It was time for payback.
EMILY TRIED TO HUG THE wall, hell, she tried to become the wall as the sound of a key turning in the lock sent chills racing up her spine.
Nathan growled from the corner. The sound of a cornered wolf, terrifying for the subtle softness of it.
Emily scooted back on the cot, pressing herself into the corner as the door opened and Jansen and Diego Fuentes stepped into the room, followed by one of the guards.
A small bulb lit up in the ceiling then. It wasn’t a lot of light, but it was enough to clearly see Jansen’s handsome face. Even now, she didn’t want to believe he could be so evil. His expression was sympathetic, his eyes showing true regret as he watched her. It made her want to kill. To strip away the deceitful veil he wore so easily.
“I see you’ve survived Diego’s heavy-handed guards once again,” he said as he tucked his hands in the pockets of his slacks and watched her closely. “Your cheek is going to bruise. Did you try to fight them when you woke on the plane?”
Emily lifted her hand to her cheek, only then realizing it was sore. She had fought them. Now she remembered waking up for a short time, just before they had loaded her onto the plane, and she had fought like a demented animal. If she wasn’t mistaken, one of the guards was wearing her claw marks on his face. She didn’t answer Jansen though, she merely glared back silently.
His lips quirked as he glanced around the rough cell.
“Your accommodations are better this time. I made certain of it.” His gaze fell on Nathan in the corner. “We even made certain you had some company.”
The sound that came from Nathan’s throat was a frightening one. A low rumble, a promise of retribution. Jansen grimaced, turning back to Emily.
“I’m truly sorry about this, Emily,” he said. “If only your father had cooperated a bit more. But it wouldn’t have mattered, would it? I think you were already remembering. Your inquiries about Risa’s health were always worded very carefully. Diego’s drug isn’t as powerful as he assumed it was.” He threw the South American a gloating glance. “He’s made several mistakes over the past two years, wouldn’t you say?”
Nathan snarled in fury as Emily clenched her fists to keep from screaming in outrage and horror.
“What are you doing to him?” He was like an animal, his eyes burning in the dim light, his face waxen.
Jansen smiled as he turned back to her. “Did you hear of the great and abiding love Nathan Malone had for his wife?” he asked her. “Some said there was a bond between them that could not be broken. Let’s say we’re breaking it. He’s been a puzzle, our Nathan has been. But before he died, the scientist who developed the Whore’s Dust managed to perfect its design. Once Nathan is given the new drug, he won’t even remember his wife. All he’ll know is the need to fuck. And here you will be, unwilling perhaps, but definitely created to fuck.”
“You can’t do this.” Her gaze flew to the chained SEAL in horror before shifting back to Jansen. “Kell will kill you for this, Jansen.”
“He’ll never know I was involved.” He shrugged carelessly. “Do you think I did anything more than place the chloroform over your mouth and nose? There were others waiting inside the tunnel to spirit you away. Kell has no idea I was involved.”
“He is quite good, is he not?” Diego said mockingly as he stared back at her. “We have been associates for years, but his contacts here have made him invaluable. Not indispensable.” He shot Jansen a smarmy smile. “But invaluable.”
Jansen’s expression tightened in irritation.
“Kell will kill you both,” she informed them softly. “Neither of you will make it out of here alive.”
“He’ll gut you.” Nathan’s raspy voice sounded like a primal hiss. “He’ll take his knife and open you up like a fish. And he’ll smile. He’ll smile because it will be good. Oh, it will be so good. Blood flowing, warm and rich, the dragon feeds on the slayers’ flesh.”
Emily shivered at the death that sounded in the other man’s voice. Nathan was truly insane. What still held him grounded she wasn’t certain, but what she was certain of, was that this man, if not in life then in death, would ensure Jansen’s and Fuentes’s deaths.
“I do believe the drugs have affected his mind,” Jansen said. “We’ve overused him, Fuentes.”
Fuentes shrugged. “That sin lies at your feet, my friend. It does not affect me. I only demanded the chance to recoup my losses before you spirited the delectable little Miss Stanton away to your very good friend Sorrell. I am absolved of this.”
Jansen grunted as he shook his head then turned his gaze back to Emily. “I’ll make certain you’re taken care of,” he told her then. “As soon as Diego and I hammer out a few details you’ll be flown to that little chateau in Switzerland I told you about before. Elaine is already heading there, sweetheart. She’s getting ready for you. Eagerly anticipating your arrival. Once we’ve sampled your no doubt used charms, Sorrell will then collect you.”
A sob tore at her chest as her hand covered her mouth, denial raging inside her. “Elaine knows?” Her voice was raw with pain.
Jansen smiled softly, compassionately. “It was Elaine’s idea, darling.”
He turned to Fuentes. “Have your men inject him. Let’s get this over with so we can leave.”
Fuentes chuckled. “You have a soft spot for this one, Jansen,” he commented as he flicked an amused glance at Emily. “Perhaps before you leave with her, I would like a taste of her as well. Why should our mad SEAL have her alone?”
Jansen stilled. “That wasn’t the deal. Get him drugged and get the fucking cameras up. Get it over with so we can leave.”
Fuentes sighed with mocking regret. “Perhaps you are right. I hear Krieger has become quite besotted with her. Perhaps after a taste of her, I would not wish to release her, hmmm?”
“Don’t make me kill you, Diego.”
The sound of Diego’s men’s weapons snapping in preparation as Jansen moved forward Diego had Nathan’s head jerking up again.
“Kill him, Diego.” The fanatical glee in Nathan’s voice was terrifying. “Do it. You’ll gain points. Don’t you want to gain points?”
Diego chuckled, much like an overindulgent parent.
“Ahh, if only I could give you your wish, my sad little friend. Unfortunately, he does still have his uses.” He turned to his guards. “Prepare them. Let us get this done quickly. Do not drug the woman though.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” Jansen snapped.
Diego shrugged once again. “Her willingness to be raped by you gains me nothing. Do not push your luck, my friend, I believe there are other matters you need my agreement on as well.”
Emily felt the icy terror as it began to spread through her body. They were actually going through with this. Jansen was going to destroy them all without a twinge of regret.
“Kell will kill you, Jansen,” she whispered hoarsely. “You know him. You know he will.”
“He’ll never find you, Emily.” He smiled gently. “I truly covered my tracks this time, my dear. There’s no way he even suspects where you are.”
“He won’t stop looking.” Raw grief overwhelmed her, swamping her emotions, her soul. God, to lose him like this. To know that when he did find her, she would likely be so damaged that it wouldn’t matter. As Nathan had proved, a mind could bear only so much horror.
“He may never stop looking, but his search will be in vain.” His voice was gentle, his expression almost tender. God, he was so sick. There was something so twisted about him that he went beyond evil.
“Diego, you can inject our reluctant SEAL now. Let’s see if your new dosage is actually accurate.”
“No!” Emily jumped from the cot as Jansen turned to leave the room. “You can’t do this, Jansen.”
Rage was beating through her brain, whipping through her bloodstream, as her fist collided with his head. She hadn’t meant to hit him. She had meant to plead. To beg.
“You little
bitch.”
Pain resounded through her head as his fist collided with it, throwing her back as she heard a roar from the corner of the room. Emily bounced against the wall before slumping to the floor.
“You will not do that again, Emily.” Hard hands gripped her arms, lifting her from the floor and throwing her back to the cot as lights danced around her and an eerie buzzing filled her head. “The next time, I’ll rape you myself.”
Fury filled Jansen’s voice as Emily fought to right herself, to force her eyes to focus on his enraged face.
“I’d rather die,” she snarled, her voice rough, trembling from the dizzying sway of her senses. “I would kill myself first.”
“Whore’s Dust will change your mind,” he snapped. “I saw the tapes of your detox, Emily. I saw how you screamed, how you begged to be fucked. They had to tie you down.”
She tasted blood in her mouth and felt the numbness at the side of her face as she finally focused fully on him.
“And I’ll scream Kell’s name,” she whispered raggedly, gloatingly. “Just as I did then. Imagine that one, Jansen. Jack off to it if you have to. You might force me to accept you, but it will always be Kell’s name on my lips.”
He snapped back from her, breathing roughly, his handsome face flushed with anger.
“Double that bastard’s dose.” He flicked his fingers toward Nathan. “I want him to hurt her. I want Kell Krieger to see his best friend tearing her up.” He shot her a triumphant smile. “Scream Kell’s name now, Emily, while his brother in arms fucks you silly.”
He swept from the cell as the soldiers converged on Nathan, syringe in hand, and held him down. He wasn’t screaming, he was growling, snarling. Enraged animalistic sounds tore from his throat as they jabbed the needle into his arm and sent the diabolical drug into his body.
Emily collapsed on the cot as the cell door slammed shut and the key turned in the lock again.
“Well. Thanks there, Emily,” Nathan said. “I believe they may have indeed given me a double dose.”
Emily opened her eyes to stare back at him. “How long do we have, do you think?”
She had seen the videos as well, and knew the horrible, enraged lust she had experienced. How much worse would it be for him?
“Hell if I know.” He fell back against the wall behind him. One second he was crouched on the floor, the next he was pushing himself closer to the wall. “Sometimes a few hours, sometimes a few minutes. They’ve been playing with the dosage and the strength. Maybe this one will kill me.”
If possible, his eyes were brighter, glowing, eerie in the dim light of the room as his hands scraped at the side of the wall.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered tearfully. “I’m so sorry.”
“Kell won’t get here in time.” He grimaced. “There’s no way he will get here in time. Ah God. I can’t do this.”
He pressed his head into the wall behind him as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Have you seen my wife?” he asked desperately. “Did you meet her?”
“No.” She could see him tensing, feel him fighting the drugs tearing through him.
“Ahh, she’s a wee lit’l thing. Soft as down, her flesh is.” The accent thickened. “Her smile like sunshine. Her eyes the prettiest shade of gray. Like a dove.”
“She sounds beautiful.” Emily’s breath released on a sob as his back arched, the chords in his neck standing out in sharp relief as a horrible groan left his chest.
“My beautiful lit’l lass. Will she remember I loved her?”
His head lifted, his arms dropping to his sides, and a second later a crude knife appeared in his hands. It was no more than a thin strip of metal, but the wicked edge that gleamed beneath the light had Emily swallowing tightly.
“Nathan?” Emily sat up straighter in the cot.
“I’d rather die than betray her,” he whispered hoarsely, handling the knife confidently, running it over his fingers. “I’ve had this for a while now, contemplating, planning. You know, she’d rather I fuck than die. If it were her, I’d never hold it against her, would I, now? I’d love her until death took my last breath.”
“Hold on, Nathan,” Emily sobbed. “Please. Please hold on.”
Emily stared back at him dry-eyed, her gaze caught by that knife. She knew what he was going to do. He was going to honor his vows to the woman he loved the only way he knew how. He would end up killing either himself or her.
“I love my wee lass,” he whispered, his gaze caught by the knife. “Do ya know suicide is a sin, Emily?”
“Yes.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “She wouldn’t want you to commit a sin, Nathan.”
“So is fornication,” he whispered, turning that mad gaze back on her. “Betraying the vows I made to her. Rape is a sin. It’s takin’ what belongs to another. Which is the lesser sin? Takin’ my own life or yours? Or committin’ adultery and rape, lass? Where is the greatest pain?”
Rage, pain, and madness were reflected in his eyes. He had survived this long because he hadn’t broken those vows to his wife. Nineteen months he had been in this hell, and he hadn’t broken.
“Nathan, just a little longer,” she whispered. “Kell will be here. He’ll take us both out of here and it won’t hurt anymore.”
“Everything hurts,” he said roughly, dragging the blanket closer to his nude body.
“Will she know I loved her?” he asked as he huddled against the wall.
Emily felt her lips tremble. “She knows.”
He paused, his eyes closing briefly before focusing on her once more. “I’m sorry,” he said then. “It’s the drug. It’s hard to find her when the drug is like this. I search and search for her. I can hear her. But I can’t find her.”
For a moment wry humor entered his eyes before the madness took his gaze once again.
A scream echoed through the cell then. Emily’s head swung toward the door, hearing the rat-a-tat of gunfire and voices suddenly raised in alarm. Her eyes flew back to Nathan.
“Kell.” She moved carefully to the side of the cot. “Kell’s here, Nathan. Do you hear that?”
He held the knife easily, tracking her every move.
“Listen, Nathan.” The gunfire was closer. “He’s here. You can’t give up.” Tears fell from her eyes then, fear and pain, rage and joy surging inside her all at once as Nathan stepped closer.
In his eyes she saw his death. The drug had stolen what little sanity Nathan Malone possessed and all that was left was the animal the SEALs had created. The drug could rule the body, but the man had been trained, honed, and molded into a creature of death. And rather than betray all he loved, he would die.
The man was stripped away now, and all that was left was the creature.
“Oh God, Nathan, please. He’s here. Kell is here,” she whispered beseechingly. “Don’t let them take this from you. God, please, don’t let them steal your rescue.”
She had to make him see reason, had to make him listen. What had he said earlier? A certain position reminded him of his wife.
She laid her head back against the wall, revealing only her profile to him, fighting to breathe, certain this was her last chance. If he didn’t see reason now, then she was going to be a bloody mess when Kell arrived.
“Kell is here,” she said again, softer this time. She had no idea what his wife sounded like, but she was giving it her best shot. “He’s come to rescue you, Nathan.”
He blinked back in confusion.
“Don’t you want to go home?”
His hand shook.
“I want to go home, Nathan. I just want to go home.” She wanted to lie in Kell’s arms, she wanted to hear him whisper to her again. “Let’s go home, Nathan.”
“Home is gone.” His hand gripped the knife tighter. “Home is gone. Goodbye.”
“STOP THAT FUCKING COPTER. STOP it now, goddammit.” Kell sprayed a round of gunfire at the copter as it lifted off, wavering for a second before banking and heading out to sea and taking
Fuentes with it.
He was escaping again.
“Son of a bitch.” Throwing the assault weapon over his shoulder, Kell sprinted the few feet to the cell where Emily was being held.
Kell jerked the Beretta from the holster on his hip, shot the lock free and burst into the room. Into hell.
“Fuck!”
Naked, aroused, a homemade knife held in his hand, Nathan jerked Emily from the cot and pushed her behind him.
Irish blue eyes stared back at him in madness as Emily’s dark eyes, wide with terror, watched him hopefully.
“He’s drugged,” she gasped. “The Whore’s Dust. A lot of it.”
“Shut up,” Nathan yelled, the knife wavering in his hand. “Stay away from her. Let her alone.”
Not his fault. She mouthed the words silently; tears tracking down her cheeks as Nathan dragged her closer to him.
That was his little fox. Always fighting for someone else.
“Nate.” Kell kept his voice low despite the desperation clawing inside him. “Let’s go, Nate. It’s time to evac.”
Nathan blinked back at him. “Evac?”
“The chopper is outside, Nate. Time to get the girl out of here and go home. Your wife is waiting for you, Nate. You gonna disappoint her?”
For a second, Kell swore he saw a hint of sanity in Nathan’s eyes.
“They found the tracker,” Nathan growled. “The heel won’t work.”
God! They would have cut that damned tracker out of the heel of his foot. Son of a bitch.
“We don’t need it, Nate,” he said softly. “Come on, man, let’s go home.”
“I won’t let you hurt her,” Nathan growled. “They left her here to hurt her. So you could hurt her. I could hurt her. Someone was going to hurt her.”
“Not anymore, Nathan. We have Fuentes and Clay,” he lied, his eyes locked on that knife. “Let’s go home, man.”
“Home?” The knife wavered as he seemed to stumble.
And then Emily moved. How she did it, how she knew to do it, Kell had no idea. Before he could jump for her, her elbow slammed into Nathan’s undefended belly as her other hand locked beneath his wrist and pushed at it just enough to give Kell the chance to jump for Nathan and pull her free.