by Angel Payne
I won’t ask you to keep this a secret from Tait and Kell. There’s a good chance they’ve taken it from your room and read it by now anyways. They have taught me a great deal about trusting the wisdom in people, no matter how insane that might feel. Maybe it’s time for the teachers to revisit their own lesson.
I’ll see all three of you again soon. I promise.
~Lani
When Leo looked up from the note, his gaze carried a thousand questions and a shit ton of shock. “Is she fucking serious?”
Neither he nor Tait chastened the kid for the language. Five minutes ago, they’d been spouting much more colorful expressions.
“Our rental car is gone,” Kellan admitted. “And we can only assume she hasn’t gone for a soda run to the market.”
Leo fell against the wall. The note shook in his hands. “I can’t lose her too, you guys.”
Tait hauled the boy into a hug. “We’re not going to let that happen, dude.” He followed it up by swinging a damning stare at Kell. “This wouldn’t be happening if I’d gone after Stock three hours ago.”
Kellan didn’t know whether to pick incredulous or enraged as a reaction. What the fuck, why choose? “Let me get this straight. As your best friend, I wasn’t supposed to talk you out of one of the most dumbass decisions of your life?”
Tait stomped to the edge of the lanai and stabbed a finger downward. “If I was out there right now, instead of her—”
“It’d still be an idiot’s move made by your pride and ego instead of your reason and good sense.” He planted his feet and curled his fists. Last time he checked, his call sign wasn’t Scapegoat. “You want to swing the flogger at her, man? Be sure to smack your own ass first, you fucking hypocrite.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Kell narrowed his eyes. “It’s a pod called stupid—and the two peas mashed in it are my best friend and the love of my life.” He tossed an uncomfortable glance at the kid still propped against the wall. “Sorry, Leo. I pictured telling you under really different conditions.”
The kid flung back his normal wise-ass grimace. “Why? ’Cause you think I didn’t figure it out already?” He jerked his chin at Tait. “I got your number too, T-Boner. You moon at Lani worse than he does.”
Tait kicked at the wall and growled, “Fuck.”
“Shut it,” Leo retorted. “You both make her happy, and that makes me happy. But you’re both wasting time acting my age instead of yours. What the hell are we going to do? Should we call Franzen again?”
“No.” Kellan’s bellow coordinated note-for-note with Tait’s. Franz would go ballistic from the news. Literally. Within minutes, he’d have every active-duty police cruiser on the island barreling at Hale Anelas, destroying the requirement for subterfuge still needed here.
By instinct, they followed up the command by locking stares. Kellan instantly read Tait’s mind—and now his heart, as well—and also recognized how deeply T understood his.
They had to get to the ranch as fast as possible.
Best-case scenario: they found the woman before she attempted a technical-as-shit explosives operation, preventing her from an unintended suicide mission.
Worst-case scenario number one: they came upon the ranch already in flames, without a sighting of Lani.
Worst-case scenario number two: they didn’t find flames or Lani, meaning Stock and Tan had gotten to her first.
No matter what “prize” fate held in store, their shared stare confirmed a single, unalterable reality. If they didn’t work together, they would fail at the single most important mission of their lives.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Why the fuck couldn’t he remember how to breathe?
Tait slammed his eyes shut for a moment, consciously calling up the relaxation techniques that were normally as natural as breathing to him, especially during a high-intensity op. Slow your heart rate. Calmness flows in; tension pours out. Center your gravity and your thoughts.
Fuck relaxation.
He drove a fist into the ranch’s kitchen wall, just in case the universe needed to be clear on his viewpoint. Three feet away, Kellan and Leo crouched near the box of TNT, still unopened, in the middle of the floor. A foot away from that, in the middle of the scuff marks on the floor that could have only been made by battle-grade boots, was Lani’s cell phone, purposefully crushed by one of those boots.
“Fuck.” Leo visibly trembled once more. “Wh-What the hell happened?”
Tait let Kellan attempt an answer to that. “You remember the asshat we told you about? Gunter Benson’s silent business partner?”
“Cameron Stock?”
“Yeah.” Kell used the excuse of getting in a nod in order to scramble his composure. “It looks like he might have been waiting here for her, and—”
“Now he’s got her.”
The teen uttered it with finality, having clearly expected this possibility. Tait’s gut turned over. He personally knew what it was like to have half a world of pain shoved down your throat before hitting sixteen, but fate was force-feeding Leo the other half. He twisted his fist against the wall to keep from going to the kid and pulling him into a hug. He had no doubt Leo would be fine at holding together the waterworks; he just didn’t trust his own shit right now.
“Yeah.” Kell attended the dirty work of making the confession. “He’s probably got her.”
“And we have no idea where they’ve gone.”
“No. We don’t.”
Kell practically retched the words. Tait could empathize. Despite the chaos in his gut, he reached to clap his friend on the shoulder. Might as well fuck every mission protocol they could, right? But he wasn’t going to stand on “suggested procedure” when those three words, more than any whisper the man had given Lani in the bedroom, told him exactly how deeply Kellan had fallen for the woman—and how thoroughly his heart was breaking now.
Leo snapped his head up. “Hey,” he grated. “Do you guys hear—”
Kell cut him off by slashing across his throat with one finger. He motioned Tait to kill the lights with the other. Not needed. Tait was already at the switch, plunging them into darkness as the sounds got closer. Boot stomps, at least six pairs. Male grunts. And a woman’s terrified whimpers.
Lani.
Leo jolted to his feet, a battle grimace already plastered on his face. Thankfully, not all Tait’s training had deserted him. With barely a sound, he subdued the kid and flattened him to the wall. If Stock, Benson, Tan, and their men were headed back here, the only advantage they’d have on the crowd was the element of surprise.
The party seemed to be coming closer. Tait regulated his breaths and noticed Kell doing the same. They exchanged a grim look. If the shit went down in here, they’d end up having to Bruce Lee their way through these assholes. It’d be bloody, messy, and dirty.
It sounded like the posse was nearly on top of them now. But where were they? Kell narrowed his gaze in perplexity. Tait threw back the look, until Leo caught their attention with a wave. The kid stabbed a finger at the floorboards. Tait dropped his jaw as comprehension hit.
The bad guys weren’t on top of them. They were below.
In wordless tandem with Kell, he dropped to the floor. With his ear locked to the boards, he could tell Lani had been gagged or duct-taped. The anger beneath her whines filled him with both pride and terror. The heat of the first and the chill of the second made his jaw clench and his nerves race, but he forced his body to comply with the focus of his mind. On the Indonesian op, he’d made a huge mistake because of misplaced emotions, and an innocent had bled. The penance for his sin this time would be Lani’s life.
He concentrated on the men’s voices. Their exact words were fuzzy because of the boards, but he discerned Stock’s gruff baritone as well as Tan’s tearoom lilt. There was a third voice in the conversation. It wasn’t Benson’s arrogant tone, though something about it rang familiar in his gut.
He glanced at Kell, wondering if his fri
end recognized the speaker. The guy’s hunched brows told him he wrestled with the same bafflement.
Without a sound, he rolled to Leo. Into the kid’s ear, he whispered, “Tell me there’s at least one loose board in this floor.”
Pay dirt. Leo was able to indicate a board nearby. Two of its rusty nails were gone. If they could loosen the other two, they’d be able to lift the board out and have a visual into the cavern below. The goal gained more urgency during the minutes it took for Kellan to slither into the kitchen, grab a butter knife as a makeshift screwdriver, and return. During that gap, Lani’s whimpers fell into silence. Not a great development. On top of that, the strange nag in Tait’s senses worsened. Why did his senses react so strongly to the third voice in the cave? Who did that familiar timbre belong to?
Luck was their lady one more time. Kell started working in earnest at the rusty nails, not having to worry about any wayward sounds from his efforts due to an argument that flared between Stock and Tan.
“Has anyone checked the entrance lately?” Stock’s initial bark seemed directed at his men. “What the fuck am I paying you come-stains for? Everyone afraid they’ll get their pretty boots all dirty?”
“Don’t stress, Cam.” The reply came from that voice. Tait strained to listen harder, but when mystery man finished, he’d paced at least ten feet down the tunnel. “I’m on it.”
“Thanks, man.” Stock still sounded more stressed than grateful. He trundled back toward the area where Tan seemed to be positioned. “Okay, where the hell were we? Oh, yeah. You were going to tell me why you’re being so goddamn intractable.”
Tan erupted in a fierce snarl to preface his comeback. “Big and impressive words, Cameron, but they don’t accomplish a bloody thing.” He unfurled a dark growl. “I am awash in disappointment by the turn of all these events and by you in particular this evening. Less than twenty-four hours ago, you met me here and supported my approach. Now, you don’t have half the water for it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my goddamn ‘water,’ you Korean kook. Glare in the mirror if you’re calling anyone’s nerve into question. This crazy cluster—”
“Would not even be a ‘cluster’ had you and Gunter done your jobs. Tonight, the man has become a feast for the sharks as his payment for the mess. But you’ve been valuable to me in the past, and I’d like to benefit from your special gifts in the future, as well.”
“Then take the benefit of my advice now, goddamnit. This bitch’s stubborn streak is longer than her hair. You can beat her and fuck her six ways until Sunday, but all that’ll get you is a couple of wasted hours. She’s not going to sign until you let me use my contacts at the base to grab that guppy brother of hers. Once you bring him back here, cut off a few of his fingers, and threaten to do the same to his balls. I guarantee she’ll sign anything you want, including her own suicide note. How’s that for my boiling water, buddy?”
Kellan finally popped the nails from the board. On his nod, Tait helped him lift the wood out, securing them a window that measured about three feet long by six inches wide—just in time for them to witness what Stock’s threat did to Lani’s face.
And to flood Tait’s soul with the lust to kill the man for it.
They could only see her eyes and nose due to the duct tape wrapped around her head and across her mouth, but that was enough to know that their girl was past terrified. She shivered from head to toe despite being sandwiched between two burly guards who held her by the elbows, probably the same assholes who’d stripped her to nothing but her black bra and panties. Her wrists were bound together in an expert bondage shackle, and her ankles were encased in leather cuffs with O rings. It didn’t take a big leap of imagination for Tait to construe why.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
In an instant, all the threats he’d promised for her ass were wiped from his mind. For all her fire and fanfare, Lani possessed one of the most pure and open souls he knew. She had no concept about the wickedness that thrived in the world, in the form of vermin like Stock. It tore at Tait’s spirit to watch her get a hideous dose of that lesson now, demonstrated in her horror-filled eyes and flaring, frantic nostrils. One glance at Kell confirmed he sailed in the same boat of dread.
Tan paced back into their line of vision. His face looked gaunt, thinned by anger and waning patience. “Tell me, then. How long will it take to activate these ‘contacts’ of yours at the base?”
Stock stepped forward. “A couple of hours at most.” His hands were clasped like a priest about to hear confession or a waiter attending a wine order. Either way, the pose added to the weirdness of the evil being conspired below. Tait scowled at Kellan, who nodded his agreement. They’d wisely kept Leo back against the wall and planned on keeping things that way until they determined what their plan would be from here.
“I see,” Tan returned. His own hands rested in the pockets of his ivory suit, which remained pristine despite the grungy surroundings. Maybe the man had signed a pact with the devil. “And in those two hours, you don’t think that her two soldier friends will have gotten half a clue about what’s going on? You believe the two idiots will just invite your mates in for a beer before they snatch up Leo for the road?”
Stock rocked from foot to foot, clearly conceding the point to Tan. As he did, Tait looked again to Kellan. His buddy’s face reflected the dark concern creeping through his own veins. The slur didn’t matter. They’d been called worse than idiots before, and being underestimated was actually a favor. But they also could have used the extra two hours that Stock’s plan would have afforded. Now they’d be lucky to get two minutes.
If Tan’s will prevailed, it would be even less. The man left their angle of vision for a long moment. When he walked back into view, he carried a bullwhip at least five feet long. In serene silence, he let the leather unfurl. With even more grace, he brought the handle back and let the leather fly with a fluid coordination of his elbow and wrist. The popper smacked the air directly over Lani’s head, causing even her two henchmen to flinch. Lani’s eyes widened. A violent quiver claimed her whole body.
Tait swallowed hard as nausea seared his stomach once more. Had he been witnessing a Dom in the Bastille dungeon back at home, he would have labeled Tan’s expertise a thing of beauty, but in the cavern below, the monster provided proof of how easily Dominance could be perverted into abuse. Once more, Tan drew back the whip. When the leather dropped this time, it took a sharp nick at Lani’s waist. Her scream pushed at the duct tape, and she started breathing harder.
“As you can tell, Miss Kail, I’m a bit of an enthusiast when it comes to beautifully made long tails…and the ways I can paint a woman’s skin with them.” Tan glided his fingers down the braided leather as he strolled over to personally inspect his handiwork. He ran a thumb across the bloom of blood he’d induced and then sucked the stuff off with a sigh of pleasure. As Lani sagged like she was going to be sick, the man added, “But I am also a fair man, darling. Sign the papers now, turning over all of Hale Anelas to Benstock as a free-and-clear gift from your generous heart, and this single stroke will be the only kiss you get from my kangaroo hide. It would sadden me to give up the pleasure of playing with you tonight, but I’ve been assured my hunger will be sated with other willing ladies on the island. As they say, the choice rests in your hands.”
It was torment to watch Lani’s reaction, but Tait forced himself to the task, hoping she could feel his gaze, his support, and his longing to tear up these boards and leap on Tan with his knife at the ready. The misery on her face tore him apart. The tears pouring from her closed eyes were like silver prayers before a death she’d clearly resigned herself to. Why would she think otherwise? Tan intended on killing her, no matter what. He’d simply let her decide whether he whipped and raped her first. She’d escape the torment of the assault by accepting the agony of signing over her home.
“Damn it, dreamgirl.” His whisper came from the depths of his soul. “Don’t give up!”
Thank
every one of her gods, she somehow found that fortitude. He and Kellan watched, grins growing, as she suddenly straightened her spine and jerked from the hold of the guard to her right. In the seconds it took the guy to realize what she’d done, she rammed her bound hands up into Tan’s nose. The two grunts she issued with it were delivered with the emphasis unique to only one insult.
“No, darling,” Tan returned with a bitter laugh, “fuck you—which is what I’ll be very happy to do, once I’ve taken a few layers of skin off your pretty body.”
During the exchange, Tait felt Leo moving closer to their peephole. Though it ravaged his heart to let the kid stay, it would be even more wrong to shove him back like some five-year-old. Kellan didn’t object, either, though the guy had to smash a hand over Leo’s mouth when the teen went ballistic at Tan’s declaration. Kell gripped the back of the kid’s neck, forcing Leo to stay locked to his dictatorial stare. He mouthed two words. Not helping.
“Strip her,” Tan ordered his guards below. “Then secure her to the post. There’s a spreader bar on the table; clip her ankles onto that. Make sure it’s pinned at the widest setting.”
Leo’s chest pumped in furious heaves. He flung Kell’s hand away and zapped a glare of silver rage at them both. “How much longer are we going to sit here?” His whisper was harsh. “He’s going to peel off her skin with that thing! And then screw her like a whore!”
Tait jabbed a finger toward the main part of the kitchen, wordlessly ordering Leo and Kell to follow him there. They had a half wall and the refrigerator helping to muffle their exchange from Tan.
“Leo, we copy you on the concern, but—”