Not Broken (Firebacks Book 2)

by Linda Verji

  All her senses crawled in alarm as she watched him come closer to crouch on the floor and pick up the rope, gun still in hand. He barked, “Hands.”

  Tasha scanned the room frantically. She had to find a weapon. If she let Polo tie her up, it would be over for both she and Asia. His punch right below her eye caught Tasha unawares, sending her crashing to the ground along with the chair. Pain throbbed through her face and the side of her body where she’d slammed into the solid wood but before she could even recover from it, he yanked her to her feet. “Hands.”

  “No,” she yelled struggling in his arms to keep him from tying her up. She could vaguely hear Asia’s siren like screams but her only goal was to prevent him from tying her up because that would mean the end for both of her and her daughter. Her fear had transformed into anger and determination.

  She grabbed for Polo’s face, slashing her nails across its handsome length. One nail even managed to slash into his rubbery eye-ball, as she left thick lines of blood from his forehead to his cheek. He hissed in pain but remained undeterred. It seemed she’d only worsened matters because he slammed his forehead into hers. Blinded by pain, Tasha staggered back. He dragged her back to the chair.

  “You know I hate it when you don’t follow instructions,” Polo growled as he wound the length of the rope tightly around her torso, the chair and her legs. The blood was pouring out of several of the lines on his face but he didn’t seem to feel the pain

  “You promised to let her go,” Tasha screamed as she struggled to dislodge the ropes. It was all for nothing. Her hands were bound so tightly to the sides of the chairs and her lower limbs to its legs that she couldn’t move. Each time she tried, the rough hairs of the rope bit into her naked limbs painfully.

  “I lied.” He shoved her face to the side so that they were both facing the mirror, with his face against hers. His alcohol imbued breath hissed into her nose as he spoke, “Look how good we look together. Why did you separate us?”

  All she could see was the bloody face of a mad man next to hers. The eye she’d gorged had turned a startling shade of red that only made him look crazier.

  “Mama,” Asia cried.

  Tasha turned her head to face her daughter. Asia had crawled from her prone position and was now trying to get off the bed. But she was too weak to even stand up. The kind of pain Tasha felt seeing her daughter hurting so much was unexplainable. Her voice was chocked with tears as she cried, “Stay on the bed, baby.”

  “Yes, stay on the bed, baby.” Polo waved the gun at Asia. He shoved Tasha’s face hard almost snapping her neck with the force. He stood up and walked towards Asia.

  “Leave her alone!” Tasha cried in alarm.

  “What the fuck you gon’ do?” he taunted as he took his position back on the bed, sitting on it with his back to the headboard. Asia immediately inched away from him. “You’re tied up.”

  “When I get out of here…”

  “That’s not gon’ happen.” He laughed. Then as if tired of the sick game he was playing, he sighed. “Oh relax! I’m won’t hurt her. This is just for you.”

  “What do you want from me Polo?” Tasha asked. He threw his head back as he took another gulp of the dark brown liquid in the bottle, just staring at her. Angrily, she repeated. “What do you want from me?”

  Polo’s phone beeped on the table and he picked it up - then smiled. He walked towards Tasha with the phone, crouching low with his face beside her, he lifted the phone up to her face, “Oh look, your little boyfriend is here.”

  On the screen, Kian crept towards the house with a gun in his hand. He was supposed to stay outside with Jim and Rafe. Polo laughed, his hot alcoholic breath washing over her face. “I knew he would come.”

  She opened her mouth to shout for Kian not to come in but stopped when Polo stuck the barrel of the gun in her mouth. “Uh uh! You fucking speak again and I’ll splatter you and your daughter’s brains into the walls, you got it?”

  Tasha nodded her head, her teeth clicking against the metal. He kept the gun to her mouth as he continued speaking, “Let me tell you about the plan. Your little fuck-toy is going to come in here then I’m going to shoot him.”

  He removed a lighter from his pocket and flicked it into a flame waving it in front of her. “Then I’m going to set this house on fire. Whoosh!”

  What? He’d gone crazy. Tasha’s eyes widened in alarm when the flame licked higher, dancing in tune to Polo’s madness. He laughed into her ear, “I can see you’re wondering how I plan to get out of this.”

  “Asia, be a good girl and pull that rug beside the bed.” He waved the gun at their daughter. Asia stretched out but couldn’t reach the floor. He waved the gun at her again, “Now, you little bitch.”

  Tasha’s heart ached and tears sprung to her eyes when Asia let her body drop to the ground with a thump because she couldn’t stand up. From a crawling position she pulled the rug. Underneath it was a metal like opening.

  “See that. That leads direct to the outside. Asia and I are going to leave through it and leave you and your boyfriend here roasting like a pair of chickens.” He cackled as if enjoying his own joke. “The rest of the world will think that we burned up with you. Isn’t that funny?”

  He looked at the screen of the phone.

  “Oops, here he is,” Polo said. On screen, Kian pushed open the main door, “Time to get the fucking party started.”

  Pressing a finger to his lips, Polo slid the gun out of her mouth. He crept to stand beside the closet next to the bed, a perfect place to hide from the view of anyone entering the room. The door silently opened.

  First came Kian’s gun, then the rest of his body. His eyes landed on Tasha tied up on the chair and widened in alarm. He took a step deeper into the room searching it with his eyes. Tasha couldn’t hold it anymore, “Kian, look…”

  It all happened so fast, yet so slowly.

  Polo jumped out from behind the closet. Kian swiveled to meet him with his gun already out, but it was too late because the bullet was already moving. It caught him right in the chest. In horror, Tasha watched Kian fall on his knees then to the floor.

  No. He couldn’t be dead. She waited for him to stand up.

  “Got him. Got him!” Polo cackled in glee prancing around Kian’s prone body on the floor. “That’s all folks.”

  Kian didn’t move at all; he just lay still on the ground. Tasha could feel her heart breaking, shattering like the bullet that had pierced his body. Kian was dead.

  The man she loved was dead.

  CHAPTER 28

  “Please, Polo, don’t do this.” Tasha’s voice was dead as she watched him pick up pieces of paper from the side of the bed. With Kian’s death she’d lost any hope of living past this night. She’d accepted that Polo had indeed crossed over into deep darkness. He was going to kill her too and there was no one else to save her. At least he wasn’t going to kill Asia. She wasn’t going to live the best life – but she was going to live.

  “Whoosh.” Polo flicked the lighter, its flames engulfing the piece of paper in his hands. He walked to the window and threw it outside, immediately the outside of the bedroom flared up in brilliant flames.

  “Polo, don’t do this,” Tasha tried again. He balled one of the papers and pushed it into her mouth stopping her from speaking. She could only watch in silent agony with the bitter taste of paper and defeat in her mouth, as he lit up another piece.

  “Whoosh.” He walked out of the bedroom door. A few seconds later she smelt the smoke that suggested he’d lit up one of the rooms. The smell of gas as well as strands of smoke followed him as he came back into the room.

  He went to grab Asia from the bed, but she was squirming in his arms and screaming for Tasha, “Mama, mama, mama.”

  He dropped her back on the floor, “Fine. Stay.”

  No! No! No! He was supposed to take Asia with him. Tasha started to jerk on the chair in earnest. But the ropes only bit harder into her skin, taunting her with her helple
ssness. The chair fell to the ground with her struggling. Outside the room she heard an ominous thud and crackle as the fire engulfed something. The level of smoke in the room steadily increased as it covered up the ceiling’s top layer.

  Polo started to bend towards the hatch.

  And that’s when salvation happened.

  Like a ghost, Kian stood up.

  Polo turned, shock and fear immediately filling his eyes. On Kian’s chest the hole where Polo’s bullet had gone through his shirt was evident, but beneath it a hint of black. Bullet proof vest. The realization hit Polo too late. There was no hesitation in Kian’s arm as he aimed for Polo. The loud crack of a bullet leaving the gun’s chamber pierced the crackling of the flames outside.

  His aim was firm. His aim was sure.

  The bullet caught Polo right in the forehead and he slammed to the floor.

  Kian ran for Asia picking her from the floor. He turned to Tasha pressing his sleeve to Asia’s nose as if to keep her from taking in the smoke that filled the room. Two of the windows burst into fragments from the pressure of the flames licking outside the house, some shards flew in to lodge into her leg. Flames spread out like a line of soldiers outside the door, already licking at its wood as it caught fire.

  Ignoring her own pain, Tasha pleaded with him with her eyes. Go. Go.

  They needed to get away. He shook his head before he put Asia on the bed. Running behind her fallen chair, he fumbled with the ropes that held her prisoner. They dropped to the ground releasing Tasha. With her out of her restraints, he rushed back to grab Asia. The ropes had been so tight they’d cut off Tasha’s circulation and it was hard to walk. But Kian managed to walk her towards the hatch.

  The room got hotter and the flames licked closer. Sweat trickled down Tasha’s forehead and her back as the stench of gas bit into her nose. Coughing, they pushed Polo’s heavy body aside to reveal the metallic door. Immediately they sent each other panicked looks. There was a small box with numbers beside the handle.

  The hatch was pass-code locked.

  No!

  CHAPTER 29

  The fire raged on. Its crackling flames rose up to fill the still dark skies as sparks shot up and fell to the ground as white ash. Loud painful splinters bit into the cold night morning air as it consumed wood. The whole roof had already fallen in and all the windows had shattered into emptiness.

  A crowd had gathered at the edge of the black gates, that had been flung open when the firemen rushed in, trying to see what was going on inside the estate. Firemen shouted instructions to each other as they washed the flames with wave after wave of water yet they only seemed to roar higher and higher in protest charring anything in their path.

  Well there went Polo’s house – and Polo!

  “Don’t ever do that to me again.” Rafe punched Kian in the chest, his fist meeting the yellow windbreaker the firemen had given Kian. He said, “I thought you were dead for sure.”

  “I would’ve been.” Kian shook his head. “I owe you and Jim big time.”

  For a minute Kian had thought it was over for all of them as he stared at the code box. Tasha had pressed several numbers in to it but it was a no go and they were becoming increasingly desperate. Having no thought other than to delay the fire reaching them, they’d run to the bathroom.

  It was only instincts, a bit of cosmic help backed up by Jim and Rafe’s intervention that’d kept Kian, Tasha and Asia from going up in flames like Polo. Rafe who’d been coming to the house from the back when he’d spotted them. With the Jim’s help he’d broken the window and helped them get out. Kian would never look at bathroom window the same way again. Apart from a few minor burns and the ladies’ singed hair, they’d all come out whole.

  “Do you think they’ll be all right?” Rafe asked, gesturing towards Tasha who stood next to the gurney where a paramedic was examining Asia. She was swathed in a blanket but Kian knew that underneath it she was wearing his shirt.

  “I’ll make sure they are,” Kian said, determination in his eyes.

  *

  Two weeks later

  “It’s just a date.” Chryssa yawned. “I don’t know why you’re being so dramatic about it.”

  “It’s her first date,” Zain pointed out. She pointed her finger at Tasha and then twirled it. “Turn.”

  Tasha did as asked, swiveling so they could judge how she looked in the knee-length black dress. The fabric clung to her body provocatively flaunting her curvy body. Its v-neck dipped invitingly down her cleavage, but not so much that anything of significance was out on display.

  “Perfect,” Zain said, approval in her voice. “Sexy but not too sexy that he’ll think you’re easy.”

  “Psh! Please. With that corn bread booty?” Chryssa guffawed with a naughty gleam in her eyes. “She’ll be lucky if she even gets to the restaurant with her panties on.”

  “Chryssa!” Tasha protested, as she wound a bracelet around her wrist. The two women were not just here to help her prepare for her date but were also babysitting her kids. Zain nodded.

  “Shut up.” Zain gave Chryssa the death glare. “I swear when it’s your turn I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

  “It’s never going to be my turn.” Chryssa chuckled as she stood up from the bed. She stopped in front of Tasha giving her the once over before nodding. “But yes, you do look lovely Miss Walker.”

  “Thank you.” Though on the outside she was calm, on the inside Tasha was bursting with excitement. She’d never been on a date. Before her marriage, she and Polo had been too interested in sneaking around to have any kind of date and within it, he’d never bothered.

  Kian appeared at her door at precisely ten o’clock.

  His eyes scored her body leaving delicious tingles on their way. “You look gorgeous.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself.” Actually he looked better than good. The expensive fabric of his grey suit smoothed over his muscular frame enhancing his broad shoulders, brawny arms and thick thighs seductively. The black shirt he’d worn to compliment it was open at the collar giving her an enticing view of his throat and just a hint of his upper chest.

  “This way, my lady.” He gallantly guided her to the car with a hand on the small of her back. It wasn’t just any car. A limo sat in the parking lot.

  “For me?” She turned to him, her eyes wide with surprise. He nodded then tilted her chin so that he could kiss her. And that was the least romantic thing he did that night.

  The night started out with dinner at a Korean restaurant in commemoration of their first conversation. He’d reserved it exclusively for them. Soft oriental tunes played in the background, a smooth accompaniment to the delicious food. The conversation between her and Kian was easy and filled with laughter.

  “Admit it,” Kian teased. “You look ridiculous in that uniform.”

  “Don’t be a hater!” Tasha retorted. “I’ll have you know that Chantreuse begged Melanie to design her a beige tuxedo after she saw how good I make those pants look.”

  “Did you just roll your neck at me?” Kian shook his head. “I’m going to have to cut down your time with Chryssa, young lady.”

  “Young lady?” Tasha opened her mouth in mock shock.

  Kian’s response was a chuckle before he leant forward and planted a kiss on her lips. “I love you.”

  She had yet to say the words to him but Kian hadn’t pressured her to. He’d said he was quite willing to wait her out. She appreciated his patience with her more than she could ever say. Despite all the crap she’d put him through including exposing him to her psycho ex, he was still here. There were not many men like Kian.

  Though Tasha was having a hard time saying the words, she knew that she loved him. Who wouldn’t? Being with Kian was a whole other world that Tasha had never experienced. It was almost like finding color after living in a black and white movie. He was passionate, loyal, loving and deserved a less scarred woman than her.

  That however didn’t mean she was wil
ling to give him up to find that woman. He was hers. Eager to show him how much she appreciated him, she said, “You know, I never did apologize for not telling you of my plans to leave.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “No,” Tasha reached across the table and placed her hand over his. “I was being selfish when you were just being there for me. Thank you so much for hanging in there for all your help with Polo.”

  “You don’t have to thank me.” He turned his hand over and then fit his fingers between hers. The intimate touch was enough to send her nerves skittering with excitement. His gaze was intent as he said, “I’m your man. It’s my job to be there for you.”

  “You’re my man?”

  “You know I am.” This time when he leant forward to kiss her it was much deeper. His lips slanted hard over hers, his tongue seeking hers. She willing opened up from him and gave him what he needed. He rewarded her with a lip-burning, tongue-searing kiss.

  His mouth was possessive, demanding yet giving her leeway to back away. Tasha had no intentions of backing away and returned his kiss with equal fervor. She was glad that they were alone in the restaurant because the intensity of the kiss would’ve been enough to get the arrested for public lewdness.

  The rest of the evening passed like a whirlwind. It hardly felt like they’d even spent ten minutes together when he led her back to the limo even though he’d capped the evening by taking her to see a Broadway remake of Blue Valentine.

  “It’s almost midnight,” Kian said looking at his watch. “Let’s get you home.”

  Tasha tried to hide her disappointment but it was hard. She wanted to spend more time with him. When he opened the door for her, she didn’t enter. Biting her lip nervously then taking a deep breath to bolster her courage before she said, “Can we…can we go to your house?”

  She didn’t say what she really wanted but Kian was a smart man. He could figure it out.

  “You want to come to my house?” Kian asked as if he couldn’t quite believe it. She nodded.