“Okay, let’s divide into floors. Vlad, you are with me,” Alexei orders. I know that he wants to keep an eye on me to make sure that I keep my shit together. He’s not wrong, because the way I feel, I will start killing every single one of our men until I find the motherfucker who took Haley. “We look everywhere, we knock on everyone’s door, and we check inside, in vents, in dumbwaiters, everywhere.”
“Let’s go,” Draco says, which has his men making their way out.
“We will take the first floor,” Alexei says as we make our way out the door. I don’t reply as I rush towards the stairs. There is no way I am going to wait for the lift. I make my way down the stairs until I open the door to the first floor.
“Let’s start on the left,” Alexei says. Turning, I make my way towards the last room on the left. The left side of this floor we use for interrogations. The infirmary is also situated here, and the three rooms that have been converted into an area where someone takes care of the children of the parents who are working.
I open the door into one of the interrogation rooms, but it is empty. We continue our search from door to door until we are at the end of the first floor. I’m not sure if I should be relieved or upset that we didn’t find her. To even think of her in any way like the other two women we found has me wanting to roar in anger. I pull back my arm and punch the door that leads to the steps with such anger that the door swings back, hitting the wall.
Alexei would usually be on my case about controlling my anger, but this time, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he stands back and waits. “She has to be alive,” I murmur, but he hears me. We have looked through the whole of the first floor, and nothing. The others must also be nearly done with their floor, and no one has called out that she has been found. How can someone be hidden so well that we can’t find her? I swear, if I must take this fucking building apart brick by brick, I will.
I hear men on the floors above as I start making my way up the stairs, and then I hear someone roar from above that they found her. Before I can think about it, I am running up the stairs, images of the women we found before her rushing through my mind. My heart is racing in fear. I face men in the ring, I face shootings, I face deaths, but now the outcome of what is at the top has me filled with fear like nothing before ever has.
I see Cassius and Burkhart from the Elementals standing at the top of the flight of steps I am running up. When they see me, they step back to let me through. Reaching the top, I encounter Brandr, who is inside the storage room where our cleaning service keeps some of their items. “Wait, Vlad, let us see how she is.” I can see Draco at the end of the room bending over what looks like trash bags.
“Get out of my way.” I push past Brandr just in time to see Draco pulling back the bag and something else that seems like a towel, and then I see Haley. Her head is turned towards the wall, but I know it’s her. She is so still that for a moment, I freeze. Is she dead?
“You’re okay now,” I hear Draco say as he takes the rest of the covering off her. That is when I see her arms are pulled back behind her back and they are tied so tight that there is blood seeping from where they are tied. This is linked to the ties at her ankles that are just as bad.
“We need a fu—” I was going to call for a knife to cut away the ties, when I see Draco lean over the rope and pull at it. By the look of the rope, it must be strong, but Draco tore it in two like it was nothing more than string, but I don’t think any more about it as I lean down by her head. I can feel my fingers shaking as I lift my hand to stroke her hair back.
“Haley,” I call, and then I see the tape across her mouth. “Son of a bitch.” As I pick at the tape, I see from the corner of my eye Draco working on the ties around her ankles, but they are swollen, so getting to the ties is becoming difficult. The same goes for her hands. When I find the motherfucker who did this to her, I am going to make him suffer for everything he has done to the others and to my woman. I pull the tape off, only to find something stuffed in her mouth. I squeeze my eyes tight before opening them again. I let this happen to her; I will never be able to forgive myself.
Pulling it out, I rub her jaw gently to try to reduce the pain of her moving it. She closes her mouth slowly. “I’m sorry, baby,” I murmur, and see her opening her eyes. They are glazed with pain and filled with tears, but they are the eyes of the beautiful, caring woman I love.
“Ahh,” she whimpers as Draco finally cuts through the ties on one ankle and starts to move her leg straight.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but we have to move them to get the circulation going.” I lean down to kiss her forehead, only to see that her shirt is hanging loose. Looking down, I see that it has been cut away, same with her bra. Pulling it closed, I feel wetness. Bringing my hand up, I see the blood there isn’t much, but it’s still there.
“Call the fucking doctor,” I call, only to hear Andrei confirming that he has already been called. She whimpers again as Draco moves her other leg down. The feeling of uselessness is overwhelming as I stand by, not being able to do anything. We need to get her ties off before I can pick her up off this fucking ground. Her skin is freezing to the touch, lying here for all these hours while I was at the club.
“Let me through so I can look at her.” I look over my shoulder to the approaching doctor. There is no place for him unless I leave, which I don’t want to do, but Draco is busy with the ties on her hands.
“The doctor is here; I’m going to let him look at you, but I am right behind him,” I whisper close to her ear, and am relieved when she nods her head. I stand to make space for the doctor, but as promised, I stand right behind him. Finally, Draco manages to get the ties loose. Instead of moving her arms, he starts to massage the circulation back, moving them ever so slightly as he massages.
After the doctor has made sure that she can be moved, he stands and takes a step back. “We should take her down to the infirmary. I need to tend to her cuts and make sure she is fine.” I lean down, sliding my arms under her body, feeling her chilled skin.
“I’m going to pick you up now,” I murmur, and I proceed to lift her up and against my chest. The doctor leans down and picks up the towel that is lying on the floor and starts to cover her. “No,” I rasp. I will not have her covered with that. The thought of that fucker having covered her with that after he tore at her clothes has me wanting to burn the towel.
“Here.” I look over my shoulder to see Alexei holding out his jacket. “Cover her with this.” The doctor takes the jacket from him and places it over Haley to cover her nakedness. She whimpers as I move her. The knowledge that I am hurting her wrenches at my heart, but I will try to be as gentle as possible.
“I’m sorry. I will try to jolt you as little as possible,” I whisper against her hair as I start making my way out of the storage room and towards the door that leads to the main floor. I won’t go down the stairs. I would rather take the lift, as she will be less jolted like that.
“Do you know who did this to you, Haley?” Alexei asks from next to me as we ride down on the lift. She doesn’t lift her head from my chest, but she nods her head. The thought that soon we will know who the fucker is has me relieved, knowing that as soon as we get him, no more women will die at his hands.
“Do you know his name?” She shakes her head slightly; Alexei and I look at each other. If she doesn’t know his name, it means that it is someone she hasn’t been introduced to before.
“He won’t hurt you again, I promise,” I say, feeling impotent when faced with her pain. “We need to keep the men where they are until we know who it is, or he might bolt.” The lift comes to a stop. Hugging Haley close, I walk out, making my way towards the infirmary. I see the doctor is already preparing one of the beds for her.
“We need to know who he is. As soon as she’s able, let me know. I have to go talk to Draco,” Alexei says. I place Haley gently on the bed, but she still moans in pain.
“Give her something for the pain,” I snap, seeing the tears leaki
ng down her cheeks. My heart twists at not being able to help her. The doctor starts to prepare the drip. “The pain will be gone soon. I will be here all the time.” I don’t want her to think that she will be in danger again, because there is no way I am going to leave her side until we know who this asshole is.
I see the doctor wetting her lips, and then he holds a straw to her mouth. Her mouth must be as dry as dust from having that rag stuffed into it. I see her wince as she takes a sip and then another. Soon, she will be able to talk. I know that we need to know what was done to her and how, but I wish I didn’t have to make her relive it again. I see her eyes closing as she takes another sip, and then the straw slides out of her mouth as she falls asleep.
“Don’t worry, I gave her something to sleep,” the doctor says as he places the glass on the table next to the bed. “It will be better for her if I examine her while she’s asleep, as she won’t feel any pain.” The doctor inclines his head towards the door. Only now do I realize that Andrei, Nik, and Dimitri are standing outside. “Maybe you could close the door until I am finished examining her. You can wait outside or stay here if you like.”
“Close the door,” I call out. A minute later, I hear the door closing. “I’m not leaving her side,” I mutter, but the doctor doesn’t say anything as he pulls the jacket away from her. I tense when her naked torso is in view of the doctor, and even though I know this is his job, I don’t like the fact that another man is looking at Haley’s naked body, but then I see the thin line starting at her neck all the way down to her navel, and my temper is ready to explode.
He purposefully cut her while she was tied up. It’s not a cut that will leave a scar, but it’s the fact that he hurt her while she was unable to defend herself. The doctor covers Haley with a white sheet as he starts by examining her wrists and hands that are still swollen from being so long without blood circulation. I stand by her side every second, making sure that the doctor doesn’t miss anything.
He is thorough to the point where he even does blood tests to make sure the killer didn’t give her anything. “For now, we will let her rest and see how she’s feeling when she wakes up,” he says as he moves towards the sink to wash his hands. “She will be in some pain because of her hands and feet, but I will give her something for that. At least you got to her before he could rape her like he did with the others. She wasn’t touched, but I must warn you that with situations like this, she might need to speak to someone once she is up.”
When she is feeling better, I am going to tell her about knowing that she wasn’t the one who betrayed me. She might want to go back to her old life, and that is something that can’t happen, but I will cross that bridge once we get there. I know that she will want to see her sister, and even though I would rather not bring Paige into our lives, I know that it’s something I can’t stop, as they are sisters, and maybe with our influence, Paige will find her way.
HALEY 18
I can feel myself floating on a cloud of darkness. My head has never been so woozy. Was I imagining it, or did they find me? Opening my eyes, the first thing I see is the drip. They must have found me, and then I feel the warmth radiating from my hand up my arm. Turning my head, I see Vlad sitting on a chair next to the bed. His head is bent, leaning on his free hand. The other hand is holding mine. His eyes are closed, but I know he’s not sleeping by the way his thumb is stroking my hand.
“You found me.” My voice comes out in a raspy whisper, but Vlad’s head snaps up. He has dark circles under his eyes that profess to him having sat next to my bed for a while. His hair is messy, which shows that his fingers have gone through it a few times. I open my mouth to speak, but my throat is so dry that I cough instead.
“Here, babe, have some water,” Vlad says as he stretches out and brings a glass with a straw to my lips. I take a couple sips of the water, feeling it slide down my throat, soothing the dryness. When I have had enough, I pull back.
“Thank you.”
“How are you feeling? Are you in pain? I can call the doctor.”
My whole body is throbbing in pain, but I’m not going to tell him that, or he will have the doctor give me something and I will be back off to sleep. For now, the pain is manageable, which I am sure is because of something the doctor must have given me.
“No, I’m fine,” I murmur. He brings his free hand to my face, stroking my cheek tenderly.
“I’m sorry this happened. I should have had Andrei outside our door when I wasn’t there.”
At his comment, I frown. “For what, to keep me in?” I ask, my anger rising.
“No, to make sure that you were safe no matter where you went. This is my fault; I should have given you access to the door already.”
“No, Vlad, this isn’t your fault. I was stupid. I didn’t think and went out to see if Jade was home, forgetting that I didn’t have a way back in.” I turn my face and kiss the palm of his hand. “Have you got him yet?”
At my question, his features harden. “No, we were waiting for you to wake up. Did you see him?”
I frown. I thought they had caught him and that is why they found me, but I was mistaken. That madman is still out there. I look around to see if there is anyone else in the room, and breath in relief when I see that it’s only me and Vlad. “Hey, look at me,” he calls. Placing his index finger under my chin, he turns my face so I’m looking at him. “He won’t hurt you ever again, I promise.”
“He is one of your men,” I whisper. “It sounded like he was doing this to get back at you.”
Vlad scowls. Just then, there is a knock on the door, which has me jumping in surprise. I hear Vlad swear before he calls out for the person to enter.
I see the door opening, and Alexei steps in. Jade is with him, his hand holding hers as he guides the way. “Haley, oh, girl, thank goodness you’re awake,” Jade says as she pulls away from Alexei’s hand and rushes to my side. “I’ve been so worried. When we came down a couple hours ago, you were still out.”
“Hi,” I greet, feeling embarrassed, as I must be looking a mess after everything that happened.
“Alexei said you came to knock on our door and that’s why you were locked out. I’m so sorry. I had an appointment with the baby’s doctor,” she says as she places her hand over my covered leg.
“I was just coming to ask if you had any books that I could read. It’s okay. I’m the one who forgot that I wouldn’t be able to get back inside.” I feel embarrassed at the hassle I have caused everyone.
“How are you feeling?” Alexei asks as he places an arm around his wife’s shoulders. I look up at him to see his serious countenance. Alexei isn’t someone I think I will ever feel comfortable just having a conversation with without feeling a little intimidated, but that is because of the aura of power he radiates.
“I’m feeling better than when you all found me,” I quip.
“Did you see who took you?” Alexei asks. I see him glancing at Vlad before he looks back at me.
“Yes, he is young.” Alexei frowns. I look over at Vlad to see him leaning forward in his chair.
“What do you mean young? And what did you mean when you were saying earlier that you think he is doing this because of me?” Vlad asks.
“He said that you think that just because you are a fighter that you are better than everybody else, that it’s just because you don’t let anyone else fight you that you’re so high and mighty. He seemed to really hate you when he was talking.” I see the anger radiating from Vlad by the way he is tense and his jaw is set. “He said that he is smarter than you, as you weren’t able to catch him.”
Vlad shoots out of his chair, the chair bouncing back, landing on its back. “I will give him a chance to fight me. It will be my pleasure to let him try to beat me,” Vlad rasps, his voice laced with anger. “The motherfucker killed those two women and hurt you because he hates me?” He pulls his hand away from holding mine and passes the fingers from both his hands through his already dishevelled hair.
&n
bsp; “What does he look like? You say he is young,” Alexei says, a quiet, deadly tone to his voice.
“He has very short hair, dark eyes,” I say, thinking back to try to find something unique about him to identify him. “There is nothing really unique about him. He came to the apartment on the day of Vlad’s fight, asking for him, but Vlad was already gone.” Then I remember that Jade and Nik interrupted us.
“You saw him, Jade; he was with me when you came to talk to me for the first time. Nik spoke to him.” Jade frowns and then nods, her eyes opening wide in recognition.
“Yes, I know who you are talking about. Is that him? But he’s hardly a man,” she says in surprise.
“Who is he?” Alexei asks, looking at her, but she shrugs her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, love, but I don’t know his name.” I hear a rustle. Looking to my side, I see Vlad texting on his phone.
“I have called Nik,” Vlad says just as there is a knock.
“He came with us; he was waiting outside,” Jade says just as Nik walks in.
“Nik, who was Haley talking to when you saw her for the first time outside Vlad’s apartment?” Alexei asks.
I see surprise register on Nik’s face before it is masked. “Anatoly,” he states.
“No fucking way,” Vlad states. He glances back at me, and I can see the fury in his eyes riding him. I nod, knowing that he is feeling torn between staying with me and going after this Anatoly. He walks over to me. Bending down, he kisses my forehead. “Love you,” he whispers before he straightens and rushes out of the infirmary. I am still in shock at his whispered words. Did I really hear him say he loves me?
“Shit,” Alexei says as he follows him, saying something in Russian to Nik as he leaves.
“Is Anatoly the one who took you?” Nik asks as he walks towards the chair to pick it up from the floor.
“Yes.”
“Who would have thought? He is such a young kid,” Jade says as she shakes her head in surprise.
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