by Allen, Sara
“My love, Frank is going to be coming by later on, and we have to put some things in motion that you may not agree with. We are going to have to separate to keep you safe.”
Sidney sighed. Then she grew panicked. Her eyes were wide with fear. “Are you leaving me by myself? What do you mean separate? I can’t stay in these woods by myself.”
“No, Bella, Frank will be with you. I would never leave you alone. I know you can take care of yourself, but I would rather have the peace of mind knowing that my heart is being protected.” Marco bent down, capturing Sydney’s luscious lips in a kiss.
Her heart melted. This big, strong man could say the most romantic things sometimes. “Okay, I can handle Frank being here, but what about you? And what about Megan and TJ? Are they still at the safe house? Do my parents know that I haven’t really been abducted? What about Kelly-”
“Bella-”
“She will go out of her mind with worry.”
Marco massaged Sydney’s shoulders as he told her, “Bella, calm yourself, please. There is no need to worry. Everyone that needed to know what is going on, does. Of course they were given need to know information, and nobody but Frank and I know your exact location, but everyone is aware. As for Megan and TJ, they are in a secure location and are fine. Keeping you here is just a precaution we are taking to ensure you are safe until we have Blackwell in custody.”
Sydney sighed as she relaxed from Marco’s touch. There was just so much going on in such a short period of time; it was a lot for her to process. However, getting all worked up and stressed out was not helping anybody.
“Okay, sweetheart. I will do my best not to stress out, but it’s going to be hard for me not to worry about you, especially while I’m here in the cabin in the woods with the boogeyman after me while you hunt him down like you’re Veronica Mars or somebody…”
“Wait…” Marco cut Sydney off midsentence. “Are you calling me…Veronica Mars? I am far from a skinny chick with a hard-on for solving after school mysteries.”
Sydney laughed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you. She’s just the best PI in the game.”
They both laughed, making the tension in the cabin all but disappear.
***
Blackwell knew that it was Bellomi that had snatched Sydney. After Marco had confronted that sniveling little rat Bradford, he knew that he didn’t have the balls or the resources to pull off that kind of operation. He knew that besides himself, the only other person that could pull off such an elaborate kidnapping was Bellomi. He just didn’t know where he was keeping her. None of his research on Bellomi or Sydney had turned up any place they could be, so he had to follow the closest guy to Bellomi, his right hand man, Frank Bosco. But Frank had been in and out of the office over the past three days.
All I have to do is stay out of sight so I can find Bellomi and take care of him once and for all. I am the best at what I do, and nobody can stop me, Blackwell thought to himself as he followed Frank out of Dallas on I75 toward Oklahoma. Interesting…looks like this is finally what I’ve been waiting for.
***
An hour and a half later, Marco saw Frank pulling up to the secluded cabin. Marco was ready for this case to come to an end, and tonight was going to be that night, one way or another.
“Hey, Syd, Frank just pulled up. Can you give me a minute alone with him? We have some things to discuss in private?” Marco asked Sydney as he walked toward the front door.
“Sure. I’ll just go and put on some dinner,” Sydney said as she kissed Marco on his lips and headed toward the kitchen.
Then Marco walked outside to meet Frank.
“Everything go alright ?” he asked as soon as Frank was in sight.
“Yep, worked just like you said it would,” Frank replied. “Does Sydney have any clue?”
“Not anything specific. She would want to help, and there’s no way in hell I am putting her in harm’s way,” Marco stated gruffly.
“Okay, big fella…Calm yourself.” Frank smirked.
Both men walked into the cabin discussing firm business and new clients; Ron Blackwell was sitting far enough away in a pitch black car watching every move they made, and waiting for his chance to take them out.
***
It had been two hours since Blackwell watched Bellomi and Bosco walk into the cabin, and everything seemed to be calm and quiet. He decided that now was the time to make his move. Blackwell moved swiftly and quietly to the back of the cabin. The locks, like the cabin, were old, so they were easy to break. Blackwell crept through the small cabin, looking for the one man that had complicated his life. Marco Bellomi was coming to an end…tonight.
Blackwell continued through the cabin. The first room he came upon was small, and it looked to only have room for one person, so he kept moving. The only other bedroom was the master, and two people lay cuddling in the bed.
This is almost too easy. Blackwell smirked to himself as he slowly slid his 9mm with a silencer out of his pocket and to the head of his victim. It’s such a shame that I have to kill Sydney as well…such a beauty.
Blackwell was so enthralled in the fact that he was about to get rid of his number one problem so easily that he didn’t notice that his victims were lying entirely too still. Blackwell pulled the trigger twice, putting a bullet to the back of the head in both victims. He breathed a sigh of relief once the deed was done, but then he noticed there wasn’t any blood.
“What the fuck?!” Blackwell growled as he threw back the covers, revealing not bodies as he expected, but dummy heads mounted on lumpy pillows. As soon as the realization kicked in, he heard the familiar click of the gun to his head.
“Put the fuckin’ gun down and don’t make any sudden moves,” Marco’s deep, baritone voiced growled in his ear.
“Fuck!” Blackwell hissed as he did Marco’s bidding. I’m fucked!
“To say you’re the best, you sure did make a lot of rookie mistakes, Blackwell. We’ve had your number as soon as you rolled into town, and for following my woman and then thinking you could not only kill me but her, I will end you!”
Chapter 16
Marco was livid, and all he could do to calm the raging beast inside of him was to do exactly what he wanted to do…beat the shit out of Ron Blackwell before the cops got there to arrest him.
Marco slid his gun out of reach and then went to tuck Blackwell’s away when Blackwell whipped around, catching Marco off guard, knocking the gun from his hand. Blackwell was not going to go down without a fight. The two men wrestled to be the first to get to the weapon. Marco dove for the 9 millimeter, only to have it kicked away before he reached it. Blackwell kicked at Marco’s head, only missing it by inches. Marco rolled away from the blow, kicking out, sweeping Blackwell’s feet from under him, and gaining the upper hand. Marco jumped on top of Blackwell, landing a hard right punch straight to the man’s jaw. Marco didn’t feel the pain of Blackwell’s extremely hard jaw; all he felt was rage, and all he could see was red. This man had tried to kill him and his woman in his cabin, and for that, Marco was going to put him out of his miserable existence.
Marco and Blackwell traded blow for blow like they were participating in some kind of ultimate fighting match. The two men were pretty evenly matched as far as stature. Blackwell, like Marco, stood well over six feet, although he was slightly shorter than Marco’s 6’4”. Both men were wide and muscular, but Marco had something that Blackwell didn’t have…someone to fight for.
Blackwell’s dark brown eyes that looked almost black were now red and swollen from the blows he’d received. His cropped blonde hair was slicked back out of his face, revealing the bruises that were quickly starting to appear on his pale, white, ghostly skin. Both men stumbled to their feet, trading body punches as if they were in a ring. Marco wouldn’t let this fucker win. He couldn’t let him win. Marco threw one final blow to the right temple of Blackwell’s head. The man fell against the wall and down to the floor face first. He was out cold.
Marco, breathing hard, leaned in to make sure that Blackwell was out for sure. Once Marco confirmed that he was out, Marco slumped down with his hands on his knees. There weren’t many men that could trade blows with Marco and make him this tired. He was both impressed and irritated that this psychopath was the one that held up to the beating, even if he later succumbed. It wasn’t an easy fight for Marco, and he could admit that.
***
Thirty-five minutes later, the Feds arrived at Marco’s cabin carting Ron Blackwell off in handcuffs. Both he and Marco were battered and bruised as if they had gone to war. Frank stalked toward Marco shaking his bald head with Sydney trailing close on his heels.
“Hey, man, glad you finally caught that son of a-”
Sydney cut Frank off before he had a chance to finish his statement. She pushed him aside, running and jumping into Marco’s muscular arms. She inspected his body with a look of worry marring her pretty brown face.
“You look like you’ve been hit by a truck.” Sydney was shaking her head, upset that Marco had put himself in harm’s way.
“Yeah, well, you should see the other guy.” Marco smirked but winced as the pain was finally taking hold and the adrenaline was waning.
Sydney was thankful that Marco had won the battle against Blackwell. To say that she was livid when he told her that she would be leaving the cabin under the guise of darkness with Frank so he could stay behind and apprehend Blackwell, would be an understatement. Sydney wanted Marco to just call the police and let them deal with it, but Marco knew that he would easily slip away like he had so many times before. They made it look like Frank was unaware that he was being followed but it was a set up the entire time. Marco knew that the first place Blackwell would watch would be his firm. They wanted him in a secluded area so that nobody else would get caught in the crossfire, and the cabin was the perfect place.
Sydney softly took Marco’s face in her hands, turning his head from side to side, taking in all of the bumps and bruises but still admiring his gorgeous face. This man protected her, fought for her, bled for her. How could she not be head over heels for him?
With a small smile, Sydney leaned in and gently kissed Marco’s lips.
“What’s that for?” Marco asked smiling.
“Thank you….my love,” Sydney replied.
***
Two months later, there was still fallout occurring. Blackwell was locked up in a maximum security prison in an undisclosed location. Apparently, he had been on the FBI’s most wanted list for several years and was known by several different aliases. He was wanted for everything from conspiracy to commit murder, bribery, and even terrorism. Blackwell would do anything for money.
Thomas Moore was indicted on three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, assault and battery, and bribery. His assets were frozen and his bond was revoked. He was in jail awaiting trial when he was murdered in his cell under suspicious circumstances. Although he and Blackwell weren’t in the same prison and they had no proof of who committed the crime, the Feds were sure that Blackwell was behind Thomas Moore’s early demise.
Megan and TJ were finally free from Thomas’ abuse, but they couldn’t live happily ever after as everyone assumed they would. Moore had been broke and was embezzling funds from his business for years. He was essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. He was living off of reputation and shady dealings, and once he was dead, it was all uncovered. It was a mess that was left to Mrs. Moore to clean up. However, with all of the abuse out in the open, she no longer had to be estranged from her family. They took her and TJ in with open arms, and now she volunteered her time at Haley’s House helping other women survive abuse.
For his part in the scheme, Bradford Murray was only questioned and released. He hadn’t committed any crime himself, and without corroboration from Blackwell and Moore, they couldn’t connect him to any of the other crimes either. However, he didn’t get away scot-free. The bad press he received from being involved in such a scandal helped to ruin his chances in the upcoming election. A story of his past indiscretions and allegations of racism put any hope he had to rest, and he later dropped out of the race and the public eye. He ended up working in his brother’s office as an aide, ending all hope he had of political power.
Marco and Sydney had been growing stronger and stronger since the incident. Knowing Marco risked life and limb for her was the quickest way for him to regain Sydney’s trust. And although they hadn’t known each other long, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the two of them were meant to be together. Their connection was so strong that they couldn’t stay away from each other if they tried, so they decided their efforts were better spent getting to know each other and growing within their love.
“Bella Donna, if you don’t hurry up, we’re going to be late,” Marco yelled.
Sydney sauntered into the living room wearing a long, silver gown with a split that stopped mid-thigh. She was wearing her favorite six-inch, sparkling silver, red bottom stilettos with the strap around the ankle. Her hair was down and pulled to one side, showing off her elegant neck that was accentuated by her diamond drop earrings. Her make-up was simple, yet sophisticated, with a bright, red lipstick that stood out against her chocolate colored skin.
Marco’s mouth was hanging open. He could never get enough of his woman, and when she dressed up like this, he knew he was going to have to fight somebody tonight.
“You want me to go to jail, huh?” Marco questioned as he sauntered toward her, looking equally as delicious in his tailored black tuxedo and crisp white shirt that strained against his bulging muscles. His midnight black hair was slicked away from his face, showing his bright hazel eyes and chiseled jaw line.
Sydney took in her man in all his masculine glory and licked her lips in appreciation. Then she realized what he’d said.
Jail? Sydney gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean jail?”
“You look absolutely stunning, Bella, and I’m going to have to break some fool’s neck for trying to talk to you tonight…I can just feel it.” Marco shook his head, giving a fake exasperated look.
Sydney gave a dazzling perfect smile. “You sure know how to flatter a girl. You keep sweet talking me like that and we won’t make it to the charity gala, and you know I couldn’t do that. Haley’s House is being honored tonight.”
“I know, baby, but you look so fucking gorgeous. You are definitely going to get it when we get home…maybe even sooner.” Marco growled, taking Sydney by the hand and trying to pull her closer to him.
She backed away slowly, raising her hands in protest. “No, no, baby. We seriously have to go. My parents are expecting us.”
“You know your parents love me,” Marco stated, giving a wide smile.
“Yeah, I know,” Sydney replied, reaching Marco and straightening his tie.
Marco then grabbed the back of her head and they passionately kissed. Marco thought he was the luckiest man on earth to have the pleasure of kissing the most beautiful woman on the planet.
THE END
Captured: Jaxon’s Heartbeat
DJ Parker
Ashley Francis spent the past nine months eliminating everything that reminded her of Jaxon Right. By changing her name and entering a new relationship, she thought that she found the perfect recipe to get over the man who had sent her trailing into love’s abyss. Swearing off love, Ashley embarks on a relationship with the Mr. Wrong after her Mr. Right walks out of her life. But, when she’s forced to flee, the only person she trusts to protect her is none other than Jaxon Right.
*THIS IS A FULL STORY*
Chapter 1
-Ashley-
“What happened to your face?” I ask as AJ stumbles into our apartment. The skin around his left eye is now bruised, the darkest shades of blue showcase over his swollen eyelid.
This is the second time this month that he’s come bursting into our apartment with bruises. Unlike the last time, AJ’s bruises are nowhere near as bad as they were before. Today,
with the exception of his bruised eye staining his otherwise fair skin, AJ appears to have minimal damage.
“Get me some ice,” he grumbles as he collapses into the kitchen chair.
As I reach the freezer to pull out a tray of ice, I can’t help but think about my life and what has become of it.
“Hurry the fuck up!”
His voice could be very startling at times, especially when he is under an immense amount of pressure. When I made the decision to leave Ohio and move to New York, being trapped in an abusive relationship was the last thing that I expected. But, then again, my life in New York city did not start off like this. Somehow, AJ and I crossed paths and my life made a turn for the worse.
Two months ago, I lost my scholarship to Julliard Dance School because of him. My dream of being a dancer had come to an end when I tried to run away from him. It was a move that resorted in me being a full-time stay-at-AJ’s-side kind of woman; a role in which not too long ago, I wasn’t ready to give to the man who rightfully deserved it.
“Kaylee, what the fuck is wrong with you? Pass me the fucking ice!”
A slow and ferocious tremor creeps over my skin as I detect the change in his tone. His tone is now masked with a level of harshness that is on the tipping scale of leading to violence.
This past week, I was living in paradise. AJ was away doing God knows what, and I was left alone in our tiny Brooklyn apartment. Just being away from him was euphoric, though I couldn’t leave the house because of my last attempt to escape. It had been my sixth time trying to leave. However, this time he decided to leave me with a permanent injury; one that was fatal to my dance career. These days, I’m just skidding by. Seeing the results of AJ getting his ass handed to him is refreshing to say the least. He is now somebody else’s punching bag.