Scott was pacing on the pier, a list of all the boats that were scheduled to leave on the high tide that morning. The sun was just coming up on the horizon when a big black SUV pulled into the parking lot and parked. As he watched, six men got out of the vehicle, all dressed in boots, jeans, and tee-shirts. They fell in step together, the four dark heads behind two blonde ones. The sun was behind them, making it difficult to see their faces, but Scott had no doubt who it was. However, he was amazed they’d been able to get here as fast as they had.
When Angel had called him in a panic, the first thing he’d done when he understood the situation was to call Colorado and his cousins. As it turned out, his brothers had been there as well to celebrate the holiday, and they’d all sprang into action. Donovan had called his contacts in the FBI and Garrett had them on a helicopter almost immediately.
He crossed the parking lot to meet them, overwhelmed with relief to have his brothers and his cousins here. Garrett didn’t even give him a chance to say thank you, instead demanding, “What have you got?”
Scott squared his shoulders, new hope springing to life. “I have a list of all the boats that are scheduled to leave this morning. No one gets in or out with going through customs, so it has to be one of them, but the harbor master’s obviously been bribed to keep his silence. It’s the only way they would have been able to get the women on board the ship,” he said as they walked back to the pier.
Garrett considered this for a second. “The FBI will be here shortly, but I think maybe we should have a little talk with that harbor master before they get here.” Garrett said glancing at his brothers, who nodded their heads.
Scott was happy to let his cousins take over, so he fell in step next to his brother Marc. “I’m sorry for everything,” he said, not knowing what else to say.
“We can talk about it when your wife is safe,” Marc said. “Never thought I’d say hear myself say that.”
“I love her more than anything in the world. We have to find her,” Scott said, unable to hold his anguish in any longer.
Marc looked at Scott shocked to hear the raw pain in his voice. He’d heard that his brother had changed, but he’d not really believed it. Now he was seeing a man he didn’t even recognize. He put his hand on Scott’s back and gave him a couple of slaps. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her, Garrett and Donovan are really good at this kind of thing. I’ve heard the stories, just follow their lead and everything will be fine.”
“I hope you’re right,” Scott said, following the men inside the harbor master’s small office.
The harbor master practically jumped out of his chair when the Terrell men crowded into his office. “What do you want?” he asked, nervously.
Garrett turned to Scott. “I want to know which one of these boats has those women on it. If you’re afraid of what those men are going to do to you, that’s nothing compared to what we’re going to do to you if you don’t tell us,” Scott said, advancing on the little man.
“I don’t know anything,” the man whined.
“Maybe this will help. There’s enough here for you to start over somewhere else,” Donovan said, throwing a roll of bills onto the desk.
The man looked at the money and licked his lips like it was a piece of chocolate cake sitting in front of him. He started to reach for the money, but Donovan slammed his hand down on the bills. “Information first, then you get the money, and if I were you I’d hurry, the FBI is on their way.”
“Now,” Scott barked in the man’s face.
“Okay, okay. There’re on the Oceans Bounty, headed for Singapore, but you’ll never catch them,” the man said, then snatched the money when Donovan removed his hand.
“Let’s go,” Garrett said. “But we need a plan. How many men were on that boat?” he asked the harbor master.
“I don’t know, three or four. There weren’t that many of them on the ship, you can operate one of those things with a skeleton crew,” the man said, shoving papers into a bag, clearly planning on escaping as soon as he could.
“We can handle that many,” Garrett said. “Donovan, I don’t care how you do it or what it costs, we need at least three boats. We’ll use one as a distraction while the other two sneak up on the other side of the boat.”
Within a half an hour, they were speeding out of the harbor in pursuit of the Oceans Bounty. Scott was in one of the boats with Garrett and Donovan, determined to be the first one on the boat. Garrett had tried to talk him out of it, but had given in when Scott had said simply, “I love her and I can’t lose her.”
Marissa was awoken by someone pulling her roughly to her feet. Squinting in the dim light of the hold, she recognized one of the men who’d moved them from the van. He shoved her up the stairs, mumbling to himself under his breath, and poking her with his gun when she didn’t move fast enough.
“You wouldn’t have been my choice,” he said, grabbing her butt. “But the boss wants you, so I don’t have much choice. If you’re lucky, he’ll decide to keep you for a while.”
Marissa’s heart was hammering in her chest. This couldn’t be happening. She was so sure that Scott would find her, but now she was about to be raped by the men who’d taken them. She tried to calm herself knowing it was her only choice. If she was going to escape, she had to keep her mind focused. The man shoved her into a little cabin right next to the wheel house. She tripped over the door jamb and landed in a heap on the floor.
“That’s not a very nice way to treat our guest,” the man who’d hit her said, helping her off the floor. “Please have a seat.”
Marissa sat where he’d pointed, trying to keep her trembling limbs still, but unable to do so. The man crossed the room and tipped her chin up. “There’s no reason to be afraid. As long as you cooperate, nothing bad is going to happen to you. Normally, I share my prize with the others, but I think you might just be too good to share,” he said, running his open palm over her breast.
She tried not to react to his touch, but flinched involuntarily, cursing herself. “It’s rather simple, cooperate and you’ll be fine, fight me and well, I can’t make any promises. I don’t mind a good fight occasionally, and I have a feeling you have a lot of fight in you,” he said, ripping her shirt open.
Before she knew what was happening, he was on top of her, scrambling to get her pants off. She fought him until he slapped her across the face, leaving her momentarily stunned. He reached up to slap her again, but the sound of a gunshot stopped him, and he jumped off her. Opening the door, he saw his men all down on the deck of the ship.
“What the hell?” he said, slamming the door. “Looks like you’re going to be my ticket out of here.”
Marissa could hear someone shouting her name on the deck. Scott had come to rescue her and just in time. All she had to do was get away from her attacker and she’d be safe. She opened her mouth to scream, but the man was across the room in three strides, his hand clamped over her mouth. But she was ready for him, while he’d been looking out the door, she’d grabbed the first thing she’d laid her hands on. It was a small statue of Poseidon; best of all, his trident had three sharp points, which she buried in the man’s neck.
Shocked at the attack, he let go of her and grabbed his neck, the blood flowing freely when he pulled the statue out of his neck. He cursed her, but she opened the door and flew out, screaming Scott’s name at the top of her lungs. Scott was flying up the stairs from below deck, having been told by one of the women that she’d been taken up to the captain’s cabin a few minutes earlier. At the top of the stairs, he started yelling Marissa’s name as he ran across the deck, almost knocking her down as she came shooting out of the cabin.
He took one look at the bruises on her face and saw red, his blood boiling at the thought that she’d been hurt. Steadying her with one hand, he focused on the man coming out of the cabin, raising his gun and aiming at his chest prepared to kill him. But instead of shooting the man in the chest, he lowered the gun and shot him in the leg, backing o
ff with Marissa in his arms when Garrett and Michael came running up.
He crushed her to him. “Are you hurt?”
Marissa couldn’t breathe for a second, her relief so great it made her light headed. “I think I need to sit down,” she said, sinking to the deck, but before she collapsed, Scott scooped her up and held her.
She wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest, her whole body wracked with tremors. Marc quietly approached them and put a blanket over Marissa and pushed Scott down into a chair he’d brought with him, then left them alone. Scott let Marissa sob her fear out, rubbing her back and mumming reassurance in her ear.
When she’d finally calmed down, she managed to say, “You came for me.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t? You’re my whole life, Marissa. Without you I’m nothing,” he said, his eyes locked on hers. “When I heard you were gone, I nearly died.”
“I thought I was never going to see you again. I’m sorry, this is all my fault,” she said, the sobs beginning again.
“Stop, it wasn’t your fault. You’re safe now, that’s all that matters. But I have to warn you, I’m not letting you out of my sight for a long time,” he said, pulling her closer.
They’d been sitting in silence for a long time, but soon they could hear the sound of helicopter blades in the distance. Garrett, a cup of tea in each hand, approached them. He silently handed them the cups, then waited until they’d finished every drop. It was hot and very sweet and made Marissa feel better almost immediately.
When he saw them both perk up, he said, “Good, now I can tell Sabrina that I’ve been listening to her. She always says a good strong cup of tea always makes you feel better. We’re about to be swarmed with every kind of law enforcement branch you can think of. They may try to separate you two, but I’ll try not to let that happen. Just tell them what happened and everything will be fine. Donovan and I will be working in the background.”
“I don’t know how to thank you, Garrett,” Marissa said, realizing what a close call it had really been. “If you hadn’t shown up...”
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re family, no matter how screwed up your husband is. We take care of our own in this family, and since the idiot seems to love you so much, it seemed like the only thing to do,” he said, smiling for the first time ever at Marissa, who was shocked to see how much different he looked when he smiled.
The next few days were a blur of doctors, police men, and FBI agents, but finally she was released and allowed to go home. As it turned out, the captain and his men were wanted all over the world for human trafficking. No one had been able to prove anything before, but thanks to the Terrells, they’d been caught red handed. Marissa had been given a clean bill of health, although she would need some counseling to combat the mild case of PTSD she’d developed.
When they pulled into the front yard of the farm house, she’d never been so happy to see her home. No, their home, she corrected herself as she got out of the car. Scott took her hand as they walked up the path to the front door, there was no need for words between them. Each knew that they’d been lucky to find each other and even luckier to be home together that day. They’d survived so much together and come out loving each other all the more for it.
Epilogue
Marissa stood at the window watching the snow fall thinking that she couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas Eve. It had been over a year since she’d been kidnapped and almost sold into prostitution, but life couldn’t be better. Although she still occasionally had nightmares about her experience, Scott was always there to hold her tight and reassure her.
Her fashion line was now an international success, requiring so much of her time that’s she’d had to turn over the charity to her sister, who had surprised her shortly after they’d gotten home from Florida by showing up suitcase in hand. The thought of losing Marissa had given her the courage to break away from their father and begin to make a life of her own.
She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear Scott come into the room. “They’re here. It’s stupid, but I’m nervous,” he said, stepping up behind her and putting his arms around her waist.
“You’ve seen them several times over the last year, there’s nothing to worry about,” she said, looking down at her belly where his hands rested.
Scott looked down at his hands, smiling when he felt the little foot kick his hand. “Looks like someone is excited to meet his cousins.”
Marissa purred in her throat when Scott rubbed his hands over her swollen belly thinking that she might not make it another two months. “Keep making that noise and we won’t be available to greet out guests,” he whispered in her ear.
“Really, Mr. Terrell, don’t you ever get enough?” she asked, pretending to be shocked. “Your entire family is about to descend on us and that’s all you can think of.”
He laughed, tickling her ear and making her shiver. “Well, Mrs. Terrell, I can promise you that I’ll never get enough of you. When we’re old and grey, I’ll still be chasing you around the house trying to get in your pants,” he said, his hand dipping down between her legs.
But before things could go farther, the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of their guests. “I think we better go answer the door before your family comes barging in,” she said, turning in his arms and trying to push him away, which didn’t work very well with her belly in the way.
Scott held her there, his hands coming up to cup her face. “Have I told you lately how much I love you? Because I don’t ever want you to forget it. You saved my life, gave me my family back, and now you’re giving me a son. I love you, Marissa.”
“Oh, Scott,” she said, fighting tears. “I love you too. We saved each other, I can’t imagine my life without you, and I’ll be happy if you’re still chasing me around the house when we’re old and grey. I might even give in every once in a while.”
Hand in hand they walked to the door to welcome Scott’s family to their home, a home they’d created together. Before Scott opened the door, he turned to Marissa and said, “I love you, sweetheart, don’t ever forget that, thank you for sharing your life with me.”
Then he slid the engagement ring he’s been holding onto for over a year on her finger. When the ring came up against her wedding band, it slid into place completing a picture that Marissa hadn’t seen before. “Oh, Scott. It looks like the mountains,” she said, holding her hand up.
“It’s your golden hills,” he said, smiling at her.
She took his hand in hers and laid it on her belly. “No, they’re our golden hills,” she said, laughing when a sharp kick made their hands bounce.
The end.
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The Billionaire's Russian Mail Order Husband
A unique and sexy love story for adults...
A complete story, brought to you by popular romance author Kiana Campbell.
If you asked anyone who knows her, they’d say Virginia Maxwell has it all.
A successful billionaire fashion designer, she could have any man she wants.
The only problem is, all the men she meets are only hoping to get a piece of her money and fame - something that was unfortunately true of her now-ex model boyfriend.
But when Virginia travels to Russia for a fashion show and takes a tour around the city, she finds herself surprisingly attracted to her knowledgeable and handsome tour guide Dmitri, who seems to have no interest in her money or fame.
After their meeting and Virginia going back to New York, the two can’t stop thinking about eac
h other.
They want to see if they can become anything, but the only way she can get him to come to her without breaking his contracts is for them to get married!
But is she ready to practically mail order herself a Russian husband?
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 1
Knock knock knock.
“Just a minute,” Virginia Maxwell said with a groan. The young fashion designer was pacing all over her office; tablet in one hand, and a few papers in the other. She was chewing on her bottom lip and perusing one of her older collections. She wanted to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, or worse, had a new idea that was too similar to her previous work.
Virginia said she needed a minute, but she needed much more than that. She needed twenty minutes or more. Hell, she needed to take the rest of the afternoon off.
This was one of the busiest times of the year. There were people knocking on her door almost every half hour, and if she heard ‘I need you to sign this Ms. Maxwell’ one more time she was gonna drown herself at the bottom of a half caff soy latte.
“V, it’s me.”
Virginia recognized the voice and smiled.
“Oh thank God. Nancy, get in here.”
Virginia’s mousy assistant walked into the office and shut the door behind her. Nancy’s high ponytail bounced when she walked. Half of her face was covered by her bangs. Her lips were her most striking feature. She had a perfectly heart shaped Cupid’s bow, and her bottom lip always looked pouty. Nancy could switch between fiery and adorable in no time.
“Nanc, please tell me today’s gonna get easier,” Virginia groaned again. She set the papers and tablet she had been looking through on a glass side table next to one of her many sofas. She finally stopped pacing. The heels of her Manolo Blahniks were so pointed she was sure her pacing was going to start leaving a trail on the hardwood floor of her office. Virginia unbuttoned her jacket in an attempt to breathe better. It didn’t help.
Take My Hand: BWWM Romance Page 15