn’t even know it.
Marie smiled, wide and unashamed. “Come on, love. Let’s go see your husband.”
We continued down the stairs. I couldn’t hear Addy’s objections anymore. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to her. I wasn’t sure what containing her entailed. I was so worried. For me. For Addison. For her brother. For Brody. Every moment I was in that house, more and more complications arose. These people had been planning something, and they had a lot of information on Brody and his team.
Chapter Eighteen
‡
Devyn
The air in the room was moist, thick with the scent of sweat. My eyes immediately were drawn to the center. Brody hung from two ropes wrapped around his wrists. They were pulled taut, his hands wrapped around the width of the rope attached to his wrists. His uniform was torn across his chest, thin lines of red seeping through the holes of his once pristine uniform.
Marie gripped my arm when I started forward. “Stay.”
I glared at her. “What did you do to him?”
“That is Rene’s work, not mine,” Marie replied. “I imagine that your husband has not been really cooperative yet.”
Brody’s head rose slowly. Deep purples and blues lined his jaw and cheek. Blood leaked from a split in his lip. His eyes zeroed in on me. I hated the fear I saw in them, even though it was fear for me. I didn’t want him to be afraid for me. I wanted him to concentrate on him, on surviving.
“You came down early.” The low voice sent chills through my spine. The man to whom it belonged stepped inside the room. His dark eyes m
atched Alex’s, and he had a similar facial structure, much like Marie did, with the exception of her blue eyes. “We’ve been talking.”
“I can see that,” Marie replied. “Devyn, this is Rene.”
Another family member. And he was downright terrifying. Alex had a nice and easy appearance about him. Charming, almost. Marie… she was scary as hell, but I believed her when she said she didn’t want to kill me. Not saying that she wouldn’t, but I believed she didn’t want to. And then there was Rene. He was dark, and evil radiated from him. Maybe that was a dramatic way of putting it, but it was true. Shadows cast over his face, even with how bright in the room it was.
“You’re the wife?” He asked and without waiting for my nod, he turned to Marie. “He was asking for her.”
“That’s why she’s here,” Marie replied. She looked at me. “You can go see him. You have five minutes.” I started toward Brody, but she grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at her. “I’ll be right here. If you try to be a hero, you will be punished, in front of him.”
I nodded my understanding, and faced Brody. His eyes were filled with fear and exhaustion. I walked up to him and cupped his face in my hands, careful not to touch his injuries. “Brody…”
“Dev… don’t be here. I don’t want you to… remember this. Me.”
I had nothing to say to him. Not because I didn’t want to but because my mind drew a blank. Instead, I focused on the way Brody had looked when he’d come down the escalator at the airport, and the way he’d kissed me the other night, and the feel of his hands touching me all over. He couldn’t do any of that now, bound and injured. And I would have killed to go back to that night after he came home, when he made love to me.
“I love you,” I whispered, my eyes watering so quickly I couldn’t even stop the tears from rolling down my cheek. I laid my head on his shoulder, his uniform smelling of his sweat and blood. His scent still clung to him, the one that comforted me at night, the one that made me want to snuggle closer to him.
“I love you too, sweetness. You have to go, Devyn. You can’t stay here.” I kissed the hurts on his face, one by one, and then gently upon his lips. We touched foreheads and stood like that for about a minute before I heard the shuffling behind me. My time was up.
“Go on,” he whispered. “Be brave. I’ll see you soon.”
I nodded, my heart plummeting into despair. Because I knew the truth. I wasn’t going to see him again. Once I left that room, Brody would be forever closed off from me.
“You shouldn’t put such thoughts into her head. You should tell her the truth.” Rene growled.
Brody laughed, which surprised me. “I am telling her the truth. You have the upper hand right now, but you don’t have the advantage. I do.”
“That makes no sense,” Marie said.
“Sure it does. Well, maybe you’ll understand more when my team comes knocking on your door in oh, say, five minutes? Maybe?” The smirk on his bloody face was enough to enrage Marie.
She yanked me away, and practically threw me down. She pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. “I should kill her, Brody. Like you killed my Liam.”
Brody didn’t say anything, but the alarm was apparent in his eyes. Well, it was apparent to me. Marie didn’t seem to notice. I slowly faced her, my hands up. “Marie…”
“Shut up!” She lowered the gun. “Guard, take her back upstairs.” She holstered her pistol and walked out without another word.
Rene narrowed his eyes and snapped at the guard. “You heard Marie. Put her in the master room with the other one.”
“Sir, Master Alex said not—”
“Just do it.” Rene left the room.
I turned back to Brody. “Brody…”
“Go,” he said. “I’ll find you soon.”
The guard gripped my elbow tightly, a reminder of my captivity. But Brody’s words bolstered my confidence. He wasn’t talking like he wouldn’t see me again. He was talking like it was inevitable that he would.
The door banged shut behind me. The guard didn’t say a word as he took me back up the stairs, to the third floor. Seeing as my little room had been on the second floor, I had to wonder where I was going, but the guard was tight-lipped.
There were double doors at the top of the staircase. He nodded to the guard standing there, who unlocked one side. As soon as the door opened, he pushed me in and the big door was locked tight again. I pushed on the door, but there was no budging it.
“Bastards,” I whispered.
“Devyn!”
I barely had time to breathe before Addison launched herself into my arms.
“Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay!”
“Addison, what’s going on? Why are you here?”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “I lied to my family about going to school. I mean, I was, but then I met Alex.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“I didn’t. He asked me to come away with him, Dev. He was charming, and now I feel like a damn fool for not realizing he was keeping such a huge secret from me.” Addy’s blonde hair fell over her shoulders, creating a curtain of hair, like she was trying to hide herself from me. I lifted her chin and tucked her hair behind her ears. “He had me snowed. I asked to come here. When I saw you, I knew something wasn’t right. He tried to explain it off, but I wouldn’t hear it. I’m sorry about Brody, Dev. It wasn’t my intention to get anyone else involved.”
“Brody’s okay. He’s downstairs in the basement.” Never mind the fact that I was currently freaking out that Marie was going to go in there and shoot him in the head. Brody was most certainly not okay.
“We have to get you out of here. Really soon.” Addison glanced up and around the room, but what she was looking for, I wasn’t sure.
“I’m not going anywhere without Brody.”
“Actually, you’re not leaving at all. Because I’m going to kill you.”
I whipped around. Rene was close, close enough to grab me. And he was wearing a gun. I lunged at him, grabbing the gun inside his jacket, and pulled it out. I pulled back the hammer until it clicked and pointed it at Rene. I wasn’t the best shot, but we were close, so I wasn’t going to miss.
“You really think that you’re going to leave? Marie and Alex cling to ideal sentimentalities. Neither one of you will leave this room alive. I guarantee that.”
“Stay away from us.” He smiled, probably hearing the waver in my voice and took a step closer. “Get back.” I warned.
“You’re not gonna shoot me. That’s not who you are.”
“I will.” I set my jaw in determination and held the gun with both hands. A shot now would bring everyone running. I was in pretty decent shape, but I needed any advantage I could get. “You don’t know me.”
“I know a killer when I see one. And you’re not a killer.” He was too close. I needed to shoot that gun, but I couldn’t make myself pull the trigger. The hesitance was all he needed to see. Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist and pointed the gun up and away from him.
His fingers squeezed my thumb until I cried out and let go of the gun. He took it from me, still holding that spot, and turned his nose up at me. “Told you. You’re not a killer. It’s not in you. Killers don’t hesitate.” He pointed the gun back at my head. “I do remember Alex and Marie telling you that if you behaved, you might make it through this alive. Guess I get to clean up their mess now.”
“You had no intention of letting me live.” I spat out through clenched teeth. He hadn’t let go of my hand and it was starting to shoot pain through my arm.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance.” He grinned. “Don’t worry. After I do you, I’m going to do Addison too. Bury your bodies deep in the jungle so you just vanish from the Earth.”
“Stop, Rene,” Alex’s voice boomed behind me. I couldn’t see him, and I didn’t dare look away from his brother. Rene’s eyes narrowed, and his lip curled in a snarl.
“Don’t threaten me, little brother. Father
wanted me to take care of you. And that means I have to clean up your messes.”
“I could care less about this one. You’re not touching Addison.” Finally, the barrel of a gun appeared in my peripheral vision. Rene glanced at me, and then released me so he could point his weapon at Alex.
Addison grabbed me and pulled me away from the standoff. “Are you okay?”
“My hand hurts like a bitch,” I whispered, shaking my hand. Tingles shot up and down my arm, my hand trembling.
“Oh, little brother… You let that pussy wrap her little claws around your dick. You know what you were supposed to do.”
Alex’s eyes glanced to Addison for a moment, then back to his brother. What was he supposed to do? But the brief glance in her direction was all Addison needed. She ran and jumped on Rene’s back, covering his eyes.
“Addison!” I screamed.
He grabbed her almost instantly and dropped her to the ground. He kicked her. She cried out. And before Alex could react, Rene popped his gun back up. Alex froze.
“I’m sorry about this, Alex. But you’re a risk to the family. We know. And I won’t let you betray the family again.”
“Rene, don’t—”
Another gunshot filled the air. Alex froze, his grip on the gun he couldn’t quite raise up loosened and it fell to the ground near Addison. He blinked, surprise coloring his face and glanced down, the blood starting to spread in a radial direction from the center of his chest.
He dropped to his knees. His eyes glazed over. His hand touched his chest, his fingers coming away wet with blood. He glanced to his side, where Addison lay, watching. For a moment, he looked human, vulnerable.
It was strange that the man who was a son of an international arms dealer could be vulnerable or human. But then he lost the battle and fell to the floor.
“My brother the fool,” Rene whispered. He turned, raising his gun again toward Addison. “Your turn, little pussy.”
But she was ready for him this time. She had Alex’s gun in her hand and pointed it right at him. “This little pussy bites, Rene.” She stood up slowly, following the path of his gun as she did. Neither of them looked away from each other. It was another standoff.
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 78