Chapter Sixteen
Caius
I ’m numb.
Have been since the emotional reunion of LuLu with her parents at the Tulsa International Airport yesterday morning. I gave her one last hug and then I had to walk away.
It was like losing Calista all over again.
So fucking painful.
Nees, from the driver’s seat of his pickup truck, beats on the steering wheel in time with the rock music he’s listening to. I’m just grateful he’s driving for the last leg of our journey.
I’m going back to New York.
Not the city. This time, we’re traveling upstate to a location that was difficult to find. But we did.
Because Huxley is the president now, all his properties and businesses have been locked down tight by the government. But between me, Koyn, and Bermuda, we figured it out.
I hope to God Romy and Kaitlyn are there.
“I know you want to go in there guns blazing,” Nees says as he turns down the music. “I can see it in how tense you are. Prez ain’t gonna go for that.”
Sighing heavily, I shift to look at him. “Why the hell not?”
“We need to get a lay of the land first. See what we’re up against.”
“They don’t have guns. We do.” I scrub my palm over my face. “I don’t see why we can’t just rush them.”
“Just sayin’,” Nees states with a shrug. “I’m betting Prez will want us to settle somewhere close and regroup.”
“Maybe I should just go on my own.”
“You promised the head of the king cobra, man. Being stupid won’t get us that kill. Trust the process.”
I have no choice.
“There are five entry points in total,” one of the bikers named Payne says as he gestures at his laptop. “The main entrance would be the most obvious. There’s a break room on the southeast side of the building. Probably our easiest access with lowest risk of getting seen.”
I’m tired of being cramped in this hotel room with a bunch of burly guys, making detailed plans of attack. Why can’t we just act already?
“We’ll hit them at midnight,” Koyn states. “I doubt they’ll have a lot of staff at that hour. Not sure of the patients who’ll be there. Our goal is to capture those who are useful and subdue those who are not.” He glares pointedly at Dragon. “Don’t kill anyone. Least not yet.”
“Boring,” Dragon mutters with a fake yawn.
Cove sniggers from beside him and playfully elbows him.
I’m glad someone’s having fun around here. I feel like I’m going to go fucking insane if we don’t do something already.
Hours later and we have a solid plan. I check over the weapons I’ve been given, ready to use them if necessary. Since the hotel is close to the location, we all slip out on foot, dispersing into the woods.
This is a more covert operation than I’d expected. Now that we’re doing it, I’m glad I didn’t get what I wanted earlier. If we have any hope of saving Romy and Kaitlyn, and getting information from these people, precision beats force.
The bikers, usually loud for the most part, are silent as they prowl through the shadowy trees and brush. It’s unnerving knowing they’re all around me, but I can only see Koyn and Nees just beyond my peripheral.
Some vacation.
If only Dad knew what I was up to right now. He’s going to be most unhappy when he learns I turned my “sister” over to her parents and rescued Kaitlyn and Romy.
As I do my best to keep in step with these silent bikers, I can’t help but feel the sting of betrayal. I’ve worked so hard my entire life building a wall around me while I dig a tunnel to find Calista. I knew the type of man Dad was, which is why I kept him at arm’s length.
But, despite all that, he provided for me, taught me, and loved me. I can’t seem to shake off that part of me that aches to lose connection with my family, even though they’ve done nothing but lie and deceive me.
I stumble when my boot gets caught on a root. Nees sniggers until Koyn shuts him up with a sharp hiss. The kid is growing on me. He kind of reminds me of Theo.
My brother is a different sort of pain. This one cuts deeper and will leave a more lasting impact long after I’ve cut these people from my life. All I wanted to do since Dad brought him home was to somehow protect him from the darkness he’d walked into.
I failed at that, too.
We come to an opening that overlooks someone’s yard. There’s a cool evening breeze that makes the tire swing sway back and forth, the branch holding it creaking softly.
The facility is beyond another row of trees, but something has me turning to look at the house. Koyn cocks his head at me as if to question my interest. I motion for him to go ahead and point at the house. He gestures for Nees to stay with me.
As soon as Koyn disappears around the next bend of trees, I creep through the yard toward the back patio. The steps groan under my weight. I gingerly make my way over to the French doors and peer into the darkened living room. Barbie dolls are scattered on the coffee table. My chest tightens.
Are they here?
There’s a picture frame on an end table, but it’s too far away for me to make out the details. I’m pretty sure it’s a man, a woman, and a child.
Just some family.
I turn to indicate we should follow the others, when I hear it.
A scream.
One filled with pain and terror.
The hairs on my arms stand on end.
It’s a woman. When she does it again, I realize I recognize it.
Romy.
“It’s her,” I hiss, backing up so I can try to charge my way through the door.
Nees stops me by grabbing my bicep. “Let me break in. I can do it with my knife. Stealth mode, remember?”
As much as I want to ignore him and do it my way, I know he’s right. If he can get us in without making a scene, we’ll be able to sneak up on them.
It’s hard to stand by when you can hear the woman you love screaming for help.
The woman I love?
My heart aches at the thought of someone hurting her. I’m desperate to protect her from the entire world. I miss everything about her so damn much. If that’s what love for a woman feels like, then yeah, I guess that’s what it is.
Nees messes with the door for a long twenty seconds or so before it pops open. He pockets the knife and then pulls his Glock out. I stalk past him into the home. The sounds of sobbing are coming from the back, behind a closed door. Two doors down the hallway, a dog starts barking. Nees rushes past me to check in that direction.
The door where I can hear her crying is locked. A well-placed kick sends it flying open. Light from a bedside lamp reveals a scene that sickens me.
A blond woman is naked and curled into a ball, trembling violently. Her arm is stretched at an odd angle, handcuffed to the headboard. My gaze lands on her ass that is covered in blue striped bruises and scabbed over welts.
Rage bubbles up inside me, causing everything to turn red except her. She’s lying in a puddle of what looks to be semen.
The bathroom door is closed. I can hear the shower running. Whoever did this to her is inside, showering as if this is fucking normal.
Is it normal?
Has he been raping my damn woman for the past six months?
I storm into the bathroom. A bearded man gapes at me in shock through the glass. He’s covered in suds, clearly washing away the evidence of his depravity.
Unable to see anything but him and the horror he caused her, I raise my weapon and don’t think twice.
Pop!
The glass bursts into a million pieces as the bullet pierces the door. With a groan, the man stumbles back into the wall. He grabs at his stomach with desperation as if his soapy hand can do something about the bullet hole there.
Newsflash. It cannot.
I put another bullet in his thigh. This makes him scream in pain as he crashes to the floor. Once I turn off the water, I crouch near him, glass crunching beneath my boots. I dig the hot barrel of my gun into his thigh, reveling in the horrified scream that escapes him.
When I look at his face, I realize I recognize him. Dr. Portman. That douchebag who wanted to dance with my woman the night of President Huxley’s event. The same night I asked her to marry me.
Blind rage is quelled by satisfaction as I watch his face drain of color. Crimson blood pools beneath his naked body.
“You took her from me,” I growl. “You fucking took what’s mine.”
His head lolls to the side and he groans. “My wife. Mine.”
This fucking guy.
I lift the Glock and fire another shot, this one putting a hole through the center of his neck, destroying his throat. He’ll never say those words again. Or any for that matter.
“Mine,” I snarl. “Always mine.”
Someone screams from behind me and then a little kid runs with her bare feet over the glass past me. “Daddy!”
“Fuck,” Nees snaps nearby. “She was too quick.”
I realize the girl clinging to the dying man in front of me is Kaitlyn.
“You killed my daddy,” she says, crying hysterically. “Please don’t kill my mommy too.”
“Get her out of here,” I rasp out to Nees.
He huffs because this isn’t going to be easy. Sure enough, when he grabs Kaitlyn, she flips the fuck out, screaming and clawing at anything and everything. Dr. Portman stares at her, eyes glazing over as his life bleeds out of him.
Nees stalks out of the bathroom with Kaitlyn howling. I stand and follow after him but stop at Romy’s bedside. A key for the handcuffs sits on a dresser out of her reach.
“I’m here, love,” I murmur as I unlock the handcuffs as gently as possible. “I came for you. I found you. I’m getting you out of here now.”
She’s crying hysterically now. I manage to pull her onto her back so I can see her face. A massive bruise covers one side of her swollen face. That motherfucker hurt her so badly.
I lean forward and softly press my lips to hers. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
“Caius,” she chokes out before losing it to more sobs.
Hugging her to me, I try not to break into tears myself. This woman is broken. I’m terrified to know what all he did to her. I’ve been holed away in Canada for months while she’s been his prisoner. I feel so fucking helpless right now.
“He’s dead,” I assure her. “I killed him for you. I’ll kill them all for you.”
It’s true. I killed my own brother for this woman. I’d do it again if I had to.
“Kaitlyn?”
“She’s safe,” I assure her. “You both are.”
Her mouth finds mine and she kisses me with desperation. I can taste the salt of her tears and maybe mine too. I just want to fix her—to make her happy again.
I’m going to get her out of this place.
One step at a time.
“We need to get you dressed,” I murmur against her lips. “Can you stand?”
She grabs my hand and pulls it down to her stomach. “I have to tell you something.”
“It can’t wait?”
More tears and then words I can hardly understand.
“I’m pregnant. The baby is yours, Caius. We made a baby.”