Table of Contents
Chapter One Six years later Lachlan
Chapter Two Lachlan
Chapter Three Lachlan
Chapter Four Lily
Chapter Five Lachlan
Chapter Six Lachlan
Chapter Seven Lachlan
Chapter Eight Lachlan
Chapter Nine Lily
Chapter Ten Lily
Chapter Eleven Lachlan
Chapter Twelve Lachlan
Chapter Thirteen Lachlan
Chapter Fourteen Lily
Chapter Fifteen Lily
Chapter Sixteen Lily
Chapter Seventeen Lachlan
Chapter Eighteen Lachlan
Chapter Nineteen Lachlan
Chapter Twenty Lachlan
Chapter Twenty-One Lily
Chapter Twenty- two Lily
Chapter Twenty-Three Lachlan
Chapter Twenty- Four Lachlan
Chapter Twenty- Five Lily
Chapter Twenty- Six Lily
Chapter Twenty- Seven Lily
Chapter Twenty- Eight Lachlan
Chapter Twenty- Nine Lachlan
Chapter Thirty Lily
Chapter Thirty-One Lachlan
Blinding Lights
Jessica Florence
This is a work of fiction. Names, Places, Characters, and Events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events, and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of those terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
Jessica Florence©August 2016
Editing by Indie Romance Editing
Lyrics by Author MA Scott
ISBN-13:
978-1530992638
ISBN-10:
153099263X
Prologue
The speakers started playing a piano melody. At the first word of the song, Lily walked onto the stage, one foot in front of the other as her hands gracefully moved beside her. I watched her long starlight colored hair flow as she started to sway. Her head cast down. She rolled her body and stuck her long leg in the air behind her then spun in a circle. The material of her dancer’s skirt flowed around her like a pinwheel.
Her head went back down conveying sorrow. I wanted to lift her chin up. She should not be looking down, her beautiful amethyst eyes deserved to be seen. I hadn’t seen her dance since we were teens. I felt enraptured by her.
My eyes were glued as the singer started bellowing out the chorus. Her head whipped back again as she leapt into the air and spun. She landed on one foot, and her hands moved around her like a swan. I felt every bit of the emotions in my soul from the song through her dance. It was as if she herself was giving life to the words with every move of her body. She leapt, spun, and bounced around. She swayed back and forth as if she was being pulled between two forces.
My heart ached for her. The emotions in this dance were ones of devastation and regret. She fell to the ground lying on her back then her chest came up then fell back slowly, as if trying to bring herself back to life. Her hair swirled around her in soft waves. She got back up quickly and twirled to the back on the stage. With the last bit of the song, she ran and jumped into the air, spread her legs into a split into the air and landed. She gave it her all, she threw everything she had into the emotions of this dance. At the end she fell to the ground and crumpled.
I wanted to run to her, scoop her up, and tell her everything. But she could never be mine. I’d given up that dream years ago. I wasn’t even sure why I had stopped by to see her perform. I almost wish I hadn’t. To see her move with that much passion, so much that I could only dream to possess an ounce of it. I spared one last look at her as I stood. The crowd had erupted into cheers and screams in applause for her performance. She was smiling while flowers were placed in her hands as she took a bow to her audience.
Tears glistened on her rosy cheeks. She had such a powerful spirit in everything she did.
Not able to take anymore I turned and left the cheers and the woman I loved behind me. My soul was stained black with death. Someone as bright and pure as my Lily, deserved more. I think I had convinced myself if I saw her again that maybe I would change my mind to pursue her. To finally find peace in my life, but only to see her and feel just as I did when I left a few years ago. Devastated.
I walked out of the auditorium building promising myself that I wouldn’t try to see her anymore. It was just torture on my soul. I had to give her up completely. The hope of having Lily was left back on that stage with her.
I had jobs to do, that would be my only salvation in this hell of a life.
I got on my bike and sped off as far away from my starlight as I could.
Chapter One
Six years later
Lachlan
I watched the two men guarding the door to the building I needed to get into from the cover of the truck I was under. I had been lying there, waiting for the right moment. It would be any second now. Both men were loosely holding their guns while smoking cigarettes. I wanted to shoot both of them and be done but that wasn’t my job this time. No, this was an extraction job. Get in and rescue three girls that were taken from their villa in Spain. One of the girl’s father was a powerful man in politics, which was no surprise how he found my number.
I was a mercenary for hire. However, I didn't take just any jobs. I was the elite. I was the one you called when you needed no prints to lead back to you. Do the dirty work and do it well.
This shit hole in front of me was a flesh factory. Men would kidnap women and keep them there. Men would take their turns using them and then they would sell them off in the black market. I wanted to blow this place to bits, but that wasn’t why I was here. I had a job to do.
The two dumbasses gave me my opportunity to move in when they went to the bushes to piss, like two women going to the bathroom together. They really didn’t think anyone would attempt to do something here. Shaking my head at their stupidity, I cradled my gun in my hands and crawled out from under the truck. With the skills of a trained assassin, I moved with stealth and opened the door to the building. There were one or two empty rooms before I hit a massive room filled with sheet-walled cubicles. Sick.
The sounds of moans and subtle no’s fill the room. I gritted my teeth so hard I thought I would break them.
Not my job.
I walked down the hall, slowly peeking and looking for the girls. I shut down my mind and focused solely on my objective. I couldn’t tear this place apart and get the girls out safely. Sometimes I hated parts of my job.
A man stepped out from one of the cubicles tucking his junk back in his pants. Fucker. His eyes widened at seeing me, but before he could mouth off my hands shot out and twisted his neck. One scumbag down, two million more to go. I gripped his body and pulled him into an empty cubicle area. I checked back into the little makeshift hallway and walked back out in search of the girls.
I found them huddled together on a bed. I took in their appearance to make sure they were the women from the photos I was given. Yep, they were.
I opened the sheet curtain and their pale faces were stricken with fear. Fuck.
“My name is Lachlan, I’m here to rescue you girls. Are any of you hurt?” I didn’t see any visible signs of injury. They shook their head, but still looked like they couldn’t trust me. Can’t blame them there.
“Look, I was hired b
y Angela’s father to get you out. We need to get a move on and you have to listen to everything I say.” I willed them to understand and trust me. The girl in the middle with blonde hair spoke up with a shaky voice.
“We understand.” Slowly the girls got up while I peeked outside their curtain. A few other men were leaving and two more had come in. I listened while they talked about one girl they both wanted to have a go at, but couldn’t because she was spoken for. Every once in a while that would happen where one of the girls they took was taken for a specific purpose. Usually a virgin to be sold to the highest bidder. I looked at the girls behind me to make sure they were ready to go. All three of their heads bobbed up and down.
Go time.
I parted the curtain and together we moved through the hall of horror. A man opened the door and I gestured for the girls to move into a cubicle I had deemed empty moments before. I joined them and watched as the man walked to the back of the giant room and entered through another door. I turned back to look at the girls when something behind them caught my eye.
If there was ever a moment in my life where I felt like I was going to die, that moment was it. My heart dried and crumbled. My rage soared. I walked over to the side of the small bed and pushed the bright starlight hair out of her face. Lily.
The same Lily, whose face, has plagued my heart since I was a wee lad. What the fuck was she doing here? I looked over and saw an IV sticking out of her arm. I checked the bag. They were doping her up. Fucking hell.
Decision was made, as soon as my job was done I was killing every last one of these fuckers. I looked back at the face of my Angel. No, that was wrong. She was never mine. Her face held no sunshine in it, she was wearing the same clothes they probably took her in which gave me some inclination that she hadn’t been here long. I prayed she hadn’t been used like some of the others in this place.
As gently as I could, I pulled the IV out of her arm and watched as she did not even flinch. She was out cold. I scooped her up and threw her on my shoulder, no way in hell was I leaving her here. I looked at the girls and spoke.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” I hoisted my gun and was ready to go.
I got the girls out pretty easily. Only having to kill the two men guarding the door, but that was mostly because I was pissed they had Lily and I wanted blood. I had a truck waiting for us about a mile away. Once everyone was safely inside, Lily lying across the bench seat into my lap, I sped off towards the plane that would take us back to the states.
There was a medic on the plane, ready to assist the girls in any way they needed. As soon as I told the girls to get checked out, they insisted they were fine and to have him check out Lily. I wasn’t going to press the issue. I wanted to make sure she was ok.
I phoned the father and let him know his packages were safe and on their route home. As soon as we land, they would be put into a black SUV then taken home. As for Lily, hell I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn't really want anyone else to watch over her, but damn if I was going to put myself in her proximity for any extended amount of time. It was hard enough being near her now. I wanted to hold her, kiss her, let her in. But I couldn’t. There was no use torturing myself, but what a sweet torture it would be. Shaking my head, I went to work on erasing myself from the cyber networks that help me find the girls. No traces.
When we were close to landing I checked on the girls, all were fine, and staying quiet. What they had been through was a huge deal. I’m sure they would have their moments to really take in what they had survived later. The doctor came and sat next to me a few minutes later.
“So?” He didn’t need to know what I was asking about. He knew.
“She’s been heavily sedated with heroin. They wanted her completely unaware of her surroundings. After my exam, it seems they hadn’t abused her physically or sexually which is a blessing since she is such a petite girl.” I looked back to the small girl lying on the bed. She was always petite. She had the body of a dancer, her legs were toned, her waist small, and her breasts were barely a palm full. She was perfect.
“Is she going to be ok?” I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until he answered.
“It’s not going to be pretty to get the heroin out of her system. I would suspect mentally after some counseling, she will be back to normal.” He looked confident and I was satisfied.
“I looked up the name you had given me. She used to have family in Florida, and has an emergency contact New York. I suggest you let them know you have found her. Lay to rest some weary minds.” He gave me a nod and went back to Lily, checking the IV he had placed in her arm. Who the hell was the emergency contact in New York? A roommate? A boyfriend? Or worse, a husband?
I hadn’t let myself give into the urge to check up on her. She deserved a happy life. I hated the feeling of my gut twisting thinking about her with another man. My thoughts were interrupted by the plane’s dissension. I had to finish this job, then I would figure out what I was going to do with Lily.
I grabbed my jacket as we landed. New York in the winter was pretty brutal. I needed to take care of the girls when the doors open. As expected, a black suburban was parked where we came to a stop. The bodyguard for the girls stepped out and checked them over as we walked down the stairs. They all hugged him and got in the car. The daughter had turned and spoke.
“Thank you, Lachlan.” I nodded as my reply. There were no words necessary. I walked over to the bodyguard, he handed me an envelope with the cash for my services. He gave me a nod and turned to leave. I watched as they drove off and looked back at the plane.
I hadn’t had much thought to what I was going to do with Lily, though I feel like I should take her to a hospital and call her mom to let them know she was ok. Not having any jobs that needed my immediate action, I walked back up into the plane. The doctor was taking the IV out, shaking his head.
“Poor girl. I suggest you take her to the hospital so they can help get the drugs out of her system.” That finalized my decision. I would take her and then I would get out of there, hopefully before she woke up.
I scooped her up and carried her down to an SUV that was left for me. I watched as the doctor got into his own sedan and drove off. Lightly setting Lily in the back and buckling her, I hopped in the driver’s seat and sped off.
Chapter Two
Lachlan
The doctors at the hospital flew into action and pushed lots of fluids into her system. I grabbed a cup of coffee and waited just to make sure everything was ok. The hospital staff had called the emergency contact. I convinced myself not to locate the owner of that number to see if she was involved. I wasn’t privy to that information anymore.
Feeling the adrenaline start to die from tonight’s events, I closed my eyes and let myself rest. I thought about the first time I saw Lily when we were kids. She was beautiful even then. Her long blonde hair reminded me of the stars. She was little and almost frail looking, but she had spirit and was no one to push around. She would get in fights with girls in school who would make fun of her amethyst eyes. The doctors said it was an abnormality but I always thought it made her unique and special. We used to play with Wolfe all the time too. The three of us. I knew a smile graced my lips when I thought about how I caught that asshat Lee Briggs bragging about making out with her in her freshman year. Wolfe and I made sure he apologized to her and after that she didn’t have much luck finding dates. That was a sorry, not sorry moment. Only my Ma and Wolfe knew I was in love with her. Wolfe called it immediately, same with Ma. My four other brothers teased me for being such friends with her but never realizing it. They never figured it out.
“Lachlan.” A soft voice moaned, my eyes flew open and looked at the girl lying on the bed.
Her eyes were shut, her eyebrows pinched together. Had she called out my name in her sleep? I was up and moving towards her instantly. My hand shot out and I lightly ran my fingers along her cheek. God, she was so beautiful. She moved her head into my hand. Her eyeb
rows relaxed. I felt the tingles in my chest but put a stop to it. I removed my hand just as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around, her frightened expression sobered me up even more.
When her eyes settled on me, I was unprepared for the feelings that assaulted me. I wanted to kiss her, tell her of my love, and never let her go. Recognition flared in those jeweled depths.
“Lach?” She croaked out. Her sweet voice was so hoarse right now. I flinched.
“Yeah Lily bug.” I used her nickname from our childhood, setting us back in the friend zone before we even started talking.
“What happened?” She asked, I really did not want to be the one to tell her about everything, only because it made my blood boil to think about the way she looked on that bed in that shit hole.
“What do you remember?” She closed her eyes, thinking.
“I was on my way to my performance in Milan. I.. I remember someone grabbing me, and now I’m here.” Her words both eased me and enraged me. I was pissed she was taken like that, but so glad she didn’t remember anything that occurred after. If there was a God, I prayed that she never got any delayed memories from her stay there.
“Why are you here?” She whispered.
“I rescued you. What? Not happy to see me Lily bug?” I flashed her a smile. She rolled her eyes. She was about to say something when a male voice cried out from the door.
“Lily!” A man rushed over to her and touched her face much like how I had. I made my body relax even though I wanted to remove his hand, as taking a step back to my seat. He leaned down to press his lips to hers, I turned my head, not wanting to see that. When my head turned back towards them, I was met with her questioning gaze.
“You must be Lachlan. I can’t thank you enough for rescuing my Lily.” His hand shot forward for a shake. His Lily? I was about to tell him she was my Lily, but swallowed it down.
“Yeah, that’s me.” I shook his hand, maybe putting in a little extra force behind the grip. He pulled his hand back and shook it at his side before turning back to Lily. I looked him over while they talked. He was a few inches shorter than my 6’3. Unlike my cut brown hair, his was shaggy and blonde. His eyes were blue and mine were green. He was the exact opposite of me. He was wearing a suit and tie, an office type of guy. You couldn’t keep me in an office even if I was forced by gun point. I knew she has probably had a bunch of boyfriends over the years. As much as the thought hurt, I did want her to live a happy life. This dick better make her happy.
Blinding Lights (Lights of Scotland Book 2) Page 1