After another second, minute, or hour, I felt the wetness of his lips on mine.
“Grace, stay with me. This will all be over soon. I’ll make sure of that.”
What would be over soon? This headache? I could only hope. I felt dizzy, dizzier than I had. I felt my eyes roll back in my head. My body seemed as though it wanted to give up, but give up on what?
“No, no. Grace? Grace? Look at me. I need you to look at me right now.” His hands were on my cheeks as he continued to mumble. “What did he do to you? What did I let him do to you? Grace, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I tried to tell him it was okay, that it wasn’t his fault, that I didn’t really know what was upsetting him so much. I kept saying the words in my head, but my lips wouldn’t move.
Seconds, minutes, hours, but then something changed. I felt the breath return to my body. I was still dizzy, still shaking, but my muscles were willing to follow my commands. I opened my mouth, and this time there was sound.
“Ryan?”
“Grace? Oh my God, Grace.” He pulled me closer to him. “I thought… I thought…” Was he crying? “I don’t know what I thought, I’m just happy you’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
Ryan stopped, pulling away from my face. He looked deep into my eyes; his concern was too real.
“Grace, what do you remember?”
I searched my memories of the day. We arrived in Philly, stopped by the apartment, Ryan left to head to the club, Anne Marie got a call from her children, we headed the her house, I met Sarah and Joseph, and then… And then… Nothing? What happened after I met Sarah and Joseph?
I could feel something missing. I knew there was more. I knew something had happened, something big.
“Grace?” Ryan brought me back to the present. “Please, what do you remember?”
“Nothing,” I admitted. “I remember nothing.”
Ryan
“She’s on the couch. Oh, and I should warn you, she’ll be like this for another hour or so. Try to have some fun with her. I sure did.”
I turned back to him, but all I saw was a slight wink as he slammed and then locked the door behind him.
I can’t say I had ever been so scared in my life. My enemy had locked me in a room where it was made known that my wife, who hadn’t yet made a sound since I had entered the room, was on the other side of the couch. What could that possibly mean? What had he done to her? I moved slowly, afraid of what I would find. I wanted to keep the hope alive as long as possible.
But that hope drained as soon as I saw her, and my world shattered around me. My vision adjusted to the dim lighting as I stared at my motionless Grace. I couldn’t take a step closer for fear that I would confirm my suspicions: I wasn’t sure she was alive. She didn’t react to seeing me, even though her glazed over eyes were open. She was lying on her back, almost staring up at the ceiling. Her hair was disheveled, and she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties, even though the room couldn’t have been more than forty degrees. He face was gaunt white and her lips were becoming a pale shade of blue before my eyes.
Then I saw her chest rise with breath.
“Grace? Grace? Baby, can you hear me?”
I ran to her side, grasping her arms in my hands. I shook her, hoping to free her from her comatose state. Nothing. Her skin was like ice. I snuck two fingers under her jaw, searching for her pulse. It was weak, but it was there. I needed to warm her up, so I pulled off my jacket and laid it on top of her. It wouldn’t be enough. I needed to find something else.
I jumped up, pacing around the room searching for something, for anything that could keep her warm. I lifted my phone from my pocket, but as I suspected, I had no signal. We were trapped in this prison with no way out, and a very real possibility of death. No wonder Sean offered to let me spend the night with her. After seeing her like this, there was no way I wouldn’t take his offer. There was no way I would allow her to ever suffer again because of our relationship.
I spotted a small chair out of the corner of my eye that happened to have a blanket slung over its back. I pulled it from its home, allowing it to open to its full potential. It would work just fine. Knowing that body heat would be the best way to warm her, I stripped down to my boxers before continuing with the task at hand. I could see her watching me. I wished I knew what she was thinking. I wished she could tell me what had happened, how she had ended up half naked in a freezing room. I wished I didn’t feel so helpless.
I slid my hands under her frail body and lifted her to my chest. She felt so fragile in my arms; I wanted to hold her there forever. But I couldn’t maneuver the blanket with both of my arms wrapped around her. Was she able to move? “Grace, can you try to hold on to me?” The cold, the worry, the pain had gotten to my voice. I swallowed hard, trying to hide my fear. Her eyes closed and her face twitched, but she was not able to support herself.
“It’s okay, Grace. Don’t worry about it. I have you now.” I didn’t want her to try to exert any energy that she didn’t have to exert.
I carefully threw her limp body into a fireman’s hold and spread the blanket out on the couch with my other hand. She didn’t even flinch as I set her down, wrapping the bottom of the blanket up and around her bare, frozen toes.
I then slipped in next to her, pushing my body against hers. Instantly, I could feel the transfer of heat, the tingling sensation of the cold melting off her skin. It was working. I slung the blanket over us, tucking the edge under me to form the closest possible thing to a sleeping bag. Then, I draped my arm around her, allowing for any residual heat I was holding to even out between the two of us.
“Grace?” I whispered. But she was somewhere else. Even though in that moment we were cradled around each other, we were in completely different places. “Please,” I prayed, “come back to me.”
I closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them, this nightmare would be over. I’m not sure how much time had passed; my own heart rate had begun to slow due to the cold. I felt myself drifting, allowing the cold to take me somewhere dark. When my eyes finally blinked open, I noticed the blue of her lips had deepened. How could I stop it? How could I give her life back?
I quickly enveloped her lips in mine, wishing my last bit of warmth onto her. “Grace, stay with me. This will all be over soon. I’ll make sure of that.” I said it as much for me as I had for her. I couldn’t give up; not when it came to Grace.
But my kiss didn’t help. She looked at me fleetingly before her eyes rolled back and her body collapsed further into the cushions. It was as if she was allowing it to take her. “No, no. Grace?” I brought my hands to her cheeks. “Grace? Look at me. I need you to look at me right now.” Please, no, don’t let this be it. Don’t let me lose her like this. I could feel wetness in my eyes. I could feel a pain in my heart. Everything else was numb. I brought my mouth to her ear, softly whispering, hoping she would hear some of what I had to say. “What did he do to you? What did I let him do to you? Grace, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She began to shake. I squeezed her tight, trying to calm her reacting muscles. The morning couldn’t come soon enough. Then I would hand over myself to Sean’s will just as soon as I got her to a hospital, just as soon as I made sure she was safe. Sean would have to allow me that much.
“Ryan?” She was groggy, her voice raspy and harsh.
Hold on. “Grace?” Did I hear that right? Was she talking? Did she finally utter a word? “Oh my God, Grace.” I pulled her close, begging for her to keep talking, to keep living. “I thought… I thought…” Tears were now streaming down my face. There was so much to say, but I had no idea where to start. “I don’t know what I thought, I’m just happy you’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
The words stung. I had just been in misery for God knows how long. Was she really not there with me? Did she not experience those minutes as I had?
“Grace, what do you remember?”
Silence. But not her thoughts: those were screaming at me. I just wished I could translate them.
“Grace?” I got her attention. “Please, what do you remember?”
“Nothing,” She shook her head, confused. “I remember nothing.”
Grace
It was true. I felt as though I had lost a whole… I don’t know. How many minutes had I lost? Or was it days? Oh God, please don’t let it have been days. And now, where was I? It was dark, damp, and it smelled like dirt. Were we in a basement?
I tried to move, but Ryan had me pulled tight to him. My head began to spin. “Oooh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel really woozy. What happened to me?”
Ryan shook his head, “I honestly don’t know, Grace.”
He didn’t know? How long had we been apart? How were we both now in this basement, alone?
“How did I get here?” I knew the answer, even if I didn’t remember.
“Again, I don’t know the details, but it was Sean. He must have drugged you.” Ryan cut his words short and diverted his eyes. He wasn’t handling this very well. “He told me where to meet him and then, he, uh,” Ryan was stuttering. There was something he wasn’t telling me. “well, he told me I could spend the night with you.”
I almost laughed. “Spill.”
“What?”
“You’re lying to me. What really happened?” Really? After all we’d been through together, this is how he was going to play this? “I’m a big girl; I can handle it.”
But he didn’t say anything, just kept staring into my eyes.
“What the hell, Ryan? You don’t think I haven’t noticed that I’m practically naked here?” One of us had to bring it up. I knew that was why he was holding back.
His hands moved to my hips as he readied himself to speak. “Okay, now listen, you were like this when I found you. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what he did to you. But, if he… if he… Grace, I will find out what he did.”
“No.” I jumped in, stopping him from his train of thought. “Ryan, I don’t want to know.”
It took a second, but he did realize how that information would impact me, how it would change me. I didn’t have the memory; for now, that was good enough for me.
“Okay. Okay. I won’t. I promise.” He squeezed his hands into my skin. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
I closed my eyes, trying to find my memories. “We got to Anne Marie’s house, I met Sarah and Joseph… they were telling us about… about something… about being shoved in a van, maybe?” I shook my head, hoping to release more, but I was spent. “That’s it. Then… then I was here, with you.”
What had happened? What was I missing? What happened to…
“Your mother. Sarah, Joseph. Where are they?”
“I don’t know. I got to their house, but everyone was gone; there was only a note. I thought they might be here with you.”
“But they’re not?”
“No, you were the only one in here.”
“So Sean must have another hide out where he’s keeping them.”
“Or…”
“Ryan, don’t say it.”
We were both thinking it, but why would he kill them? He could still use them to his advantage, especially knowing that his first use of them as bait got Ryan and I to travel almost three thousand miles. No. It would be stupid to kill them now. Sean was not stupid. So where was he hiding them?
“Grace? Grace?” Ryan was shaking me. I hadn’t realized I had drifted from consciousness. My eyes popped open, and I took in a deep breath of the chilling air. My lungs felt as though they were going to collapse.
“It’s really cold.” I mumbled as I snuggled into his chest. I could feel my body waning yet again. Whatever drug Sean had slipped me was still taking some sort of a hold on me. I knew where I was, I knew what I was doing, and I knew I was cold, but I didn’t seem to care about anything. It was just a fog. I’d find my way out eventually.
He pushed into me with his hips, trying any way to make himself closer. My heart rate picked up at his suggestion, so I tucked my hips into him while I softly cooed. It was instinct, but my body was reacting, it was warming up. My thoughts were becoming seemingly clearer just by the suggestion of intimacy. Even though I wasn’t fully aware, I couldn’t help but want. Ryan knew exactly at what I was attempting to hint.
“Grace, what are you doing?”
He knew. Why was he asking me to spell it out for him? “Warm me up.”
“By… that?”
He was adorably embarrassed. “Ryan, I think it’s the only way.” I snuggled further into him.
“I can’t… not with you, like this. Not after he…”
“He drugged me, that’s it.” I snapped. “I’m not broken, I’m just cold. Ryan, I’m so cold.” My voice cracked as I tried to hold back the tears I’m sure would freeze as soon as they hit the cool air.
“Okay Baby,” his voice was caring, sweet, not the way I was used to hearing him speak when we were wrapped up in such a position, “I’ll warm you up.”
His lips pressed against mine, and I accepted their taste. He was slow, deliberate, trying to find anything that would wake up my body. I wanted to reciprocate; I wanted to throw my arms around him, but my muscles weren’t yet following my orders. His tongue circled the inside of my mouth, begging for mine to join. His fingers tickled my sides, shooting electric shocks up my ribs. He then moved his hands and encompassed the whole of my back in his two palms. I felt the energy from his fingers reaching to the core of me. His mouth deviated from mine and found my ear. His warm breath hummed, and I felt the goose bumps break out over my legs. They weren’t from the cold; they were from the intoxication.
Still purring in my ear, his fingers fumbled with the clasp on my bra until he finally released my chest from its binds. Carefully, he slipped the straps down my arms, tormenting my skin with his fingertips. After having my senses dulled for God knows how long, the slightest touch from him was beyond erotic. He slipped his hands in mine, caressing my palms with his touch. I began to softly moan and my fingers curled around his.
His lips traveled down the side of my neck, his hot breath adding to the intensity of the moment. Each touch from him sent chills through my body, pins and pricks only making his love that much more tantalizing. His hands left mine, bouncing from my hips to my ribs, sliding through my waist in between. My body felt crushed under his weight, but the kind of crushed that made you crave. My hands finally responded, reaching for his hips and digging into him with my fingernails. I pushed at his waistband, begging to feel the full length of his nakedness. His touch disappeared for a brief second as he aided in my quest for his body. Feeling the warmth we shared and his size against me was almost enough to push me over the edge. I bit my lip to stop from peaking as he used his thumb to playfully tease my nipple. My chest tightened at his touch, and I expanded into his waiting hands. My fingers danced on his back, and I could feel his chills form under my touch. I groaned at his movements as his hips pressed forward. There was so much more I wanted from him, the teasing was making me light headed. I moved his hands to my hips, deliberately hooking his thumbs beneath my laced lingerie. He yanked at the fabric, gliding it down my burning thighs. He sunk down, finding me with his passion and warming me with his movement. He kissed me deeply as he plunged his masculinity where he most desired. I arched my back, accepting all of him. His pushes were slow, deliberate. I felt every inch of him as he slid in and out, over and over again.
Our eyes stayed locked on each other as we slowly moved as one. I smiled, he smiled; I moaned, he moaned.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” I whispered back.
That was the last thing I remembered. I woke up, alone, in the hospital.
Ryan
“Grace, I need to talk to you about something.”
We were still wrapped up in each other, both satisfied from our attempt to find heat in th
e otherwise freezing basement of the Cupids clubhouse. She made a slight noise, letting me know she was listening although she was fading. It was late, and I was sure she was exhausted, but I knew what the morning would bring. I didn’t want to sleep when I knew I might only have a few more hours left with the love of my life.
“I know you’re tired, but you’re going to have to hear me out. Grace, I need to keep you safe; I need to keep our baby safe. But in order to do that, I’m going to need to go away for awhile.”
The words sounded so silly. I felt like someone in one of those old movies who was trying to explain to a child that a mission they were about to embark on may not bring them home alive. I guess that was exactly what I was saying though. Sean had promised that if I helped him build his own army, he would leave Grace alone. I believed that much, I really did. I wasn’t living outside of reality though. Once Sean had no use for me, I was sure as dead. Then he’d surely turn his sights back on Grace.
Death of Cupids (The Blood of Cupids MC) Page 8