Sinner: A Reed Security Romance

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  One of the men brought in a metal chair and hauled me up into it. My arms and legs were tied to the chair and while the ropes were tight, I could still feel them. The problem now was that I was completely incapacitated. Still, I was grateful for the reprieve.

  This time when they sprayed me with water, they didn’t shock me with electricity. They simply smiled and left the room. It was cold in the room, but still bearable. My body shook from sitting on a cold, metal chair while soaking wet, but I found this to be much more manageable than hanging from the ceiling. Then I heard a ticking and a cold blast entered the room. I couldn’t see where it was coming from, but there had to have been a vent close by because it felt like I was being hit with an icy blast. After just a few minutes, my body was shaking uncontrollably and my teeth were chattering so hard, I had to force my tongue to the roof of my mouth so I didn’t bite it.

  They had left me alone to think about my options. There was no way I would give up Vanessa’s location, but even if I wanted to end this quickly, I couldn’t. Sebastian never told anyone where he stashed people he was protecting unless it was absolutely necessary they know. My job had been to deliver Vanessa to Sebastian. Since I had just gotten my job back after dropping her off, I would be the last person that had any information on her whereabouts.

  The door slammed open and two men entered. One was the same man that always talked to me and the other was an evil looking man with a sadistic smile. He was carrying a whip of some kind, but this had three ropes hanging from the handle and what looked like hooks on the end.

  “Good evening, Mr. Sinn. How are you doing today?”

  “I w-wish the accomm-modations were better. Honestly, if you w-want more guests, you sh-should really provide at least the basic ammenities.” My body convulsed from the cold. “Would it k-kill you to have a continental br-breakfast?”

  “You’re funny,” he smiled. “I can see why people like you. I’ve read quite a bit about you over the past few days and I have to say, I’ve never seen such glowing reports.” He held out a folder and started reading from it. “Your Army captain says that you are ‘strong, determined, and a force to be reckoned with’. He goes on and on about your personality and several situations in which you stood out in your squadron.”

  “It’s called a g-group, asshole. Special Forces Group.” I did my best to hold back my stutters as I bit out the last part.

  “Right, well, either way, you come highly recommended as a deadly weapon. Since I can see you won’t break as easily as I’d like, perhaps we could work out a different deal. One in which you would come work for me and be spared any more of this unnecessary torture.”

  “Y-you mean I’d get to s-see your ugly face every d-day? I th-think I’d rather fr-freeze to death.”

  He smiled thinly and nodded at the other man. “Do you see what Ivan is holding?” I refused to look, staring the man down until he stepped forward and jerked my chin to face the other man. “Ever heard of flagellation?” I didn’t say anything. “It’s when you’re whipped as the hooks on the ends of the rope dig into your flesh and rip the skin from your body in chunks. Ivan happens to love this particular form of torture.”

  If it weren’t for the chills already wracking my body, they would surely see how terrified I was of this particular form of torture. I had seen people tortured overseas and several times, something similar to this. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to watch and I imagined it was extremely painful to experience. I kept my gaze as stoic as possible and smirked when he smiled maniacally at me. That angered him and he quickly snapped at the other man and ordered him to undo my ropes, obviously having something different in mind.

  I had decided when I was first taken that the man with the graying hair was not much of a fighter, but the executor. The way he stood with his hands behind his back said that he felt he was untouchable, which would be his downfall. He wouldn’t be prepared for an assault because he thought his men would protect him.

  Knowing I only had one chance to get away before I was flayed to pieces, I let the adrenaline race through my system. The man stepped toward me and cut the ropes quickly from both legs and one arm. I didn’t wait for him to cut the last rope before I quickly delivered a throat punch, making him stumble back, choking and gagging. I spun around, gripping the arm of the chair and swung it at the other man’s head, who was still standing there as if I would be taken down by the other man. The chair connected with his head and he fell to the ground moaning in pain.

  The sharp hooks of the whip were imbedded into the flesh around my ribs moments later and then yanked away from my body.

  “Fuck!” I yelled in pain, but spun and swung the chair a second time. This time I connected with the torturer’s head and when he dropped to the floor, I quickly placed the leg of the chair over the man’s eye and slammed it into the socket. The man went still underneath me, leaving me only to deal with the other man. My energy was quickly flagging as the adrenaline started to wear off. I could distantly hear sounds outside the concrete walls, but it seemed all my senses were starting to fail me. I spotted a knife in a holster at the man’s waist and fumbled until I could grip it enough to cut through the rope still attached to my other wrist. I stumbled toward the other man, completely intent on ending his miserable life, but my limbs gave out and I fell to the floor completely useless.

  My breathing slowed considerably and I noticed the violent tremors that wracked my body were no longer consistent, which probably meant I was getting to the severe stages of hypothermia. I curled up in a ball, hoping to warm myself a little, but it didn’t really help as I laid on the ice cold floor.

  The other man struggled to his feet as he held his bleeding head in his hands. I could see through my narrow tunnel of vision that he was staggering toward me and then sounds came from behind him, but I could hardly hear anything anymore.

  I could see outlines of other men entering the room and some light filtering in from the hall. Something forced my head to look up and I saw the vaguely familiar face of one of the guys from OPS staring down at me. Then Cash stepped into view, his face grim as he stared over my naked body. Blankets were thrown around me to keep me warm, but it didn’t help much at this point. I felt like I would never be warm again. Cash shouted orders to the other guys, which were quickly followed, and then he was leaning over me and yelling into my ear.

  “A few weeks on the job and you’re already trying to get out of work?”

  “I..want..hazard pay,” I slowly grunted out. He pulled back and grinned down at me.

  “You want hazard pay? You only took out one guy.”

  “Two..killed one..with..legs..” I said between shivers.

  Cash lifted my head and poured water down my throat. It had been way too long since I’d had a drink and I started gulping it down, feeling better with every swallow. When I finished the bottle, Cash slapped my cheek lightly and grinned.

  “Put your clothes on and stop laying down on the job,” Cash said as he flung my clothes at me. I tried my damnedest to get my clothes on, but my fingers weren’t working. Red had to come over and help pull my pants on and zip them up. Then he put on my shoes, but the sound of gunfire in the distance had us all stopping and listening. I immediately understood that OPS had come in under heavy fire to get my ass out.

  “No time for the rest. It’s now or never,” Cash said as he pushed a gun into my hands, but it quickly fell to the ground. I didn’t have enough strength in my hands to grip the gun. My hands were swollen from where they had been bound with the rope, and the cold had rendered my hands useless. The guys walked out of the room ahead of me while I struggled to stay upright walking along the wall. Every step was harder than the one before, but I pushed myself, knowing that freedom was just outside the building. I couldn’t distract the guys with my dead weight, so I needed to push it until I had absolutely no energy left.

  We wound our way up the stairs and out into a large warehouse that was mostly empty. It seemed to take forever and I
was sure the guys were going slower to accommodate me. When we reached the outer door, I was done. There was no way I could go any further. I had been hung by my wrists, electrocuted repeatedly, sprayed with water and left in a freezing room, and had my side ripped out with hooks. I just didn’t have anything left to give.

  “Cash,” I mumbled as my energy started to flag and I slumped against the wall. He turned to look at me and immediately understood that I wasn’t going to make it out of there on my own.

  “Red, get Sinner before he falls the fuck over.”

  Red Warren quickly came over and flung me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. I noticed a throbbing pain in my right side that was quickly intensifying with every step. Shouting blurred with gunfire and running and my body jostled with every step Red took.

  Red tossed me into the backseat of a company SUV and then turned to lay down fire as other team members ran toward the vehicle. I was laying across the seat and briefly thought that it might be helpful if I sat up so the other guys could get in, but my muscles wouldn’t comply with my thoughts.

  Doors opened and closed, someone yelled orders, and I was moved into a seated position as the vehicle roared down the road. My head lulled on the back of the seat and I closed my eyes, hoping that when I woke up I would be home in a warm bed.

  “Mark! Stay awake, man. Don’t go to sleep.” Red was sitting next to me and slapping my face to keep my eyes open. He tucked blankets around me to warm me up, but the shivering had stopped and now I was just numb.

  “Fuck off,” I grumbled. I was tired and wanted some sleep. I gave in and let my body do what it needed to, which was relax. It was strange because I was no longer feeling pain, but I probably should have been. Deep down, I knew that not feeling the pain anymore was a bad sign. It meant I didn’t have long before my body would give out. I fumbled on the seat for Red’s hand and felt a slight pressure when he squeezed back.

  “Red,” I said, but it only came out as a whisper. He leaned in close so I didn’t have to struggle so much to talk. “Cara..tell..love her.” Red squeezed my hand tighter and gripped my face with his other hand.

  “Hey! You don’t just lay down and take this shit. Fight, you fucking idiot!”

  I wanted to, but I just didn’t have it in me anymore. “Tired..” I mumbled as he continued to yell in my face about not giving up.

  “Cash, get moving or we’re going to lose him!”

  “Red..” I drew him closer with the slight pull of my hand. He leaned in again and squeezed my hand to his chest.

  “Take care..of Cara..” I breathed out heavily. “Love her,” I whispered. He pulled back and looked me in the eye.

  “I will, Mark. I promise. Just hang on,” he replied fiercely. “You can tell her yourself.”

  I gave a slight nod and closed my eyes, finally giving into the demands my body was making.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Cara

  “I THINK WE need to go out to California,” I said to Sean as I paced his living room.

  “Cara, we’ve already talked about this. We shouldn’t go anywhere until we know more about the situation. Going out there won’t help the situation.”

  “Are you seriously asking me to sit around here and do nothing?” I asked incredulously.

  “What are you going to do out there? We’ll be in the way if we go out there. They need to focus on finding Mark, not making sure we’re informed of every little detail.”

  “I can’t stay here, Sean. I need to be close by so when they find him I can get to him.”

  He sighed and shook his head. I knew exactly what he wasn’t saying, they might not find him or they might not get to him in time. I knew all too well how this could turn out, but I couldn’t think that way. When he told me yesterday that Mark had been taken, I refused to give in to the fear of the situation, but being so far away and feeling completely helpless was slowly breaking down my defenses.

  “Sean, I know.” I took a step toward him and gripped his hand in mine. “Please don’t make me wait out here. I need to be closer to him. Just call Sebastian and work it out. I’ll stay out of the way and I won’t ask a lot of questions, but I need to be out there.”

  Sean nodded and pulled out his phone. I waited with bated breath as he talked with Sebastian about going out to California.

  “We can take a flight out there right away. She needs to be closer.”

  I closed my eyes and prayed that Sebastian would be able to come up with something to get Cash on our side. He had been telling us to stay put since Mark went missing.

  “Oh, okay. Sure. We’ll wait for your call.”

  He hung up and I about lost it. “Don’t you dare tell me to wait for a phone call. I need to go out there now!”

  “Cara, he’s getting a private plane because he’s taking his guys out there to help in the search. He wants us to wait so we can fly out with him.”

  I leapt into his arms and squeezed him tight. “Thank you so much, Sean. You’ll never know how much this means to me.”

  “I do, sweetheart. We’ll get him back.”

  He held me tight for a few minutes and I almost broke down and gave into the feelings of dread that were surrounding me, but when Sean pulled back, I blinked away the tears and sucked in a breath.

  “I’m going to pack. I want to be ready as soon as he calls back.” Sean nodded and I ran off to my bedroom to pack. I quickly threw clothes in my duffel, not really paying attention to what was there. When I was done, I zipped my bag and sat down on the bed. I stared at the floor, not willing to go out and wait with Sean.

  I thought back to the time I had wasted blaming Mark when I should have been embracing the fact that he cared enough for me to stand up for me. I was such an idiot and we lost so much time together. Now, I didn’t even know if I would see him again.

  “Cara, we need to leave. Sebastian has a plane for us and we need to get out there now.”

  I nodded and grabbed my duffel, following him to the door.

  “Do you have your meds? They won’t be able to hold up if something happens. We’re working on their clock.”

  I nodded and patted my purse. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  We landed in California about an hour ago and had just loaded up the SUV and headed for OPS. I was sitting in the back with Sean while Sebastian and Burg rode up front. We had been driving for close to a half hour when Sebastian got a call. I leaned forward, not at all ashamed that I was listening in on his private phone call.

  “Right, we’ll head there now.” He hung up and looked at me in the rearview mirror, then glanced at Burg. “Call John and Derek. Tell them we’re headed to 2145 West Cedar St. We’ll be meeting up with Cash’s crew and get further instruction once we get there.”

  My nerves jumped as we turned a corner and sped down the road. Sean gripped my hand and leaned in close. “When we get there, you stay in the car with me. We have to let them do what they’re trained to do.”

  “Shouldn’t you be going with them? I mean, you’re trained also.”

  He shook his head. “There’s a difference between training for police work and training for hostage recovery at this level. They’ve trained for this in the military and with every job they do. Best to leave it to the people that are best qualified.”

  That was absolute bullshit. Maybe to some degree he was right, but I knew my brother was damn good at his job. No doubt, he was told that he needed to stay back and keep and eye on me. It was fine, though. I needed him with me to help me get through whatever was about to happen.

  When we arrived at the address, I noticed it was a warehouse and that had my stomach doing somersaults. There was no way that this would be good. Sebastian’s men immediately got to work, arming themselves and strapping on bulletproof vests. Another man came over and started barking orders at all of them and then they all dispersed, heading off to different areas of the property. We waited and waited for what felt like forever, but then the
gunfire started and Sean shoved me to the floor of the SUV in case any stray bullets headed our way.

  “They’re coming back. Get ready to move.”

  I sat up and looked out the window to see all the men running back toward us. One man in particular stood out because he was carrying someone over his shoulder who was slumped and unmoving. My hand flew to my mouth when the man’s silhouette came into view. It was Mark, there was no doubt in my mind.

  “Oh, God. Sean, please tell me he’s not dead,” I whimpered.

  “Just hold onto hope, Cara. We won’t know anything until we get out of here.”

  Sebastian and Burg quickly got in the vehicle and we followed the SUV that Mark had been put in. I heard gunfire in the distance, but I didn’t care about that at the moment. I needed to know how Mark was.

  “Sebastian, just tell me!” I practically shouted at him.

  “He’s alive,” was all he said as he focused on the road. I slumped back in my seat and buried my head in Sean’s chest as I cried. I had no idea what Sebastian meant by ‘he’s alive’. Was he going to recover? Was he just passed out? I was terrified to know the answer, but even more terrified that I would never talk to him again.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  I paced around the waiting room for hours, hoping that the doctor would come out and give us some tiny speck of news. Sean had tried to get me to sit down with him, but I just couldn’t sit with all the nervous energy built up inside of me. Surprisingly, I was so distracted by my fear of the situation that my anxiety hadn’t even made itself known. The doors to the emergency room opened and some of the guys from OPS entered. They dressed the same as everyone else and nobody flinched when they walked through the doors, so I assumed they were to be trusted. One of the men looked at me and stared at me for a few seconds before heading over.