Give Me Strength

by Kate McCarthy

  “You’re speaking with Luka Zampetti.”

  “Fuck!” came the reply. That I heard.

  “Such language you people have.” He said you people as though we were lower class thugs. “Yes we have Quinn if that’s what you were trying to ask me. We’re absolutely delighted with her. She’s so very pretty.”

  There was a pause while the voice on the other end spoke.

  “What was that? You want to talk to her?” Luka shrugged. “Why not.”

  He held the phone out towards me, and I took it gingerly, my shoulder twinging at the casual movement. “Hello?”

  “Quinn! Are you okay?” came the hoarse voice of Travis.

  “Oh, Travis,” I murmured, my heart pounding hard as I tried to sound calm. “You wasted your phone call.”

  “What?”

  “Your one phone call,” I repeated patiently.

  “Quinn, Jesus. It was a misunderstanding. They let me go when they realised it wasn’t me who shot David. Have they—”

  I cut him off. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He didn’t sound fine. I could hear Casey in the background yelling. He didn’t sound fine either. “Have they hurt you?”

  “No,” I lied. “I’m fine too.”

  “Hold tight, sweetheart. I’m coming for you. I promise.” Hot tears filled my eyes because I knew Travis would be moving Heaven and Earth to fill that promise. “Just…I need to know we’re okay—you and me,” he pleaded hoarsely. “I need to hear you say it.”

  The BMW purred along the streets, but the scenery was a blur. I didn’t know where I was being taken or why I was so valuable to the Zampetti’s. My future suddenly wasn’t so certain.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t trust in us. That I didn’t give you a chance to explain before I ran. Nothing we have is a lie,” I whispered, knowing the love I’d seen in his eyes was clear long before he’d said the words. I was scared I’d never see that again, or tell him he was beautiful and strong and so damn relentless, and that he was my whole world. A tear spilled over and rolled down my cheek. “I love you.”

  “Oh, God, sweetheart,” he choked out softly. My knuckles went white on the phone. “I love you so much.”

  “I…Travis—” I cried out when Luka took the phone and covered my mouth with my hand to smother the sob.

  “Mr. Valentine,” Luka said into the phone. “Quinn is going to prove very valuable to us, but we’re going to be busy from here on in. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bother us again.”

  Luka depressed the button on the door and the window slid down. He casually tossed my phone out onto the road and slid the window back up. Travis had told me they could track me anywhere as long as I had my phone. I had just watched my last chance of seeing him again tossed out the window and my heart sank.

  Feeling numb, we eventually pulled into the driveway of a suburban middle class house. Nice lawns, rendered brickwork painted beige, black wrought iron fence—completely nondescript—nothing that screamed evil-doers lived within.

  Luka led me through the front door, down an entryway, towards an open style living, dining and kitchen area at the back. Our soft footfalls echoed through the open, empty space. With dusk coming on, it was eerie and cold.

  There were no furnishings apart from two single high back chairs that sat facing each other and a solitary man. He was standing, facing out into the yard, lost in thought. He was tall, broad shouldered, with pale blond hair cut short and styled carefully. Hearing our steps, the man spun around. My knees buckled, and I reached out to grab hold of the chair as I sank down into it, my eyes unable to look away.

  His eyes went wide as he looked at me, and the colour leached from his face.

  “Luka,” he rasped. “Who…”

  Luka stepped further into the room, and standing to our right, he folded his arms. “Eric. I’d like you to meet Quinn Salisbury. Quinn, this is my right hand man, Eric Donovan.”

  Eric stumbled towards the chair opposite me and sank into it. We sat there facing each other like two mirror images. His hair was the same shade as mine, his brown eyes large in his face, his lips full and soft, his skin fair and smooth. Despite the obvious muscle and wide shoulders, he was pretty, his features feminine.

  “I-I don’t understand,” I stuttered.

  Eric sat reeling. “Beth,” he whispered. “Beth Salisbury.”

  “That’s my mother,” I told him. I wanted to add that mother was a loose term, but under the circumstances, it didn’t really seem the best time to start explaining her fetish for vodka and money.

  “Oh my God,” he moaned. The hands he rested on his thighs dug in until his knuckles turned white. “She told me she had an abortion. I didn’t want her to do it, but we were so young and then she moved away. God, that was a lifetime ago.”

  “Y-you…you’re my…” This was the second time today that my world had been flipped upside down, and I didn’t think I was coping overly well. A hysterical giggle bubbled out of me that turned into a sob. I swallowed it with effort and forced my eyes from Eric to Luka. Luka was smirking at the both of us. “He’s my father?”

  I faced Eric. “You’re my father?”

  Eric reached out, his eyes on the butterfly tape on my forehead. I flinched backwards.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Beth and I… She was my girlfriend back in high school. We were only together for three months but I… I dumped her.” He swallowed and closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. “I didn’t realise until after that the feelings she had for me were so much more. I-I think I broke her heart. We were only sixteen.” His eyes pleaded for me to understand. “Young and stupid, that was me, but when she came to me and told me she was pregnant, I said I’d support her. She…she told me not to bother and she was getting rid of it. ‘It’ she called the baby. She sounded so cold and so determined that I believed her. She was only sixteen too, so I didn’t feel like I had any right to force her to keep the baby. I went round to her place almost every night, but she wouldn’t talk to me, and then one day she was gone. Just like that. I had no idea…” he trailed off, his eyes unfocused and lost. “How…how old are you?”

  “Twenty-two,” I whispered.

  “I’m thirty-eight,” he replied. It was hard to believe because he didn’t look a day over thirty. In fact, he looked just like Luka with his carefully styled hair and clothes.

  “Oh no,” I moaned. I had a father but he was worse than David—obviously much higher up in the chain than David ever was.

  I lifted from the chair. This time I truly felt my instincts to run were spot on.

  “Not so fast.”

  Luka stepped up behind me, his hands coming down hard on my shoulders. “You see, Eric here has worked hard for me for so long. He’s practically married to the job. So much so, he doesn’t have a wife or kids of his own. When I stumbled across your photo, Quinn, it was obvious you were both related somehow. After a few well-placed questions to David, I had my answers. I can’t tell you how delighted I was personally because that made you very valuable to us.” Luka fixed his blue eyes on Eric. “Don’t you think so… Seth?”

  Eric closed his eyes and his lips muttered a soft curse.

  “I-I don’t understand?” I looked around when four men, all obviously armed, walked into the room and surrounded us in a distant circle. One of them stepped forward and placed both hands on Eric’s shoulders.

  “Quinn. Run,” Eric yelled, struggling against the hold. “Run!”

  Without hesitation, I bounded to my feet.

  “Sit down,” Luka growled.

  I was halfway out of the room before he got in my way, backhanding me across the face. I fell to the floor, the room spinning as my stomach rolled.

  “You bastard,” Eric yelled.

  “I’m not,” Luka replied, dragging me to my feet. “I’ve been nothing but nice. I told Quinn I didn’t like to repeat myself. How could it be my fault that she didn’t listen when I told her to sit down?”


  I was forced back into the chair, seeing with surprise that one of the men was now holding a gun to Eric’s shoulder.

  “Well now that everything’s out in the open, Seth, I think you know what to expect next.”

  “But…I don’t understand,” I wheezed breathlessly.

  “Your daughter’s a bit slow,” he said to Eric as though it was some sort of joke. Luka faced me. “You see Eric here, isn’t really Eric. It’s Seth. Agent Seth McKinnon of the Federal Police. Isn’t that right, Seth?”

  Eric… Seth remained silent, his jaw ticking.

  “They have agents so deep undercover with the Zampetti’s that no one has a clue who they are.”

  My mouth fell open. “You…you’re the…”

  Oh my God.

  Seth was the undercover agent. And he was my father.

  “Well anyway,” Luka continued. “Seth is going to talk because we need to know what he knows. That’s why you’re so valuable, Quinn. You’re going to get him to talk for us.”

  “H-how am I going to do that?”

  Luka stepped behind me, replacing the armed man who shifted further to my right. He rested his hand on my shoulder and trailed his fingers softly across my collarbone until his hand reached my neck. Suddenly his fingers dug in. The strength of his hold was immense as he squeezed, and I struggled, fighting for breath as my fingers clawed desperately at his hand.

  “Let her go,” Seth yelled, struggling against the men who held him down.

  “Look at that.” Luka laughed throatily as he squeezed. “How quickly the protective daddy instincts kick in.”

  He let go and I wheezed, sucking in huge gulps of air as my eyes watered from the lack of oxygen.

  Luka clicked his fingers and one of the men handed over a sheaf of papers wordlessly. Luka stepped from behind me, another armed man quickly taking his place, and dropped the papers in Seth’s lap. Seth slid his eyes downwards, and he moaned as his eyes took the contents in.

  “You remember David, Agent McKinnon? The man we had killed this morning? He was Quinn’s stepfather. Do you like what he used to do to her? That’s evidence of the wonderful childhood Quinn grew up in.” I swallowed, pissed off the photos of my assault were doing the entire rounds of Sydney.

  Seth hung his head. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, and even though his eyes were focused on the papers on his lap, his voice held a world of hurt.

  “You should be,” Luka told him. “If you want a chance to get to know your daughter, Agent McKinnon, then you’re going to be busy telling us what we want to hear.”

  For the first time, Luka’s voice was cold and harsh. As though his nice persona was shattering around him, revealing his true identity beneath the handsome face and slick clothes. He took the gun one of the men handed over and with his arm out straight, fired without hesitation. It was cold, calculated, and scary as hell.

  I flinched and cried out, watching a bright red spot bloom on Seth’s right shoulder. He was visibly fighting not to cry out in pain. His face was red, his eyes screwed shut as he panted hard. Seth tilted his head back, eyes focusing on the ceiling, biting down on his lip as he fought the scream that came from deep in his chest.

  “This, Quinn…” Luka lifted the gun again and my heart hammered so hard in my chest I thought it would split wide open. He aimed it at my leg. “…is how we’re going to get Agent McKinnon to talk.”

  ***

  Earlier the same day…

  There were only two things in my life I’d ever fought hard for.

  The first was my job as a consultant. The word was broad but the work was extremely specialised. It paid well because there was no one else who did what we did, and we were the best at it. To put it simply, I was a trained negotiator that also dealt in kidnapping and security. Mostly I rescued kids from custody situations turned dangerous. When two parents divide, so does the child. Right down the middle. Their life sliced in two with the blink of an eye. When that division escalated into potential or actual violence, my firm got called in to sort it out. We tracked, located, negotiated, talked, or used excessive force, depending on what the situation called for. I’d been spat on, bitten, scratched, knifed, beaten, and shot. I wouldn’t take any of it back either, because all of it led to the safety of someone unable to save themselves. There was no greater satisfaction in that, yet it took its toll. I started smoking more, sleeping less, and constantly questioned my ability to remain emotionally detached from the job.

  The second was Quinn—the most precious gem to ever enter my life. That she’d been hurt and so severely damaged she’d lost the strength to live and hope, just about broke my fucking heart. She was sweet and endearing, made me laugh and left me in tears. She had me hard just watching her, and there was nothing I loved more than crushing her slight, naked body to my chest, holding on tight, and feeling the beat of her heart against my skin.

  When I first saw her sitting in the bar, I wanted her. When I first kissed her, I knew her taste would never be enough, and the moment I realised I was sleeping more, smoking less, and laughing hard, I fell in love and fought to keep her.

  Turns out that was a full time job in itself, especially now, as I struggled against the officer slapping me in handcuffs.

  “Christ,” I growled, knowing they’d get me for resisting if I didn’t calm the fuck down. My eyes remained locked on Quinn until she disappeared inside the ambulance. “Casey,” I shouted.

  About to get in the back of the ambulance to follow with Quinn, his eyes found mine.

  I nodded my head. That was my unspoken word not to leave her side for a second. He lifted his chin, catching my message, and disappeared.

  My chest burned at not being there with her and the moment this shit storm was cleared, we needed to work out who the hell shot David. It was a shame the bastard died before I got my fifteen minutes of pounding him into the ground. Adrenaline had burned through me until I’d pushed his dead weight off and got to Quinn. The shooter would’ve been long gone by then, but it would ultimately lead back to the Zampettis. Federal narks infiltrated their operation from the ground up, and according to Mitch, those slimy, dirty fucks were about to implode. Couldn’t happen fast enough for my liking.

  Three hours later, locked up in City Central, I felt tired, edgy, and raw, but right now Quinn was all that mattered. She was everything, my everything, and it broke my heart this morning when she’d acted like I was her nothing. I knew it wasn’t true. I’d hurt her—bruising the fragile trust I’d worked so hard to gain. I just wanted her safe. I loved her—and I don’t care how sappy it sounded—I just needed to hear her say it back. I needed it to untie the knots in my chest, have her look at me so she could see nothing I felt for her was a goddamn lie.

  “Trav.”

  I tensed and turned to the voice. “Casey. Mate, what the fuck are you doing here?”

  Jared stepped up beside him.

  “They wouldn’t release you until I came down, gave my version.”

  “Quinn?”

  “Fine. Wrenched shoulder, few scrapes, concussion, but fine. Sleeping.”

  “Who’s watching her?”

  “Uniform on the door. Lucy and Rick were there when I left.”

  I nodded at Jared while another uniform stepped up next to him and unlocked the cell door and slid it across with a clang.

  “You know the drill, Valentine,” he told me as I signed my name on the release forms at the front counter. “Don’t leave town yadda yadda.”

  I glared. “I didn’t shoot the sonofabitch.”

  He held up his hands. “Ain’t accusin’ you. Just doin’ my job.”

  I nodded, Jared and Casey following behind as I walked outside. Jared went off to get the car while I put my phone to my ear. As it rang I locked eyes with Casey. “I’ve got a really shitty feeling in my gut right now.”

  The call connected. “Yeah?”

  “Mitch. This has Zampetti stink all over it. What do you know?”

  “Fuck,” he gro
wled. “Those agents are all tighter than a cat’s asshole. From what I hear, only two people in the whole fucking federal division know who the nark on the inside is, and they’re so high up I can’t get close to find out. I have no fucking idea.”

  “They’ve been after Quinn, but now they’ve targeted and taken out David and left her alone. Not that I’m really fucking unhappy about that, but it doesn’t make sense and my gut is twisting in the wind.”

  “I’ll do some more digging,” Mitch returned.

  “Do that. I’m headed to the hospital. Meet me there.”

  “Right.”

  I disconnected and after checking the GPS of Quinn’s location, tracked the signal to St Vincent’s Hospital as Jared pulled up out front.

  I opened the passenger door and ducked my head in. “You brought the Porsche?” It was more a complaint then a question. I folded back the seat and nodded at Casey to get in the back.

  “How am I supposed to fold my ass in there?” he bitched.

  “How the fuck should I know? You’re the twats who thought bringing the matchbox car would be the idea of the century. Just suck in your fat gut and get in the car.”

  Casey wedged himself in, and after adjusting the seat, I slid in and slammed the door.

  “Easy on the car,” Jared growled irritably.

  “You’ll have to get rid of it soon,” I pointed out.

  “No way.” Jared’s mouth tightened as he accelerated in to city traffic. “Mum’s been harping on at me to get rid of it ever since Evie and I got engaged,” he told Casey.

  Casey’s brows flew up. “You only got engaged last night.”

  “I know,” he snapped and rolled his eyes. “It’s not a good car for babies she says.”

  I chuckled. “She’ll take you shopping for an SUV soon.”

  Jared took his hand off the steering wheel to punch me in the arm. “Take that back, asshole.”

  My phone rang and ignoring Jared, I put it to my ear. “Yeah?”

  “Trav, thank God,” came Mac’s tense voice. Considering Mac always sounded tense, it didn’t ring alarm bells. “Quinn said you’d been arrested.”