Please, let her be all right, I send up a silent pray.
The place is clean.
Surprisingly so.
Looks like they’ve been here for longer than we thought, because it looks like they’ve settled for some time.
“You stupid little bitch…”
The sound of Mirabelle’s voice fills the empty air around me, urging me forward into the lion’s den. Images of Penny tied to a bed somewhere in its depths send me into a panic, and I run toward the voice, losing all sense of direction and Rafe.
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with, or the monster you’ve let loose.”
I freeze midstride. The sound of Mirabelle’s voice is close, and I take a precious second to decipher which direction it’s coming from. It’s coming from the door on my right.
Reaching out, I test the handle and discover it’s unlocked. I twist the knob and push the door open. The sound of a gasping gurgle fills my ears. My feet carry me over the threshold as I aim down the sight of my gun, looking about the room for the source.
I see her instantly.
My beautiful girl.
She’s splayed out on the cement floor, on the other side of a huge double-paned window. There’s a makeshift pallet on the ground and what looks like a bucket in the corner for waste.
Mirabelle is straddling her still body, and her hands are wrapped around my girl’s neck. She’s muttering to herself, but I don’t make out a single coherent word. She’s in a manic state and has no idea I’m walking toward her.
Shutting down the panic and the rage of emotions boiling inside of me, I focus on trying to get her away from Penny without bloodshed. Why, I don’t know, but something inside of me keeps me from puting a bullet in the woman, ending her life right then and there. It takes every ounce of control I have.
“Mirabelle,” I call softly, desperate to see some spark of life from Penny as my voice echoes off the walls. Mirabelle continues to screech a variety of profanities, squeezing and releasing Penny’s throat. Pointing the gun away from them, I fire the weapon, finally getting her attention.
Mirabelle slowly turns to face me. Her dark eyes are almost black, and I watch her eyes widen with surprise. She lets go of Penny.
“Tony,” she exclaims with a clap, quickly placing one hand over her mouth, feigning embarrassment. “Oh, wait, I mean, Damien. Right? Because Tony’s not your real name.”
“Get up,” I demand and look past her, trying to gain a better assessment of Penny from my vantage point, but it’s hard to see the rise and fall of her chest with Mirabelle still perched on top of her.
“I’m afraid you’re too late,” she tells me matteroffactly, a smug smile on her face. She reaches down and pats Penny on the face, proud of what she’s done. “Oh, the tragedy of the moment, knowing she’s dead and you weren’t able to save her.”
I cock the gun again, pointing it at her, ready to pull the trigger.
“An ironic twist to the plot, her lover face-to-face with the killer.” She stands and throws her hands out. “Revenge is sweet, Damien. I have firsthand experience.”
A flicker behind Mirabelle draws my attention. I hear the gasping breath of my woman, and relief floods my body. Mirabelle hears it, too, and turns her back to me, and I see the glinting metal of a weapon tucked in the band of her pants.
Penny’s eyes flicker open, and she lifts a hand to her throat, trying to drag in another breath. Mirabelle growls and reaches for the gun, but I fire off a shot, grazing her upper arm.
She screeches and turns toward me, granting me her complete attention. “You fucking asshole! You shot me!”
“I’m not the only one with another identity, am I?” She frowns, forgetting the gun tucked into her pants. Penny rolls to her side, her beautiful blue eyes filled with relief to see me. “They called you Cassie, right?”
Mirabelle chokes hearing her real name for the first time in a long time, and the blackness that filled her dark eyes disappears almost instantly. “How old were you when they took you?”
“How do you know that name?” she asks, sounding panicked. Her eyes flicker around the room and instinctively look for a source of danger.
“Your mother and father have never stopped looking for you.” I take a step forward, lowering my gun as I do. She’s still a threat with the weapon tucked away on her person, but like King said, she’s a victim. One who did what she had to do to survive, and I have no doubt she won’t hesistate putting a bullet through my head. “They’ve never stopped hoping.”
“Bullshit.” She tries to sound hardened, but it comes out shaky and unsure. She begins to tremble as her body fights the conditioning she was taught and the hope I’ve sprung inside of her. “They sold me to him.”
“Is that what he told you?”
Penny pulls herself up into a sitting position behind her. She stills and quiets, listening to the conversation happening.
“They didn’t want me. I was nothing to them,” she cries and reaches up to cover her ears. She slinks to the floor, and Penny scoots away from her. “I watched them. They didn’t turn around. I cried out, but they were too busy with my brother.”
“They didn’t sell you, Cassie. You were kidnapped.” I holster my gun, advancing another step toward her. “That’s what Charles wanted you to believe. He wanted you to believe no one cared about you, because he wanted to control you.”
“I was nine,” she whimpers, and I see Penny flinch at the confession. I know she’s thinking about her youngest sister, Isa, and how much younger she is than Cassie was when she was taken. “I was only a little girl. Who does that to a little girl?”
“A monster,” I say the words, meeting Penny’s eyes. It’s the way she described Miguel to me the night she told me about him. It’s also my way of telling her I know who Charles really is. “Where is he, Cassie?”
I use the name Cassie instead of Mirabelle, trying to keep her from reverting to the monster he created in her. Mirabelle is the name he gave her to make her forget the memories of her real life. It’s the name he gave her to control her.
“He’s dead,” she tells me, pulling her legs up to her chest. I kneel beside her, giving her enough space to feel safe in my presence but still trying to get close enough to take the gun away. “I killed him.”
“You did?” I ask, my ears alert to the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway, just outside the room. It must be the guys. I glance at Penny and see she’s managed to scoot herself to safety without any noise. A learned ability that comes from years of staying invisible to the abusive Miguel. Penny comminucates the sight of my team standing on the other side of the glass, watching and waiting for the outcome.
Cassie nods and looks down at the ground. She pushes out her legs and reaches behind her back to pull out the gun. She holds it causually in one hand, resting it in her lap. I meet Penny’s eyes from across the room, and they plead with me to be careful.
“With that?”
She nods again, keeping her eyes downcast. “He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“No, he can’t,” I assure her on an outstretched hand. “Can I have the gun?”
I see her eyes look at my hand, and then down at the gun in hers as she contemplates what to do. She shakes her head as her instinct to survive kicks in. “I can’t.”
“Okay.” I nod and rock back onto my heels. She looks up to at me finally, no trace of the monster visible.
“Will I get to see them?” There’s a childlike quality in her voice.
My heart stings a little bit, because I’m sure she knows she isn’t going to walk away from any of this life as a free woman. Which is a terrible thought because the bad she’s done and the people she’s hurt were the result of what happened to her twelve years ago. King’s words echo in my head.
“Yes, I promise you’ll get to see them.” I throw a look over my shoulder, and King nods. He’s already called her parents.
Cassie shifts, pulling my attention back to her, and she ho
lds the gun out toward me. As I reach for it, she yelps and pulls it back.
“No, they can’t see me. They can’t know what I’ve done.” She begins to spiral. The thought of seeing her parents sends her down the rabbit hole. “They can’t know the monster I’ve become.”
“Cassie—” I try soothing her, but she places the barrel of the gun in her mouth and pulls the trigger before I realize what’s happening.
I watch in horror as Cassie falls backward onto the concrete.
The sound of Penny screaming and the sight of her reaching for the dead woman pull me out of the shock controlling my body.
I stand and lean over, scooping Penny into my arms. She fights my hold, but I carry her out of the room and away from the sight of Cassie’s lifeless eyes.
King leans over the woman, checking for any signs of life, only to hang his head in defeat.
Cassie is gone. And she took Mirabelle with her.
Chapter 48
Penny
“How did you know where to find me?” I whisper. My throat feels like fire at each word, curtesy of Mirabelle’s death grip.
Fuck, I can’t believe she’s gone. I shiver, trying to block the memory of her head exploding before my eyes.
“Rafe,” he tells me, stroking my hair. I lean against him, refusing to be away from him for anything longer than a moment or two. Which made for an awkward situation when the doctor came in to examine me.
Damien and the guys insisted on a quick visit to the hospital. I didn’t think it was necessary, but after witnessing their eyes harden with worry, I reluctantly agreed. As long as I didn’t have to ride to the emergency room in the back of an ambulance.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks, leaning back to look down at me.
“I told you, besides my throat, I’m fine.” I offer a warm smile, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of my head. But I’m not ready to tell him yet. Not until I know for sure.
“I mean about Charles being Miguel.” He lowers his voice.
“It was a big shock seeing him sitting on the other side of the glass, especially thinking he was already dead. But he’s gone now.”
“Yeah,” he sighs, sounding exhausted. When Damien took off into a sprint after hearing Mirabelle’s voice, Rafe went upstairs looking for him and found Miguel’s lifeless body.
“At least she died finally free of him,” I surmise, thinking of Cassie and everything I’ve learned about her today. Who would’ve known? “When I was younger, I used to have these dreams about running away from my mother and Miguel. I never went anywhere specific, because all I wanted was to be free of the fear, the lack of control, and the unknown in my life. He was a monster to us, but when I think about what he did to her—”
“It wasn’t your fault,” he interjects, trying to guess what I’m about to say. And he’s wrong.
“I know it isn’t, but she was with him for fourteen years, Damien.” I swallow, trying to make him understand. “I was one when he came into our lives, and I never knew where he was going on those long trips he used to take. Now I know.”
“Penny…” he trails off, understanding me now.
“He never hurt me like he did her, not that he wouldn’t have given the opportunity, but those times he was gone, he was with her, and I was celebrating his absence.”
Guilt.
I felt guilty for feeling happy. When he wasn’t there hurting and torturing us, he was with her.
“If it wasn’t her, it would have been another. He was a monster.”
“And in the end, she escaped him.”
“You both did,” he corrects me.
“She pulled the trigger. Not me.”
Before he can argue any more, a knock on the door announces the doctor. The door opens, and she walks in, closing it softly behind her.
“Well, I’ve got some good news.” Dr. Yvette Saunders smiles, her whiskey-colored eyes darting between Damien and me. She’s a petite woman, with caramel colored skin and ebony colored hair. She has a spitfire personality, reminding me one of the girls I friended in the earlier months of my captivity. I felt instantly comfortable with her. Damien asked for her the moment we arrived. I noticed her name stirred something in the one called Zero, because he began acting nervous. He bolted out the door the second she came through the doors. I couldn’t help but find his behavior odd, but then again, Dr. Saunders is a stunning woman. “Your test results have all come back good, and we are going to release you.”
“See, I told you,” I giggle, feeling a burst of light enter the room.
“What about her throat?” Damien asks, still not convinced I’m okay.
“Little to no damage that we can see. With a few days rest and minimal talking, it’ll be good as new.” She winks at me, knowing he’s being a worry wort. “But before you go, I’m ordering an ultrasound, but from everything we can tell, the baby is doing great.”
“Baby?” Damien asks with a frown stitched into his brow. I sit up straight, relief filling my body.
The baby is okay.
My heart pounds and skips a beat all at once.
I’m going to have a baby.
“I take it you didn’t know you were pregnant?” Dr. Saunders asks, confusion laced between her brows. Damien’s mouth hangs open, but he looks to me for an answer.
“I wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but I knew it was a possibility,” I admit, placing a hand on my belly and turning my head toward Damien. I’m not sure how he’s feeling at the moment, because we still haven’t talked about the future as far children go. “Are you okay?”
“I’m going to be a father?” he asks with a hint of excitement in his voice. I nod, unable to put to words the emotions I’m feeling.
“I’m going to give you two some privacy, but the ultrasound tech will be in soon, and we’ll see how far along you are. I’ll also have a nurse let the group in the waiting room know that everything is all right and you’ll be out soon.” The doctor doesn’t wait for a response and lets herself out of the room just as quietly as when she entered it.
Damien’s green eyes bore into mine until I feel like the world around us has stopped completely. He lifts a hand and places it over mine. A blinding smile slowly creeps across his face. “We’re going to have a baby?”
I nod. “You’re going to be a daddy. Is that okay?”
“Okay?”
“We haven’t really talked about a family, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell you,” I explain, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders.
“This is amazing news, angel.” He pulls me into his arms and places a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he murmurs softly. I lean into him with a sigh and kiss his lips. “I love you, angel, and I love our baby. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”
“You love me?”
“I do. I wanted to say it sooner, but I was afraid to admit how much you mean to me. You deserve so much more than I can give you.” He wraps me into his arms tighter, burying his face in my neck. “I’m scared you’re going to wake up one day and realize I’m too broken for you and our baby.”
“Never,” I ressure him, knowing down to the depths of my soul there is no other for me. “You are the most amazing man, and I’m lucky to call you mine. I love you, Damien.”
“I love you, too, angel, in the light of the day and the glow of the moon, forever and always,” he whispers before claiming my lips in a searing kiss.
Epilogue One
Damien
Eight Months Later . . .
I stare down at the sight of my wife and my three-month-old daughter sound asleep on the couch, feeling more love than I have in years.
Paisley Nicole Reynolds came into the world in the grandest fashion Mother Nature would allow her, a thunderstorm meant for the records. The amount of people waiting for her arrival in the waiting room caused the hospital staff to fall into a panic over fire codes and capacity policies.
It was Alice who managed to smooth the ruffled feathers, all the while carrying hers and Hudson’s son, Maverick, in her arms.
The moment I first laid eyes on my daughter, it was love at first sight, and I’ve never been the same since. I’ve gone so far as to make sure I’m home every night and with them every morning. I’ve made a vow to be the best father I can be, to always protect my girls from the shadows that linger and lurk in the world.
I’m working with Sneak, expanding the intelligence portion of the company, since I refuse to go out in the field anymore. After the work I did in Vegas, I’m not able to stomach the dirty work any longer. It’s not who I am anyway.
After everything regarding Vegas and Charles finally came to a close, the FBI was undergoing a huge overhaul in the way they investigate their suspects. Too many crucial details had been overlooked, including Mirabelle’s true identity. They should have known who she was long before the night Rafe finally pieced everything together.
Then again, if it weren’t for Mirabelle, I might not have claimed Penny as my own that first night. But I like to think Penny came to into my life through fate, and I’ve never stopped believing things happened for a reason.
The night Penny came into my life, my world turned upside down.
All of it for the better.
She saw past the shadows and the darkness straight to the man I’d forgotten I once was. She became the light in my dark, always chasing back shadows until the day they no longer exsisted.
She loved me at my weakest and taught me to be strong again.
She does not know it, but she claimed me the night our eyes first met. Body, mind, and soul. Every piece of me belonged to her, and I was at her mercy.
When I wake beside her every morning, I know she wasn’t just a gift from the man upstairs, but also from the woman I’ll always keep close in my heart.
My mother.
She gave me Penny when I needed her the most.
My lucky penny.
My saving grace.
My angel, who set the world on fire.
Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Series Book 3) Page 23