18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
CLARE
I was tired, but I wasn't afraid when Liam stopped at the stop sign until another car seemed to appear from nowhere and ram the car behind us. Then there was another squeal of tires and I felt the sudden jolt as something slammed into us from behind.
"What the—" Liam started, but his words were cut off by the sound of glass shattering.
Everything happened so quickly after that. Men in black masks surrounded the car. I tried to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth as I was dragged from the vehicle. I caught a glimpse of Liam slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling down his face, before a hood was pulled down over my head.
"Got her," a voice said. "Let's move."
I struggled against the hands holding me, kicking and thrashing with all my strength, but it was useless. I was thrown into what felt like the back of a van, my wrists quickly bound behind my back. The vehicle lurched forward, tires squealing as we sped away.
"Daddy," I whimpered, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. "Daddy, please."
"Shut up," a gruff voice ordered, followed by a sharp slap across my face that made my ears ring.
I fell silent, tears soaking into the hood. My mind raced with terrifying possibilities. Was this Blakeny?
The van drove for what felt like hours, though I had no way to track the time. The hood made it hard to breathe, and the plastic ties around my wrists cut painfully into my skin. I tried to focus on what Daddy would do if he were here. He wouldn't panic. He would observe, gather information, look for an opportunity.
But the thought of Blakeny and that cage made me just want to curl into a ball and cry.
Eventually, the van slowed and turned onto what felt like a bumpy road or driveway. When we finally stopped, rough hands pulled me out. I stumbled, my legs numb from being in one position so long.
"Move," someone ordered, shoving me forward.
I was led inside a building. I could tell by the sudden change in temperature and the echo of footsteps on hard flooring. After several turns and what might have been an elevator ride, I was pushed into a chair. The hood was yanked off, and I blinked against the sudden harsh light.
"Hello, you bad Little girl."
That voice. I would know it anywhere. My blood turned to ice as I looked up into Jeremy Blakeny's smiling face.
"Did you miss me?" he asked, reaching out to stroke my cheek. I flinched away from his touch, earning a dark chuckle. "Still defiant, I see. We'll fix that."
"They'll find me," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Daddy will come for me."
Blakeny snarled and the sudden strike whipped my head to the side, pain blooming across my cheek. For a moment I couldn’t even think, and I struggled not to pass out. When I focused again, Blakeny sneered. “I’m your fucking Daddy and never forget that.” I didn’t answer. “Besides,” he scoffed, “he’s a little busy at the moment.”
I frowned. But this didn’t make any sense. How did it make sense for Rice to target his own—
“Fortunately, a competitor invited us to an auction. We hate competition so it was only a small inconvenience to use them as bait.”
I blinked. “But I heard you say Eagle was—”
He laughed. “You don’t think I know that? You really think I would be so foolish as to repeat in your presence something vital when I still hadn’t decided if you were to be sold or not?”
I watched his face, his bravado, and in that second, I knew he was lying. He’d never meant to say anything in front of me, and Rice had been forced to act on it. I couldn’t remember exactly what I’d heard him say. He’d just mentioned a name, and I was sure I’d heard Rice mention a price, and I hadn’t remembered that with Anna. Rice had never owned it. He wanted to buy it. But someone else had and this was revenge. When I’d been freed, Rice set it up to kill two birds with one stone. Distract the guys to take out a competitor and take me at the same time.
Blakeny leaned closer, his fetid breath hot against my face. "I've been three steps ahead the entire time."
Except he hadn’t. Rice, I could believe, but not Blakeny, and he didn’t even know it. The auction, the girls, the location—it had all been a setup to draw Maddox and his team away.
"Why?" I managed to ask. "Why me? Why not just disappear?"
Blakeny straightened, adjusting his expensive suit jacket. "You were mine, Clare. My most perfect creation. And then you were taken from me." His face hardened. "Nobody takes what belongs to me."
"I don't belong to you," I said, mustering all my courage. "I never did."
His hand struck my face again so quickly I didn't see it coming. My head snapped to the side, the taste of blood filling my mouth. Pain bloomed on my cheek, but I managed to hold in the gasp. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
"You belong to whoever I say you belong to," he hissed, but I could see a tick work in his jaw. He was pissed and for the first time I didn’t think it was at me, or not just. Rice was pulling his strings. And I wondered if Rice was using Blakeny as much as he was using me. He sat back and grinned, then looked at his phone and laughed. “Apparently, they “rescued” all the unfortunate girls and they’ve just found out you’re missing.” He smiled a smile of such sick satisfaction that if I’d had a knife, I was sure I’d plunge it where his heart should have been.
"It's a shame your 'Daddy' will never see you again," Blakeny said, putting a mocking emphasis on the word. "But don't worry, you'll have a new owner soon enough."
I forced myself to stay calm, to think. Daddy would be looking for me. I just needed to survive until then. "Where are we?" I asked, trying to gather information.
Blakeny smirked. "Somewhere your rescuers will never find. A temporary stop before your final destination." He checked his watch. "Someone is eager to see you again."
My blood ran cold. Rice. So, I had been right.
"He was quite displeased when you were taken from us," Blakeny continued, eyeing me triumphantly. "But now he'll see how valuable I still am. Bringing you back will restore my position, but there’s time for me to have a little fun first."
Fun? How I didn’t immediately vomit I didn’t know, but at least the pieces clicked into place. Blakeny had fallen out of favor with Rice after my rescue. This wasn't just about recapturing me—it was about Blakeny proving himself to his boss.
"And you’ll be happy once he has me?" I said, watching his reaction carefully. I didn’t want another hit. "When I will be his good Little girl instead of yours?”
A flash of uncertainty crossed Blakeny's face before his mask of control returned. "You know nothing," he snapped, but I'd seen it—the insecurity, the fear. Then his phone rang, and he stepped away, but I didn’t have chance to even note my surroundings before I was back outside and in another car. I could tell Blakeny was pissed. He’d expected to have me all to himself for a few hours. So, I decided I had nothing to lose and to needle him.
“You know,” I continued the conversation. “Being the Little girl of a billionaire would be quite something. I don’t imagine he would keep me locked in a cage. I imagine he would want to show me off, and obviously I’d be very grateful.” I sighed as if breathless with excitement. “How soon until we get there?”
I heard the roar from Blakeny and was convinced I’d gone too far, but I would never put myself in any situation with him again. Daddy loved me. He was coming for me. I absolutely knew that, and this time I would go down fighting if I had to.
“Turn around,” Blakeny yelled, and banged on the partition.
“Sir,” the driver said uncertainly. “We have to make it to the airport. The flight plan.”
I absolutely knew, thanks to growing up as I did, that missing a flight plan was a bad thing. And in any airport it would mean a delay.
“I don’t care,” Blakeny thundered. “Turn this car around.”
But we were on a two-lane highway with a central barrier. He couldn’t just do a U-turn, so when he slowed to turn, I lunged forward through the still open partition and tried to grab the driver’s arm. Blakeny screamed at me and the driver swerved, pulling up on the side of the road.
Blakeny lost his cool and scrambled out, yanking me from the car, his fingers digging painfully into my arm. The night air was cool against my skin as he dragged me a few feet from the vehicle.
"You think you're clever?" he hissed, his face inches from mine. "You think you can manipulate me?"
I said nothing, my eyes scanning our surroundings. We were on what looked to be a rural stretch of highway, trees lining both sides of the road.
"I’ve changed my mind," Blakeny spat. " You're mine. I invested too much in you to just hand you over."
The driver approached cautiously. "Sir, we need to keep moving. We're exposed here."
“Open the trunk.” The driver hurried to do just that, then turned back. Blakeny lifted his arm, and it was only then that I saw the gun. But he’d shot the driver before I’d even so much as taken a breath.
Blakeny started dragging me to the trunk despite my struggles, his attention fixed entirely on me. "I'm going to break you all over again," he promised, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And this time, I'll make sure there's nothing left of my bad Little girl when I'm done."
I felt a chill run through me at his words, but I forced myself to maintain eye contact. "I’m not your girl,” I screamed. “And I’ll never be yours. I’m a princess and my Daddy is Maddox Rourke and I’ve belonged to him since the day we met."
He raised his hand, but I didn’t flinch. It was only when I saw the red light appear on his forehead and Blakeny jerked then flew back away from me that I realized we weren’t alone.
Then familiar arms had me, crushing me to his chest, and I knew. I just knew. I turned and inhaled Maddox, cried, sobbed. But they weren’t tears of despair, they were tears of joy.
MADDOX
I couldn't breathe properly until Clare was in my arms, her body trembling against mine as I held her tightly. The moment Gideon had told me she'd been taken, everything else had ceased to matter. We'd flown directly back, calling in every resource we had in case he had her on a plane before we could get to her.
"I've got you, princess," I murmured into her hair, my heart still pounding with adrenaline. "You're safe now."
Behind us, Dion was checking both bodies, and I kept Clare’s head to my chest so she didn’t see. Walker stood guard, his rifle still at the ready as he scanned our surroundings. “We need to get out of here,” he said.
"Let me look at you," I said gently, pulling back just enough to examine Clare's face. A dark bruise was forming on her cheek, and there was dried blood at the corner of her mouth. Rage surged through me, but I tamped it down, focusing on what mattered—she was alive, she was here.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked, my hands moving carefully over her arms, checking for injuries.
She shook her head, tears still streaming down her face. "No. I knew you'd come for me, Daddy. I knew it."
I pressed my forehead to hers, overwhelmed with relief. "Always, princess. I will always come for you.”
Gideon approached, his expression grim. "We need to move. Highway patrol will be here soon."
I nodded, gathering Clare closer. "What about them?" I gestured to the bodies.
"There’s nothing to link them to Clare,” Gideon replied quietly. "As for Blakeny, let’s leave him for the cops." He glanced at the still form on the ground.
"Is he...?" Clare whispered.
"He won't hurt anyone ever again," I assured her, guiding her toward our vehicle parked in the tree line. I didn't want her to dwell on Blakeny's fate.
As we walked, Clare leaned heavily against me. "Rice," she said suddenly. "It was Rice all along. Blakeny was just his...his puppet."
I exchanged a look with Gideon. "We know, princess. And we'll get him too. But right now, we need to get you somewhere safe."
Once in the SUV, I wrapped a blanket around Clare's shoulders and held her close as Dion drove us away from the scene. She curled against me, her fingers gripping my shirt as if afraid I might disappear.
"Liam?" she asked quietly.
“He’s going to be fine. He was damned lucky and he’s just come out of surgery. We’ll take care of him.”
“But what about the cops?”
"Eric got a chopper to Liam and moved the car," I explained gently. "All you need to worry about is getting better."
“I know you rescued me,” Clare said slowly, “but I thought you owned night clubs.”
I smiled for what felt like the first time tonight. “That’s our day job.”
Clare nodded against my chest, seeming to accept this. I continued holding her close as we drove, my mind racing with everything that had happened. We'd rescued the women from the auction site, and now we had Clare back. But Rice was still out there, and as long as he remained free, Clare would never be truly safe.
“How did you find me?”
I grinned. Should I tell her a certain little teddy she wore around her neck had a tracking device installed? “Because you belong to me, princess, and I would never lose anything so precious.” She snuggled in deeper, happy with my answer. I might tell her someday.
"Where are we going?" she asked softly after we'd been driving for about twenty minutes.
"Home," I said simply. "Our home."
She looked up at me then, her eyes still damp but with a hint of determination in them. "For good?"
I brushed a strand of hair from her face, careful to avoid the bruise on her cheek. "For as long as you want, princess."
"Forever," she whispered. "I want to stay with you forever."
My heart swelled at her words. "Then that's what we'll do."
When we finally pulled up to the house, I carried Clare inside despite her weak protests that she could walk. I wasn't ready to let her go yet, not even for a moment. Once inside, I took her straight to the bedroom. Xavier had driven us and was organizing patrols just in case.
"Bath first, then bed," I said, settling her gently on the edge of the mattress. "You're safe now, princess."
"The women? Are they okay?" she asked softly when I returned from the bathroom after starting the bath and putting some bubbles in.
I nodded, touched by her concern for others even after what she'd been through. "They're safe. All of them." I studied Clare’s exhausted face, then reached over and picked up Mr. Snuggles. She needed a bath and sleep, and she desperately needed some Little time.
Clare hugged her stuffie tightly to her chest. "I was so scared, Daddy," she whispered, her voice small and vulnerable. "But I tried to be brave. I knew you were coming and needed a delay." Clare had told me what happened, and I was in awe of her. Most people would have panicked, understandably, at being back with that monster.
I knelt in front of her, gently brushing away the tears that had begun to fall again. "You were more than brave, princess. You were amazing."
When I helped her undress in the bathroom, my jaw clenched at the sight of bruises forming on her wrists where the zip ties had cut into her skin. I would make Rice pay for every mark on her body, every moment of fear she had experienced.
"I don’t want my teddy to get wet" she said, and I reached up to remove it, even though I knew the specially made necklace was waterproof.
"Of course, princess. He can sit right here and keep watch." I placed the bear on the sink where he could "see" the tub.
The bathroom was warm and steamy, the tub filled with sweet-smelling bubbles. I got in first and held my hand out for Clare. She sighed as the warm water enveloped her, and she lay against my chest while I soaped her body.
As I gently washed her hair, Clare's eyes began to drift closed. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving exhaustion in its wake. When she was clean, I got out first, dried myself, then lifted her out, wrapped her in a fluffy towel and carried her back to the bedroom so I could dry her hair.
"Step in," I instructed softly, helping her into one of the new onesies I’d bought for her, then I gathered all that beautiful red hair and quickly plaited it. She was practically falling asleep by this time, so I simply got her in bed, and slid in next to her, pulling her into my side. She snuggled in and never opened her eyes.
I barely slept. It had been too close, and when my phone lit up with Eric’s message, I slipped out into the hallway and shut the door behind me and called him back.
“Thought you might want to know that Rice is running scared.”
“What? How?” My heart picked up.
Eric huffed but it was a satisfied sound. “Eagle Reserve is owned indirectly by the Bratva. When I unearthed that, I thought they might find it interesting that an invited guest had arranged for their so-called merchandise to be stolen.”
“Fuck,” I breathed out, knowing he didn’t mean us. “That’s genius.”
“There’s a chance that they might get rid of Rice themselves as punishment, but the important thing is he’s going to be too busy for any kind of revenge, so you can take some time with Clare.”
“Is this ever likely to come back on us?”
He chuckled. “Nope. I made it look like Rice organized the raid. Incidentally, when I say indirectly owned, I mean that while the property is owned by Boris Sidorov, the local Boss, his younger son decided to branch out into trafficking, and guess what?”
I had to swallow heavily before I could speak, but Eric continued. “Boris is a Daddy.”
I blinked. “A Daddy as in—”
“Yep, he has a Little girl. So does one of his sons, and I’m sure you can imagine how they’ll react if they know how Rice treated another Little.”
“You’re a genius.”
But all Eric said was that he was filling in the others and to have a good night. I stared at my phone for a good minute after Eric had hung up, relief coursing through me.
It was over. Or as good as.