by Jenika Snow
He charged for her, and she jumped out of the way, tearing off toward the door and running down the hall. The panic button Gage had given her was in her purse, a stupid move, she now realized. But she’d felt safe at home.
How wrong you’ve been.
She raced down the hallway, Theo’s heavy footsteps right behind her. Neeka swallowed her scream, her fear, and thought about staying calm, or trying to at least. She chanced a look behind her shoulder, and her eyes grew wide at his close proximity. Reaching out, she grabbed a decorative vase sitting on a carved podium. The porcelain crashed to the floor, shattering.
She could hear Theo grunt, and she looked over her shoulder again. He stumbled over the shards of porcelain as he tried to right himself. She took the stairs two at a time, each landing seeming miles away. When she finally reached the bottom, she raced toward the kitchen, grabbing her purse off the counter and tossing its contents out. She rifled through everything, grabbing the small metal button that glinted off the kitchen light.
“You’re being a very bad girl, Neeka.”
Her gaze shot up toward Theo. She reached over and grabbed a butcher knife off the wooden kitchen block, holding it out in front of her as she pushed the panic button over and over again.
“Stay away, Theo. I don’t want to hurt you, but I swear I will.”
He laughed at her as he reached behind his back. He pulled out a small, strange-looking gun and pointed it at her, his gaze roaming her body as he licked his lips lasciviously. “I’m going to have so much fun with you.”
She shoved the panic button in her pocket and held the knife with both hands, her entire body shaking as she stepped backward.
No. I won’t be taken. I can’t go through that again. Please let the panic button work.
Theo grinned before he pulled the trigger. She ducked, slipping on the floor because she only wore socks. The knife clattered against the tile as she tried to catch herself, her socks not giving her any traction as she ran into the dining room. She heard something whiz by her. A stinging pain landed in her neck, and she gasped out, instantly grabbing whatever it was and ripping it out. It was then, as she stared down at the dart, that she realized Theo drugged her.
Everything around her started to become slow, the edges of the room getting hazy and out of focus.
“Right now, a sedative is circulating through your bloodstream. In a matter of minutes, you’ll be unconscious.”
She tilted on her feet, his words becoming slow and distorted, his form wavering.
“Soon we will be together, Neeka.” He walked over to her, placing the gun at the small of his back as he embraced her.
She wanted to push him away, but her arms felt like lead and wouldn’t move. Her lids grew heavy, but she fought it, knowing she needed to stay conscious, even if that was impossible. It was a hopeless fight. The smell of his liquor-laced breath was the last thing she was aware of before she succumbed to the darkness.
Chapter Sixteen
Gage sat behind the screens of the tech station in the compound of his organization. He kept his gaze trained on the ten monitors that showed numerous scenes of the base’s property. Although his full focus and attention should have been on those monitors, the only thing he could think about was Neeka.
“You look like you’re thinking pretty fucking hard.”
Gage looked over his shoulder when he heard the thickly accented voice. Damian Mordriski, a former Serbian intelligence and special operatives agent for the underground resistance, towered everything and everyone at six-feet-eight inches. His pale blond hair and ice blue eyes were a testament to the arctic tundra of his birthplace. Damian was a ruthless killing machine, one of their best soldiers in their organization, and in the underground resistance.
Gage breathed out and ran a hand over his head, not wanting to talk about this because expressing emotions was a weakness, a dent in his armor. Gage looked back at the screens.
“Yeah, that’s an understatement.” Damian moved further in the room and sat beside him, silence stretching between the two men. Gage was thankful Damian picked up on the fact he had no desire to discuss what he was really thinking. Maybe Gage needed to talk about this shit?
Maybe getting it out with someone he trusted—and he did trust Damian—would put some meaning behind it all where it concerned Neeka?
Or maybe I should just keep my fucking mouth shut.
But right when he was about to let his wall down, if only for this short amount of time, an alarm started going off on the control panel. Alertness slammed into Gage, and he sensed the same happening with Damian. He pulled up the screen of the perimeter of where the alarm had been triggered. A set of coordinates were displayed, and it was then he felt his heart seize in his chest.
Neeka’s pressed the panic button.
His body was already primed for action. He was in hunt and destroy mode as he got out of the chair and moved into the weapons room, grabbed what he could. Damian followed closely behind, clearly ready to take any orders Gage threw out. He’d need more men from the organization in on this, because he wasn’t going to fuck this up where it concerned Neeka. Not when he’d fallen for her. Not when he wanted her as his.
****
“Wake up, princess.”
Neeka groaned and rolled onto her back, her entire body stiff and her neck throbbing. The voice that roused her sounded familiar, but she felt like she was underwater, her mind was so fuzzy.
“Give her a minute. The drug is still in her system.”
She placed her hand on her head as she slowly sat up, the feeling of being light headed causing her stomach to clench with queasiness. She opened her eyes, blinding florescent lights stinging her vision so she was forced to shut them again.
“She’s coming around now. Perfect timing.”
Neeka now knew that voice, but her mind was still so fuzzy. How did she know that voice? Again she opened her eyes, everything blurry but slowly focusing. At first, she didn’t know who the two men in front of her were because they were hazy, but as her vision cleared she gasped.
Rye and Theo stood in front of her, void of emotion, and several men behind them adjusting their guns in their arms.
“How are you feeling, darling?”
Theo’s sickly sweet voice was like acid to her. He helped her up, her legs wobbling, her knees buckling, so she was forced to grip his arm or fall back on the floor. What in the hell was going on?
“The medication will wear off shortly. In another ten minutes, you will be feeling like your old self again.”
She looked at Rye as he spoke. She shrugged Theo away from her, a scowl crossing his features from her actions. “I’m not going to even ask why I’m here because you made your plans clear already, Dr. Vincent. You’re a sick fuck.”
Rye took a step closer, and she tensed, expecting the worst.
“You caused me a lot of trouble these past few weeks, Neeka.”
She looked at Theo as Rye spoke, and although she should be surprised he was obviously involved with this, a part of her wasn’t. He was just as slimy and demented as Rye.
“What do you have to do with any of this, Theo?” She found herself moving a step back as she asked Theo the question.
He breathed out as though she were a child and what she said was frustrating. “I’ve been working with Dr. Vincent for years now. When I discovered what he had planned, I made a deal with him. I would give him the offspring you and I will produce so he can continue his work. In exchange you’ll be mine exclusively. It’s a triumph for everyone. Rye gets what he wants, I get what I want, and you get to be a mother and help further Rye’s research, Neeka.”
“I will not be having any ‘offspring’ with you, Theo. You’re both insane.”
“What choice do you have? Your father’s dead, and everyone thinks we are to wed. Trust me. I’ve been planning this for a very long time. It would have been so much easier if you were willing, but I’m not picky. I’ll take what I can get.”
>
“Please,” she found herself pleading. “You don’t have to do this. You can’t do this.” She was getting past the point where she was too angry to beg for her life because getting caught twice and rescued again seemed almost like fantasy.
“We already have done this, Neeka. Who will save you this time?” Theo was the one to speak. He stared at her for a long moment before continuing. “If you think he will come for you," he looked at Rye and smirked and then turned back toward her, “then you are truly mistaken. He’s been paid for his services, and men like him only fuck women to pass the time. You didn’t actually think he had feelings for you, did you?” His face showed amusement but then turned blotchy and red from his anger.
No, he’s lying. What I feel for Gage isn’t just something to shove aside. And I know he cares for me, too.
He stormed toward her and gripped her shoulders so tightly she made a small sound of pain. She didn’t know what he saw in her expression, but in that second his features had become dark and foreboding. He smashed his mouth against hers, their teeth gnashing together and the same time he pressed his fingers inward in her flesh. He pushed her away, and she stumbled backward.
Rye and Theo started talking quietly to each other, and she took a moment to look at her surroundings. She knew exactly where she was as soon as she took the time to really notice. She stood in the center of Theo’s cabin, no more than twenty miles from her father’s home. She’d come here with her father numerous times when he wasn’t so sick.
She knew the layout of the cabin, but guards with guns were stationed at every possible exit. Their focus was trained on her, their guns pointing to the ceiling, their fingers on the triggers. Theo and Rye continued to speak, their gazes darting over to her occasionally. She could still feel the panic button in her pocket, the small piece of metal reminding her that help would arrive soon, she hoped. She jumped when Theo clapped his hands and looked at her expectantly.
“Well, looks like we get to play after all. No time like the present to start making a family, to finally make you mine, Neeka.”
Neeka felt her eyes grow wide at the way Theo was looking at her. Chills swept down her spine at the thought of what he was about to do. “Don’t fucking touch me.” She held her hands in front of her and slowly backed up. No way was she going to allow Theo to rape her. She turned around, only taking a few steps before Theo yanked her back by her hair. Neeka tried to right herself, but pain crashed into her skull. Theo wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her backward even more.
He lifted her easily, carrying her into a bedroom and slamming the door shut. She kicked and screamed, but it was no use, Theo was strong. He tossed her on the bed, and she scrambled to get away, but he grabbed her feet and tugged her down. She sat up and started swinging, hitting him in the side of the face and feeling triumphant. She screamed when he backhanded her, the momentum sending her flying over the side of the bed and hitting the wood floor hard. She landed on her wrist and cried out. Theo grabbed her feet again and dragged her down. He flipped her over and lifted her, tossing her on the bed again as he started unbuttoning his shirt.
“You know, you put up a fight, but to be honest, I kind of like it. It makes me work for the prize I’m about to get.” He tossed his shirt to the ground and started going for his belt.
She moved to the top of the bed, screaming when he crawled on it toward her, his pants half open, his grin wide. He gripped her legs forcefully and pulled her down so she was under him. Neeka kicked and screamed but knew no one would come to her rescue. Bile rose in her throat as she desperately fought to get him off of her. She was growing so tired, her arms aching from her movements, her lungs burning from her breathing. In the next second, a sequence of gunshots rang outside the room. Theo momentarily stopped, holding her tightly as he zipped his pants up with his free hand.
“Where is she? Where the fuck is Neeka?”
Her heart beat faster when she heard Gage’s enraged voice. Theo started to move off of her, but kept a grip on her neck. She tried to push him away, but he was too strong. Just then, the bedroom door splintered inward, shards of wood spraying the room as shouts and swearing rang out. Theo’s heavy weight was suddenly gone from her, and she slowly sat up, tears streaming down her face as she watched Gage slam fist after angry fist into Theo’s face. Blood sprayed out of Theo’s nose and mouth, his eyes rolling back in his head, but Gage didn’t let up his beating until several men in the same black military attire Gage wore pried him off Theo. They shouted things at him until the rage in Gage’s eyes dimmed, but only slightly.
“We need to get information from him.”
“After that kill him.”
“Make him bleed and suffer.”
The men that were talking to Gage sounded just as angry. These men were killers, but she guessed they needed Theo alive for whatever reason.
He turned his green gaze on her, and she sucked in a breath, never more happy to see him than she was right then. He rushed over to her, falling to his knees in front of her and grabbing her hands. Gage brought them to his lips and kissed them gently before placing them over his heart.
This was an act so gentle, so unlike the powerful man she’d met, but she realized she needed this side of Gage, too.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry it took us so long to get to you.”
She started crying harder, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him hold her tight. “I’m okay now that you’re here.”
“Caleb, Ruick, take care of that fucker.” He carried her out of the room, and she saw the numerous bodies littering the ground, all of them men who worked for Rye. But when she looked around, not seeing his body, fear sucked the air from her lungs.
“He wasn’t here when we raided the house, so we think he might have escaped. We don’t know where he went, but we’ll fucking find him, baby. My main concern was finding you and making sure you were okay.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as they dragged Theo out by the arms, his face bloody and bruised. “Is he alive?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.” There was dark hatred in Gage’s words, and he held her closer to him. “He’s going to be interrogated when he wakes, and he’ll give up Rye Vincent’s location. That I’m confident of.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“He will.” His words were hard and final.
“What if he dies before he can give us any information? What if he doesn’t wake up?”
He held her tighter. “I’ll take care of you, baby. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.” He carried her out of the house, helped her into the SUV, and strapped the seatbelt over her. He didn’t move right away, just stood there, watching her.
There were so many things she could have said then, but the way their eyes were locked was perfect enough.
He cupped her cheek in his big hand, his thumb running over her bottom lip, but when she winced he stopped immediately. She saw the way his jaw tensed, his gaze roaming over her, his head moving closer until he was kissing every tender spot on her face.
God, this is what needing someone feels like.
She closed her eyes and sighed. Neeka didn’t care what was right or wrong, because she needed to be with Gage, or her life would never be complete.
Epilogue
Two months later
Neeka looked down at the glossy photos of the men Rye Vincent had captured. This was the first time she was actually seeing all of the men he was experimenting on, abusing, and destroying their lives. There were twenty different faces staring back at her, ranging from late teens to early thirties. Each of them had only a first name beside it. David, Samuel, and Lukas seemed normal, ordinary names even, but the men in the pictures were anything but. They had hard, stoic expressions, but they also looked broken, dead, and devoid of emotion. She couldn’t help but worry about them, and about how far Rye had gone with them.
But they were no longer prisoners, and in fact Gage’s organization had reloca
ted them to rehabilitation facilities, places they could start their lives again, rebuild what they’d lost, and, she hoped, try to have normal lives. But Neeka also knew that they weren’t “normal”, not with the drugs Rye had given them. Her blood ran in their veins as well, helped them be the killing machines Rye had envisioned. How their lives would go was up to them.
She remembered Adaym, remembered the expression that had crossed his face when she’d looked into his glowing eyes back at that facility, at the prison. But what Neeka noticed was there was no photo of Adaym amongst the others, and Gage had told her they hadn’t found a man matching that description at the facility either.
Where are you?
They hadn’t gotten much information out of Theo, given the fact that he’d slipped into a coma shortly after they’d returned. They were still waiting for him to wake up so he could be questioned.
Since Gage had rescued her from Rye and Theo’s capture, she’d been staying at her father’s house. It was lonely, and she was reminded daily of her father being gone, but she liked being surrounded by his things.
She was in the process of selling her condo and was on a temporary leave of absence from work. Neeka and Gage had been seeing each other, their relationship like nothing she’d ever experienced. She was glad she’d been able to find him, that he’d come into her life and changed something inside of her for the better.
The pictures were scattered all over the table in her kitchen, each face seeming lonely and desolate. Gage had been the one to give her pictures, to update her on everything.
She walked toward the refrigerator, opening it and just standing there, the chill seeping through the thin layer of her clothing. Hearing footsteps behind her and smiling, she knew it was Gage without even turning around. The clean, masculine scent of him washed through her just as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist.
“I missed you, baby.”