Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
S itting in the chair beneath the window, Gigi was too numb to scream, her senses too dull to cry or beg. Her survival instinct was buried deep in her gut, but for the life of her she couldn’t dig it out.
Not when the cool plastic beneath her was almost as cold as her grave would be. Not when the light of the camera was as bright as the gates of Heaven promised to be.
Her body was weak and her mouth as dry as the stale, musty air of a crypt.
Moments before, she’d thought she’d heard movement outside the window. But no, that had been wishful thinking. There’d been no bullets, no shouts. No rescue.
Just Marko setting up the camera that would film her torture and death for the sake of tormenting and haunting her family.
That realization made her eyes mist over. She sniffed and fought the urge to make one more attempt at reaching Marko. Moving away from the tripod, he stepped in front of her and tilted his head as if to be sure it was positioned correctly.
Instinct kicked into gear and Gigi swung her foot, catching Marko in the back of the knee. He howled and went down hard.
Fight swam through her and she kicked again, this time getting him in the nose.
“Dammit!” He grabbed her leg and twisted.
She yelped and Marko surged to his feet, glowering at her. A second later, Alvarez walked into the room. “What’s going on?”
Marko kept his back turned to Alvarez for a beat, wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve, and turned. “Nothing. All set.”
Suspicion crossed Alvarez’s face, but he took in the propped-up camera and the plastic beneath her chair.
Seeing Alvarez again made Gigi’s blood boil. This was the man she’d been running from. The man who’d sent an assassin after her in Wyoming.
Who’d killed Joe.
And the waitress.
And Taschen.
Her throat constricted. But as she took in his graying hair, slender build, and wrinkled face, she realized he was no match for August. August would chew him up and spit him out.
Satisfaction hiked her lips up into a devious smile.
Alvarez caught her change of expression, and his eyebrows met over the bridge of his nose. “What are you so happy about?”
She grinned and let out a low, taunting chuckle. “Oh, nothing.”
He took a step toward her, his head tilted the way it had been before he shot Alec. “Tell me before I cut out your fucking tongue.”
She screwed up her face. “Eww. Why on earth would that idea even come to mind? Kind of sick if you ask me.”
“I’m not messing with you!” Alvarez’s voice shook the walls, and Gigi’s shoulders scrunched to her ears.
“Okay, fine. Chill out.” She wet her lips, her bravery starting to slip. Why she’d thought pissing off Alvarez was a good idea she’d never know. Maybe she wanted to go out strong.
“Talk,” he spat.
She lifted a shoulder with as much nonchalance as she could muster. “It’s just that you’re going to die a slow and painful death and you don’t even realize it.”
Marko inhaled sharply. Alvarez’s face darkened, and then he laughed, throwing back his head. He brought his gaze back to her, his shoulders shaking slightly as he drew closer. “You think the man I duped is coming to save you? Aw, chica. You’re wrong.”
He trailed his finger along her shoulder then down over her collarbone, where her ripped shirt revealed the lace bra covering her. “I’m going to kill you and then him for what he did to my brother, Fernando. No one hurts my family and gets away with it.”
Gigi’s skin turned cold everywhere he touched her. She wanted to lash out. To kick and scream, but something told her to save her energy because she was going to need it.
“It’s a shame I need to make an example out of you. Otherwise, you’d be fun to sell.”
His words shook her core. Fear shot through her with the force of an earthquake.
“Marko,” Alvarez said calmly. “Start the video.” He reached inside his suit jacket and withdrew a knife.
Gigi’s gaze widened on the closed switchblade. Her insides clenched and her heart thundered a mile a minute. She was vaguely aware of Marko moving behind the camera.
Alvarez’s rough hand locked on her jaw. He bent his head and closed his thick, rough lips over hers. His fingers squeezed her mouth and forced her lips to loosen. He swept his tongue inside. Revulsion spiked up her esophagus.
Using all her strength, she fought against his hold and chomped down. Hard. Alvarez yanked away and yelled. Blood dripped from his mouth, and rage unlike any she’d ever witness flashed in his eyes.
Gigi’s chest heaved with unspent adrenaline. She jerked against the chair. Her brain flickered, on the verge of blacking out.
The snapping sound of the metal blade flipping open made her freeze. The shiny steel glinted in the camera’s light.
Alvarez’s eyes glittered with excitement. He reached for her face. “Open up,” he taunted, in a singsong voice.
Gigi twisted away but he grabbed her chin. He worked his thumb into her mouth to pry open her teeth, ready to grab her tongue.
Ice-cold terror coated her skin in its frosty fingers. Gigi kicked him in the shin as hard as she could. He faltered, letting go.
And then she let loose a scream with the power to wake the dead.
***
August stood at the door, completely still, his fingers still on the doorknob. He hadn’t planned on killing a dog today. Really didn’t want to do that. Fuck.
He also didn’t want to get his face torn to shreds or alert the men inside the house to his presence. The dog didn’t bark. But the growls and snuffling sounds told August the animal was on alert and suspicious.
An ear-piercing scream tore through the house.
Gigi.
No longer giving a damn whether the dog attacked him, August blew through the door. The dog yelped and then began barking ferociously but didn’t attack. Instead, it ran through the kitchen toward the hallway ahead of August.
His gaze swept every nook and cranny as he ran, his AR-15 poised in front of him. Yelling sounded from the back of the house—from the bedroom he’d been right outside of.
A man spat orders in Spanish. August’s chest pinched. The scream had stopped. Why wasn’t she screaming?
He skidded into the bedroom on the tail of the dog. Gigi sat in a plastic chair beneath the window. Alvarez stood next to her, blood dripping from his mouth. Another man in the room pulled out his gun and trained it on August.
“Put it down!” August shouted, swinging the AR-15 around and aiming it at the young guy’s head. The guy immediately turned the gun to the ceiling, palms open, and lowered it. August didn’t dare look right at Gigi.
Not yet.
Her terrified eyes would cut him at the fucking knees.
“ Marko . You fucking useless piece of shit!” Alvarez yelled, as he moved behind Gigi and swept a knife beneath her chin. He held the blade against her pale flesh.
August saw red. Flames licked around his vision. Gigi’s lips were pressed in a flat line, and her jaw was hiked as high as she could to alleviate the pressure on her throat.
“Drop the knife.” The command came out on a tremor, but the quake in his voice had everything to do with the unspent fury rattling his muscles.
The cold sweat on the back of his neck, the constriction in his chest, and the buckle of his knees—that shit was fear.
He didn’t dare take the shot that would end Alvarez. He stood too close to Gigi, was using her as a shield. August couldn’t take the chance yet. He needed Alvarez to move from his crouched position. If the guy shifted even the slightest bit higher, August would have a clean shot at his head.
“Fuck you,” Alvarez hissed. He drove the blade higher, pushing a white line into Gigi’s skin. Her slight frame was too fucking small to be under so much strain.
“August,” she mewled. The tiny catch in her voice undid him.
He locked his gaze on her hazel hues, trying with every fiber of his being to promise her that this was over. But he didn’t move his lips for fear he’d waste precious milliseconds. Gigi’s face hardened and her eyes narrowed.
Shit. He wanted to tell her to stay fucking still, but it was too late. Her shoulders wiggled as her hands did something behind her back and—
“Ah!” Alvarez jumped, rising a couple of inches above Gigi’s head.
August fired. The bullet blasted from his weapon and slammed into the man’s shoulder.
Blood sprayed. Gigi’s screams filled the room. Panic hit August in the chest and seared through his arteries. But then Gigi’s wild gaze landed on him, and her eyes filled with relief. She was okay. She was alive.
He ran forward, needing to disarm Alvarez before he did anything else. The man stumbled to the floor holding his shoulder, knife still in hand. A slew of Spanish curses rattled from his spit-covered lips. Pain contorted the man’s face. Using the butt of his gun, August struck Alvarez’s hand and the knife went flying. August kicked it away.
“Hands in the fucking air!” Ghost’s command rattled the room. Seconds later Rami and Toth swept inside the tight space. The dog barked and whined, clearly confused but also not in attack mode.
“Over here.” August signaled to the guys.
Toth went to the kid with the swollen face and Ghost ran forward to detain Alvarez. August bent to Gigi’s level, grasping her cheeks in his palms.
Relief spasmed in his chest. “Baby.” He searched her face and body. Her cheek and jaw were swollen and bruised, her shirt ripped. “What’d they do to you?” he growled through clenched teeth.
Her bottom lip trembled, and she jerked her shoulders. “Untie me.”
Removing a switchblade from his pocket, he quickly moved behind the chair and then cut the tape binding her. Before he could right himself, she launched herself into his arms.
Without another word, he carried her from the room and the godforsaken house.
***
Oh, god.
He was here. He really was.
August had found her in time. She’d been so far removed from the idea that he’d make it. That he’d get to her before Alvarez maimed her.
He almost hadn’t.
She didn’t smother her sobs. Didn’t even try to stop the flow of tears because there was no stopping the rain after a drought.
His hands were impossibly huge and warm running up and down her back. She hadn’t lifted her head since he picked her up, kept her face snuggled into his neck and inhaled the scent of spice and lime she’d been starved of. “I can’t believe you’re here.” The words came out on a wisp of awe.
He held her tighter. “I’m sorry it took me so long. Sorry they got to you in the first place. It’s my fault, babe. I never should have—”
She burrowed further into him. “Don’t.” She sniffled. “I didn’t think you’d find me.” The rough crunch of rocks beneath August echoed in the dark night.
“I did.” His voice was uneven. “What did you do to Alvarez when he had the knife to your throat? Did you have a weapon behind your back?”
Later she might smirk about it, but not now. “I pinched his, uh... junk.”
August howled. “That’s my girl. You nearly gave me fucking heart failure when I saw the fire in your eyes.”
“Before you got there, I bit his tongue. He kissed me, so yeah, that was disgusting.”
His shoulders bunched beneath her arms, and she sensed his anger.
“It’s all over now,” he said, his voice heavy.
Gratitude filled her. She was safe. Had it all been one horrible dream? It seemed unfathomable that she’d almost died. Had almost been mutilated seconds before August burst through the door.
He slowed, and she heard the sound of a hatchback opening. He deposited her in the back of the SUV, set down his gun, and stripped off his gloves. The interior light shone on them, and she brought her attention to his face. His strong jawline, his overgrown scruff, the fiery emerald eyes that’d stolen her heart so long ago.
Somehow, over those two years, she’d forgotten. Forgotten how strong his hold on her heart was. She’d allowed herself to fall away from him. To ignore the connection bound by current and spirit and something else she couldn’t explain.
“I love you,” she said on a sob.
He brought his forehead to hers. “I love you, too. Jesus Christ, I almost lost you.”
She dragged her palm over his stubble, savoring the abrasion on her skin. “You didn’t, though.”
His hands gripped her shoulders, and he pulled back an inch. “Who hurt you?” He put his knuckle beneath her chin and smoothed a thumb along the place where she’d been hit.
She winced, and pain throbbed across her cheekbone. “Alec. The dead one in the bedroom.”
His gaze darkened. “Did they touch you? Any of them?”
“Alec, he... tried.” She swallowed down the memories, but August’s earnest stare warmed her face.
“Baby,” he said softly, pained.
She knew he needed to hear more. She had to give him that. “He didn’t get far. He ripped my clothes and—” She took in a shuddering breath and met his gaze. His green eyes swallowed her whole and filled the aching chasm in her chest.
Without even trying, August fed her strength.
“He tried to rape me.” She wouldn’t let the memories shake her. August was here now.
His jaw twitched. “What happened?”
“He was on top of me. I was fighting him. But before he could... do anything, the dog attacked him. After that, he wasn’t in good shape. Then Alvarez came. He was angry at Alec and killed him.”
“Good. And the other guy?”
She shook her head sadly. “I don’t think he wanted to do everything he did. But Alvarez owns him. He didn’t hurt me, though.”
“Alvarez didn’t try anything?”
Fresh tears rushed to her eyes, and shivers took hold of her bones. August reached into a duffel bag and pulled out a sweater. He fit the material over her head then pulled her back into his arms. “Tell me.”
She clung to his muscled side, her cheek nestled against the breadth of his hard chest. “He was going to cut out my tongue,” she whispered.
August’s body clenched. He pulled away. “What?” Incredulousness flashed in his eyes.
“That’s what he was about to do before you came in. That’s what the camera was for. He wanted to film that for you and... my family to watch.”
August’s fingers threaded through her hair and cradled her scalp. “That sonofabitch.” The curse rumbled from his throat.
Footsteps sounded on the gravel, and August turned and reached for the gun next to her.
“It’s me.” Toth approached with one hand raised. “Just wanted to see how everyone’s doing.”
“I’m okay.” Gigi forced a smile.
“I’ve got some water and food in the car.” Toth’s sympathetic gray eyes shifted from her to August. “We’ve got about five minutes tops before cops are on the scene because of the shots fired. If there’s anything you, uh, want to take care of, you need to do it now.”
August’s hand flinched on her spine. “Will you be okay for five minutes?”
She rolled in her lips and searched his face. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to kill anyone because of me.”
His brow furrowed and his jaw shifted. “Babe. I’m not doing anything because of you. I’m doing it to protect you. And I always will.”
Intensity burned in his eyes, and the fear she’d had about him committing murder under duress vanished. The glaring truth was that this was who August was. Protective, fierce. Someone who didn’t do anything half-heartedly.
She nodded, and he picked up his gloves and fit them back over his hands.
Then he brushed his lips over her temple. “Five minutes,” he promised. He jogged down the alley.
Toth held out his hand.
She took it and slid out of the back of the vehicle. “How about that water?”