by Vaughn, Ann
“This place is more than I could have ever dreamed, Shane. You did great,” she said, accepting a glass of wine from him when they’d worked their way back down to the family room.
“Thanks.”
She crossed back to the window to gaze out at the waterfall that he’d had enhanced with landscape lighting. She felt him move closer to her but knew he was keeping his distance, giving her space.
“I’d been worried about you and your dad,” she began, eyes still out on the waterfall. “No one had an update for me. I got careless in my worry. Paul walked in when I was asking Gib for an update. I tried to play it off, but his suspicions were already raised. He tipped Nathaniel off. They began monitoring me more closely, and then that day, Nathaniel walked into the bathroom when I was in the shower...”
...Fourteen months earlier...
Tessa froze when she heard the bathroom door open and saw Nathaniel step in. Cursing under her breath, she did her best to cover herself, but in a completely open glass shower, it was difficult.
“Nathaniel? I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t come in while I was showering.”
“Turn the water off, Madelyn,” he ordered, his voice harsh.
“What is...”
“NOW!” he roared, causing her to jump.
She turned the water off and reached for her towel, but he viciously yanked it away.
“Nathaniel? What has happened?” she asked, cursing the fact that the mike would not work while her hair was wet so she couldn’t clue the guys in to what was happening.
He ripped the shower door open and reached in and grabbed a handful of her hair, roughly yanking her out.
“Who are you?” he growled.
“You’re hurting me!” she cried, trying to escape his grasp. He tightened his hold on her hair and let the back of his hand fly across her cheek, knocking her further off balance.
“You aren’t who you’ve portrayed yourself to be,” he growled, his face inches from hers. “Who are you?”
“I’m Madelyn,” she insisted, trying to regain control of the situation.
“Stop lying!!” he screamed, hitting her once again. “What is this?” he demanded, his hand over her belly where Shane’s name was tattooed, proclaiming her as his. “Who is Shane?”
“A mistake from my youth! I told you about him, remember?” she told him, “Nathaniel, I am here with you now.”
“You’ve denied me at every turn yet you have another man’s name marked on your body like a whore!” He hit her again. Her cheek felt like it was on fire and she was having a hard time seeing out of her right eye. “I’ll ask you once again, Who. Are. You?”
“Madelyn. Maddie. Madelyn Parker!” she screamed, trying to block yet another blow to her face. Her wet feet slipped on the tile as he jerked her around, earning a kick to her ribs. She heard a crack and knew a rib or two had just broken.
The door opened and Paul and two other of the Elders came in, each dressed in long black robes. She was grabbed and her wrists bound, but not before she managed to kick and hit and scratch as many of them as she could. She pleaded with Nathaniel and was rewarded with a blow to the head so fierce it knocked her out.
She woke up when cold water was thrown on her and a sharp slap landed on her face. She was now standing in a gymnasium of sorts, in the middle of the room on a platform, arms raised above her head, ankles shackled and spread by a bar between them, surrounded by men in black robes and Nathaniel in a papal white robe. He was standing before her, his hand on her throat, painfully squeezing her air supply.
“Nathaniel,” she whimpered, “please.” She screamed when the sting of a whip cracked across her back. It was then she saw Paul standing just within the line of her peripheral vision, whip in hand.
“You don’t speak unless we give you permission,” Paul spat out.
She turned toward his voice and spit at him, causing him to deliver three more vicious lashes. Nathaniel stepped up then, grabbing her hair and crushing his mouth down on hers in a brutal kiss. She fought the wave of nausea that assailed her and bit down on his lip. He backhanded her again then yanked her hair to pull her head back.
“You will pay. For every night you denied me, for making me think you were more than the whore you are...and when I’m done with you, Paul will have you and when he’s done with you, each of the Elders will have you. That’s how we treat whores here.”
She fought, but with her hands and ankles restrained, there wasn’t much she could do. Nathaniel came closer behind her and she felt his robes shift as he roughly forced himself in her. His possession was brutal, one hand in her hair and the other on her hip, cutting into her. All the while, he hurled insults at her, repeatedly calling her a whore. Tessa held herself together as best she could and when he climaxed, she regarded him over her shoulder, and in the most derisive tone possible she taunted him.
“Really? Is that all you got? No wonder you have to resort to rape. No one would ask for that little stick you keep in your pants.”
Of course she knew that wasn’t the brightest thing to say and it earned her another vicious beating, but her pride wouldn’t allow his pathetically short session to go unremarked.
Once Paul got his hands on her, her mind checked out on her. She began thinking back over her time with Shane, from the first day of Kindergarten to the last day she saw him. She clung to each and every memory, even as she was beaten for not responding to the men. She prayed she would have the strength to not disgrace herself and not reveal who she really was.
It wasn’t until a loud boom sounded and the door at the far end of the arena burst open did she allow her thoughts to return to the present. Armed men came storming in but all she cared about was the one in the center. Shane was there! He’d come in, rifle at the ready like her own Avenging Angel and now he was in a confrontation with Nathaniel. She felt Nathaniel grab her hair again and felt the blade he held press into her throat. One of the others called Shane’s name, sending Nathaniel off on a tangent. Now he knew he was looking at the man who, prior to tonight, had been the only man to ever have her. She felt the point of the blade slide into her throat and knew her time was running out. Gathering what little strength she had left, she focused her blurry gaze on Shane and called out to him.
“Shane...Wildcat.”
...Present Day...
“God, baby, I’m so sorry,” Shane managed when she stopped talking.
“It wasn’t your fault, Shane. Looking back, I should have pulled the plug on it all myself, a couple of weeks before. I wasn’t really getting anything. The girls who were there were being abused but they were like those in the BDSM scene...they were so enraptured by Nathaniel and Paul that they were buying into it hook line and sinker. Those I was able to form a relationship with seemed genuinely happy.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “If I hadn’t have been so distracted with my dad’s situation I probably would have pushed for the end of it. I could tell from the updates Bruce was giving me that the investigation had stalled. I just...it was a bad time for my dad. We almost lost him and I couldn’t think beyond that.”
She turned to face him and caught his hand in hers. “We can’t sit here and second guess ourselves. What’s done is done.”
He was quiet a moment, his thumb stroking over her hand, then he looked into her eyes and asked what he’d been needing to know for a while.
“Did you know that you were pregnant?”
Her eyes closed briefly. “I didn’t know for sure. I’d begun to suspect that I was, though. I hadn’t had morning sickness, but I’d missed my period and I had a few other physical signs.”
“After you were released from the hospital, I knew I couldn’t stay in Austin. I couldn’t stand being in my condo without you; I couldn’t face being at the office. I couldn’t even be around Pete and Joe without wanting to kill them. I still haven’t seen them to this day. My dad was out of the hospital but still out of commission as far as his job went. The Council
asked if I would step in as a temporary fill-in. Gib told me he was taking you to his place in Cabo. I packed up that night and came back here.”
“But, Shane, it’s...you were on the path to make Ranger.”
He shrugged. “I stopped caring the day you left. I couldn’t go back and work with Pete and Joe. Right or wrong, I knew I couldn’t work with them every day and not think about what had happened to you. I don’t know what I would have done if I had been in the control room that day and lost contact with you. I’d like to think that I’d have pulled the plug on it all weeks before, but I just don’t know.”
“I’ve talked to Pete and Joe since it all ended. I even talked to Crownover, who is not my biggest fan right now, let me tell you.”
A dimple appeared in his cheek. “Crownover is very protective of me.”
“Obviously. Do you know his first name?”
He laughed. “Yeah, actually, I do.”
She smiled. “So do I...now.”
He looked stunned. “What? How do you know?”
“He told me.”
“He did not,” he countered.
She nodded. “Really, he did. He came to see me in the hospital. He didn’t know I was awake and he leaned down and said, ‘if it will help you get better any faster, my first name is Bartholomew.’ It took everything I had not to open my eyes and gape at him.”
Shane busted out laughing. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“What?”
“His name is Harry.”
“What?!”
He wiped a tear from his eye. “He must have known you were awake and was yanking your chain. His name is Harry Crownover, Jr.”
“Is his middle name Bartholomew?”
“Nope. Edward.”
“That jerk! I’m gonna get him next time I see him. Why would he do that?”
“He has always hated his name. He didn’t get along with his father at all.”
“Yeah, but why tell me...oh well, doesn’t matter. I’ll get him.”
Shane laughed and reached out tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, watching her closely to make sure she didn’t flinch or move from his touch. To his surprise, she reached up and captured his hand, turning her head to press a kiss to his palm. His eyes closed briefly, then he stepped closer to her.
“Tessa?”
“Yes?”
“May I kiss you?”
She smiled and his heart soared.
“Please do,” she said.
He leaned down and kissed her brow, then her left cheek, then a lingering kiss on her right cheek where she now had a metal plate inserted, then placed a kiss to the corner of her mouth before gently pressing his lips to hers. It was sweet, gentle contact, but when he moved to pull away, she slid her hand to the back of his neck and licked at his lips until he deepened the kiss and folded her fully into his arms.
A tear slipped down her cheek and she tightened her hold on him. All these months, this was where she wanted to be but was terrified to find out if she could ever handle it again. She should have known, though, that she would never have cause to fear this; this was Shane, her rock, her home.
“Don’t cry, Tess,” he said against her lips.
“These are happy tears,” she told him, stroking her hand over his face in a light caress.
He kissed each cheek, kissing her tears away.
“No more tears, Tess. Promise me. Not one more tear. I can’t handle your tears.”
A little half laugh escaped her. “I’ll do my best, but no guarantees. I’m a girl, after all.”
He kissed her once more, then took a step back.
“How about we order a pizza and see if the Rangers are playing, or watch a movie.”
She looked up into his bright blue eyes and smiled. “Sounds like Heaven to me.”
Opportunities presented themselves to those who knew where to look. Nathaniel Helton had made a successful career out of spotting prime opportunities and exploiting them for all they were worth. Upon arriving at the incarceration facilities, he quickly learned he could charm the guards and learned which ones would be most susceptible to bribery. It wasn’t long before he was moved to a cell adjoining Paul’s and not long after, they were able to hatch a good escape plan. All it took was charming the right people, bribing the others and one day, when attention was conveniently turned away from them, they were able to slip right out the door and right out the front gate.
Madelyn Parker, aka Special Agent Tessa Kelly. She was his focus now, along with her lover, Sheriff Shane McCanton. They would pay and pay dearly; he and Paul would ensure that.
Just as requested, a loyal follower picked him and Paul up just a mile past the woods outside the penitentiary. It wouldn’t be long before that whore got what was coming to her now. All he had to do was wait...
Chapter Twenty
It had been a week since the night Shane and Tessa worked out their differences. They’d stayed quiet during that time, choosing to keep their relationship private for as long as they could manage it; which they both knew wouldn’t be long. Tessa’s mother and Gib knew, and Shane’s father but that was it, as far as they knew. Keeping their relationship a secret in this town, though, wasn’t going to work and they both knew it was only a matter of time before folks began to put two and two together. As much as Tessa really didn’t want to, she knew it was time for them to let his mother in on what was going on before she heard about it from someone else.
“You’re right,” Shane admitted when she told him as much when they sat together on his back porch, listening to the sounds of the waterfall.
“Do you think your mother will be upset again?”
He was idly stroking her hair, her head resting on his shoulder. “I honestly don’t know. Her attitude about your mother has changed a lot since Gib is in the picture. She may not care so much now.”
“One of the times Mama and Gib came to Cabo, I asked her about your dad, about how she really felt about him all those years. She said what I pretty much always knew, that he was her first love and she always held a special place for him and when things went bad with Harrison, she knew she could always count on Luke to keep her safe but she said at that point, what she felt for him was just friendship. She’d loved Harrison until that accident when we were kids changed him. She said, though, that having met Gib, she knew that what she felt for both Luke and Harrison was never the real thing like she has with Gib. Gib was married before, but his wife died of cancer. He buried himself in his work, never remarried and never really had a relationship until now. He didn’t have kids of his own, either, which is kinda sad, because I think he would make a great father.”
Shane kissed her brow. “What are you talking about? He’s been your father essentially for the last eleven or twelve years.”
She smiled. “I know. I really lucked out, drawing the assignment to his office when I was fresh out of Basics. He looked out for me and taught me a lot. I’m really not surprised he and Mama hit it off. I talked about them both to each other all the time...So, what are you thinking about your mom and sisters?”
He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I’m not worried about my sisters. Once I tell Mom, she’ll give them an earful so by the time I talk to them, the shock will have worn off. And besides, they both have always liked you so there really isn’t anything to worry about there.”
Tessa laced her fingers with his and stroked her other hand over the back of the one she held, trying to calm her racing heart.
“Do you think your mother will be OK? Was it just the fact that I was Mary’s daughter she didn’t like, or did she really not like me?”
“It had nothing to do with you, baby. She may be a little frosty at first, but she’ll come around.”
“I hope so,” Tessa sighed.
The next day, Shane asked his parents if he could come over for lunch. Susie had immediately agreed and so he found himself pulling into their drive, his heart hammering.
“I’m so
glad you called,” she said to him after they’d eaten, “I wanted to talk to you. I saw Wendy yesterday. She looked just plain awful and she said y’all were no longer seeing each other. What happened? I thought things were going well for you two.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was. Wendy is the first person I’ve had any interest in dating in a long time...since Tessa.”
He watched her be taken back by Tessa’s name. “Tessa? But you dated a few women since high school.”
“Yeah, but, see...Tessa came back into my life nearly two years ago. We worked a case together. An investigation that nearly got her killed. That did get her severely beaten...and during that time, we got engaged.”
Susie gasped. “Engaged? And you’re just now telling me?!”
“I didn’t tell anyone. Things were...well, we only had a short amount of time to be together before she was sent in undercover...deep undercover for months. And then Dad’s accident happened and I left and the investigation took a nasty turn. That was why I had to leave as abruptly as I did when Dad was still in the hospital and why I was so wrecked when I came back. Tessa was...they broke her...and trying to protect me, she cut me loose, and so when I came back here, I was just...”
“I know how you were,” she replied softly.
“Yeah, well...when I met Wendy, I thought I could move on with her. And she did help me...but, she wasn’t Tessa.”
Susie sighed. “And now Tessa is back.”
He nodded. “And now Tessa is back.”
She stood and began clearing the table. Shane met his dad’s gaze and shook his head. Neither of them was quite sure how she was taking it, but neither wanted to be the one to push her on it.
“How is Tessa doing?” Luke asked, his voice low. “How bad were her injuries?”
Shane knew his dad already knew the answers but was asking for his mom’s benefit.