I leave the jail and dash toward the dark sedan waiting curbside. I’m pleased to find Dad in the back seat. I’ve barely shut the car door when Sterling pulls on to the street.
We skip discussions concerning my legal battle and dive straight into planning my wife’s rescue. “Everyone’s at Duncan’s awaiting instructions. We need to come to a decision before arriving so this can proceed as quickly as possible.”
The pub is a ten-minute drive. That doesn’t give us much time to discuss options.
“The Order doesn’t know you’ve been released. That’s an enormous advantage to have over them but it won’t take long for word to spread. You must decide how to proceed.”
If this were about property or possessions, Grieve would’ve gladly taken Dad’s offer. “He’s demanding I come make the trade for Bleu, even willing to wait until I’m freed from jail. I’m predicting he’s planning to kill her in front of me.”
“I agree. This has everything to do with avenging his son’s death.”
“Tell me you know where Bleu is.”
“Debra has been tailing Grieve since Bleu’s kidnapping. He and his men recently made a visit to an isolated cottage not far from here. It’s boarded up. By all appearances, it looks abandoned. We believe it’s very likely Bleu is there.”
But no one knows for sure and maybe doesn’t cut it in this situation. “I need my wife’s location confirmed if I’m to make the best decision concerning her safety.”
“I wasn’t willing to send men into that cottage without your approval. If Bleu wasn’t there and The Order discovered our rescue attempt, they might have killed her without a negotiation. I couldn’t give that order because she isn’t my wife. She’s yours to protect so it must be your decision.”
“My gut says Grieve isn’t visiting a boarded-up cottage for no reason. He’s holding her there. We’ll gather our best men and storm the location.”
Our meeting at Duncan’s is brief. It only lasts long enough for me to choose ten of my most trusted and combat-experienced brothers along with two men to act as drivers. We load into the back of a transport truck. I don’t waste time talking at the pub. We can use the drive to the cottage to nail down our final battle plan. “This is going to be a snatch and grab. The goal isn’t to kill Order members. We’re storming in without warning, taking my wife, and getting the fuck out of there. The battle will come later when they realize she’s gone. The only goal now is to get her out safely.”
“Four of us will go in through the front door. Dad, Alan, Derek, and myself.” I give orders to the remaining eight to surround the cottage and cover from all sides. “Any questions?”
I’ve fought beside these men for years. I trust them with my life. And my wife’s.
We’re approaching the cottage when my father’s phone vibrates in his pocket. “It’s Debra.”
“We’re almost there,” he tells her. “Thank you for calling.”
He ends his call. “Torrence and two of his men just arrived at the cottage.”
“Dammit.” I was hoping we would find Bleu alone so she wouldn’t be placed in danger during an extraction.
“Grieve doesn’t know you’ve been released. He’d have more men guarding her, and protecting him, if that was the case.”
Dad’s right. Torrence would be nowhere near Bleu if he knew there was a chance I was on my way. He’s a coward. He never joins his men in a fight. He sits behind the line of safety and watches.
“You want to stick to the same plan?”
My father is letting me make all the calls. First, Bleu is my wife so she’s mine to protect. But two, this is his way of letting me gain decision-making experience. I’m certain he wouldn’t hesitate to override my plan if he felt I was making the wrong moves.
“We should adjust the numbers since we know we’ll have three Order members on the inside. Six will go in so we have twice their number. Neil and Ross. You’ll join us.”
“I agree. Six men are sufficient.”
“Everyone needs to understand something. I’m out of that cottage with Bleu as soon as I find her. Sterling and Jamie will be waiting for us in the car. You’ll have two getaway vehicles. If you’re detained from returning to this one, I have a second in place. It will be waiting on the south side of the property.”
“Protect the brother next to you so you’ll have someone to cover for you,” my father adds.
The truck stops. My chosen men and I file out through the back. We creep toward the cottage and find the door is unlocked. Perfect. That eliminates the need for a noisy break-in and betters our chances of being undetected while gaining access.
I listen a moment before entering. Nothing. It’s the eerie kind of quiet before the storm. It makes me terrified of what I’m going to find. “Let’s move.”
I open the door. The six of us storm inside but find no one in the first room we enter.
This is all wrong.
Guns drawn, I lead my men through the cottage. I stop dead in my tracks when I see a young blond woman huddled in the corner of the next room. She’s curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her head as to deflect an assault. “Where is Bleu?” I whisper.
The woman lifts her tear-streaked face from her knees. She’s been beaten to a bloody pulp.
She points to the hallway. “I tried to stop them from hurting her.”
I’m too afraid to ask what she’s referring to. My mind imagines the worst. “Someone get this girl out of here. Put her in the car with Sterling and Jamie.”
Without thought for a quiet attack, I stalk down the hallway toward Bleu.
Torrence and two of his men are standing over my Bonny Bleu, looking at her battered body. One of the men uses his foot to nudge her shoulder but she doesn’t respond. She appears completely lifeless.
They’ve broken my china doll. And now they stand over her laughing at what they’ve done.
I see red. My first instinct is to choke the life out of them. But that doesn’t help Bonny.
My men enter the room, guns drawn. The surprise on Torrence’s face when he sees me is perfection. But I can’t enjoy it, not when my Bonny Bleu is lying in a puddle on the floor.
I rush to her. She has a pulse; I listen for breathing.
“Don’t worry. The bitch is still alive,” Torrence says.
She’s so badly beaten I’m afraid to move her. She’s almost indistinguishable, her face a mask of fresh blood. “Someone fetch Jamie. Quickly.”
“Your timing was really unfortunate. Had you given us another five minutes, we could have ridded you of her altogether.” Torrence’s voice is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.
I had so many plans for how I would make my nemesis suffer. Take him to the black site. Torture him. Drag his death out for days. But none of that matters now—only Bleu and our babies matter.
I stroke the top of her hair. “I’m going to take you away from this place. Everything is going to be fine and I’m never going to allow anyone else the opportunity to steal you from me again.”
I hold her hand and kiss her forehead. “I love you, Bonny Bleu,” I whisper.
Torrence laughs. “This is the reason you never love a woman. It weakens you.”
Jamie rushes in and kneels next to Bleu. “She’ll need X-rays to confirm she has no fractures to her neck or spine. The safest thing to do is put her in a C-collar so we can get moving before other Order members arrive.”
“Hold her neck like this.” He places my hands in the correct position. “We’re going to log roll her. I’ll slip the collar on from behind.”
We roll Bleu on to her side and I do as he instructs.
“Where is all that blood coming from?” my father asks.
I glance downward to see what he’s talking about. My heart stutters when I see the dark pool collecting beneath Bonny. “Jamie. Why is she bleeding like that? Where is it coming from?”
He fastens the collar. “We need to get her to the hospital immediately.”
&
nbsp; “Sterling has the car at the front,” my father says.
My men lift Bleu and carefully transport her down the hallway to the front door where the car awaits.
I stand and face Torrence and his men. I don’t have time to say or do any of the things I’d like. “You’ll never hurt my family again.”
I shoot them one by one, leaving Torrence for last so he can see what’s coming for him. A single shot between the eyes.
Blood and brains spatter the wall but it gives me no satisfaction. A bullet to the head is too merciful for Torrence and the men who beat my Bonny Bleu.
“Leave their bodies for The Order to find. Their property. Their problem.”
Jamie says Bleu’s neck and spine should remain straight so I crouch on the floor of the back seat so I’m sitting next to her head. He sits with her feet in his lap.
I grasp her hand, kissing it often. I can’t stop touching her. These past three days have been brutal.
“I love you and our babies so much,” I whisper in her ear, remembering how her voice seeped through the dark walls of consciousness while I was sick.
There was so much blood pooled beneath her. My mind knows it’s evidence of a miscarriage but my heart holds out hope. “Do you think she’s losing the babies?”
“Babies?”
“Aye. Twins. We found out the day she was taken.”
“Obstetrics aren’t my specialty, Sin,” he says quietly. That’s all he says but I can guess what he’s thinking. No woman can bleed like that and not lose her pregnancy.
The young woman turns around in the front seat. “Bleu didn’t mention she was expecting. But it’s best she didn’t. Torrence wouldn’t have stopped until he was certain he had beaten those babies out of her along with any chance to conceive more in the future.”
I look at this petite woman in the front seat of my car. The top of her blond head is barely visible over the seat from where I’m sitting in the floorboard.
“Who are you?” I demand.
“Lainie.” She hesitates before saying the rest. “Grieve. Before you ask, yes. I’m Torrence’s wife. But not by choice. He’s a monster who held me prisoner in that place for the last two months.”
Lainie bursts into tears. “Bleu said you would help me and you did. You’ll never know how grateful I am. Thank you so much.”
I’m not often shocked but Lainie Grieve has just managed to do so. And while I have many questions about what’s happening within The Order, it’s not my focus right now.
We arrive at the hospital’s emergency services entrance. “I have to walk away at this point,” Jamie says. “I can’t risk being seen with you. Some of the people from my medical program like asking too many questions.”
Jamie’s right. My face was all over the news after my arrest. Being seen with me will bring up issues he might not be able to explain away. “Of course.”
“Sterling. Go inside and fetch help.”
Jamie opens the door to get out. “Call as soon as you know anything.”
I remain next to my wife while we wait for help to arrive at the car.
I don’t know what has happened to Lainie, but I suspect her face isn’t the only thing damaged. “You need to be examined.”
She nods, tears cascading down her crumpled, bruised face. “My head hurts. So much.” Her whole body shakes, though from fear or pain, I don’t know.
“They’ll have to report your attack to the police. I don’t care what kind of statement you give as long as it doesn’t include me or The Fellowship.”
“I was assaulted by an unknown attacker. I didn’t see his face,” she says. I suspect this isn’t her first time to tell that story. “I’ll enter the hospital separately so they don’t make the connection.”
“That’s probably best.”
“Thank you for rescuing me from that monster.” Those are her last words before getting out and disappearing.
A swarm of medical personnel surround the car. They slide a board beneath Bleu’s body and transfer her limp form to a waiting gurney. “Sir, is this your wife?”
“Yes. She’s pregnant with twins. Six weeks.”
I see the looks exchanged when they note the extensive blood on her clothing. “We’re going to take good care of her. And your babies.”
My mum stays with me while Bleu’s gone for tests. First, they must ensure she has not sustained damage to her head, neck, or spine. Thankfully, they rule out any neurological problems but I’m still concerned. It’s been hours and she remains unconscious.
The doctor and nurses assure me they see no reason she won’t wake on her own soon but it’s unsettling to see her lying in what appears to be a comatose state.
The ultrasound is last and they won’t allow me to be present when it’s done. I have no idea if our babies survived. When I ask, the nurse tells me the doctor will be in to discuss the findings. I think they would’ve told me if everything was all right, so I assume he’ll be delivering bad news.
I need my mother’s advice. “The first thing Bleu’s going to ask when she wakes is if the babies are okay. How the hell am I going to tell her they’re not?”
Mum halts the crocheting project on her lap. “Bleeding isn’t supposed to occur during pregnancy so when it does, expectant parents panic. The amount of blood seems like much more than it actually is. I know because it happened when I was pregnant with your brother. I was certain I was miscarrying. As you know, I didn’t so you must believe that all is well with them until you know otherwise.”
My mum returns to crocheting. I think she’s doing it as a distraction. She’s only half-finished with the piece but I can clearly make out what it’s going to be—a baby blanket. Seeing it makes all of this surreal.
I’ve never lost children before. I only know one way to be ready for it. “I’m preparing myself for the worst.”
“There are plenty of situations where that’s an appropriate attitude but parenting isn’t one of them. You prepare for the best by hoping for it.”
Mum holds up her crocheting project. “I’m already done with the first blanket. This one should be finished by tomorrow. All I’ll need to do is add the pink or blue ribbons after we find out what they are.”
“I went back to the office right after we found out about the twins. I don’t even know what Bleu wants. Boys? Girls? A combo?”
“She’ll be happy with whatever you get.”
I left her at home alone. “This was my fault, Mum. Torrence took her because of me. We could lose our babies because of what I did.”
“You can’t think like that, son.”
“She has every right to blame me if they don’t make it.”
There’s a knock at the door, and then it opens. “Hello, Mr. Breckenridge.” Bleu’s obstetrician.
I’m numb as the doctor introduces himself. All I can think of is the news he’s about to give us. “There are concerns we need to discuss but I know your immediate question for me is the condition of the pregnancy. Let me start by saying that we detected two heartbeats on ultrasound.”
Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
My mum releases a sigh of relief. “I knew our babies would be okay. I told you, didn’t I?”
“As an OB/GYN, I’ll only address your wife’s health from an obstetrical and gynecological standpoint. I found significant bruising on her inner thighs. Because Mrs. Breckenridge remains unconscious and can’t tell us what happened, I had to follow protocol, which means examining her for sexual assault. I’m happy to report that I found no evidence supporting that.”
I didn’t allow myself to wonder about it because to do so meant it was a possibility.
“Moving on to the pregnancy. The babies look stable. But as you know, your wife has had a very significant bleeding episode. The trauma to her abdomen caused a marginal tear in the edge of the placenta. That means it has a slight separation from the womb. But the bleeding has stopped. We’ll keep her hydrated and on bed rest and see what happens.”
I wonder if “see what happens” is an official medical prognosis. “Do you think our babies will be all right?”
“All we can do is watch and wait.”
Bleu moans off and on but it’s more than two hours after the obstetrician’s visit before she finally stirs for the first time. “Bonny.”
I squeeze her hand and her eyelids flutter. She struggles to open her eyes because they’re so swollen. When she does, they’re slits. “Ahh. There’s my sweet Bonny’s baby blues.”
She blinks lazily. “Hi,” I say.
Her eyes flicker several more times, I think trying to focus on my face.
“Hi,” she whispers. Her simple one-word greeting is music to my ears.
“How do you feel?”
She closes her eyes. “Nauseated. I think I’m going to be sick.”
My mum moves faster than lightning with the little bucket they left for such a thing. “It’s all right if ye get sick.”
Mum points to the drawer where the linens are kept. “Wet a washcloth with cold water for her face.”
I scramble to the small sink in the tight washroom, wet the cloth, and hand it back to my mother, my own hands shaking. Mum places the wet cloth against Bleu’s forehead. “There, love. This’ll help ye feel better.”
A few seconds later, Bleu rises in the bed and moans loudly while dry heaving into the basin my mum is holding. Once. Twice. Three times.
Very few areas of her body are free of bruising. She must be in terrible pain.
“Oh!” Bleu’s eyes grow large when she wretches the last time. “I just felt something come out down there.”
Mum pulls the covers back for a look. “It’s just a little blood. That’s all.”
“Why am I bleeding?” Bleu’s hand goes to her stomach. “Oh God. I lost the babies.”
Worry can’t be good for her or them. I need to reassure her everything is all right. “You had some bleeding but both babies are okay. They did an ultrasound and saw two heartbeats.”
Complete Sin Box Set Page 49