by Cali MacKay
“Fuck…I’m sorry, Keane. I can’t even imagine…” Wyatt hung his head with a shake, looking distraught. “What did the Gardaí say—the cops—have they called? What can I do to help?”
“They’re following a few leads, and Hadley’s on the way to help them with their investigation. She’s going straight to their precinct, and will call once she knows more, but at this point…it feels like there’s nothing else to be done. Nothing I can do to save her.” Guilt wracked his soul and tore his heart to shreds. “I was supposed to keep her safe—and I fucking failed her, Wyatt. I never should have left her alone. Not even for a fucking moment.”
Wyatt put a hand on Keane’s shoulder, keeping him from pacing, though it did little to comfort him. “We’re going to find her, Keane. And she’ll be okay. He won’t harm her.”
“You don’t fucking know that—and the truth is, there’s a good chance he’ll do just that.” The thought of her having to relive her nightmare of abuse was fucking doing his head and heart in.
The moment Keane’s phone rang, he grabbed it. Burke, the cop leading the investigation. “Tell me you have good news… Well, that’s something anyway. And Hadley’s there with you? I know it might be nothing, but all the same, I’m coming with you. I need to be there when you find her. I swear, I won’t get in your way, but I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I appreciate it.” He grabbed a piece of paper and pen, and quickly jotted down the address she’d given him, before hanging up and turning to Wyatt. “I need you to drive me. I don’t know where this is and I’ve had more than my share of whiskey.”
“Yeah, of course.” Wyatt looked at the address and frowned. “This is about an hour and a half away—maybe longer, given the winding roads. But I’ll do everything I can to make good time, and at least there won’t be much traffic heading out of the city this late at night.”
“I appreciate it. The cops and Hadley are already on their way, and I believe they’re sending in someone more local to that area to get to Lilly sooner.” Though it still wasn’t fast enough. Not when every moment was a moment too late. At least Wyatt was a fast driver, and already had them speeding out of the city.
Not that Sirius would make it easy on them. Hadley called Keane to let him know that they now had several more addresses rented under Sirius’s name, and he could be keeping Lilly at any one of those locations, although they were already in the process of sending out men to check out each address, and speak to the owners of the properties.
Keane’s mind raced to try to figure out a way to narrow things down. And then he hit on a thought. “Call each of the owners and find out which properties he actually went and picked up the keys for. He may have rented them, on the off chance we figured out his identity. It’d force us to search a wider area and slow us down, but would he bother to pick up the keys to each place if he only intended on using one of them?”
Hadley agreed—it was a good thought, and might be enough to give them an edge. She’d call back as soon as she had more, but in the meantime, she told him to stay put. He agreed, but it was going to kill him to just sit and wait.
Wyatt pulled into an empty parking lot and killed the engine. “We’re one step closer, Keane… She’ll be okay.”
“To go through that sort of violation, that sort of abuse again? No…she won’t be fine. And it’s fucking killing me.” But Keane couldn’t talk about it, his nerves already too raw to deal with it. “What’s going on with the club?”
Wyatt let out a frustrated sigh as his body tensed and he pounded the steering wheel. “You already have enough on your plate, Keane. The last thing you need is for me to heap my shit on it too.”
Just because Keane was worried about Lilly didn’t mean that Wyatt wasn’t also dealing with his fair share of issues. Wyatt was always level-headed and didn’t stress about much, so the fact that he was clearly dealing with something pretty major left Keane feeling like a shit for going off on him. “I’m here if you need to talk. You know that, right?”
“I do—and I appreciate it. But…” Wyatt shook his head with frustration. “The less you get mixed up in this, the better.”
“Fuck, man…what the hell is going on?” Now he was worried—for an entirely different reason than Lilly. Wyatt was only a year younger than him, but they were a close-knit family, and if something was going on, Keane wanted to know.
“Don’t worry about it…I’ve got it under control.” Except that it was clear that Wyatt was lying.
Before Keane could question him any further, his phone rang.
Chapter 25
What Ash put her through was horrible, and yet Lilly knew things could have been so much worse. Her talk about romance, of him wooing her, of him being no different than Dylan, seemed to have slowed him down just enough to spare her the worst of it—for now. But she knew that if she didn’t get away soon, it’d be impossible to keep him away. “Please…I need to go to the bathroom. It’s been hours. And I need clothes. It’s cold and damp in this old cottage, and the blanket isn’t enough.”
“I’m happy to keep you warm, Princess.” When he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to kiss her cheek, his naked body pressed against hers, it was all she could do not to pull away, not to cringe. She needed to lull him into thinking he was winning her over so that he’d let down his guard.
“I’m also starving. I never got to have dinner tonight.” She was hoping he’d go out to get her something, giving her the chance to try to get away, though she doubted there was anything open in the middle of the night. Still…maybe he didn’t know that. Or maybe he’d uncuff her so she could eat something he already had. He had her locked in a bedroom, and she hadn’t seen anything she could really use as a weapon. But if she could make it to the kitchen and to the knives, she might stand a chance.
Keane…fuck…the mere thought of him made her heart ache. She so desperately needed him, especially after the way they’d left things. It killed her that they’d argued just beforehand, even if they’d managed to patch things up between them. And it was her fault…she should have said yes to his proposal. Should have let him take her to some remote island where it was just the two of them. She had to find a way out of this nightmare. Had to find a way back to the only man she’d ever loved.
Ash stood up, tossed on his jeans, and then grabbed a bag tucked away in a corner of the room, pulling one of his t-shirts out of it. “Let me make myself clear…I’m trusting you to behave yourself. If you don’t, you will regret the consequences. Do you understand?”
Lilly nodded, trying her best to look meek and compliant. “Please…the handcuffs are cutting into my skin and my arms hurt. I promise to behave.”
Sitting by her side, he undid the handcuffs, and rubbed her hands and arms gently, working the blood back into them. Her muscles tingled and burned, until he finally stopped and turned to the job of getting her dressed. He slipped the t-shirt over her head and then helped her to her feet, a bit of relief flooding her chest to finally have some clothes on, even if it was just a t-shirt and nothing else. Luckily, it was fairly long on her, and covered her up enough so she didn’t feel completely exposed.
“There’s some food in the kitchen, though I suppose you should use the bathroom first.” He escorted her out of the room, and down the hall to the next door on the left. “I’ll be right here waiting for you. Just don’t take too long.”
She slipped inside and closed the door behind her, her gaze immediately scanning the room. The door was an older style that didn’t have the lock built into the handle, but rather used a key, which was missing—and the window was far too narrow for her to climb out of. Before he came looking for her, she quickly went to the bathroom, and then continued her search, looking in the medicine cabinet and under the sink for something she might be able to use.
Nothing. Not unless she hoped to strangle him with toilet paper. She went to flush, and then paused. The inside of the toilet… Having bought an older home that needed some fixes
along the way, she knew that there was a slender metal rod used as part of the flushing mechanism. It seemed like a long shot, but maybe she could use it as a weapon…try to stab him with it.
But then Ash knocked and opened the door a crack, as she quickly flushed the toilet and washed her hands, hoping he wouldn’t get suspicious and ruin any chances she might have of escaping. She’d have to find something else as a weapon. If she could keep his guard lowered, then maybe she’d stand a chance once they got to the kitchen.
“Come on, Princess. Let’s get you something to eat.” The kitchen was at the end of the hall and had a small set of table and chairs—and a back door, though she couldn’t tell if it was locked or not.
“I could cook us something, if you’d like. Just like in my books.” Again, she tried to play up the fantasy aspect of it, hoping it would keep him thinking that she was compliant. Because she knew he was strong and smart, even if he was clearly delusional. “I’m actually a pretty good cook.”
Anything to get her hands on a knife.
“I bet you’re good at most things you set your mind to.” Ash’s hungry gaze told her exactly the sort of skills he was thinking of, and it had little to do with cooking.
She thought of Keane again, and knew he must be frantic, knew he must be looking for her, but Ash had been pretty hard to find before, and she didn’t know how well he’d hidden his tracks. Keane might be on his way, but she couldn’t count on him getting to her in time. This wasn’t like one of her stories where the hero got to smash down the door and save the day—this was more like those suspense books where all sorts of horrible things happened and the guy was always too late to save the girl.
Any hope of being saved rested on her shoulders at the moment, even if Keane was on his way. Because, until he burst through that door with the cavalry, she was on her own.
“Which story did you have in mind? Although you already know my favorite.” Ash closed the distance between them, backing her up against the counter, as he leaned in and kissed her, her heart racing as she tried not to panic and freak out.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she managed to pull away without it feeling too abrupt. “How about you grab a seat and I’ll make us a quick bite? Do you mind if I look around to see what there is to work with?”
He reluctantly stepped back and leaned against the kitchen table. “I picked up some basics. Let me know if you need anything in particular.”
There was a small fridge and after going through the limited contents, she pulled out some cold cuts and then found some bread. She looked in the drawers, spotting a knife, but shifted away from it to get down some plates, knowing he was still watching her every move.
“I hope sandwiches are okay.” She layered the meat and cheese on the bread, and then went back to the fridge for some lettuce and tomatoes. “Could you grab us something to drink? Wine would be lovely, though anything will do.”
And just maybe, while he was distracted with the drinks, she could grab the knife—and then what? She didn’t really know. But it was now or never. Him or her. And frankly, she’d rather be dead than let him rape her repeatedly, which is exactly what would happen if she didn’t get away. It was already impossible for her to shake off the feel of his hands on her body, couldn’t forget the things he’d done to her, the things he’d made her do… So, she’d do whatever she could to get free of him, even if she died trying.
She opened one drawer, grabbed something—to throw him off in case he was looking—and then moved to the drawer with the knife, grabbing it with a shaky hand.
“Are you okay, Princess?”
Chapter 26
As a punch of adrenaline raced through him, Keane quickly jotted down the address and handed it to Wyatt. “We’ll meet you there. No, I’m sorry…I can’t do that, so you better hope that you get someone there before me, because there’s no fucking way I’m waiting.”
Wyatt was already pulling off the next exit on the highway and turning them around as Keane hung up. “That town’s not far from here—just on the outskirts of Dublin. We’ll be there in no time, Keane. Fifteen—twenty minutes.”
Keane punched the address into the GPS, trying to clear his head and slow his racing thoughts. He didn’t want to think of what condition he might find her in, didn’t want to think of what the bastard might have done to her. So he forced himself to focus on just murdering the fucker and getting her out safe. And he fucking swore, he’d never let her out of his sight again.
Fifteen minutes felt like an eternity, but finally, Wyatt pulled them to a stop, with a house just off in the distance. “What’s your plan?”
Fuck…he didn’t have any sort of weapon, but he didn’t care. He’d tear the fucker to pieces with his bare hands. “My plan is to get Lilly the fuck out of there any way I can.”
He was marching straight to the house when Wyatt fell in step by his side, handing him a tire iron, while his brother held something similar in his hand. Wyatt would have his back. They’d find Lilly and get her home safe.
Coming down the road, Keane could see there were lights on toward the side and back of the house, and figured that would be their best bet. They quietly approached the home and peeked in the window, though they couldn’t see past the curtains in one room. However, the other part of the home had not only a window, but a back door, the top half made of glass. A thin lace covered the window, obstructing his view of the kitchen—but not entirely, allowing him mere glimpses of…blood and…was that Lilly?
Fuck. Fighting his panic, his fury, Keane smashed the glass on the door, and reached in to unlock it, pushing it open the moment his hand was free of the glass. With three steps, he closed the distance between them, dropping to his knees by Lilly’s side, pulling her limp, bloody body into his arms and moving her away from Sirius, leaving Wyatt to deal with the bastard. “I’ve got you, baby girl… It’s okay… Are you hurt?”
But she couldn’t answer him, her body trembling and shaking with the shock of it all. Carefully, he pried her fingers open from around the handle of the sharp knife, and set it aside, holding her to him to try to steady her, while Wyatt checked on Ash.
“He’s still alive, but…just barely.” Wyatt grabbed the kitchen towel hanging off the bottom cabinet and pressed it to the stab wounds—not that Keane cared if the bastard lived or died.
Digging his phone out of his pocket while still holding Lilly to him, Keane called Burke and let her know that they’d found Lilly, but they’d need an ambulance for Sirius. It couldn’t have been longer than five minutes before the place was swarming with police and EMTs.
He told himself that Lilly was safe now, that he had her back in his arms, that everything would be okay. And yet...he knew it was nothing but a lie he was telling himself to avoid the truth.
Nothing was okay, and it wouldn’t be. How could it, when he’d failed her…again.
***
The police and the doctors all insisted that they speak and examine Lilly without Keane present, and it was making him fucking crazy. He kept replaying it all over in his mind, and with each pass, more of the details materialized like a dream—or a nightmare—turning into reality. Like the fact that she was naked, except for a bloody t-shirt. Or the fact that she had bruising to her face and marks on her wrists.
He didn’t know what Sirius had done to her, but he couldn’t keep himself from thinking of what she’d endured in the past, and couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been forced to relive her nightmare. Could she come back from something like that twice? Or had she been forced to endure something even worse?
Wyatt put a hand on his shoulder, though it did little to comfort him. “She’ll be okay, Keane. She’s strong—and she’s a fighter. But I know what you’re thinking, and you can’t go there, man. It’ll make you crazy—and the truth is you don’t know what happened.”
“I know enough to have no doubt that she was put through fucking hell—and now they won’t even let me see her, won’t let me be
with her. And I swear, I’m going to fucking lose it.” When Keane spotted Hadley, he walked over to her, desperate for some information. “They haven’t told me anything.”
Hadley gave him a sympathetic look that likely didn’t bode well for his sanity. “The police and doctors have examined her and collected their evidence, and they got her cleaned up. But things are a bit complicated because she stabbed Ash Sullivan. Obviously, it was in self-defense, and she was in fear for her life, but it still means they need to conduct a thorough investigation.”
“Well, what the fuck was she supposed to do?” He wanted to punch something in frustration. “She’s just lucky she was able to get her hands on that knife. And who the fuck knows what she went through before that—not that I know anything. No one’s telling me a fucking thing and they won’t let me see her.”
“The doctors are just wrapping up now, but Keane… I’m sorry…she doesn’t want to see anyone right now.” Hadley grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. “This sort of thing…it can take time. But if she knows you’re here for her, it’ll help.”
“No fucking way, Hadley. I can’t. I have to see her.” He was going fucking crazy. “Just do me a favor...give her this, and then ask her again. I promise I won’t linger, but I need to see her.” Keane handed Hadley the engagement ring he’d bought Lilly.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He sat back down and prepared to wait—for an eternity if need be. Because he wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he’d had a chance to see her.
“Keane…was that what I think it was?” Wyatt gave him a questioning look filled with disbelief.
“Don’t fucking look at me like that, Wyatt. Having spent years living with my mistake, I know what I want, what I need, and that’s Lilly.” Except that Lilly was now pushing him away again, and this time, he might lose her for good. Not that he could blame her for not wanting him around when he’d failed to protect her.