Tormented

by Jani Kay

  Savage chuckled. “Gotta pass on these shit-hot genes, buddy. I mean, what a waste if the bloodline stops here.”

  I had to agree with him. There wasn’t a better man than my partner when it came to loyalty. I just hoped the next woman he fell for was worthy of his heart of gold.

  “What made you change your mind? You’re a confirmed bachelor with your pick of babes. You gonna give all of that up?”

  Savage nodded. “Yeah. It gets old after a while. I’m a one-woman man. Screwing around may be good for my balls, but not for my heart. I want a woman to love and to grow old with.” He looked down into the neck of his beer. “Jessica is going through a divorce. Maybe I can have a second chance with her.”

  “Jesus, Savage. You have to choose today to tell me all of this shit? Why didn’t you mention this in LA before we got on that plane?”

  “Would you have listened? Your head is somewhere else, and I don’t blame you. But now you know we both have a reason to get out of here alive, maybe you’ll stop living on the fucking edge and do your job . . . but without getting either of us killed.”

  I grimaced. We’d certainly had our fair share of narrow escapes over the years. The types of people we targeted were the hardest of criminals and terrorists who didn’t give a fuck about another person’s life, least of all ours. I’d taken pride on being number one on the underground hit list; knowing they wanted me dead spurred me to greater heights, and made me want to take bigger risks. It was all for a rush of adrenaline and to fuel my insatiable thirst for revenge.

  “Let’s talk about your strategy. If we can do this job in a day and get the fuck out of Afghanistan I can focus on finding Eva. I can’t believe what an asshole I’ve been.”

  Savage slapped my back hard. “Welcome back, buddy. I’m glad to see you’ve finally come to your damn senses.” His grin nearly touched his ears. “And not a minute too soon, either.”

  I laughed, relief washing over me that there was a way out of this mess. “Thank you, asshole. What would I do without you? You nag worse than my mother.”

  Savage just shrugged, and then started laying out his plan as if we were simply discussing the strategy of a baseball game. I listened intently, nodding and only interjecting when I wasn’t clear on a point. Everything hinged on us catching our target as soon as possible, preferably within the first few hours of reaching our destination.

  This was so much better than the original MO drawn up by the team back in the States, who gave us a week to adjust and stake out the territory before we struck the enemy. There was absolutely no margin for error with Savage’s plan. Plus the element of surprise was going to knock a few more bad guys on the head than our intended target only, including the powers behind this mission who wanted me out of the way permanently.

  “Know what? You’re fucking brilliant. Now I remember why we make such a kickass team. Your brains and my guts, and they won’t know what’s hit them.” For the first time in days, a surge of positive energy flow through my veins.

  We’d make this work.

  Fuck yeah!

  “Hey, Summers.” I turned toward the voice of the co-pilot, who spoke with an Australian accent.

  Pumped, my blood thrummed with anticipation. “Yeah? We ready to go?” I motioned for Savage to follow me. I was eager as fuck to get back on that plane and get to our destination. I needed a hot shower and a few hours of sleep, and then I’d be ready to go all out on Savage’s brilliant plan.

  “Uh . . . sorry mate.” He shook his head and looked as if he’d just heard the news that his grandmother had died.

  “What’s up?” Savage rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, as if he were bracing himself and preparing me for bad news. A sense of deep foreboding seeped into my bones.

  “Technical problems. This plane ain’t goin’ anywhere tonight. We gotta wait for a part to be flown in. Sorry.”

  “What the fuck?” I roared, clenching my fists as the implications hit me.

  This is bad. Very fucking bad.

  Savage hissed beside me. “Why the hell do my best plans always go down in fucking flames?”

  “Captain said to tell you to go get a few beers and have a good night’s sleep, and we’ll wake you when we are ready to take off.” His apologetic tone did nothing to calm me down.

  “You have any idea how long this is going to take?”

  “Probably won’t be anything before dawn if we’re lucky.” His eyes were large in his face. Guess he didn’t expect this reaction. Most guys wouldn’t care that the mission was delayed—they’d have a night off with booze and a local woman or two, screwing their demons and fears out of their systems, or at the very least giving it their best damn shot to enjoy their few hours of unexpected reprieve.

  I wasn’t like most guys. Not anymore.

  Pacing up and down, my hand brushed through my hair as I tried to think and make sense of it.

  Savage was doing his best to stay calm, but losing the battle. “Fuck, we’re shit outta luck, man. How is this even possible? Aren’t these fucking planes checked before we leave the States?”

  The Aussie nodded, giving us a brave smile. “Yeah, but apparently this mission was so important we had to abort the checkup and were commissioned to fly this baby before it was all done. You must be proud.”

  Christ. Seriously?

  Rage built in my belly and spread through my bloodstream. “Tell me you’re fucking kidding me right now. We get sent on a dangerous mission, but there’s no guarantee we’d even make it there because our fucking plane is dodgy?” My voice was raised until I was nearly yelling, and my arms flew about as I gestured between the plane and us.

  Somebody is fucking with us.

  Savage paled, his complexion nearly as white as his sparkly teeth. “Holy fuck, somebody wants you out of the way—probably stone cold dead. They want it so badly that protocol was overlooked to get you out of the country. A plane crash would be the perfect MO.”

  “Fucking bastards.”

  “Your death wish has caught up with you, Harrison. We’re fucked, buddy.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. Very rarely did Savage call me by my first name. The few times he had, we were staring death in the face. A sinking feeling filled my gut, threatening nausea. I’d stared death in the eyes many times, but that was different. I was in control then; it was through my own choice. Now, I was merely a pawn in someone else’s master plan. An expendable pawn.

  My desire to live was worth shit.

  And I had absolutely no control over it.

  Life had just become my most precious possession.

  Chapter 34 — Harrison

  Twenty-four hours later, covered in dust and dried blood, tired to the fucking bone, Savage and I lay on the back of a truck as it rattled its way over potholes and rocky dirt roads.

  A small commercial airplane had landed at the airstrip in Germany just hours after we were stranded and Savage and I, after negotiating a ride, took off with threats and warnings ringing in our ears for disobeying orders.

  We were fucked if we did and fucked if we didn’t. But one thing I could never be accused of was being a traitor to my country. This mission, after all was said and done, was an important one for the protection of my fellow countrymen, and the rest of the peace-loving world. They could sleep in relative safety in their warm cozy beds at night because of people like us risking our lives to make the world better.

  In the big scheme of things I could care less how the job was executed—as long as the outcome was what we desired and we still breathed, it was a success.

  “You look like shit, man,” Savage said, rolling a cigar between his fingers. He didn’t smoke, but he always had two cigars in his pocket, and it was our tradition to blow circles of smoke into the air to congratulate ourselves on another mission well executed.

  I looked down to where dried blood on my pants reminded me of the lives I’d ended a few hours earlier. If there was one thing that freaked me the fuck out, it
was the sight of blood, yet it was part of my fucking job to face my fear head on time and time again. It never got easier.

  The airplane taking us home was only an hour away, across the border in Pakistan. After they fixed the technical problem, they’d messaged us. The aircraft had landed a short while ago and they were preparing to make the return trip back to the USA.

  I rolled the cigar between my fingers without lighting it. I was far from celebrating. There were still thousands of miles between me and Eva, and countless hours of travel across the ocean before I was even in the same country as what she was.

  “We’ve got to get back to the plane. If we don’t, our next chance to get out of this hellhole is in five days. I can’t wait that long to get back. Every day that I’m not there finding Eva is another day it gets more difficult to save her.”

  I grimaced as the truck drove over a rocky road and we got thrashed about in the back. It smelled of urine and straw and an ungodly stench from our fellow passengers. I’d seen this in movies and always laughed at how cliché it was, never thinking it could actually happen to me—that I’d be stuck on the back of a truck with a handful of stinking scraggly sheep and two cocky roosters tied together by their claws.

  For the price I’d paid the driver to take us across the border, I would have wanted a lot more comfort. But since we had no alternatives, this was the best it was going to get for the next hour until we got to Pakistan and the airstrip. That detour had cost me extra, and I hoped I wasn’t going to have to pull a fucking gun to get the man to stick to our agreement.

  “You know those fuckers aren’t going to wait for us, don’t you? As soon as they reload and collect their cargo, they’re flying back home without us. We weren’t scheduled to fly back with them, so they don’t have to take us back.”

  I let out a long sigh.

  “Don’t remind me. I’m not even sure we’ll be able to convince them to take us. This is so fucked up. We’ve done what we were sent to do; I don’t have time for all the fucking red tape involved. It’s doing my fucking head in just thinking about it.”

  Savage chuckled out loud. I didn’t have a clue what he had to feel chirpy about. Raising an eyebrow, I gave him an inquiring look. “I’m not crazy, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just happy to be fucking alive. A few times during the skirmish today I thought it was the end of us. How the hell you managed to actually pull it off, I’m not sure, but I’m never taking anything for granted again.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “You’re so right it’s scary.” I put my hand on his shoulder and stared him down for a few moments. “Savage, you’re the best friend a man can have. I’m proud of what we did today. It wasn’t easy, but by sticking together and to the plan, we survived. If we could do this, we can do anything.”

  Savage wiped the sweat trickling down his face from his brow. Dirt stuck between his frown lines and suddenly he looked so much older and worn down than I’d ever seen him. “There’s no better partner than you. Granted, you’re a crazy motherfucker, but I wouldn’t trust my life to anyone else like I do you.”

  I swallowed hard. “Hey, I’m going to put this sappy talk down to a sleepless night and all the shit that went down today. We’re not okay yet, so let’s not get carried away. It’s a far way home and until we touch down in LA, I’m going to be holding my fucking breath.”

  We traveled in relative silence for the rest of the way. I watched as Savage’s eyelids grew heavier and how he fell asleep in spite of the bumpy ride. I stared up at the cloudless sky for the longest time, trying to imagine what Eva was doing at that moment, worried about whether she was okay.

  Finally I gave in and closed my eyes too, falling into a restless kind of sleep, that strange space between consciousness and deep satisfying slumber. My entire body ached, yet I was too afraid to give myself over to the unconsciousness it yearned for.

  Chapter 35 — Eva

  All too soon, tomorrow had arrived. A shaft of bright light crept through a crack in the drawn curtains and threw a thin sharp line on the opposite wall. A new day was dawning. A fateful day. I shuddered and screwed my eyes closed, pretending it wasn’t happening.

  I thought back to when I was a child and how tomorrow had seemed so far away, especially if it was the day before my birthday or Christmas.

  It had been the longest night of my life. Sleep had evaded me as images of my future flashed through my mind. Tears had rolled down my cheeks into the pillow, but I was careful to not make a sound as I cried for every dream that would never see the light of day.

  I’d begged him, and finally Nolan had given in and untied my wrists before he’d rolled over and fallen asleep. They still hurt from when I’d struggled to free myself, and I rubbed over the tender reddened skin.

  When Harrison tied me up—with his handcuffs or whatever way he chose—it was sexy as sin. It didn’t leave me feeling powerless and lost; instead, I gave my submission willingly because I truly wanted to.

  Holding my breath when I heard Nolan stir, I lay still and pretended to sleep. The mattress dipped as Nolan moved and got off the bed and went to take a pee. He hummed an upbeat tune while he had a shower and brushed his teeth. It took forever before he finally left the room.

  With a heavy sigh, I rolled over and stared blankly at the wall. Tiny dust particles floated unhurried on the single beam of light from the window that had grown in intensity. Even though I was free to move around the room, I couldn’t make myself get out of the bed. I wanted to roll into a little ball, pull the covers over my head and fall asleep to never wake up.

  Gravel crunched nearby, becoming louder and louder until it changed to quick heavy footsteps falling on concrete. I hugged my knees to my chest just like I had when I was a little girl and afraid of the dark.

  A rapid, hard knock was followed by the door opening on squeaky hinges. I blinked as harsh sunlight streamed into the room. I’d been in darkness with the curtains drawn for so long that I had no real concept of what time it was. Not that I really cared anyway.

  Jones’s large frame filled the doorway, blocking out the sunshine. He stepped inside with a young woman on his heels.

  “It’s time to get ready. Senator Parker is expecting you in just over an hour. He’s arranging for a small ceremony. I brought Sofia to help you. Your dress will be delivered as soon as it arrives. Take a bath while you wait.”

  My gaze fell on the pretty girl behind Jones. She was a lot younger than I was, with a dark olive complexion and a shy smile. She held a basket of toiletries in her arms, and clean towels.

  “Hello Sofia,” I said, smiling for the first time in days.

  “She doesn’t speak English. She’s here to help you, not be your new best friend.”

  Asshole.

  I shrugged. “Okay.”

  “There will be a photographer. Senator Parker will release the photos to the press. Do your best to look good.”

  Did Nolan really expect me to get all dressed up? This farce was becoming ridiculous. Yet the only other alternative was the crumpled clothes I’d been wearing for days. My hair felt a tangled mess and my skin was dehydrated. It was going to take considerable effort to just look half decent.

  Once Jones left the room and locked the door behind him, I repeated my greeting in Spanish, thankful that I’d learned another language and hoping that the girl would understand me. Maybe, just maybe, and if I was very lucky, Sofia could help me escape this madness.

  Excited to see another female, I started asking her all kinds of questions. At the very least, I needed to figure out exactly where we were.

  Sofia looked at me with a perplexed expression. She didn’t answer my questions or offer any explanation. Despair crept into my soul. She isn’t going to help me. Either she was linked to one of Nolan’s men or she’d been paid a lot of money for her silence. Or both.

  Sinking my head into my hands, I allowed the built-up frustration to run its free course. Sobs shook my body, and I slumped forward where I sat
on the edge of the mattress.

  Filled with dread and gloom, I wished for a way out of this mess.

  A warm hand on my shoulder was the closest thing to comfort I’d felt since being abducted. Shocked, my head snapped up to look at Sofia. She gestured to her ears and made a gargling noise.

  Oh my God. No wonder she didn’t answer me.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sofia rubbed my back. Her small gesture of kindness only made me cry harder. She wasn’t unsympathetic, just unable to communicate in the traditional way.

  Trust Jones to thwart thoughts of escape this way. It reminded me to never underestimate him.

  Sofia patted my hand and pushed me back against the pillows, then took the basket and went to the adjoining bathroom. I heard water running and soon afterwards the aroma of jasmine filled the air. Funny how such a small thing could lift my spirits. Kindness from a stranger and a hot bath weren’t things I’d usually even register in my busy life or feel such deep gratitude for.

  Guess it’s the simple things . . . the things we take for granted that can mean the most.

  Sofia appeared in the doorway and gestured for me to come. I rolled off the bed, but as soon as I stood up, dizziness and nausea caused my knees to buckle under me, and I dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.

  An animalistic sound emitted from Sofia, and within seconds she was by my side. She stroked my arm gently, a strange mix of anger and confusion on her face. I pointed to the bruises on my arm and the back of my hand where the drip had been inserted. She nodded, understanding and empathy showing in her dark intelligent eyes.

  With the support of Sofia, I got up off the floor and slowly made my way to the bathroom. Sofia helped me undress, not even flinching when we got to my naked ass—as if not wearing panties were totally normal.

  Sinking under the water, I relaxed my body and leaned against the bath with my eyes closed, just soaking the warmth into my aching bones. I slipped under the water for a few seconds to wet my hair. God, it felt so damn good that for a while I forgot all my worries.