One of the cops lowered his weapon and held up a placating hand. “It’s all right, Ms. Whitman. We’re here to rescue you. You don’t have to be afraid of them anymore. These two are going away for a long time for what they did to you.”
Amber blinked incredulously. “Are you serious? They didn’t do anything to me! Why are you doing this?”
The cop tried for a comforting smile, missing the mark by about a mile. “Now, miss, it’s perfectly natural for you to have formed a bond with your captors. Perfectly natural defense mechanism. But you don’t have to be afraid of them anymore. They can’t hurt you.” He glanced at his cronies. “Cuff them.” Then he turned back to Amber and held out a hand. “Come with me now, Ms. Whitman. You’re safe, now.”
“This is crazy!” Amber shrieked, backing away from the cop in disgust. “You can’t do this! I wasn’t kidnapped, you moron. I ran away from my abusive ex-fiancé and my asshole father! Nobody forced me to come here against my will!”
“That’s enough,” said a harsh, menacing voice from the doorway. Amber froze, skin crawling like someone had dumped a bucket of spiders over her head. She knew that voice. Hated the man it belonged to.
“Wes,” she hissed.
Her ex strolled through the doorway, smirking at the sight of Maddox and Riley on their knees in handcuffs. Then he looked up at Amber with an expression of mock concern. “There you are, my love. When your father told me you’d been kidnapped, I was sick with worry.”
He started coming up the stairs, holding out his arms as if he expected Amber to run to him. She shuddered, backing away as fast as she could. “Get away from me,” she snarled, surprised at the level of hatred in her own voice. “You sick fuck, get the fuck away from me!”
Wes clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “Now, now, no need for such language. You’ve been traumatized, my dear. Come on, let’s get you home.”
“Stay away from her, you asshole!” Riley shouted, making an attempt to surge to his feet. Two of the cops clamped hands around his arms, keeping him on his knees with an effort. Riley ignored them, his eyes shooting daggers meant to rip Wes’s heart right out of his chest. “You fucker, get the fuck away from her or so help me God I’ll rip your fucking head off!”
Wes glared at Riley. “You hear that, officers? Seems we got here just in time. Who knows what they would have done to Amber after they turned violent.”
“Officers, you’ve got it wrong,” Maddox said earnestly. “Amber has a restraining order out against this man. You can’t let him take her.”
One of the cops frowned, glancing back and forth between Maddox and Wes. “That’s not what Mr. Walker told us,” he said slowly, thoughtfully. “She has a restraining order out against the two of you. Which the two of you violated when you kidnapped Ms. Whitman.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Maddox rumbled, his eyes on the cops surrounding him and Riley. “Call Detective Ryder St. Claire. Call Detective Shawn Morgann. They’ve been helping us keep Amber safe from that asshole, and you’re about to hand her over to him!”
“Be quiet,” Wes snarled, rounding on Maddox. “We’re not listening to your lies.” He whirled and climbed up the stairs, wrapping a hand around Amber’s arm. “Come on, now. I’m taking you home. The officers will take these two into custody, and tomorrow we’ll press charges.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Amber yelled, trying to pull away without success. Goddamn it, why had she dropped the fucking bat? “I’m never going anywhere with you again, Wes! You choked me and raped me and threatened me and you made my life a living hell!”
“Shut the fuck up,” Wes said dangerously.
One of the cops paused, frowning. “Um, Mr. Walker, maybe I should call Detective St. Claire. If he’s been on this case…”
“Nonsense,” Wes scoffed, clearly getting agitated but trying to sound nonchalant. “No need to bother him. Come on, Amber. I’m taking you home.”
“You can’t make me leave with him!” Amber shouted. “Let me go, you asshole. Please, officers, you can’t let him take me!”
One cop stepped forward. “Mr. Walker, I need you to let go of her arm. Even if she was kidnapped”—and now he didn’t sound so certain—“that doesn’t give you the right to force her to leave with you. I think all of us need to go down to the station. We can sort this mess out there.”
“That’s not necessary,” Wes growled. He yanked on Amber’s arm, making her lose her balance and tumble down the stairs toward him, where he caught her. “There, you see? Can’t wait to throw herself in my arms. Arrest these two kidnappers, officer, and do your job. I’m taking my fiancée home.”
“Don’t let him take her!” Riley roared, making another attempt to get to his feet. All the cops were frowning now, looking back and forth between themselves and Wes, who was dragging Amber bodily out the door. “Can’t you see she doesn’t want to go with him? Fucking cops, do something!”
The officer nearest the door took a step forward. “Mr. Walker…”
“Good lord,” said a sneering voice from the doorway, “and here I thought I’d gotten Houston’s finest to help free my daughter from her captors. Instead it seems I got a circus act.”
Amber blanched, feeling as if she’d been dunked in ice water. She stopped fighting Wes, stopped trying to get away, unable to do anything but stare at the man who’d joined them.
Her father. Robert Whitman.
“You did this?” she whispered, staring at him incredulously. “You called the cops and told them I’d been kidnapped? You did all this?”
Robert raised an eyebrow. “Of course, my dear. I couldn’t very well leave you in their hands, now could I? They managed to bamboozle the officers at the station when Robbie was so wrongfully arrested, but these men here knew a real threat when they heard one. They were more than happy to help me rescue you and bring you home.” He paused, eyes glittering dangerously. “Where you belong.”
One of the officers glanced at Maddox and Riley, then turned to Robert with a frown. “Sir, if what these men say is true, if Ms. Whitman does have a restraining order out against Mr. Walker…”
Robert rolled his eyes, waved a hand nonchalantly. “Twaddle, all of it. They’ve held her captive for two days while we’ve been searching frantically. Of course they would come up with any excuse to make you question us. You can’t trust criminals, officer. They’ll say just about anything to save their necks.”
“That’s right,” Wes said, smirking. “Now, come along, my love. We’ve got so much to talk about when we get home.”
Amber planted her feet, still staring at her father. “How can you do this to me?” she asked hotly. “How can you still insist that I marry a man who abused me and raped me?”
The cops shuffled uneasily. Robert shot Amber a glare. “Be quiet, Amber. You don’t know what you’re saying. Obviously, these two have brainwashed you into thinking something bad would happen if you left them and came back home. Wes loves you. He’s like family to us.”
“He raped me in my own bedroom,” Amber growled, balling her fists at her sides. Wes’s fingers dug into her upper arm, but she ignored it, too intent on staring down her father. “This bastard right here raped me under your roof, Father. He raped me, and you made me go home with him that night. You knew it happened, and you still made me go home with him!”
Robert scowled dangerously. “That’s enough, young woman. How dare you try to ruin your fiancé’s reputation? Your wedding is a month away…”
“No, it is not,” Amber snarled, proud her voice didn’t waver. “I will not marry him.” She glanced over her shoulder, shot Wes a disgusted look. “I will never marry you. No one and nothing can make me marry you. And if these officers insist on making me leave with you tonight, I’ll just run off again in the morning.”
She turned back to her father, chin raised in defiance. “No matter how many times you try and get me to come back, I will just leave again. I am my own person, Father. You cannot force
me to do anything against my will. And I will not marry Wes.”
“Be quiet, bitch,” Wes roared, one hand coming up to squeeze her neck. Amber gasped, wrapping both hands around his forearm as he pushed her back against the doorjamb, murder in his blue eyes.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Wes sneered, squeezing harder. “I never should have let you get away from me.”
Several things happened at once.
One of the officers pointed his weapon at Wes’s head, screaming at him to let go and get on the ground. Wes ignored it, still trying to choke her, his eyes filled with red rage and pure madness. The other two officers had their hands full, keeping Riley on his knees as he roared and fought. Amber clawed at Wes’s hands, gouging him with her nails, creating bloody scratches that dripped onto both of them. But despite her best efforts, she couldn’t loosen his hold. The edges of her vision were turning black, the air in her lungs going rancid as she desperately fought to take another breath.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, Maddox hit Wes like a two-hundred-pound juggernaut. He was still cuffed, but with the other two cops still focused on keeping Riley on his knees, there was no one paying attention to him. He’d gotten to his feet, lowered his shoulder, and plowed into Wes with a primal male roar of defiance. Both of them went flying out the door and down the steps, landing on the concrete walkway with a bone-jarring thud. Amber heard the breath leave Wes’s lungs, heard a sickening crack as his body hit the pavement. Maddox landed on top of her ex, using all of his considerable weight to crush the other man.
The cop who’d drawn on Wes followed them out, cursing wildly. He yanked Maddox away from Wes, checked Wes’s pulse, then turned him on his stomach—and cuffed him.
“What is the meaning of this?” her father snarled. “Wes was just attacked, and you’re handcuffing him?”
The cop glared at Robert, yanking Wes to his feet, where he wheezed and staggered unsteadily. “I suggest you be quiet, Mr. Whitman. I’m dangerously close to arresting you, as well.”
Robert puffed up indignantly. “How dare you…”
The officer ignored him, focusing on Amber with a pained scowl. “Ms. Whitman, we owe you an apology. Obviously, you were telling the truth. I apologize that we brought these men here and ruined your evening. We’ll be taking Mr. Walker into custody tonight.”
Amber nodded, still gasping life-giving oxygen into her lungs. Her father huffed impatiently. “Oh, very well. We’ll sort this out in the morning. Come along, Amber. Tomorrow we can talk with Wes’s parents about postponing the wedding until he’s seen a counselor.”
This statement was met by shocked, utter silence.
“Do you seriously expect her to marry that creep?” Riley asked incredulously. “After what he just said to her? He threatened to kill her for Christ’s sake!”
“Yes, well. He was upset, obviously.”
Amber straightened, letting her hands fall from her neck, and faced her father head-on. “I am not going anywhere with you. Do us both a favor and disown me. We’ll both be happier.”
Robert scowled. “Young woman, I am your father! You will not defy me like this!”
“Let. Me. Go.” She punctuated each word with a glare.
Robert huffed again. “Young lady, you’re coming home with me, or so help me God…”
“You’re going to leave,” she told her parent, voice deadly calm. “You’re going to leave, and you’re never coming back here again.”
“And why would I do that?” Robert sneered.
Amber raised an eyebrow. “Because if you don’t, I’ll tell the world what really happened to Alex.”
Robert Whitman went white. “You…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, no?” she said with a haughty laugh. “I bet you do. I know the truth, Father. I know what really happened to Alex. I know what you did to him. I know what you allowed to happen to him. And I know the lengths you went to to keep the truth about him from coming out.”
Robert took a step back with every statement she made, growing more and more agitated by the second. “Amber, be reasonable…”
“I am being reasonable,” she said quietly. “That’s my offer. Disown me, leave me alone forever—or I tell the world your biggest secret. Choose, Father.”
Robert glanced around at the three cops, who were watching their little drama avidly. He licked his lips, eyes darting around frantically, then whirled on Amber. “You little bitch, how dare you threaten me! I ought to beat you for talking back to me!”
Amber laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. “Go ahead,” she told him nonchalantly. “Add to the bruises your precious Wes already inflicted on me. They’ll help my cause. Imagine how they’ll look on camera, Father, when I go down to KTRH’s studio and beg for an on-camera interview.” She paused significantly. “Think they’ll grant it? The daughter of Houston’s most influential televangelist, coming to the station all beaten up and bloody, saying she has information on what really happened to his adopted son fourteen years ago? Think they’ll put me on the air?”
“You have no proof!” Robert snarled.
“Actually, she does,” Maddox said mildly, coming to stand behind Amber. He was still cuffed, and now he had grass and dirt stains all over his bare chest, but he still looked like an angel come to earth. “I can back up every word she says. And so can many, many others. Your whole empire will topple. Is that what you want, Mr. Whitman? To let everything you’ve worked for crumble to the ground? Or would you rather let Amber live her own life? It’s your choice. Either way, we’re on Amber’s side.”
“That’s right,” Riley chimed in. “Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it? So what’ll it be, preacher-man? Walk away now, or be the lead story on tomorrow’s six o’clock news?”
“If it comes to that,” one of the officers muttered, “I’ll drive you down to the news station myself.”
“And I’ll give you an escort,” said another cop, the one who’d just finished putting Wes into his squad car. He shot Robert a murderous glare. “I’ll be happy to take this man into custody for you, too, Ms. Whitman. He’s violated about ten laws I can think of tonight, just off the top of my head. I’m sure we can find more charges to press against him.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Amber said, giving the cop a small smile before turning back to her father. “My father was just leaving. For good.”
Robert Whitman stared at her. Then he looked around, meeting the eyes of every other man present, as if seeking backup. He got nothing but cold, hard stares in return. Finally, after an interminable silence, he huffed out a sigh and raised his chin.
“Fine. Have it your way. You are no longer my daughter, understand me? I will laugh in your face the day you come crawling back to me, looking for handouts. You could have had a good life, married to Wes. You would have had money, been taken care of, never had a care in the world. Instead you’re condemning yourself to a life of poverty. And for what? These two morons?”
Maddox took a step forward, but Amber held him back with a hand to his chest. Riley growled, long and low, his eyes flashing fire in the pre-dawn light. Amber caressed his bicep affectionately.
“No, Father. I’m choosing my own life. I’ve found friends who believe in me, who care about me for who I am, not what I can do for them. I found people who cherish the connections they make with others over the amount of money they can squeeze from them. I’ve found people who want to help me soar, not drag me down to their level. And above all, I’ve found the men I was meant to be with, who love and cherish me just for being me. That alone is absolutely priceless…and nothing you could ever offer would ever make up for losing them.”
Maddox and Riley closed ranks, standing shoulder to shoulder with Amber directly in front of them. They were both so much taller than her, it was easy for them to glare at Robert over her head.
“Leave,” Maddox said shortly. “Don’t ever come back.”
“What he said,” Riley growl
ed.
Robert shook his head, turned on his heel, and stalked off into the morning gloom. A dark-colored Lincoln Town Car sat on the far side of the parking lot. The moment Robert Whitman climbed into the backseat, the headlights came on and the vehicle slithered off into the night, taking her father out of her life.
Hopefully forever.
Silence reigned for a few moments after Robert’s car left. Then Riley cleared his throat.
“So, uh…now that this whole crazy deal has been cleared up…would someone mind taking the cuffs off?”
The nearest officer blinked, blinked again, then cursed a blue streak as he dug around on his belt for the little key. “Sorry,” he said, his cheeks hot. “Got caught up in the moment.”
The lead officer, the one who’d arrested Wes, came up to Amber with a rueful smile. “I do apologize for all this, Ms. Whitman. If you’d like to press charges against your father, we can do so. We have enough witnesses.”
The other two officers nodded.
Amber sighed. “No. Let him go. I’m free of him—that’s all I wanted.”
The cop nodded. “All right. And the other one? Mr. Walker?”
“Him we’re pressing charges against,” Maddox growled. Amber turned to face her lover, found him regarding her with serious gray eyes. “He violated the restraining order, mislead the cops, and threatened to kill you right here in front of us. He needs to be punished, angel.”
Riley grunted, rubbing his wrists as the cuffs were removed. “Yeah, pixie. Dude needs a night or two in jail. Only way a fucker like him will ever learn.”
Amber grimaced, but nodded her consent. The three cops nodded, expressed their apologies again, and filed down the sidewalk to get back into their vehicles. She watched them leave, wondering what this odd feeling was in her chest. It was almost as if…something had been taken from her. No, not taken. Removed. As if a huge weight had been lifted from her soul.
Maddox cupped her chin, turning her to face him. His eyes sparkled in the darkness, and he was grinning from ear to ear. “You were amazing, angel. I’m in awe of you.”
Angel Without Page 31