The Last Marine

by Cara Crescent

  Oh, goddess help her, he planned to dry drown her. Her bravery evaporating, she tried to back out of the room, but someone stood right behind her.

  She looked up, right into Randolph’s eyes.

  Chapter 33

  They were releasing him.

  Griffin glanced around through swollen eyes. There wasn’t a part of his body that didn’t feel as if his flesh were on fire. Tears squeezed through his lids, burning trails down his ruined face.

  Blue Helmets held him up on either side while they unshackled his hands. Good thing, too, or he would’ve fallen on his face. He was fucked-up bad. He was pretty sure both his nose and jaw were broken. Maybe his right ankle and a couple ribs, too. Every breath was painful. Beating him with the cane hadn’t been enough for good old Bronsen. The fucker had let his soldiers take turns using him as a punching bag whenever his arm got tired.

  The two Blue Helmets turned, giving him a front-center view of the most horrific thing he’d ever seen.

  Randolph and Bronsen with Prudence held tight between them.

  Lavender tears streamed down her face and a little hiccup escaped her lips. “Chief Payne, the Blue Helmets are going to release you to the citizens of Diamond Fjord now.”

  Christ. “You turned yourself in?” He didn’t think any of them understood what he said, which was good. Last thing he needed was for them to realize how much they meant to each other. The bastards would no doubt use that information in twisted and unscrupulous ways.

  Randolph’s gaze slid over him, stopping somewhere below his face and narrowing. He staggered in his haste to get closer to Griffin and without warning, he swiped his hand over his stomach.

  Griffin winced. He didn’t think Brosnen had left an inch of his skin unharmed.

  Randolph shook his hand to the side, splattering excess blood and sweat. His eye twitched. A furious blush crept up his cheeks and returned to Prudence. “You gave your gift to him?” He pulled his arm back and slapped her across the face, sending her reeling into the wall and to the floor.

  Griffin struggled to get free, growling low in his throat.

  Bronsen kept Randolph’s hand from closing around Prudence’s throat. “You need her.”

  The two men’s gazes wrestled for a moment, before Randolph backed off. He turned to a Blue Helmet standing by the door and said something in a low voice. The Blue Helmet left.

  Prudence staggered to her feet.

  Griffin didn’t like the defiant expression on her face at all. The woman looked pissed as a wet hornet. His attention stayed on her, trying without words to warn her against spouting off. Her expression didn’t change. He wasn’t sure if she didn’t understand, or didn’t give a shit. Christ, he had so many questions he wanted to ask her, but once again, he couldn’t talk. He wanted to know why the fuck she'd come here. Where were Lucan and Merrick? Was there a plan to get them out of here?

  Randolph paced the small confines of the room. What had Bronsen said, he had some sort of nervous condition? He was twitchy as hell that was for sure, his eyes blinking in rapid-fire tics. He didn’t look good at all. Tired. Thinner than what he remembered. Christ, he hoped to hell Bronsen kept his pet under control.

  When the Blue Helmet returned, Randolph took something from the young soldier and sent him away again. Randolph walked over to a low restraint table. His attention snapped to Griffin’s. “When we were at the Outpost, I heard all about the items you stole.” He held up a salt shaker in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other. “The men were quite indignant over your theft.”

  Prudence’s voice shook. “You told the people you’d release Chief Payne to their custody if you had me. They’ll revolt if you renege on your word.”

  Randolph’s head jerked to the side. “He’ll be released as soon as he finishes answering my questions.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What do you mean? Much more and he’ll die.”

  Christ. If she didn’t stop, she’d draw Randolph’s wrath again. The man seemed to barely able to hold himself together, twitching and blinking as if he had no control over his body.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Lifting his arm, Randolph pressed his eyes to the crook of his elbow for a few seconds. “They said they wanted him released. No one mentioned he had to be alive.” A broad smile spread on Randolph’s face and he emptied the salt over the slanted table. The little grains slid and caught in the grooves of the slip-proof surface.

  Griffin’s gut rolled.

  “Lay him down.” Randolph motioned to the table.

  The Blue Helmets half-walked, half-dragged him to the table. He was so weak he couldn’t resist. And as his raw flesh came in contact with the salt-covered surface, he experienced a whole new kind of agony. He came flying off the table and the Blue Helmets rammed him back down. This time, they clamped his wrists and ankles to the table’s restraints.

  “Stop it. Leave him alone. He’s had enough,” Prudence wept.

  “Get out.”

  Griffin wasn’t sure who Randolph ordered out, but the door opened and closed while he still writhed in agony on the table.

  “Randy, I don’t think—”

  “You, too. I want a moment alone with my fiancée.”

  Shit. There would be no one to keep Randolph from hurting Prudence. He forced his eyes open in time to see Bronsen leave, closing the door behind him.

  “What good are you to me now, Prudence?” Randolph returned to Griffin’s side and held the bottle of liquor over his body. “Why should I give you what you want?”

  Griffin turned his face toward her, willing her not to say to anything.

  She choked on a sob. “There is no more need for bloodshed. This goes against everything Alfred believed. What would he think of this? He’d be ashamed of you.”

  “This isn’t my fault. You gave my gift to someone else. The only way to get it back is for him to die. This is your fault.” Randolph strode toward her. “And the only way I see to ensure you don’t spread those skinny legs for anyone else is show you what happens to traitors.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to kill him. I—I can take it back from him. There’s no need for this.”

  “There’s every need. If I let you go unpunished, you’ll go fuck around at the first opportunity. You’re too stupid to care for your own life. You’ve never learned any of your lessons when I’ve punished you. So this time, you’ll watch.”

  Randolph strode back to the table and upturned the liquor bottle, pouring the contents over Griffin’s raw skin.

  The liquor scorched his wounds like molten lava. A shout tore from his lips, his body bowing off the table only to sink down over the salt in a new position.

  Randolph threw the bottle across the room, shattering it against the wall. “Speaking of Alfred, why don’t you tell me how you and Chief Payne met?”

  She shook her head. “We met for the first time on the ship to Asteria.”

  “You expect me to believe you happened to run into your husband’s assassin while you were fleeing Earth by happy coincidence?”

  “Yes.”

  “If you didn’t have anything to do with Alfred’s death, why run at the first opportunity?”

  Prudence showed Randolph the stubborn tilt of her chin.

  Oh, Christ, no. She was going to get herself killed.

  “Maybe because I grew tired of being used, abused, and raped. Maybe because I wanted to find out what a real man was like.”

  The back of Randolph’s hand slapped across her face hard enough to send her into the wall.

  She straightened herself, the tip of her tongue darting out to touch the corner of her mouth which had begun to swell. She must’ve tasted the blood beading on her lip, because she lifted her hand to swipe it away.

  Griffin’s heart went into overdrive. “Stop it, Pru.”

  Neither Randolph nor Prudence heard him.

  Prudence shrugged. “I can’t help it if you don’t have the equipment to do the job right.”

  Randol
ph struck her again.

  “No!” What in God’s name was she doing?

  Prudence glanced his way as she pulled herself off the floor, one hand on the wall to steady herself.

  Christ, she was going to keep taunting him. Keep drawing Randolph’s ire from him. Griffin shook his head. Don’t do it, Angel. Quit poking the bear.

  She turned to look Randolph square in the eye. “Even Alfred was a better fuck than you.”

  Randolph let out a war cry and tackled Prudence to the floor.

  Frantic, Griffin strained against his bindings. He couldn’t see them, but could hear them struggling on the floor.

  The door flew open. Bronsen paused, taking in the scene before launching himself on Randolph. “You need her. Don’t kill her. Save your wrath for Payne.” Bronsen wrestled Randolph off Prudence and threw him against the wall. “What are you thinking? She’s the reason we’re here. You want to kill something, kill him.” He waved his hand toward Griffin.

  Griffin tensed as Randolph’s attention focused on him.

  “Where’s the hood?”

  Bronsen pulled the black material out of his pocket and slipped the hood over Griffin’s face. A drawstring pulled the hood closed around his neck, securing it in place.

  This was it. He was going to die, and suddenly, he didn’t want to. Who would tease Prudence and make her laugh? Who would make her scream in pleasure? Who would hold her during the night?

  He wanted to be that person. He wanted to love her. He wanted to marry her and get a cramped little apartment like Lucan’s. He wanted to do something other than kill for a living. He wanted to see Prudence grow fat with his babies. He wanted to irritate her by playing poker and smoking with friends.

  Damn it, he wanted to live.

  Cold water splashed onto his chest. His breath hitched as the table lowered on one end so his head and torso lay lower than his feet. His heart thrummed in his ears and a burst of adrenaline released into his body.

  Prudence screamed. She struggled with someone, their feet scuffing on the floor. “No, don’t!”

  Water soaked through the hood, streaming up his nose and flooding his sinus cavity. It burned and his body reacted as if he were drowning. Panic flared, making it impossible to think straight.

  He resorted to his training, forcing his body to relax. Sipping tiny breaths whenever the flow of water allowed him to part his lips. The problem was, Randolph wasn’t stopping. Waterboarding was most often done to scare someone into talking. But Randolph didn’t want him to talk. He wanted him dead. Wanted him to die a slow death while Prudence watched.

  With nowhere else to go, the water backed up, dripping through his sinuses into his throat. The urge to cough became more urgent. Ah, Christ, how big was the fucking bucket?

  Prudence’s voice grew hoarse as she sobbed and screamed.

  And he realized, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he loved her.

  Because as he lay there dying all he wanted to do was find a way to comfort her.

  *****

  They were killing him.

  Bronsen held her from behind, his arms wrapped around her chest, trapping her arms at her side. She kicked, trying to throw him off balance. Forced him to bear all her weight as she arched and bowed over his arms.

  But he was far stronger than her.

  Tears blured her vision. “Stop it. Stop. You can’t do this. You can’t kill him and still be like Alfred. Stop!”

  Randolph picked up another bucket before the first finished and as the last bit of liquid poured over Griffin’s face, Randolph tossed the bucket aside and started with the new one. There’d hadn’t been enough time for Griffin to take a breath, if that was even still possible.

  Bitterly, she focused on her birthmark, riding low on his stomach. Whatever gift she had given him had been useless. After all the years of suffering because of her precious gift, whatever she had in her was worthless. Her gift hadn’t helped him at all.

  Griffin’s hand, drew her attention. His middle two fingers folded in, leaving his thumb, forefinger and pinky sticking up. Universal sign language.

  I love you.

  Grief tore through her, bowing her under the weight of what she was losing. Of what her baby was losing. She stared at his hand, dying inside as his fingers relaxed and went still. Randolph released her, letting her slide to the ground. “Ah, goddess.” Terrible sounds wretched from her body, making her stomach roil and her body quake.

  The men stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.

  And maybe she had.

  She pinned Randolph with her wrath. “He was going to send you away.”

  “What?”

  She reached for the closest object, a full bucket, and standing, she hurled it at them. “Tell him.” She motioned to Bronsen. “Tell him how Alfred wanted him gone.” She chased them, grabbing the empties and throwing those, too. Bronsen bolted, opened the door, and pulled Randolph through.

  The door slammed and locked, but Randolph’s voice carried through. “You’re staying in there tonight. Be with your dead lover while his body grows cold.”

  Prudence pulled the hood from Griffin’s face. His lips were blue and he was so still, but she’d seen people brought back before. Tipping his head to the side, she let the water run out of his mouth and nose. She started CPR, sealing her lips to his and breathing for him. His chest rose and fell under her hand with each of her exhalations and rests. She counted the breaths and the started chest compressions. With each compression she winced, praying he didn’t have any broken ribs, praying she wasn’t making things worse. “Breathe, damn it.”

  The door rattled and opened, but she didn’t stop. They’d have to kill her before she quit. She pressed her lips to Griffin’s, exhaling, wishing for all the world she were kissing him instead of trying to breathe life back into him. She pulled away and drew in a deep breath and fed him more air.

  When she moved to do the compressions, someone pushed her out of the way. Instinctively, she attacked. Strong arms restrained her from behind. “It’s us. Relax, it’s us.”

  Prudence froze at the sound of Lucan’s voice.

  Merrick took over the chest compressions, then pausing, he glanced at her over his shoulder. “Breathe for him again.”

  Lucan released her and she pressed her mouth to Griffin’s.

  He coughed. Water sprayed out of his mouth.

  Merrick already had the restraints undone and Lucan helped her sit Griffin up. She held him against her, while he struggled to catch his breath. “You’re all right, baby. I’ve got you.” She wasn’t sure anyone could understand what she said, she was crying too hard, but she kept up the words of encouragement.

  Once he settled into a more normal breathing pattern, she cupped his face. “I love you so much, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  His eyes were so swollen, she wasn’t sure if he could see her, wasn’t sure he was even conscious until his lifted his hand to touch her face. He tried to say something and she lowered her ear closer to his mouth. “So . . . much . . . trouble . . . when we . . . get . . . home.”

  She laughed, which seemed to make her tears fall harder. “I know, baby. You can punish me all you want.”

  “We gotta get out of here.” Merrick pulled one of Griffin’s arms around him and Lucan took his other side. Griffin groaned as they pulled him to his feet.

  Lucan handed Prudence his gun. “Shoot anything that tries to stop us.”

  “Do you know how to get out of here?”

  “Yeah, same way we got in. There’s a delivery entrance at the end of this hall.” Merrick leaned out the door to check for Blue Helmets. “Grady and some of the guys from town are waiting outside with a hover car we, uh, borrowed.”

  She kept her focus trained on the doorways ahead. “Borrowed? Are you sure there’s no GPS tracking on that thing?”

  Merrick scoffed. “There was.”

  The hallway was deserted. “Where do you think everyone is? There were quite a few Blue Helmets out here earli
er.”

  Lucan cleared his throat. “Maybe putting out a fire in the courtyard.”

  She shot Lucan a droll stare. “That's pretty specific for a maybe statement.”

  “Last door on your right.” Merrick nodded ahead. “It’s a storage room, should still be empty.”

  Prudence opened the door, keeping her gun at the ready and searching the darkened corners. As Merrick said, the room contained nothing but shelving filled with dry food stuffs and sundries. They made their way to the back of the room, through the door, and out into the night.

  A hover car idling in the distance zoomed up as soon as they were outside. Grady hopped out and helped Lucan and Merrick load Griffin into the back.

  Merrick jumped into the driver’s seat. “The whole place was empty. How big a fire did you boys start?”

  “I may have added a bit too much gunpowder,” Grady admitted. “I cut up fifteen of my kid’s firecrackers and aimed my homemade bomb for the trees in the courtyard.”

  Prudence leaned over Griffin, putting her lips to his ear. “I love you. I’m going to take care of everything, baby. We won’t have to worry about Randolph or Bronsen anymore. You’ve done so much for everyone. It’s my turn to do my part, now.”

  He tried to say something, but knowing he’d try to stall her, Prudence backed away. By the time Lucan turned to check on her, she was back at the compound door.

  He jumped out of the hover car. “What are you doing?”

  “Ending this and making sure no one comes after you. Take care of him.” She slipped through the door and locked it behind her.

  Prudence returned to the torture room, locking herself in. She curled up in the corner, hiding her gun in the waistband of her pants and waited for Randolph and Bronsen to return.

  Chapter 34

  Lucan started to go after Prudence, but Griffin’s whole body tensed up and began to shake. “Oh, Christ. Merrick! He’s seizing.”

  “Hold on to him, babe. We’ll be in town in ten minutes.”

  Lucan threw his body over Griffin’s and Merrick hit the accelerator. “Hold on, big guy. Jesus, don’t die on me.” He kept up a steady stream of commands for his brother. Panic started to eat away at him and his face twisted. Jesus, he was going to lose Griffin.