Rush of Innocence (Rush Series #1)

by LR Potter

  She let out a shuddering sigh. “I don’t know what to believe,” she said wearily.

  She felt the movement of his throat again. “I know, baby,” he whispered.

  “Please don’t call me that,” she said as her chin began to wobble again. “I can’t take it. It all hurts too much.”

  “I’m sorry. Please believe that I tried to protect you… that I love you,” he said raggedly against her ear.

  She shuddered. No! She’d not believe it. She couldn’t believe. “I…. I need time to think. Please let me go,” she pleaded.

  He stepped back, and as she began to open the door, he laid a restraining hand on her arm.

  “Wait. Before you go, take my card, my personal numbers are on the back. Please!” he begged in return.

  She looked at the card in his outstretched hand for a long moment before taking it. But she knew she wouldn’t call

  .

  “Goodbye, Rush” she said softly as she walked out of his office.

  Tears were streaming down her face as she climbed into the elevator. She’d gotten her answers. For the first time in months, it seemed she was on the same sheet of music as everyone else. Where did that leave her? She now had no one. She was alone and pregnant. She needed to get away… she needed to think.

  She blinked against the bright sunlight as she exited the building. She was surprised to see it still shining. She felt she’d been inside the building for days instead of only an hour. As she stepped towards the parking lot, she raised the black SUV clicker on the keychain and pressed the unlock feature.

  She was forced to step back when a brown postal service van turned into the parking lot. She’d taken one step forward when an ear-shattering explosion rocked her off her feet, the force so great it threw her several feet in the opposite direction. A huge fireball burst into the air and raining debris fell everywhere. Trinity threw her arms up to block the debris from hitting her.

  With her ears ringing, she struggled to rise but her equilibrium was off and she staggered like a drunk. She saw people running out of the building, and while she could see their lips moving, she couldn’t hear them. She looked back to the parking lot to see what exploded. She walked around the brown van, and in the spot where she’d parked her father’s SUV, now stood a flaming mess. She raised a shaky fist to her mouth.

  “Oh, my God, oh, my God,” she whimpered. She stood in indecision. She turned towards the DrayCo building and had taken a couple of steps when someone came up behind her and placed a rag over her face. Instinctively, she inhaled deeply in panic. She struggled against the hold surrounding her, but in less than a minute, she was sagging against him. The assailant picked her up and walked briskly toward a waiting white utility van.

  ***

  Trinity’s muddled mind couldn’t make sense of her surroundings. She tried to move her hands to brush the hair out of her face, but she seemed to have no control over them. She had a sickening headache and her mouth was dry. She struggled to open her eyes, but it didn’t help due to the surrounding darkness. Once again she tugged at her hands. Now that her brain was beginning to function fully, she realized her hands were tied behind her back. Panic flared as memories of the explosion and being grabbed from behind flitted across her mind.

  Her stomach roiled when she realized she was tied to a chair. Flashbacks from when she’d been kidnapped as a child flooded her and filled her senses. Her brain seemed to be short-circuiting and the two began to become muddled together. She couldn’t breathe. As she began to take in rapid breaths, she felt her head becoming fuzzy as she began hyperventilating.

  She struggled to calm her breathing and concentrated on taking slower, deeper breaths. She needed to be calm. She needed to figure out where she was and who had her. Mostly, she needed to figure out how to get away. It wasn’t just about her anymore. Her lips trembled when she thought about the little life growing inside her. She shielded her mind away from how that little life came to be.

  She raised her head and looked about the room, but it was just too dark. Panic threatened to overwhelm her and she again forced herself to remain calm. She began to wiggle her hands, but the bonds were too tight; so tight, in fact, that she’d lost most of the feeling in them. She struggled to rise from the chair, but again the bonds were too tight. She hung her head. She was trapped as surely as she’d been as a child. She allowed the tears of frustration to fall.

  How she wished she’d had a normal life where danger didn’t seem to always be. She wished she’d met a normal guy and had a normal relationship with him – and with someone who wanted both her and her child. But the only thing Rush wanted was the child. Please don’t keep my child from me, he’d begged. She wondered if she’d be able to keep that promise.

  She tried to push the memories away because they hurt too much, but her mind had a will of its own. Scene after scene replayed itself in her mind. The first time Rush had taken her back to his condo in Vail when he’d pulled away from her when she’d told him she was a virgin. I promise you’ll thank me later, he’d said. When he’d rescued her at the club and he’d looked at her so incredulously, I’ve just about lost my damn mind with wanting you, he’d said. All the times he’d gone from red-hot lover, to stone-cold and pensive. I didn’t expect it to be like this, he’d said after the first time they’d made love. At the airport, in desolation, he’d said, I wish it could always be like this, she’d asked, why can’t it be? and he’d answered, Things change… situations change. The perfect moments always slip away, it seems. In the hot tub, when she’d been so desperate to have him, he murmured to her, oh baby, what have I done? When she’d begun to feel controlled by him and had wanted to leave, he’d begged her stay. I only want you safe, he’d said. Haven’t you ever had anything so precious, you’d do anything to protect it? he’d said. Trust me, I’ll protect you, he’d said. On their last night as a couple, as he’d held her in his arms, he’d whispered to her, I’ll protect you. I promise you’ll be safe.

  On the night of the ball, he’d held her close and said, I can’t seem to stay away from you

  I don’t want to hurt you – I never intended for things to get this deep. I have to try and protect you the only way I can – I wish things could have been different.

  Tears began to really pour from her eyes at the truth of Rush’s words. He had tried to protect her. And now all he’d ever remember was her walking away from him, not believing in him, not trusting him. All those feelings of love, want, and need that she’d denied herself for him for the last weeks flooded her senses. Her chest ached as sobs were ripped from it. She wished he was here now to hold her, comfort her, and tell her everything would be okay. She’d been so close to happiness, and now poof, it was gone.

  Fury at her father welled up inside her. Her stomach burned with the suppressed need to scream at him. This was his fault. She remembered his words, as well: You know she fancies herself in love with you, he’d said derisively. She was shocked at how cold and unfeeling he really was. Of course, what did she really expect from a man who would put his wife and daughter in harm’s way for money? She wondered if he was behind this kidnapping?

  Chapter 13

  Exhausted and spent, somehow, she fell asleep. When she next opened her eyes, grey light was beginning to filter in through a grimy window. Her body was stiff from being in the same awkward position for such a long time. She wondered if anyone even knew she was missing. She assumed her father would know, but what good would that do? She now knew what she was worth to him. She tried to lick her lips, but her mouth was too dry.

  She lifted her head and looked around her area of captivity. It appeared to be some sort of old abandoned warehouse. She looked down at the chair, searching for flaws she could use to her advantage but it was a straight-back, grey metal office chair. Even if she tumbled sideways, the chair wouldn’t break. She hung her head once more as self-pity swamped her.

  She was having a heavy discussion with herself about not giving up when she he
ard a chain being rattled against the metal of a sliding door. In the dimness of the space, she saw the door slowly slide open and a man step through it. She struggled to see him through the filtering light. After the man took a few steps in, she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

  “Uncle Jim?” she questioned. Relief flooded her and tears of joy began sliding down her cheeks. “How did you find me?” she asked him when he drew level to her.

  He smiled down at her sadly. He crouched down before her and tenderly touched her cheek. “How are you holding up, kid?”

  Confusion marred her features. Why wasn’t he untying her? Why wasn’t he more excited?

  “What’s going on, Uncle Jim?” she asked him.

  “Ah, honey. I wish there’d been another way. But you are what he holds most dear.”

  “I don’t understand. Who?” she asked him, already dreading the answer.

  “Your father.”

  “My father?” she parroted, trying to understand what he was saying.

  “He has to pay for what he did.”

  “Pay for what?” she asked as she struggled to make sense out of what he was saying.

  “Adrianna.”

  She started to ask who Adrianna was, then she remembered her father talking about an Adrianna. “Rush’s mother?” she asked, even more confused.

  James Franklin leaned forward and brushed a strand of hair behind her shoulder. “Adrianna was everything to me. I loved her. I wanted to marry her. She would have eventually come to me if your father hadn’t come up with that stupid gimmick. Adrianna was like a frail butterfly. She just couldn’t handle the pressure of her husband being killed. It was crazy really. She blamed herself for his death… because she was in love with me.” James rose and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “I found her in the apartment I kept for her. She was lying lifeless on the bathroom floor, naked, looking straight up at me with those dead eyes. The white tiles covering the floor and walls of the bathroom made the vividness of the blood even more pronounced. It appeared she’d started in the tub, slashed her wrists crudely, then perhaps changed her mind… but it’d been too late. She’d bled out on the floor. She must have flailed around as blood was splattered on the walls and the side of the tub. It was horrible… truly horrible.”

  Trinity struggled to think through what he was saying. “But Martin Lord was the one who called the hit, not my father. Please help me, Uncle Jim!” she begged.

  In an emotionless tone, he answered, “Martin Lord died of a heart attack a year ago. But someone has to pay for what they did to Adrianna. If not Martin… then your father.”

  “Please! I’m having a baby. Please don’t hurt me and my baby. Please give my baby a chance!” she pleaded, trying to play on his sympathies.

  He turned his head to face her and gave her another sad smile. “Was Rush Drayton the father?”

  She cringed at his choice of words, was Rush Drayton…

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  He patted her cheek. “I am sorry about that. The child would have been a part of Adrianna. But it just can’t be helped now.”

  She began to cry. “Please, Uncle Jim! Please untie me. Please let me go. I’m begging you.”

  “Don’t cry. Your father will be here soon. I promise I won’t let you suffer, okay?”

  While his tone was rational, his words were insane.

  “My father is coming here?” she asked as tears skidded across her cheeks.

  “Of course. He needs to know how it feels to have something he loves ripped away from him, as I did. He needs to feel the pain – really understand what he did!”

  She struggled to calm herself and think. She inhaled deeply and decided to change her tactics. “Uncle Jim, you said you wouldn’t let me suffer, but my arms and hands are really hurting me. Can’t you please untie them?”

  He studied her silently for several minutes before moving behind her and slowly unfastening the cord which bound her hands. “Now be a good girl and I won’t retie you.”

  “Okay,” she murmured as she rolled her shoulders and rubbed her hands together to get the blood flowing back into them. As casually as she could, she looked around the vast garage for anything which could help her, but she didn’t see anything.

  “Would it be all right if I used the bathroom?”

  Slowly he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Your father should be here any time.”

  She stared at James Franklin intently. “What will you do when he arrives?” she asked.

  “Extract payment,” was his simple answer.

  The ringing of James’s cellphone was shrilling in the hollow metal of the building. Its unexpectedness caused Trinity to jump at its harsh sound.

  “Ahh, speak of the devil,” he said as he answered the phone. “Hello, Arthur… Yes, she’s here… she’s perfectly fine… Yes, it does… You should have thought of that before… No, there is no other way… Of course…”

  James pulled the phone from his ear and handed it to her, “He wants to talk to you.”

  With her hands shaking, she took the phone. “Daddy?”

  There was silence on the phone then a sob filtered through the line. “Oh, Trinity. I’m so sorry, honey. Are you all right?” her father asked.

  At the sound of his voice, her lips began to tremble. “I’m okay,” she said.

  “I’m coming for you, stay strong,” her father said.

  She tensed at his words, and looking into James Franklin’s crazed eyes, she straightened her shoulders. “No, don’t. It won’t matter. He’ll kill me either way, then he’ll kill you…” she said before James ripped the phone from her fingers and shoved her hard to the concrete floor.

  “Arthur, you better show. I promise she’ll suffer a much worse fate if you don’t. You have one hour… no, one hour, and not a moment longer.”

  Trinity sat on the cold, hard concrete floor as tears slid down her cheeks. “Please don’t do this, Uncle Jim. Please let it go. Haven’t we suffered enough?”

  Reaching to his back from underneath his jacket, he pulled a small handgun out and sat down heavily in the chair she’d just abandoned.

  Trinity’s blood ran cold at the sight of the weapon. This was really happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Anger filled her as feelings of hopelessness swamped her. For her entire life, others had been dictating how her course would be plotted. Well no more! She scrambled to her feet and started to launch herself at the deranged man in the chair. She might not make it out of here alive, but she was sick of playing the game the way others saw fit. If she was going to die anyway, what did it matter? He was going to shoot her anyway. Maybe she could stop him, however, from hurting her father.

  She’d taken two running steps towards the sitting James when two things happened. First, James glanced up to see her advancing towards him, and from behind her she heard someone shout, “No, Trinity, don’t!”

  Her heart froze as she recognized the voice calling her name… Rush! No! Her head swung in the direction of the voice and saw him sprinting towards her. With her heart in her throat, she immediately turned her head back in time to see James Franklin lift the gun as he began to stand.

  “No!” she screamed. She ran, and without thought of anything but stopping James from shooting Rush, she dove at him. As if in slow motion, at the precise instant she dove, James pulled the trigger and a shot rang out loudly in the metal building. Trinity felt a searing pain in her chest and she closed her eyes as fire seemed to tear through her. Her momentum in the air had her landing on James, and together they toppled to the ground.

  The air was knocked out of her at the impact of their colliding bodies. She grunted as James struggled to push her off of him. She tried to wrap her arms around him, but couldn’t quite get her body to obey. He shoved her over onto her back as she struggled to gasp air into the painful cavity of her chest. She watched helplessly as Rush slammed into James. She allowed her head to loll to the side, but soon they were out
of her range of sight. She could hear them scuffling just beyond her, and despair filled her. Not Rush! Please, dear God, not him.

  She struggled to call out to Rush to tell him to get away… to save himself, but tiny, gurgling bubbles were all she could force out of her lips. Suddenly, a shot rang out and then there was no sound except for the wind howling against the metal building, causing it to creak and moan. She gasped at the vice squeezing her heart. She again tried to call out, but as tears streaked over the side of her face, those same gurgling noises were all she could produce.

  She allowed her eyes to close against the pain. Her breathing was becoming labored, and her chest was in agony, but nothing compared to the searing pain in her heart. Snatches of her previous thoughts surged through her mind… Rush moving her effortlessly around a dark dance floor… Rush looming over her the first time they’d made love… Rush holding her hips as he directed her movements in the hot tub… Rush as he ran his thumb across her lower lip…

  She groaned against the pain of her last images of him… of his anguished face as she railed her fists against his chest… of his lips against her hair when he’d trapped her between his hard body and his office door… of him begging her to believe him…

  As weightless as she’d been in her dream with her mother where she drifted to the bottom of the lake, she felt her body sinking. It was calm and peaceful. The pain and anguish she felt began to dissipate as she surrendered to the beckoning fingers of darkness.

  ***

  Pain came crashing down on her. She struggled to avoid it, begging to surrender back to the depths of darkness. The paramedic in the ambulance forced the ventilator mask over her face even as she struggled to twist away. He held her still as he fastened a restraint over her head to hold it place, but still, she thrashed about. She didn’t want to be here. She longed for the anonymity of nothingness. She didn’t want to know… to feel… to be. She felt someone on the other side of her squeeze her hand tight. She tried to pull away… tried to curl herself into a protective fetal position, but tight bands held her firmly in place. There were no more tears… no more sobs… no more anything. Slowly, the medication inserted into her IV drip expanded into her system, easing her back into the blessedness of oblivion.