“Interesting,” Cassidy commented as she looked closely at her son. He still stood silently in the doorway and Vivien was still unaware that he was there. He nodded that she had his approval to at least have one of the drawings and turned away to get one from the sunroom where Cat had sketched many. When he returned with it, he once again stood in the doorway unobserved.
“So will you allow me to see Catalina?” Vivien asked again. Alec shook his head and his mother agreed with his decision.
“No, we can’t allow that, but we will give you one of the sketches that Cat drew repeatedly after the incident. You must realize that we have to protect her. Cat doesn’t handle change easily and to introduce her to a new person wouldn’t be good for her. Perhaps you would be content to meet my son instead. This is Alec. He’s home now, recently retired from the Army,” Cassidy said as she indicted the handsome man who stood silently at the door. Vivien was startled, having no idea that anyone else was in the room. He came forward to hand her the drawing.
“Oh, my angel,” she cried out softly when she saw the depiction.
It was the same thing Cat often said. Cassidy and Alec immediately noticed the same reference uttered. Vivien was so intent on the sketch that it was a miracle she didn’t recognize Alec’s aquamarine eyes as the same eyes of the celestial being that had rescued her.
“Miss Simon, have you had your own encounter with this protector?” Cassidy questioned worriedly.
“I have and it is my most precious memory to date,” Vivien replied.
Vivien shared the story of her own traumatic event and redemption that night in the alley. As she did, Cassidy quickly realized it was the night Alec was shot. Although she felt compassion for the young woman, she couldn’t jeopardize the lives of her children. She wouldn’t allow any harm to come to either of them. Vivien Simon had been ruthless in reporting the sexual abuse allegations against Father Maddox. She had stirred up the community and lost her job in the process. She worried for her, knowing how relentless the church could be to stop such reports, but still she didn’t really want to get involved or for her children to be involved. From the look on Alec’s face, however, she knew that he would do his own investigation into the matter. He’d find whoever was behind it. He simply couldn’t abide anyone abusing their power or authority. The Catholic Church wielded and misused their power often to suppress and withhold the truth.
Just as Vivien was leaving, Alec received a frantic phone call from Sabrina, telling him that she was being followed. She explained that she was on the way to the grocery store and noticed the men because a car also followed closely. Before she could say anything else, she was grabbed off the street while still on the phone with him. Everyone in the room heard her high-pitched scream before the phone went dead.
“Someone grabbed Sabrina,” Alec said with a deadly calm.
“I think I know who did it and where they’re taking her!” Vivien exclaimed.
“What on earth do you mean, child?” Cassidy asked with complete surprise.
“I am and have always been an investigator,” Vivien replied brusquely before she continued to explain. “I was here yesterday, trying to get up the nerve to visit you. Alec and Sabrina walked outside and I noticed a man taking pictures of them. I copied down the license plate, but then, when he followed the cab that Sabrina was in, I followed him. He went to her condo and then he went out to Lake Pontchartrain to a hunting lodge. The owner of that property is MeChelle DeLaurent…,” Vivien began before Alec interrupted.
“Why on earth would DeLaurent have Sabrina followed? Why would he abduct her?” he asked with annoyance and disbelief.
“I can only assume he was one of her goddess clients,” Vivien replied a little sheepishly. It was suddenly obvious to the family that she had investigated them thoroughly, but she couldn’t stop now. “From the looks of things, she was closing out her client list. What if he didn’t want to lose her?”
“She would have told me if anyone was giving her trouble,” Alec protested heatedly, angry with himself that he’d been so involved with fighting evil, he hadn’t been aware of any discomfort or worries Sabrina had suffered.
“You’ve been gone for the better part of twenty years, Alec,” Cassidy interjected. “Sabrina had to learn to deal with any business difficulties on her own. I doubt she wanted to worry you, especially since it was her sole desire to end the business and share a happy life with you.”
“Where is this property?” Alec asked next as he looked at Vivien closely.
“I can take you there,” she offered.
“No, it’s too dangerous. Just please tell me what you know,” he replied more calmly. He would find Sabrina and he would punish those responsible. He only hoped she was currently unharmed.
After Vivien retrieved the file from her car, Alec studied it closely, asking questions when necessary. He soundlessly paced back and forth as he worked out a plan. When he was certain about what to do, he took a deep breath and then redialed Sabrina’s number. It was answered, but the person on the other end of the line was silent. All he could hear was music playing softly in the background.
“I’m coming for Sabrina. And, I’m coming for you,” Alec said quietly. His voice was so deadly calm and icy that it sent a chill thought Cassidy and Vivien.
MeChelle DeLaurent felt safe from the proposed threat of Alec Winters. The man had threatened him, that was true, but he wasn’t worried. Even though the Winters boy had been in the army for over twenty years, he was merely a medic—what could he do other than offer first aid? DeLaurent laughed at the thought, besides, he traveled with two professional bodyguards at all times and there were two more posted at the penthouse and the antebellum home in the Garden District. Still, love was a powerful motive. Just to make sure he was fully protected, he called those four additional bodies out to the hunting lodge to welcome Alec Winters when he arrived. Then, he foolishly put the threat out of his mind and focused on Sabrina.
He spent the early afternoon in an upstairs study with his guest, leaving the security of the lodge to his trusted guards. Uninterrupted, he was cordial and an impeccable host to the Goddess of Light even though he wouldn’t allow her to leave in spite of her pleas and requests. Instead, he politely and repeatedly urged Sabrina to reconsider his proposal.
“I want to marry you, Sabrina. Surely that means something to you. Now, that the goddess business is finished, it’s perfect. We can live in New York. You’ll love it. There isn’t anyone in that great city that can rival your beauty and charm. Please, at least give me hope that you’ll think about it,” he pleaded.
“MeChelle, I simply cannot,” Sabrina replied gently.
He worded the request and offer in various ways, but she refused time and again. He was insistent, unwilling to hear her, and apparently deaf to her rejections. Finally, after hours of his subtle badgering, she told him the reasons she could not accept his propositions.
“I love another MeChelle. I always have and I always will. As kind as you have been over the years, I know that you can respect that,” Sabrina said gently.
“I might respect your reason, Sabrina, but I cannot and will not accept it as your answer. You will forget him in time. This boy that you love has nothing to offer you. I know about Alec Winters. He is nothing. His father was a drunken pedophile and his mother is still a misguided woman that many would call insane. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as evidenced by his sister. She’s currently in a mental institution, for chrissakes! They’re a sorry lot, all of them. I’ve known about him from the moment I first met you. From the moment we became lovers. Were you so foolish as to think I would not have your entire life investigated? I knew everything about you before the very first appointment. I can give you the world. What can he give you? A rundown home on Carrollton on the outskirts of the Garden District? He’ll always be on the outside, just looking over the fence at the truly elite. You deserve better…you deserve all that I can offer you and I refuse to believe
that life with him is the life you truly want.”
“Life with him is all the life I want, MeChelle,” she replied, keeping her voice low and even to hide the shock at what he’d said.
“You would really choose him over me?” he asked in astonishment. He’d finally heard Sabrina’s last statement and he couldn’t believe it. It galled him to the bone that she could be so irrational, that she could have the world and so easily toss it away…as if what he offered, as if he, was a used Kleenex.
“I chose him a long time ago, MeChelle. My heart has always remained faithful to him and him alone since I was fourteen years old. He is my one and only true love,” Sabrina said as calmly and firmly as she could.
At that point, MeChelle’s backbone stiffened and turned to ice as he finally realized that nothing he said made any difference. He had pleaded for hours and still hadn’t gotten anywhere. She’d adamantly refused every proposal—a home and high society in New York, a trip around the world, a home in Paris, anything she wanted. None of it had been acceptable to the Goddess of Light. He was suddenly filled with rage that she would deny him, that she would choose a pauper, a nobody like Alec Winters over him. The reality stung deeply inside the man, causing a fiery jealousy to surface. It consumed him.
“I should have known you were only a fucking whore,” he accused bitterly before slapping her hard across the face. “If life with him is all the life you want, then you shall have no life at all. You can share death with him instead.”
Now, Sabrina was frightened. She reached up to touch the painful sting left from his brutal slap and saw the bright red blood from her lips on her hand. She had never seen this side of MeChelle and had unwittingly pushed him to the edge by professing her love for another. He had known about Alec all along; something she would’ve never guessed. She realized that he’d had her followed and, of course, he knew everything about the Winters family…how could he not. She’d spent more and more time with Alec once he returned. She was now certain of it, but had been blind to the possibilities before. She’d thought that MeChelle would be reasonable. Now, that everything was out on the table, she knew he would not be reasonable or kind—that part of their relationship had ended with her final rejection and his cruel slap. The glint in his eyes clearly revealed that he wanted her to suffer. He wanted both of them dead.
“Please, MeChelle, just let me go. No harm has been done at this time. Just let me go,” Sabrina urged, trying hard to keep her voice soft and soothing.
“If I can’t have you, no one will,” he made the final icy pronouncement.
“Please, MeChelle, don’t do this,” she tried again.
DeLaurent called two of his armed bodyguards and the men roughly dragged her away, twisting her arm painfully behind her. She was taken to the basement to a large eight by eight foot closet that was hidden in the wall, invisible to the natural eye. It smelled musty and was dark. There was only a small wattage bulb, hardly more than a nightlight, hanging in one corner of the room. The room contained a wooden bench against the far wall, but that was its only furnishings. It was also void of windows or other ventilation and she noticed the interior walls and ceiling were thick and protruded as if to make it sound proof.
“MeChelle!” she screamed in true panic just before the door closed. “Please, don’t do this. Just let me go.”
“Don’t worry,” the brutish guard said as he laughed gruffly and then closed the door. “Mister DeLaurent said we could have you after we’ve taken care of the threat. Apparently, your lover boy is on his way to get you back. After we’ve killed him, you’re ours!”
She could still hear him, so that meant the room wasn’t completely soundproof. The door was locked from the outside. Sabrina, frightened badly now, sat down on the bench totally shocked and disheartened. With her mind spinning, she wished she’d waited to confess her love for Alec until after he arrived. He’d never find her in this hellish hole in the wall. She couldn’t even imagine how he would find her here at this lodge, they were miles from the city…she only knew that he would. She cried and prayed that he wouldn’t be injured during the confrontation. The men had guns and Alec didn’t care for weapons. Still, she knew if there was any way to do so, he would come for her and save her from this nightmare. It’s what he did.
Chapter 32
In the meantime, after the sun had set, Alec crept up to the hunting lodge on foot. He’d left the rental car parked on a side street off the main road several blocks away and came in on foot. There were three men with weapons guarding the property outside and he could see a couple more inside through the windows. The ones outside made regular perimeter checks, but seemed to be unconcerned about the proposed threat, often cursing loudly as the shrubs and bushes snagged their dress pants. They certainly didn’t use the buddy-system and, every ten minutes, one of them walked the outer edges solo and systematically, never checking in with each other. It was foolish, but they had grown lax while guarding DeLaurent. So far, this was the first real threat their employer had ever received.
Alec waited in the dark until one of the guards started the trek around the hunting lodge. When the man passed, he slipped up behind him and executed a strong chokehold, holding long enough to crush his windpipe and end his life. He dragged the body underneath the building and out of site before moving to a different position.
Systematically, Alec picked off the remaining men outside the lodge, using close-hand combat techniques to take them down. Not a single shot was fired, but all were dead, leaving the front entrance open and unguarded. He entered the building stealthily. The first man to see him fired his weapon and missed as Alec dove to the floor, rolling to one side and behind the wall of an adjoining room. That’s when he heard Sabrina’s muffled screams from somewhere below. She’d heard the gunfire and was terrified they would shoot and kill him. Knowing that he could be injured and killed, she couldn’t bear the thought of life without him.
Fearing she was in danger pushed Alec to the edge of rage and the transformation took place. When he next faced the men inside the lodge, he was in full demonic form. The first man to see him took one look at the eight foot, red-eyed demon and yelled out in terror. He turned to run, but rather than escape, he ran into a second man. They fell together to the floor as the weapon discharged, killing the bodyguard beneath him.
The huge devil flung furniture, overturned bookcases, and generally destroyed the place as the monster’s angry persona took over. His heavy footsteps rattled window panes and shook light fixtures as he looked for anyone who would dare stand in his way. The first man, back on his feet and terrified beyond reason, fled up the stairs to DeLaurent. The demon leaned over the dead body, killed by one of his own and, placing his foot firmly on his stomach, he reached for his neck and jaws. In one mighty twist, he pulled the man’s head off and then tossed it up the stairs. It rolled across the landing and stopped at the edge of the doorway where DeLaurent stood with the final two bodyguards.
DeLaurent was now frightened nearly out of his mind. He’d thought he had seen everything a man could see, but he was wrong. His men were dying or dead and he couldn’t understand what the hell was happening. Alec Winters was supposed to be the only threat and now his men were screaming in fear and horror. Stepping over the severed head, he inched back into the study, motioning for his men to follow. They closed the door, but it certainly wouldn’t prevent the monster from finding them.
The huge devil raced up the stairs and knocked the door off its hinges as he entered the room while DeLaurent hid behind his men. They pointed their weapons at the devilish fiend, but closed their eyes tightly, afraid to see him, irrationally terrified the monster would see them. Fiery-red hands grabbed both men and ferociously bashed their heads together. The loud sickening skull cracks of such blunt force trauma ended their lives and they both fell to the floor dead.
DeLaurent was now on his own. Slowly, he eased away and backed further against the wall. The demon followed, pinning him in as the computer s
creen danced with a slideshow of the pictures taken by the private investigator Willy Burns. With a mighty swipe, he destroyed the computer and removed the flash drive, crushing it to powder. MeChelle DeLaurent was now on his knees, begging for mercy.
The monster felt none and gave no quarter. He jerked DeLaurent off the floor and forced him downstairs and down additional stairs into the lower level where he’d heard Sabrina’s screams. He overturned everything in his path and tore doors off their hinges as he searched for her.
“I’ll let her go. Please, don’t kill me. I promise to let her go…I’ll never bother her again,” DeLaurent begged for his life.
The mighty voice only roared in response, but when she heard the avenger’s thunder, Sabrina called out shrilly. She knew the closet was almost sound proof and wanted to make sure he could hear her. The devil shoved his captive toward the locked door and up against it. Using the tip of a clawed finger, he forcefully penetrated the billionaire’s chin. It was a warning that DeLaurent couldn’t ignore. Terrified for his own life now, he fumbled the key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and opened it hastily.
Sabrina ran out of the prison and directly into her protector’s arms. She only saw the angel who had come to save her. DeLaurent couldn’t reconcile that in his mind. Why on earth would she run to the devilish monster when everyone else ran away? And, why had this fiend from hell come for her when they’d only expected Alec Winters? Before he could over think it, he was shoved into the very prison he’d intended for the Goddess of Light.
“Wait!” DeLaurent screamed in horror. “Wait! I’ll die in here. No one will find me! No one will hear me! Please, please, let me go. No real harm has been done yet. Just let me out!”
“Isn’t that what you intended for me?” Sabrina asked, now eerily calm while wrapped in Alec’s arms. “Isn’t that what you intended for both of us?”
“Wait, please, Sabrina. I was wrong. Please, just let me go,” he begged before he realized that she had said those same words as he held her captive throughout the afternoon.
Crescent City (An Alec Winters Series Book 1) Page 19