Seized By Darkness

by Autumn Jordan

  She lingered a kiss on his cheek, breathing in his scent before she let him go. He knew she was taking a memory with her.

  As Will watched her walked away, he realized Laura no longer felt right in his arms. Thanks to her visit here today, his past was finally in the past.

  ~~

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Gorgon dropped his arm from over his eyes, sat up on the hotel’s sofa, and arched his back, stretching the stiffness from his spine. He hated this sitting around. The damn cold damp weather was seeping into his bones. Fuck. He should be on a Caribbean island, sunning himself on the beach. And he would as soon as he had his woman and child back. They would leave this country for good. Well, he’d come back for business matters, but Katrina would never see her homeland again.

  His wait wouldn’t be long now. His plan was in its final stage.

  A knock at the door turned his head. What did his man want now? He’d told Drat not to disturb him unless it was important. His doctor said he needed to rest even though he felt stronger than he had in months.

  Holding his arm across his stomach, Gorgon pushed off the cushions. His muscles had healed, but the memory of pain shooting through his adnominal muscles when he moved made the action a habit.

  The knock echoed through the suite again.

  Gorgon straightened and tucked his shirt in his pants as he crossed the room. Without checking the spy hole, he opened the door. “What is it?”

  “Sorry, boss. Arnold’s here.”

  Arnold. He didn’t expect to see the man so soon. Gorgon peered down the hall to where his other guard held the tough kid at bay. Gorgon had found Arnold last summer hustling in Atlantic City. The kid had guts and dreams which put him instantly on Gorgon’s good side because he’d always said, “What good were dreams without guts?”

  Gorgon’s jaw twitched. And the kid had a hellva of a good right hook.

  The smug look Arnold wore told Gorgon he had good news. “Okay. But frisk him good and then bring him in. Rafe can guard the door.”

  Gorgon flipped on the lights over the bar. As he reached for two glasses, the door closed behind him. He sat the glasses down and turned. “Arnold, you look as if you’ve swallowed the proverbial carney.”

  “I think you’ll be very happy.” The young man’s lips curved upward. He shoved his hands into his leather jacket’s pockets and arched up on his toes. Another attribute Gorgon liked in Arnold was that he always was eager to please.

  “That so?” Gorgon heard the emphasis Arnold had put on the word ‘very’. He trapped his bottom lip, fighting the show of excitement wanting to curl his mouth into a smile, and nodded. “Have a seat.”

  He stepped to the bar and grabbed a bottle of vodka. Maybe things were turning around for him at last. He poured three fingers of vodka into the glasses, turned, and handed one to Arnold. “I drink to your health.”

  Arnold raised his glass. “And I to yours, boss.”

  “Thank you.” Gorgon watched the man kick back the shot tumbler over the rim of his own. The liquor’s heat flowed down his throat and into his gut, chasing the chill from him.

  After setting his glass on the table, he pulled a chair out and took a seat across from Arnold. “So, what do you have to tell me?”

  Smiling, Arnold sat his glass aside. “We made our first run without problems.”

  “Did you expect trouble?”

  “I expected some, yes. Since that marshal was shot last week, seems like every cop is on our ass.”

  “That is what happens. So you got one.”

  “Three.” Arnold’s brown eyes twinkled with the glow from the small chandelier over the table. He held up three fingers one at a time.

  “Three?” Gorgon raised a brow, surprised by the number. “Junkies?”

  “No. Good girls.” Arnold smile widened to a broad-tooth grin. “Two are twins.”

  “Twins?”

  “Identical. Blond haired, blue eyed, blossoming beauties.”

  Gorgon pictured his off-shore account doubling in size. “How old are they?”

  “Fourteen. Maybe fifteen. Hard to tell nowadays the way they dress.”

  “Where did you get them?”

  “Upstate New York. Last night, after a high school football game they had walked away from the school grounds and stood on a corner. My guess is to get away from the traffic emptying out of the parking lot and make finding them easier for their parents. My partner waited down the street with the van while I walked up behind them. Zap, zap, they were on the ground and a minute later they were in the van. No one was around to see us. Easy.”

  Gorgon reached over and poured Arnold another shot while he continued to tell his story.

  “The other is a cute little red-head. Freckles. Huge brown eyes. She says she’s nine. We picked her up later, at a Hamburger Heaven. Her mother let her go to the bathroom by herself. Mistake. I carried her out the side door. We drove through the drive-thru and got our burgers, and then hit the interstate a quarter mile down the road. Easy target.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “We took them to the house in Valance.”

  Valance was one of the four locations he and Donnie had set up for their men to take their captives to and hold them without suspicions until they could find buyers.

  All of the realtors Donnie had worked with had run circles and jumped through fire rings to find exactly the types of places he wanted and they needed. The realtors had thought Donnie was a ghost writer for a renowned author, searching for seclusion in order to do his work in peace. Gorgon chuckled inside. The government wasn’t the only one who could run co-op operations.

  Arnold reached inside his jacket and pulled out a few pictures taken with an old Polaroid camera, so as not to be traced by anyone, and slid them across the table. “I thought you’d like to see them.”

  Gorgon tipped his glass, emptying the last drops, before he sat forward and picked up the two photos. His pulsed picked up staring down at the twins. They were mouth-watering in their belly shirts and jeans, cut near all the inappropriate spots, or appropriate, depending on the viewer. Arnold had done very well indeed. They would most definitely bring them a huge price. But the nine year old that made his heart flutter. Her red hair, her freckles, her features over all reminded him of his Katrina. “This one…”

  “You like her?” Arnold’s brow arched.

  “She is special. Mark my words. She will bring a good price.”

  “So you’re happy boss?”

  “Yes.” Gorgon supported his stomach and rose. “I’ll get your down payment. Setting up the auction will take a few days, until then, make sure these girls are not harmed. I don’t want them touched by your men, or you. Understand?” He rounded the table and laid his hand on Arnold’s shoulder, causing him to jump. “They haven’t been mistreated, have they?”

  Fear reflected in Arnold’s eyes. “No, sir. And I understand.”

  Gorgon held onto his gaze, searching for the truth. After a full ten seconds, he was satisfied that Arnold told the truth. He patted Arnold’s arm. “Good. I’ll be just a minute.”

  As Gorgon removed the fifteen thousand dollars down payment from the hotel safe, he couldn’t get the image of the little girl out of his head. She wasn’t Katrina. But what if he didn’t find Katrina?

  ~~

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Off in the distance, among the shadows of the forest, an agonizing scream cut the night, followed by a sinister crackle and then silence. A chill crawled up Will’s spine as he peered over his shoulder.

  The crowd surrounding him ignored the plea for help. Not one single person turned their heads in the direction of the scream. Everyone continued on with their conversations as if the bloody cries for help were normal.

  They were.

  However, the memories of the last few weekends were still fresh in Will’s mind, especially after visiting Gary in the hospital this afternoon, and with each plea, an icy finger cut from his ear and acr
oss his cardiac artery.

  A tractor backfired and Will jumped, reaching behind his back with his free hand for a gun that wasn’t there. The group of teenagers standing behind him snickered while he straightened his jacket and his face warmed. If only they knew or had seen one of the scenes he dealt with on a daily bases, they’d be scrambling for cover.

  Stretching his neck from side to side, he drew in a breath of cold air tinted with rotting leaves, French Fries and diesel fuel, and attempted to relax, but he couldn’t. Nicole was taking a long time to grab a hot drink. A half-hour, if not more, had passed since she left his side.

  After draping the blankets he held on the fence, he stepped from his spot in line for the haunted hayride and searched the crowd mingling in front of the refreshment stand. Where was Nicole?

  Will’s pulse kicked up as the crowd moved, blocking his view. He caught a glimpse of a gray knit hat resembling the one Nicole wore, near the front of the line. The crowd shifted again and Nicole’s auburn hair confirmed the woman was indeed her. Under the neon lights indicating the small building was the place to grab food and hot drinks to ward off the autumn dampness, the tones of Nicole’s long locks shimmered in long waves over her pea coat.

  Relieved she was in his view, Will realized he was on his toes and lowered his heels to the ground. He had to chill. He’d taken a night off from saving the world to be with Nicole and Luka, and he wanted to enjoy the time.

  Seeing Laura today confirmed even more so, that there had been something missing in his life, a void that Nicole seemed to fill to perfection. He wanted to be with her—not as his charge, but as a woman.

  He was ready to get on with his life and he wanted Nicole and Luka in it.

  Some of his friends and co-workers would say he was nuts, taking up a relationship with Nicole. After all, she was Gorgon’s woman and has the Russian’s kid in tow, but he didn’t care. Both Nicole and Luka couldn’t help their ties to Gorgon. All he knew was he couldn’t get Nicole out of his mind and when he was with her, he felt like he was walking three feet off the ground. And Luka, regardless of who his father was, was a damn nice kid. There was no doubt in Will’s mind that Nicole had everything to do with Luka’s behavior.

  Nicole turned from the counter and Will could almost hear the laughter escaping her lips by the smile she wore. The guy who’d waited on her was laughing too.

  Will’s heated glare honed in on the man. His leer followed Nicole as she walked away until the next person in line pounded their hand on the counter, gaining his attention. Jealousy was an emotion Will very seldom experienced, but emotion was fast becoming one he had to handle every few minutes while in Nicole’s company.

  He searched for Nicole and found her again, dodging kids. She hurried toward the jungle gym area where she stopped Luka in mid-chase of some of his friends and offered him one of the two cups she carried. Without taking a sip, Luka shook his head and skirted around her, racing after the gang of boys.

  Nicole turned, smiled and shrugged before making her way through the maze of children toward him.

  Will would describe himself as a man’s man, but somewhere over the last three and a half months Nicole had managed to wrap his heart with fuzzy warmth and caused an inestimable hunger for her in him. He didn’t give a damn one bit.

  He studied her full lips. Their sweetness lingered in his memory. Last Sunday night, when things had grown pretty heated between the two of them, he could’ve laid Nicole right there on her kitchen table, but just having sex wasn’t what he wanted from her. He wanted more. He wanted to make love to her for a thousand nights. Perhaps for the rest of his life.

  That notion caused his stomach to flip-flop. His angst had nothing to do with her past. His hesitancy was all about him having the guts to give his heart to someone, again.

  As she grew closer, he noticed the forty degree temperature brightened Nicole’s cheeks like the crimson leaves falling to the ground. Her faded jeans, turtleneck and pea coat fit her much better than the heels, short skirt and top he had first seen her wearing. God, she was beautiful.

  His heartbeat zoomed when she smiled up at him.

  With a gloved hand, she held out a cup. “Here you go.”

  The cords of his shoulders relaxed now that she was back at his side. He returned her smile and took the semi-steaming brew. “Thanks.”

  The warm plastic cup containing hot cider warmed his bare fingers. He had gloves in his pocket, but refused to wear them. He didn’t want anything between him and the possibility of feeling Nicole’s soft skin. Like now. A gust blew across the field and lifted a strand of hair across her face. He grabbed the opportunity before she could react and brushed the silky strands back, trailing his fingers along her smooth jaw line.

  With her eyes closed, Nicole tilted her head up, letting him know she enjoyed his touch. Passion glimmered in her eyes when she opened them, and Will fought the urge to drop his cider to the ground, grab her by the hand and pull her into a dark shadow away from prying eyes where their dance could move to the next level.

  Instead he took a sip of his cider and cleared the want from his throat. Adjusting his stance and lessening the pressure against his zipper, Will knew he needed to focus on something else other than the woman who was heating his blood. He turned his attention to the playground. “Luke’s too busy for a drink, huh?” He nodded toward the boy, but on a quick glance, caught Nicole taking a quick swallow of her own cider. He smiled behind his cup.

  “Running around like he is, he’s not cold. I, on the other hand, am chilled to the bone.” She pulled her coat together at the lapels and then stomped her feet on the packed gravel path. “I probably should’ve worn my thermal socks under these hiking boots. My toes are so cold.”

  His eyes darted toward the section of the parking lot where his car was parked. He could warm her up there.

  Nicole hunkered over her cup and Will watched with fascination as this time she’d pursed her full lips and blew across the hot liquid, before taking a sip.

  Feeling his reaction to her actions growing larger, Will directed his eyes to the playground again and saw that Luka and his best friend, Tommy, now climbed the stairs on the sliding board. A few seconds later Luka followed by Tommy sailed down the board. Laughing over their collision, the pair scrambled to their feet and raced back to the ladder. Will couldn’t recall the last time he felt as free and as joyous as the two boys.

  “Thanks for letting Tommy come with us,” Nicole said while watching the boys play.

  “No problem. He’s company for Luka. I’m sure we’d have bored him to death.”

  She brushed her hair back from her cheek with the back of her gloved hand and tilted her face up toward him. “You wouldn’t. He likes you a lot, Will.”

  Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves and Will couldn’t stop the image of Laura from popping into his mind. It was like a psychology test for his heart. Laura pitted against Nicole. Laura’s image faded and his heart warmed as he stared at the rosy cheeked vixen standing before him. “Thanks. I like him too. He’s a good kid.”

  “Yes, he is, and loves living here.” Her irises grew larger as her attention was pulled beyond his shoulder.

  The hairs on the nape of Will’s neck stood on end and his spine stiffened with an intake of air. Cautiously, Will glanced behind him and down the line of customers waiting for their turn on the hayride, checking each face for signs of interest in him and Nicole or in Luka. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. There were strangers mingled in with the local town’s people, but no one stood out as being a threat. He turned back to Nicole. “Is something wrong? Did you see someone who looked familiar?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on guard. “I was just checking if anyone is paying attention to us.”

  He leaned down and whispered into her ear, “You don’t have to worry.”

  Nicole pulled back slightly, staying cheek to cheek with him. She looked deep into his eye
s, causing his pulse to flutter. “I’m not worried. Not when you’re with me. I was just going to ask something and I didn’t want anyone to overhear.”

  The smile which had formed on his lips at her compliment faded. “What?”

  “How is Gary?”

  Will sighed as he pulled back, wishing she had wanted to ask him to kiss her, instead of reminding him of the troubles he wanted to leave behind for a few hours. But he appreciated her concern over his friend. “He’s doing real well, for what had happened to him. Sharon said the doctors think he’ll be there for another week and then they’ll send him home. He’ll have a few months of physical therapy after the cast comes off, but he should recover fully in about six months.”

  “He was lucky.”

  Will stuffed his free hand into his pocket. The image of Gary lying in the hospital bed, bandaged just about everywhere and his left leg in a cast, made Will’s stomach sour. How only three bullets out of so many had hit home, cracking Gary’s jaw, lodging in his shoulder and shattering his femur, was a miracle. “He was damn lucky.”

  “I’m glad he’s doing well. I feel like—”

  Will bowed his head next to hers, pulled his hand from his pocket and pointed his index finger at her nose. “Don’t say it. You know you had no part in what happened to him. Understand?”

  Nicole’s gaze dropped to her cup. Torment chewed away at her psyche much like she was doing to her bottom lip. Her dark lashes blinked several times against her smooth cheeks, and he knew without seeing them that tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

  Will reached out and with his finger placed under her chin, gently forced her to look at him. “Don’t do this to yourself. What happened wasn’t your fault. Just like it wasn’t my fault. If Gary was here, he’d tell you the same thing.” He stared hard into Nicole’s eyes until she pulled back from his touch and nodded. Hearing a child’s cry, he checked Luke’s whereabouts and made sure that the boy was fine before he took another swallow of his now lukewarm cider.