Fracture (F-BOMB: Curvy Vigilantes #8)

Chapter 6

6

“What do you mean she’s alive?” the boss asked. “That was not what I told you to do. You were supposed to find out what she knows, who she told, and take care of her.”

“I did. I thought I did. She was almost dead when I dropped her at her apartment. I don’t know how the hell she survived,” Benjamin said. He toyed with the stupid ring he wore on his pinky. A sure sign he was nervous.

The boss scowled. This never would have happened if she were a man. They always followed her father’s orders to the letter. But with her, they thought close was good enough.

She drew her gun and fired it past Benjamin’s head, not giving him time to react until the bullet sank into the wall behind him.

Benjamin’s eyes went wide. He knew what that shot meant. And that he wouldn’t get a chance to avoid the next one.

Bringing him up as her second was a risk. But she was running out of people she could trust. They all turned out to be spineless fuckwads instead of reliable soldiers.

“Almost isn’t good enough,” she snarled at him.

“Understood.”

“Just because she said she didn’t tell anyone what she knows doesn’t mean she won’t now.”

Benjamin shook his head, moving forward with a smirk. “She doesn’t remember a damn thing. Amnesia. Doesn’t even know who she is.”

“Well, at least you did something right.”

Benjamin’s grin fell. “Someone had to be there right after I was. I took care of her boss.”

“Is that how you want me to take care of you?”

Benjamin took a step back. “No. I will handle the agent. And anyone else she told about you.”

“You better, or the next shot won’t hit the wall first.”

Benjamin glanced back at the hole in the wall. He nodded once, then turned and headed for the door.

As soon as it was closed behind him, the boss sank to her chair. She wasn’t safe. That fucking agent knew her name. She knew too fucking much. And Benjamin let her live.

“Nina!” The boss stood and stomped her way from the office to her attached suite. It was one of many, and the one she spent most of her time in. Also, the one where her best friend stayed. “Nina!”

“Are you okay?” Nina came around the corner, hurrying to the boss’s side. “What happened?”

The boss sank into the oversized chair next to the fireplace. A fire smoldered, enough to crackle and give off the scent but not so much to heat the already warm room in the middle of summer. “Agent Sloane is alive.”

Nina sucked in a breath. “She is?”

The boss nodded and burrowed deeper into the chair. “Benjamin fucked me over. He was supposed to take care of her. He never would have done it if my father was in charge.”

“Your father isn’t in charge. You are.”

That was what she loved about Nina. Nina always made her smile. Reminded her of what she was capable of. “You’re right. He’s not here.”

“And everyone knows you are in charge, and that you are more than capable of handling anything. You’ve proven that.”

She sat up straighter and smiled. “I have. Damon and the cops, Trevor, the girls who ran. None of them lived to tell their stories. They learned their lessons.”

Nina nodded. “You take care of us. There’s no reason anyone would want to leave here.”

The boss looked up at Nina. Her beautiful red hair and those gray-green eyes that couldn’t lie if her life depended on it. Nina had been her confidant for years. The one person she could count on to always be there for her and always tell her the truth.

“I love you, sis.”

Nina smiled. “I love you, too.”

They weren’t sisters, but it felt like they were. If she’d had a sister, she imagined it would be the same relationship. Someone she took care of, someone she gave everything to, someone she made sure was happy and safe and loved.

The boss sighed. “I always feel better after talking to you. Do you want to watch a movie? It’s been a long day.”

“Sure. What are you in the mood for?”

“You pick. But nothing happy. Those movies about people falling in love with their brother’s friend or some stupid shit make me sick. Things like that don’t actually happen. Not to people like us. We have to rely on each other.”

Nina nodded and turned to grab the remote. “A classic?”

The boss chuckled and got up from her chair. “A classic sounds good.”

She sat out on the couch next to Nina as the opening credits started. They both raised the footrests at the same time, then chuckled and leaned toward each other.

Nina’s hair smelled a little funky. It had been a while since the boss gave her extra shower time. She was usually with the rest of the girls and only got a shower before she was supposed to meet with someone, but the boss had been pulling Nina out of the rotation more lately. She needed her.

The movie played, and as the main character smiled through her first kill, the boss felt herself relax. It was a good night for murder. It always was.

The suite around him settled down, and Vinnie knew he had to report in to his boss. Damien had been more than generous letting Vinnie stay in Boston as long as he did, but slow rolling the trip home and then letting Lorelei stay with him might push his boss over the edge.

It was late, but Vinnie knew Damien would answer.

“Are you going to be at work tomorrow?” Damien asked in lieu of a greeting.

“I’m not in Niagara Falls yet.”

“Where the fuck are you?”

“A hotel in Albany.”

“I hope this is a personal expense because I didn’t authorize it.”

Vinnie shook his head. “It’s being handled.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means I’m still with Lorelei Sloane and her family. Her cousin and the cousin’s boyfriend wanted to ride back with Lorelei and found out I had my personal vehicle. Asked if they could all ride with me.”

Damien snorted, then burst out laughing.

Vinnie listened to his boss laugh for a solid minute. He knew better than to interrupt him.

“You got yourself in the middle of a fucking show, didn’t you? Damn. I have a job for you. Tomorrow. We’re supposed to be on shift. I was counting on you being here.”

Vinnie looked around the expensive suite that made him feel like he was out of place. He wasn’t a high-level kind of guy. The motel around the corner with the busted sign and cage around the front desk attendant was more in his price range. Not the suite overlooking the water with the valet parking and all glass entrance.

“I didn’t know I was going to get roped into driving them all back. Or that Lorelei wouldn’t be able to sit in the car for long. She needed to stop every hour or two at the most.”

“Are you going to make it back tomorrow? To be on shift the next day?”

“Yeah, but?—”

“Good… but what?”

“She’s staying with me. Until she’s healed.”

“Are you fucking…” Damien drew a long breath and let it out slowly. “You have a job, Vinnie. One you worked your ass off to get. What the hell is going on?”

“You know this is important. That she’s important.”

“Yeah, I do. Everyone knows. But not everyone left the fucking city to go find her like you did.”

“I…” Vinnie couldn’t explain what drove him, but Damien was human. He would understand a connection. “She’s a friend of a friend. And she knows something. She has to, or this wouldn’t have happened. It’s all connected. If she disappeared forever, what she knows is gone, too. We might never find out what’s going on.”

Damien sighed again. “I know. I get it. What I don’t know is how I’m going to cover your shifts for however long you’re out. A week or two we’ll manage, but five or six more weeks?”

“The others said they could stay with her. Her cousin and friends. I will be back to work, just not this shift.”

Damien exhaled again. His patience was running thin. “I want to tell you to get your ass back to work and let the FBI fucking deal with their shit, but I know that’s not the right call. And I’ve never gotten a call from the FBI saying you deserve a medal or some shit. We all know this is important.”

“It is,” Vinnie said, thankful Damien wasn’t arguing.

“Okay. I’ll figure it out, but I expect you to check in and keep me updated on how things are going and when you’ll be back.”

“I will. Thanks, Damien. It means a lot.”

“Yeah, well, hurry back. And if you could find a replacement for your shifts, it would mean a lot to me, too.”

“I’ll see what I can do. She’s got some powerful friends.”

“She sure does. Powerful enemies, too.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Get some sleep. We’ll talk soon.”

“Thanks.”

Vinnie hung up the phone and let out a breath. He wasn’t sure how that was going to go, but no one in law enforcement in Niagara Falls thought this was a small thing. They all understood the magnitude of Lorelei Sloane going missing and not remembering anything about who she was or what she was doing when she vanished.

Damien wanted the hell to end as much as the rest of them.

Vinnie turned the TV on in the living room and stretched out on the couch that was a little too small for his five-ten frame and accepted that he wouldn’t get much better sleep on the couch than he did for almost a week in the chair at the hospital.

But at least Lorelei was well enough to be released. It was progress.

Tomorrow, they would make more progress. Getting home. Hopefully.

She laughed. He was a fucking idiot. He told her everything. And he was too fucking stupid to realize she was getting information out of him.

“What the hell are you laughing at, bitch?”

“Is that the worst you can do? Call me a bitch? I’ve been called that since I was a teenager.”

He scowled. Dark hair, dark eyes. That ring. She knew the ring.

Her cheek. He hit her with the ring. It hurt.

She tried to pull her arms up to press her hand to her cheek, but they didn’t move.

“You’re not worth another word,” he said after a minute.

He wasn’t very smart. And it came through whenever she insulted him. Or when she turned his questions around and got the information she needed from him.

“That’s fine. I have all I need from you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’ve given me so much information. I really appreciate the help.”

“The fuck I did. I didn’t tell you a damn thing. You said you already knew it all.”

She smiled. “I lied.”

Rage filled his gaze and filtered into his body. He grew bigger in seconds, like the rage actually inflated him. He punched her face and ribs, the breath pouring out of her and not enough filling the empty spaces he created inside her.

Numbness took over, the pain too intense to process it. Protection. She understood it. She also understood he was going to kill her.

Maybe taunting him was a bad idea. Damn her mouth and always wanting to get the better of someone. She knew better. But it was funny to see the look in his eyes when he realized she played him.

He didn’t stop hitting her until she wheezed, a funny sound exiting through her body. Then he laughed. Loudly and for a long time.

She was tied to the chair she was in, unable to move. Her body slumped to the side, her hands locked in place and keeping her from falling over. Her feet were bound the same way.

She fought to breathe, air rushing from her in gasps and pants that did little to fill her lungs. Everything hurt. Her entire body screamed in pain.

He kept laughing.

At some point, he stopped. She wasn’t sure if he stopped or she passed out, but the sound stopped. Then everything hurt again, like it was fresh. Something hit her ribs, and she screamed. The pain was so intense she thought she was going to be sick.

She bounced. A car? Something. She was hot, sick, and couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t going to survive, and all he was going to do was laugh.

She was in and out of consciousness, trying to figure out where she was, but she couldn’t piece enough together. He was driving her somewhere. It seemed like it was taking a long time, but it could have been a few minutes.

“Too much to drink,” he said.

She groaned, trying to figure out what he was talking about. They were moving again. Walking. Sort of. He was half-dragging her.

Inside. They were in a hallway. Going toward a door.

Her apartment. He was taking her to her apartment. She could wait him out, then get help. Call someone. Run.

He unlocked her door and ushered her inside. She tripped, nearly falling. She had no strength. No energy. She had to fight back. Get away. Get help.

“You’re not going to get help,” he said.

Had she spoken out loud, or could he read her mind?

“No, if you go anywhere, you might tell someone what you know. And that would be really bad.”

She stumbled again, tripping over her own feet.

He lifted her. Her arm was thrown over his shoulders, giving him all the advantage. They got almost to the couch, and she tripped once more.

With her body half on the ground, he lifted his foot and stomped on her ankle.

The crunch was almost as bad as the pain that made her head spin. She tried to scream, but all her other injuries stopped her from making any noise. Bile rose in her throat, but she choked it back. Throwing up would hurt more.

“Now you can’t run away. No one is going to find you. And everything you know will die with you. Nice knowing you, Agent Sloane.”

He dropped her on the couch and walked out, closing the door quietly and leaving her alone with her pain to keep her company.

A door closed somewhere, and she opened her mouth to yell. Instead of mind-numbing pain, a sound came out. A shout that woke her up.

“A dream,” she breathed.

Lorelei looked around the strange room. Darkness surrounded her. Panic settled in as her eyes adjusted and her memory came back.

Hotel.

Karli and Cade.

Vinnie.

Lorelei drew a deep breath. It hurt, but not as badly as it had in the dream she had.

Her dream.

There was a man. A man who beat her. He wanted information from her. But she played him.

Lorelei closed her eyes and tried to remember what he told her. It was there. Stuck in her mind. In her dream, she knew it. She knew all of it.

But awake, outside her dream, she still didn’t know anything.

Lorelei got out of bed and nearly fell on her face. “Crutches.” Tears sprang to her eyes. He stomped on her ankle to make sure she didn’t get help. But help came anyway. Vinnie found her.

But he wasn’t there now. He held her every night and kept the nightmares away. He protected her, kept her safe, made sure nothing hurt her, even her own broken mind.

But she was alone. Vinnie was only there when she didn’t know she needed him so much. Since he told her about the panic attacks, he hadn’t helped. He pulled back. He left her alone.

She hobbled to the bathroom and propped the crutches against the wall. She used the handicap rails to lower herself to the toilet and emptied her bladder, then pulled herself up and replaced her clothes. She hobbled to the sink and washed her hands, then went back to her bed.

She didn’t want to know what happened. She didn’t want to remember. She knew there was more, but it was too painful. Too hard. She wasn’t strong enough to face it.

Lorelei sat up in bed and stared at the walls. Going back to sleep would risk having another dream. Remembering more about what happened to her. She shook her head and pulled her good leg to her chest. She wrapped both arms around her knee and watched the door.

She wasn’t going to be caught off guard again. She couldn’t. She had to be strong and protect herself. Especially if Vinnie was done protecting her. She was on her own.