“There she is! That’s Lucy. She’s our local. She always comes when we are here. We can count on her to show herself. She is a humpback whale. Older than me, older than my dad too. We don’t know how long she’s been here, but she’s used to humans,” Matty informs.
Lucy jumped out of the water, and I steal another glance at Gabriella, with tears streaming down her face and a big smile on her lips.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” she says, watching Lucy put on a show for us. “How do you know it’s her?”
Matty turns sad all of a sudden. “Her calf died around here a few years back. She always comes to look for her. I think she likes us kayakers because we remind her of her baby.”
“Oh, that’s awful.” Gabriella holds her hand to her heart as Lucy comes close to the kayak.
Real fucking close.
The kayak rocks from the waves Lucy creates, and she stops right next to us, her big black eye blinking up at Gabriella as she rolls to her side.
“She wants a belly rub,” Matty says.
“A belly…” Gabriella looks left and right at the size of the whale next to us. She’s huge. Lucy floats on her back, waiting for Gabby to rub her white belly. I take Gabriella’s hand in mine, and we rea out together, feeling the smooth surface of Lucy’s belly. Lucy blows out another air pocket through her blowhole and water drenches us.
Gabriella laughs at getting rained on, and even though she has been with me for weeks now, this is the happiest I’ve ever seen her. I have to give her this every day, the chance to live her life, something that has been taken away from her too many times. Gabriella is beautiful when she is free.
In a way, she reminds me of Lucy— rare, gorgeous, and longing to feel love again. Lucy in search of the calf she will never get again. Gabriella is searching for herself. The end result is the same.
They both want to feel unconditional love and happiness.
While all I can do for Lucy is rub her stomach, I can give Gabriella more than searching the sea she will never be able to obtain.
Lucy dives under the water and disappears until suddenly she jumps in the distance, giving us one last show before disappears into the expanse of the ocean.
“She’s beautiful,” Gabriella says with fondness. “Thank you for bringing me. It’s been the best experience of my life.”
There will be more to come. That I’ll make sure of.
Chapter Twenty-Four
GABRIELLA
“You have no idea where we are,” I accuse Sebastian as we stop in the middle of the Avenue of the Giants, glancing around to try to find our truck. He has been on this kick of ‘showing me the world’ and I swear we have passed the same tree three times now.
The Avenue of the Giants is gorgeous. The redwood trees are the biggest I’ve ever seen. Even when I craned my head all the way back, I still couldn’t see the tops of the tree. If we are lost, I am glad it is in the middle of this forest. Never in my life have I seen anything like this. The roots of the tree are as big as Sebastian, but shallow to the ground. They don’t grow deep in the ground like most trees. It is amazing how big they are able to grow without falling over.
And when they did fall? Holy crap. You can climb inside of the tree and its huge tunnel. It is another once in a lifetime experience that maybe I’ll be able to enjoy more if I am lucky.
“We aren’t lost,” he huffs and takes out the map and a compass. “We need to go this way.” He steps to the left, then spins around to go right. “No, this way. Definitely this way.”
“Just say we are lost,” I argue.
“We aren’t lost. I know how to read a map, Gabriella.”
“Mhmm,” I hum, grasping the straps of my backpack. I step onto a log and balance myself as I walk across the damp bark and green moss.
“Be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Sebastian says, turning left again.
“You realize every left turn you make is a step closer to us going in a complete circle. Again.”
“We haven’t been going in circles.”
I chuckle and jump off the log. I’m not worried about us finding the way back to the truck. We will eventually. I am glad to be out of the house. It isn’t a prison. At all. Not compared to what my life was with Kendrick, but I felt like the walls were closing in. I didn’t feel safe there. I don’t feel safe anywhere.
I always feel like someone is watching me. I might as well live life to the fullest, and if Kendrick does grab me, then I have good memories to last me for a lifetime.
We walk through the woods, following the steady stream to our right. Sebastian is doing his best to read the map, but I know he’ll never admit he got us lost. He takes out his phone and tries to turn it on, shakes it, then chucks it clear across the forest.
I roll my lips together to keep from laughing, and then he stomps in that direction, mumbling incoherent things under his breath as he tramples through the forest.
“I’ll just wait here. On this log.”
He waves a hand behind him, not wanting to look at me because he knows I am laughing at him. At him.
Not with him.
Men. They are so proud. It is their downfall.
I unzip my backpack, the zipper loud in the silence of the giants. I take out a granola bar and grab my water bottle. I lean back and sigh, relaxed for the first time in a long time. I could live out here. Everything is so beautiful. The way the moss hangs from the branches, the mushrooms that pop out of the ground, the tiny insects that dig their way in the dirt, and the way the stream flows behind me, splashing onto the rocks silently.
It is peaceful. This is the definition of peace.
I close my eyes and leaned my head against the log, chewing my dry granola bar and listening to the sounds around me. Crickets. Frogs. Birds.
Twigs snapping.
I snap my eyes open and look around, peering into the quickening darkness of the forest. We are losing sunlight. I wasn’t nervous before, but I am now. “Sebastian?” I call out for him, but I can’t see him through the thick brush and shadows.
Another snap.
“Sebastian? That isn’t funny. Come out from where you’re hiding.” My voice echoes off the tree trunks and a few birds fly away from the anxiety riding my tone.
Snap.
My heart sledgehammers against my chest and spins in circles to pinpoint the direction the sound is coming from. “Sebastian? Please, come on. Let’s go. This isn’t funny anymore.”
Silence.
“Stupid ‘living in the moment’ bullshit. We should have stayed home,” I grumble to myself. What if it is a bear? Or a mountain lion? God, I did not survive all that abuse with Kendrick to be some cat’s dinner. “Sebastian?” I try again, but he isn’t answering me.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
The sound of twigs breaking grows closer, but I still can’t tell which direction it is coming from. I lean against the tree and wait.
Snap.
It isn’t Sebastian. He wouldn’t make me nervous like this.
“You’re boy toy isn’t going to come out and play, my sweet,” Kendrick’s voice sucks the air out of my body, and my blood pauses in my veins.
I can’t think.
I can’t breathe.
I am frozen with terror.
No. Sebastian has to be okay. This is all in my head.
“You think I wouldn’t know my brother had you? I knew he lived here.” Kendrick sounds like he is coming from every direction. “I loved knowing I was so close while he searched for you. I loved knowing you were right under his nose, just out of reach, my sweet.”
“I’m not your sweet!” I shout on a cry when a hand covers my mouth, and dry, chapped lips rub against my ear.
“I think someone has forgotten who they belong to, pet.” He licks the side of my face from my jaw to my temple, leaving my skin damp with his rancid saliva. “I’ve been watching you. You don’t think I saw him at the market? I k
new he’d stop at nothing to get you, but then you went and jumped off the fucking cliff like the stupid bitch that you are.” His hand moves to the base of my throat and squeezed. Something jiggles in his hand and when I look down, I see the familiar strap of the collar.
“I’ve always known where my brother has lived. I’ve always kept an eye on him. Do you know how many times you were in the same area as him over the last year? I dangled you like a carrot. I loved seeing the sweet torture. His prize possession was so close, yet so far.”
“What did you do to him?” I struggle against his hold, and his fingers tighten around my throat until I can’t breathe.
“Hopefully I killed him,” Kendrick breathes against my neck. “I’ve missed your smell, my sweet. The group is going to be so happy with your return.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I’m not going down without a fight. I’m not the same woman I was two weeks ago, not since finding Sebastian again. Kendrick’s poison isn’t in my head anymore. I know what my life could be now. I have hope. I’m not going to let him take that from me.
“Oh, you’re going to come with me. You’re going to shut the fuck up and deal with the plans I have for you. Not you, not Sebastian, not anyone will interrupt me again. You have no idea the work I’ve put into you. To make you who you are.”
Who I am has nothing to do with him and everything to do with Sebastian. I rear my arm up and slam my fist between his legs as hard as I possibly can and his hand loosens around my neck as he doubles over. I run for it. I want to find Sebastian, but there isn’t time. If I turn around, Kendrick could get me again.
“You aren’t going to see the light of day for weeks, pet!” Kendrick bellows, and his bad intentions slither through the woods, spreading just like the roots of the trees along the ground.
I pump my arms as fast as I can, pushing my legs to run quicker, and my eyes sting from fear burning behind them. Oh god, I can’t believe this. Kendrick has been following me the entire time. How naïve could I have been thinking he had no idea about where I was?
How didn’t Sebastian know? Was all of this a scheme? Maybe the two brothers worked together and liked the game, the chase, the torture of keeping me afraid, getting my hopes up, and abusing me.
No, Sebastian has never been like that. From day one he has loved me unconditionally. He tried to have me break up with Kendrick, many times, but I was always too afraid. Sebastian warned me. He told me Kendrick was a bad man.
Sebastian loved me. I had to believe he had nothing to do with this. My paranoia can’t get the best of me.
The darkness keeps getting darker the further I run into the dense trees. I am lost. The guys at home must be getting worried about us. If I can get to them, I’ll be safe, and we can find Sebastian.
“You won’t be able to run from me forever. You belong to me. To them. You were made for us, my sweet. You are meant to ascend!” Kendrick roars as if insanity has broken his mind.
Ascend? Sounds crazy to me.
I’m not ascending. Whatever the fuck that means. I am staying right here with my two feet on the ground.
A fallen tree comes to view, and the base of it is huge. I debate for a minute if I want to stop. I am getting exhausted. I’ve been running for a while and exercise is the one thing I’m not used to doing. I peer into the tree, and it looks like a huge mouth at the bottom, roots spread out like veins, and I decide to risk it.
Cobwebs stick to my face and hair, and the thought of spiders crawling all over me has me running my hands all over my body and face. I crawl into the tight tunnel of what remains of the tree and curl into a tight ball.
It is dark.
Damp.
Insects crawl all over me, and I cover my mouth to stifle a whimper. The moss inside is slick, and my hair sticks to it as I lean against the bones of the old tree. I can hear footsteps getting closer.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
With every step, twigs break in half.
“I know you’re here, pet,” Kendrick taunts. “I don’t hear you running away from me. Did you finally come to your senses?”
I scoot against the tree, wishing I could melted into the bark so Kendrick won’t have a chance to find me.
“You want to know how I always knew where you were?” His voice is too close for comfort. The slimy timbre makes its way through the hollow body of the tree, and I tremble. “Everyone microchips their pets. It was the first thing I did with you. I had to make sure my little bitch could be returned if found.”
He is a sick bastard.
My eyes widen, and I glance up and down my body, my ankles, wrists, and arms, but it is too dark to fully see. Where is it? I am going to take it out. I’ll gnaw my fucking arm until I am able to spit the tracking device out.
“Like right now…”
His voice trails off and vanishes into the thin air as he leaves me pondering his words. Running won’t matter. He’ll find me. He knows where I am.
“Hello, my sweet.”
A blood curdling scream rips through my throat when a pair of hands grip my shoulders.
I’ll never be free.
Chapter Twenty-Five
SEBASTIAN
A hammer hits the inside of my skull in sync with my heart rate. I moan and hold my head the spot where it hurts and wince when I feel a giant knot the size of two eggs. I inhale a deep breath. I am no longer in the woods. I can’t see the rich earth or the dampness clinging to the air.
Wherever I am, it smells like piss.
It fucking reeks.
“Hey, Knight!” someone shouts and bangs against metal. The sound reverberates and I hold my head with both hands and double over in pain.
“Keep it down,” I slur, still half out of it. I’m not too sure if this is dream. Maybe I haven’t been in the woods at all? Another reality, dream mix up? I need to get my head examined if shit like this keeps happening.
“Your lawyer is here.”
“My lawyer? What?” I shake my head to get the fuzziness out, but it is still there. My eyes blur and when I sit up, I notice the concrete bench all too well.
Fuck. I know exactly where I am.
I jump up and spin around, looking up and down, noticing the metal floors and ceiling. The bars are round and thick, caging me in just like they did in prison. It smells like piss because the person next to me is currently taking a leak in the corner, not bothering to aim in the toilet.
“What the fuck? Hey! How did I get here? Where am I?”
“Wow, you really don’t remember?” the cop laughs. “You must have really been wasted.”
“I wasn’t drinking.”
“Not what you’re beer-soaked shirt said when we found you dumped near our door this morning.”
Wow. He must feel like a really smart man.
Fucking idiot.
I lift my shirt to my nose and inhale, wincing when I smell the alcohol. “I’ll take a breathalyzer to proof I didn’t drink a drop, or a blood test. I was set up. Someone poured this on me. I have a knot the size of fucking Texas on my head.” I regret when I raise my voice because my head throbs harder. “Where is she?” I glance around looking for Gabriella. “Where is Gabby?”
“Gabby? There’s no women here. You’re at the Trinidad County Jail. Don’t you remember anything?”
“No… I… She isn’t here? No. No. No,” I whisper, holding my hand against the wound on my head. “You don’t understand.” I grip the bars with my hands and shove my face between the rods. “He has her! He has her. You need to let me out of here. You need to let me go so I can find her. You don’t know what’s happened. Fuck!” I scream, then kick the cell door with my foot.
“Calm the hell down, or I’ll write you up for insubordination. You already have a kidnapping charge.”
“I didn’t kidnap anyone! He kidnapped her! You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Explain it to your lawyer,” the cop says, the familiar cling of
the cell brings back memories I don’t want to think about. I have to remain clam. Gabriella needs me more than ever right now.
Zeke power makes all the cops look at him as he strolls through in his Armani suit. His hair is slicked back, shining with product, and if I have to describe what he looks like, I’d say a mafia boss.
“Zeke, I’m fucking glad to see you.” I am alleviated. My worries are cut short when I see his money-hungry, bloodthirsty face.
The cop places the cuffs around my wrist, and Zeke lifts up his hand, speaking in a thick New Yorker accent. “He won’t be needing those. He isn’t going to do anything, okay?”
“Your funeral.”
“Yeah, but it will be a fucking beautiful one, ya know?” Zeke pats my back and guides me to the interrogation room. His briefcase is large, leather, and black. It looks like it holds a lot of secrets, mine included. “We don’t need a guard.” Only it sounds like ‘gahd’ which makes my mouth twitch with a smile.
When we get into the room, Zeke shuts the door, and I sit in the metal chair on the left side of the table. “What the fuck were you thinking, eh? I told you not to go get arrested, and what did you do? You went and fucking got arrested. Jesus Christ. It’s fellas like you who give me a job. Always in and out of shitholes like this.” He takes a cigarette out of his pocket, places it between his lips, and lights it with a match instead of a lighter.
The smoke swirls for a second before it clears. Zeke sits in the chair opposite me and crosses his legs, blowing out a cloud of smoke. “So,” he asks impatiently. “What the fuck, Sebastian. Eh? Come on, you know better than to get arrested.” Only it sounds like bettah which makes me want to smile again.
But he isn’t joking around. He is pissed.
“Zeke, you have to know, I didn’t get arrested on purpose. Do you remember Gabriella?”
“The poor girl that your brother had.”
“Yeah, well she was with me on her own free will. We found her. Kendrick did awful things to her. I didn’t kidnap her, and the last thing I remember before waking up here is hiking in the Avenue of the Giants with her. Everything after that is black. She isn’t with me. Kendrick has her, Zeke. We have to get her back. Who knows what will—”
Cruel Seduction: A Dark Romance (Underground Kings Book 2) Page 19