by Diana Fisher
“He’s the one who my mom was dating … the one that crawled in bed with Sky, Kane.” Jordan put his arm around Sky and turned her away from the photo and into his chest. “That’s him.”
“We have a team getting ready to surround the place. I will let you know what happens.” Those grassy green exhausted eyes turned to Sky, and the joy of bringing down this disgusting creature was settling in satisfaction in her pursed lips. “You will never have to worry about him touching you ever again.”
Going to the kids, I wrapped them in my arms. Keri’s brother. What would Keri do if she found out about her brother? Knowing that it was her brother that crawled in bed with Sky would really send her into the realm of insanity. That woman would never be able to live with herself if she was able to pull through this.
Chapter 33
It was dark, as always. Pitch black, but I had taken in every step, creating a mental map in my mind. I knew that place in the dark. The pain in my shoulder was getting worse and I knew that he had broken it. My leg, well, that just dragged behind me most of the time. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to try to get the girls out of there.
Just a couple hours ago, while being spread over the table in front of my own brother and his guests, I overheard them talking about the move, taking the girls to the border to a retreat where they would break the girls in for their final training before the auction block. If it wasn’t bad enough being on display for these monsters, the girls were chained beside the guests and not allowed to beg or eat. They were to sit on their knees like proper little pets, as my brother referred to them.
One of the guests offered up his weapons right away, placing them on the table beside my left hand. I could feel the crisp metallic air coming from the pistol and knew it was right by my fingertips. When they backed away from the table for the viewing of the pet show, I managed to sneak that gun and tuck it under the edge of the table for later before Chuck returned for me. Lucky for me, I was tethered back up in a looser restriction than before, all because the perverted excitement was gushing through him.
Sitting around waiting for the FBI to actually find us was becoming a passing thought. Maybe they hadn’t figured out that I left a message. But what if the house was destroyed after Chuck took me out of there? That could be why they weren’t coming for us. They never got the message. Tonight was going to be the night that I would get those girls out of there myself.
Slipping from my tether, I dragged myself out of my enclosure and tugged the blindfold off, but everything was still pitch black. Following the wall, I knew that in four steps, I would be at the door where the girls were chained to the wall. I would unhook them and turn them loose. As long as they fled, someone had to find them. One of them would escape and send help back to us. They would bring the FBI back.
Three…
Two…
I just had to get the girls loose. I had to get them loose. There was one that I knew wouldn’t run away because of how long she’d been kept, but Alicia, she would. She would run and send them back here. If I could free at least her…
My head snapped back so fast and hard that my neck ached sharply, sending the instant pain to my brain. The spiky collar slipped around my neck with the spears pressing into my skin.
“I didn’t want to have to do this to you, Keri, but you are leaving me no choice.” Chuck’s voice softened as he ran his hand down my abdomen, spreading his hand over the tender and raw flesh. His front was pressing into my back as the warmth from his body surrounded me. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”
“I had to use the bathroom.” Being molded to him, the swirl of my vacant stomach uplifted, pushing the burn of bile into my throat. I had nothing to throw up anymore, and it wasn’t much longer I would last through the torture, or my own kin violating me in every way.
“You know where the bathroom is.” His hand jerked the collar once, letting me feel the pressure of the little spikes digging into my skin. “You have been a bad girl.”
“Please, just let the blonde go. The one that is Alicia. I promise. I promise, I will do everything you ask me to.” Reaching up with my good hand, I tried to slip a finger between the cold metal and my neck to relieve some of the pressure.
“I spared your little girl. What more do you want? Would you want me to go and claim her?”
“No.” Being too weak to fight him off once again, I let him drag me back to the table. The hard table where he enjoyed punishing me in every repulsing way possible. My skin was still raw and fresh with welts and cuts. When the first bite of the leather strap connected, I screamed in pain. Over and over, the smacking of the leather was more and harsher. Down my legs, over my back, my arms that were over my head. I couldn’t fight no more. The pain was unbearable. Just let me die then. Please, let me just die.
When he finally stopped, his hand caressed the side of my face. “Why? Why, Keri? Don’t you know just how much I love you?”
“I do. I do.” The hot tears soaked my face and disappeared into the oily base of my hair. I waited for something more, another form of violation he would instill on me, but instead, I listened to the footsteps disappearing in the room. He walked away.
Sliding down the table, I felt for the gun that I hid under the edge. God, just give me a little more strength. Please, just a little more and then you can take me.
But, his footsteps were coming back with the padding of smaller, adolescent feet and the jingle of a chain. He had one on a leash. He was bringing one out there. Please, don’t let it be her. Please, let it be one who didn’t know me. “Is this what you want, Keri? Do you want her?”
“No, please.” Standing up, I kept my arm behind my back. My left arm. The one that I could move. “Alicia?”
“Please, Keri. Please … help me. Please help me.” Her sobs came out as the chain clattered in a pile, on the cold dirty floor.
“Alicia.” The pain was taking me down. I had to do something before the darkness swallowed me up. Just as his heavy footsteps moved in the fuzzy haze that was covering my eyes, I pulled out the gun, aiming it at the area where I could vaguely make out his form.
“Keri, don’t do anything stupid now.” His voice was stern and sharp.
Reaching up with my bad arm, I wiped the back of my hand across the dampness that was sheeting my face. His body was standing right there, and I could barely make anything else out through the that pain was beginning to hinder my vision even more. Pushing my determination forward, I had to swallow the pain and the disgust and pray I had another five minutes left in me to get Alicia out.
“Pick that chain up, Alicia.” My hand trembled as I just stared into the gray heartless eyes of my own brother. I hated him. I hated him for what he had done to me, to Sky, and to all these girls who were locked in the dungeon.
She complied, the chain clinking and clanking in between her fearful cries. “Please, Keri.” Her hand reached out for me, but I shook her away in fear that any sort of body contact would bring me to the end of my life.
“You run when I tell you to.” Raising the gun, I stepped closer to him, fighting like hell not to fall, not to drop with the pain clawing at me. If I had given up now, Alicia would be gone. We were so close to the door, and if I could get her there ... if I could get her out of here, she would be sure to find some help somewhere.
“Keri, don’t do it. You will be sorry.” His eyes darkened with rage as he stepped closer to me. One hit and it would be over with. I would be down and Alicia wouldn’t even stand the chance.
“GO!” I pulled my curled finger over the trigger. She squeezed her chain tight to her chest and headed for the ladder. His swing connected with my shoulder and I was done. The agonizing pain sheered my throat and sent me down to the grips of hell. Dropping the weapon, I grabbed the shirt he was wearing and twisted it in my fingers for a better grip.
“Keri!” she screamed as she hesitated on the ladder.
“Go! Don’t look back!” I cried as hard as I could, making sure s
he was able to get the chance to run for help. His fist connected with my face, making the stars appear, but I held onto him. “Go!”
Just as he reached for the gun, the trap door thumped hard. Voices were screaming. Shouting came from everywhere. My heart was beating so hard and so fast, I couldn’t breathe. Reaching out, my fingertips brazed over the cold metal of the gun. Grabbing it, I pointed it at him while hearing my name being called over and over again.
His body lunged over the top of me, and I squeezed the trigger. A loud bang echoed in my ears as the pain shot through me more than ever. His hand was cupped over mine and the blistering heat filled my thigh with the dampness of gushing blood. With all my might, I pulled the trigger again. The second loud bang…
Then … blackness. Nothing.
Chapter 34
I missed Sky’s birthday. I missed Jordan’s birthday. Missed Jordan’s hockey games and Sky’s basketball games. I missed Christmas with them. I missed Kane’s loving touch and beautiful green eyes and gorgeous body. Most of all, I just missed seeing them every day.
April and I was released from the hospital and straight into the courthouse where I sat beside the suited lawyer—the older man who was very sharp looking, too. I could hear the voices behind me, but I didn’t dare to look. I couldn’t. I could feel their presence, but I just couldn’t stand to see their faces, knowing I killed a man. I killed my brother to protect them; the girl who I would always consider to be my daughter, the boy who I would always see as my own son, and the man who I would always love more than anyone in the world.
“Would the defendant please stand?” The older woman looked over her thin wire framed glasses at me with her face made of stone. I hadn’t known or seen one look from her that told me my fate would be different. I was shown all the evidence the FBI had on every crime that I committed. And I didn’t deny it, but I did so to protect a little girl’s innocence. Any mother would have done the same thing.
My lawyer, bless that man’s heart for trying his best to save me, cupped my elbow gently and helped me to my feet. Taking a bullet to the thigh was nothing compared to what was coming now. I would have rather it have been me who had taken that second bullet.
If I just waited ten more seconds, the FBI would have been there storming the place and I might have only gotten one life sentence instead of three. But, I just did what any mother would do when their daughter’s life was at stake.
“Miss Borelli, the list of crimes that you committed is far beyond anything that I’ve seen in my life. I heard the testimony from each side, and the jury has delivered their verdict. Before I read this, I have to say, being a mother is a hard job. You proved that you would go to extraordinary lengths to keep those kids safe, and save those others from a life of unmentionable horror.” She let out a little sigh as her dark, rich brown eyes softened. “I wouldn’t doubt that everything that you did was for the best intentions.”
The tears rolled down my face as I felt their prayers, their hopes, their cries enter into my heart with a heavy hand by the only one from above.
“Would you like to say anything before I read this?” Folding her arms on the high mahogany judge’s stand, a solid lump packed in my throat.
Nodding, I swallowed hard as the pressure of the damaged thigh muscle squeezed tightly and my shoulder allowed a sharp ache to shoot through it. “I would do it all over again if their lives were at stake. I know what I did was wrong, but I had to do what I could to keep her safe. I promised that I would never let another monster touch her. She’s a little girl. She’s just a little girl, Your Honor.” The pain was the worst in my heart, holding on for dear life. I just wanted to hug them once more, to tell them that I loved them so much. “Your Honor, if I had known his intentions sooner, I would have done the right thing. I would have gone straight to the police. It was my fault that the girls were abducted. I know that now. I just wish that it could have been different, but I can’t stand here and say that I wouldn’t do it all again to protect them. I am not going to lie. I am not going to stand here and tell you any different, because I would do it all again if her life was at stake. I can handle it. I can take what is coming, but I could never live with myself, knowing that a man would crawl on top of a little girl and take her innocence like my brother had done to me.”
“Is that all, Miss Borelli?”
“My mother always told me that you might have to do the impossible to protect your family. If that makes me a bad person, then I am. I just love all three of them that much.” The hot tears trickled down my face while hearing the sobs that were coming from the spectators.
“Miss Borelli, are you prepared for what this says today?” Her dark red lips pressed together as the hurt filled into those beautiful eyes that she had.
“Yes, Your Honor. The only thing that would be worse than my fate right there is letting my little girl be under those hands that would rob everything from her.” And I meant it. I would rather rot in prison for what I did than to let a man touch that little girl, my little girl, in any harmful way.
Passing the note back to the bailiff, she nodded. The room was filled with even more sobbing behind me, but I raised my chin. I was proud to be the reasoning behind those girls being handed back to their parents instead of a buyer in another country. If I had the option to see each one of them again, I would. I would cry and hug them and tell them that there was someone out there to protect them from harm.
The head juror was a man in his late fifties. Standing, he put his reading glasses on and sucked in a deep breath. “We the jury find the defendant … not guilty for the charge of murder in the first degree.”
My breath rushed from my lungs as I fell back into the arms of my lawyer. Not guilty? Had I heard him right? No. I couldn’t have. I was going to prison. I killed a man. I committed, at least, ten crimes that I could think of off the top of my head. And I was not guilty?
“Keri, the lengths that you went to, to protect those girls and your family were extreme.” A sad smile came to her as she tipped her head. “You will be monitored on your actions every day from here on out.” Setting the folder aside, she cleared her throat. “The defendant, Keri Borelli, is cleared of all charges against her, however, she will be placed under surveillance from here on out and deemed as a computer criminal; to be monitored for any and all computer related activities. This case is dismissed. Onto the case regarding the Borelli children.” Her eyes shot back to mine as the hand brushed my arm. His hand. Kane’s. I knew his touch anywhere, and my blood was flowing thick through my veins.
“Please, don’t. Please don’t take them away from me.” My cries were painful, and they hurt with each breath that I had taken. She was taking them away from me. She was going to send them away.
“Miss Borelli, you are twenty-five. You don’t have a job. You don’t have means to support them. And you have so much more time in recovery that you wouldn’t be able to take care of what they need.” The judge’s eyes eased back as she shook her head.
“Please. We need her!” Jordan’s voice shot out through the room just as full of pain as mine was. I missed him so much. “Don’t take us away from her! Look at what she went through for us!”
“Please, take your seat, young man.” The judge banged her gavel.
Kane stood as he cleared his throat. The tears dripped down onto my hand, and I looked up at him, the waters running down his handsome face. “I will marry her. I have plenty of money. I am perfectly capable of taking all three in.”
“Mr. Bruton, please. Control yourself.” Her gavel came down harder, making a loud bang. I jumped a little, feeling the caress of his hand, his love filling through my black sweater. “I am placing the two kids in a home where they will be taken care of. They will get everything that they need. I am sure that the new adoptive parents will allow you visitation rights, but Keri, your illegal activities are looked upon here. I have to do what is best for the kids.”
“Please, Your Honor. I need them, and they need me.�
� Grabbing Kane’s hand, I held it tightly, trying to regain the strength back into my damaged leg. But the weakening was insisting I just give up and let the ground wither away under my feet. I was just found not guilty for my crimes and they still want to take my kids away? After everything I did to get those other girls back home to their parents? And they wanted to take Jordan and Sky away from me?
“I have a family that has the means, and they have adopted before. They had their paperwork entered the day you were taken to the hospital, and they are more than willing to accept the two children into their home.” Opening the manila folder before her, the woman wearing the black robe ran her finger over the information again.
“Please, Your Honor. I have the means to take care of all of them. I will marry her today, right now. This is my family, too. Please don’t take them away. You know what she would do to protect them.” Kane’s voice trembled as he lifted my hand to his chest.
“I have to see what is best for the kids. Keri…” Her eyes softened as she looked at me, ripping my heart out of my chest. “You are so young yet. You are twenty-five. I have to look at what is best for you, too, and I believe this is what is best. I am placing the children under the care of the adoptive parents. Case dismissed.”
Kane reached over the wall and wrapped his arms around me as my life ended. That was the last breath I was able to take. I survived the unthinkable, gone to extreme measures for those kids, just to have them taken away from me in the end.
Jordan and Sky came around, wrapping their arms around me and matching my cries. I hated this. I hated to think of someone else having my kids.
“I love you both. I love you, and I will never let you go. I will still fight for you every chance that I get.” Holding them tight to me, I felt a little tug on my arm. I had to let them go. I would have to watch them leave with someone else now, but I would fight for them. I wouldn’t let it rest until I had them back.