Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lynx
I fumbled for the water, shutting it off without leaving the warmth of Reagan’s body. I even picked her up and carried her out of the bathroom and back to the bed. We were both dripping wet, but I didn’t care about that.
The only thing that mattered to me was making love to this woman right here, right now.
“Reagan,” I whispered against her lips as I settled myself between her legs, her thighs cradling my hips as I pushed inside her, skin to skin.
I was overcome by emotion, something I hadn’t felt before. It was as though my heart was too big for my chest, threatening to explode.
Burying my face in her neck, I made love to her, as slowly, as perfectly as I could.
My hips shifted forward, back, my cock tunneling in and out of her body.
The way she cradled my head with one arm, her other hand sliding over my back, had those emotions rioting.
I'd never felt as whole as I did right at that moment. Here. With her.
“You’re it for me,” I repeated, my words muffled by her skin.
“And you’re it for me,” she replied.
Lifting my head, I met her gaze. “Forever, Reagan. That’s what this is. I won’t let you go. I can’t.”
Her smile was so sweet.
I locked my gaze with hers. “And you can be as ornery, as stubborn, as sassy as you wanna be and that won’t ever change a thing.”
Her eyes glistened with tears.
“From here on out…”
Reagan nodded, her eyes never leaving mine.
The mere thought of getting her pregnant was an aphrodisiac like no other. I loved this woman to the depths of my soul. I had always known that my life would never be complete without her. And I'd held out for the most part.
But now that I had her … no way would I ever let her go.
“Love me, Lynx,” she whispered, pulling my head down to hers.
I melded my lips to hers as I pumped my hips. My pace increased, my thrusts grew shallower as I found myself wanting to be as close to her as I could be. Resting on one elbow, I loved her, just like she’d asked. I loved her with everything that I was.
And when I finally brought us to the brink of ecstasy, spilling my seed inside her, I held on as tightly as I could, feeling the last part of myself go.
She owned me.
Heart, body, and soul.
Kelly
“You won’t get away with this,” I snarled.
I had no fucking clue where I was or what these assholes were planning to do to me. I vaguely remembered the car ride. I was pretty sure it had taken several hours, but I'd drifted in and out of consciousness.
I'd heard the name Adorite on more than one occasion, but I had yet to see anyone other than the black guy who’d been impersonating a cop and a taller man wearing a suit and a somber expression.
“What the fuck do you want from me?” I snapped, trying to get the attention of the asshole manning the door.
I had already tried to free myself from my bonds, but to no avail. They had me shackled to a chair in this concrete room. There were no windows, just a steel table and a single chair, which I was currently sitting in.
The sound of the lock disengaging had my eyes darting to the door.
Finally.
Fuck.
The door opened slowly and a man walked in.
Not just any man, either.
I recognized him. Every law enforcement officer in the state would recognize Maximillian Adorite.
The guy was the notorious leader of the Southern Boy Mafia.
He was ruthless, and his list of crimes was long, yet he’d never been charged with a damn thing.
And the FBI had been trying for years to nail the Adorite family with something, anything.
Oddly enough, the Adorite patriarch had been killed sometime back, and Max had quickly moved into the role of boss, taking over for his father.
If I played my cards right, I figured I could probably get on this guy’s good side. At this point, I was willing to do just about anything. Hell, I had more money than I knew what to do with. The life insurance policies I'd had on my wives had padded my bank accounts nicely.
I knew every man had his price, and I was more than willing to pay whatever I needed to in order to get out of this fucking dungeon.
“Mr. Jackson,” Max greeted, his tone flat, his brown eyes cold.
“Why am I here?” I demanded.
A small smile tilted the corner of his mouth. “I find it amusing that you’d even ask that.”
“I have no beef with you,” I retorted. “So I’m sure we can get this misunderstanding cleared up and I can be on my way.”
“To where?” Max asked. “Embers Ridge?”
I frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“No?” Max watched me closely. “That wasn’t you who blew up that little bar?”
“Bar?” I feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about? I’m the goddamn chief of police. In Houston. Why the hell would I—”
“Oh, cut the shit,” Max sneered, his eyes locking on my face. “I’ve heard that girl’s story. And let me tell you, once was more than enough.”
“What story? What girl?”
“Does the name Amy Manning ring a bell?”
“No,” I lied easily.
“Really?” Max chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Maybe you know her as Jane Doe.”
I was working hard to conceal my reaction, but I got the feeling Max could see right through me. Knowing this would move along faster if I would just own up to whatever it was Max thought he knew, I decided to change the direction of the questioning.
“What does she have to do with you?”
“Everything,” Max stated easily. “Every goddamn thing.”
There was a knock on the door and Max pivoted around to open it. Someone passed something to him and then he was turning back toward me, holding … a pen and paper, plus a cell phone.
Okay, so the latter gave me hope.
Max laid the items on the table in front of me. “I’m gonna give you two options here.”
I sat back, prepared to argue, but Max held up a hand.
“Let me finish.”
I nodded.
“Your first option is to make a list of your transgressions, including the kidnapping and torture of Amy Manning, as well as your part in the deaths of your first wife, your second wife, Amy Manning’s aunt and uncle, as well as Detective Tannenbaum.
Oh, and while you’re at it, you can confess to the attempted murder of Amy Manning. ”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
Max continued as though I had said nothing. “Once that’s done, I’ll need you to sign and date the suicide note, as well.”
“The what?” I sat up straight, fear lancing through my bones. Okay, drastic times call for drastic measures. “Wait. I’ve got money. I can pay you. Then you can let me go and no one’ll be the wiser.”
“Pay me, huh?”
Yeah, I knew money would appeal to a man like Max.
“Absolutely.”
“That’s somethin’ to consider.”
I nodded toward the cell phone. “I can wire the money to your account right now.”
Max seemed to consider this for a moment. “I’m listening.”
“One hundred thousand dollars,” I offered.
One dark eyebrow lifted, signaling that Max wasn’t impressed.
Shit.
“One hundred fifty,” I said.
“Five hundred thousand,” Max countered.
“Fine.”
Before I knew what was happening, Max touched the screen on the phone, bringing it to life, then typed in the numbers.
“How do you know my account?” I asked, a sense of dread filling me.
Max’s smile was what I would’ve envisioned on the devil. “I know everything about you, Mr. Jackson.”
Glancing down at the phone again, I watched as he hit more buttons and then the screen showed “Transfer Successful.”
“So you’ll let me go, now?” I asked, hating how hopeful I sounded.
“No.”
I jerked, trying to break my arms free, but nothing happened.
“You finished yet?” Max asked, his patience seemingly never-ending. “While you’re still considering your first option,” Max continued, “maybe you should hear your second.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I fucking paid you.”
“You did. And I thank you for that. Amy Manning will thank you for that.” Max crossed his arms over his chest and regarded me once more. “If your first option’s not to your liking, then I’ll invite my friend Ace in, and he can take care of things the easy way.”
“The easy way?”
“Yes,” Max stated firmly. “It’s damn sure easier on me because I have shit to do and”—I motioned my hand toward the paper—“waitin’ for you to write all that shit down is gonna take time. I’d much prefer to be on my way.”
“Easy on you?” I asked. “Not me?”
Max shook his head and a sardonic smile turned up the corners of his mouth. The man leaned over and stared me directly in the eye.
“Nothin’s ever gonna be easy for you again, Mr. Jackson. The nightmare you put those women through… Let’s just say hell’s a good resting place for you.”
Max stood to his full height again. I jumped when he shifted the table to the side, revealing…
My eyes went wide when I saw the drain in the floor.
My gaze slid up to the ceiling, noticing for the first time the chains that hung there. My heart pounded in my chest as the fear sliced through me.
“I’ll take the first option,” I blurted. Eating a bullet was a hell of a lot easier than … whatever this man had in store for me.
Max rubbed his chin and I could feel him assessing me.
“You know what?” he said thoughtfully. “I think I’ll have to rescind my first option.”
When Max turned toward the door, I shouted his name, but he didn’t turn back around.
And when the door opened and a tall, bald man stepped inside, his eyes as cold as the steel blades in his hands, I swallowed hard.
“Thanks for comin’ down, Ace.”
“Max!” I yelled.
“My pleasure, boss.”
“Max!”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.”
“Son of a bitch,” I screamed.
Ace nodded and Max stepped out of the room. Before it closed, his head appeared once more. “Sucks, don’t it?”
“What?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“Not having any options.”
I frowned.
Max’s smile was menacing. “Now you know how they felt.”
And with that, he was gone.
The bald man moved around behind me and I jerked against the chains holding me down.
“Don’t worry. No one can hear you, so feel free to scream,” the scratchy voice said from behind me. Ace’s head appeared beside my face. “I like it when they scream.”