Chapter Twenty-Four
She knew it was coming. Even braced herself for it. But Paige still whimpered at the pain that radiated through her when the man’s punch landed on her rib cage.
She had no idea how long the abuse had gone on.
It felt like an eternity. Her abductor let her sleep a bit, so the drug he’d given her would wear off faster.
As the effects lessened, her memory returned.
She wished it hadn’t. As much as she hated feeling confused, she hated knowing the truth even more.
He turned his back to her, and she thought he checked his watch. She’d noticed during one of the times he hit her that he sported a smart watch designed to receive messages as well as keep time. He glanced at it in between his monotonous tirades and hurtful attacks.
“Don’t let me keep you if you have some place to be,” she mumbled.
Her lip was split, and she tasted fresh blood on her tongue after she spoke.
One of her eyes had already swollen shut.
The man had ripped out her earrings while she’d been out of it.
She wasn’t sure if he’d done it because he knew they were transmitters or if he knew it would hurt her to rip them from her earlobes.
Her entire body felt broken. Her spirit felt fractured. She’d stopped hoping she’d be rescued. She’d stopped wishing Ben and his brothers would arrive in time to end the abuse. She’d stopped wishing the man would just kill her and be done with it.
She’d. Just. Stopped.
When the man turned back to her, he appeared amused, but despite the relaxed lines in his face, his eyes were the color of cold steel, hard and unforgiving.
“There’s no other place I want to be, Paige. You are my priority. But our mutual friend has arrived. Now the fun can begin.”
“You mean now you get to kill me?”
He laughed. It was a terrible sound. She squinted her uninjured eye at him, imagining the joy of smashing the laugh out of him with her baseball bat. If only she could get her hands on it or any weapon for that matter.
“I told you. I won’t kill you. There is so much more we can do together. But our mutual friend…he’s a different matter. When I’m through with you, he’s going to get his turn. He’s been waiting a long time.”
“Let me guess. He’s already killed my friend.”
Paige’s bravado slipped when she mentioned Ms. Miller.
The man refused to tell her anything about her friend.
Whenever she insisted he release her landlady, he only punched her and reminded her he was in control.
She’d already figured out the man was working for Darius Boyd, and he toyed with her until Boyd showed up.
She had no idea what kept Boyd, but it would make sense if he was taking care of Ms. Miller before coming to kill her.
“Stupid girl. We don’t have your friend.” The man’s sneer was mocking. “We needed you to believe we did. You fell for it like a stupid bitch.”
Paige felt like the man doused in her ice water. The shock was palpable, and her skin burned.
“You’re lying.”
“You’re stalling.”
His booted foot slammed down on her insole, and she screamed.
He stepped away, checking his watch once more.
She tried to catch her breath, but the pain was too much.
She’d heard stories of people who became detached during times of abuse, numbing themselves to the effects.
Perhaps her abductor was right. She was stupid because she hadn’t been able to make that happen.
She could, however, believe the man about Ms. Miller.
If he told the truth, then Ms. Miller was safe at home and untouched by the evil that targeted Paige.
The idea that her friend was at the mercy of this man or Boyd terrified her, so she chose to believe he said, even if his intent was to mentally wound her and not reassure her.
Paige had been unable to study much of the room she was in.
As far as she could see, the only thing in it was the chair she sat on.
There were no windows. The area was small, giving the man room to pace, but little space for anything else.
The light shining from the single bulb in the ceiling cast a pitiful yellow glow.
It was enough to see by, but not enough to cast away the shadows.
The door to the room opened, jolting her. Paige tilted her head, so her one functioning eye could see a man striding through the opening. He paused to shake hands with her abductor.
“How is our guest doing, Mars?” Darius Boyd never looked her way, but he didn’t have to. She never forgot anything about the man she knew as a murderer.
What the hell kind of name was Mars? She watched the two men interact with each other, talking too low for her to hear.
She didn’t like the lighthearted, cool demeanor they showed, as if they conducted a business luncheon instead of plotting ways to hurt her. Knowing her torture would continue had tears welling in her eyes.
She had already pegged Mars as a calculating sadist. Now he was joined by a murderer, and Paige’s time just ran out.
∞∞∞
“Are we sure this is the place?”
Ben tightened his grip on his weapon as he peered through the trees to watch the building in the valley below.
He could understand Jackson’s skepticism.
As far as hideouts go, the structure left a lot to be desired.
Surrounded by high elevations, the targets would have difficulty defending the building against an attack.
There weren’t any visible security measures or any guards.
The place looked deserted, save for the two vehicles parked out in the open in the front.
“She’s here,” Ben said. “I feel it. My gut senses trouble.”
“Yeah,” Jackson said. “Mine too.”
The coms in their ears chirped. “We breaching or what?”
Jackson and Ben shared a pointed look. “We’re breaching,” Jackson told Easton. “Soft breach. In shifts. I don’t know what we’re walking into, so we have to be smart about it.”
“Copy that,” Easton acknowledged. “Luke and I will take the east side. Breaching in five.”
“Copy,” Jackson returned. “Ben and I will breach from the front. PJ?”
“We’ll approach at the back. Remi, you and Ridge move in on the west side. Cutter, provide cover,” PJ addressed his pilot, who set up a sniper perch with a clear view of the entry and exit points.
“Copy,” Cutter repeated.
Jackson glanced at Ben, and he nodded to show his brother he was ready.
The teams moved in, traversing the hills with skillful precision. They seldom had reason to use the tactical moves they learned in the military, but when they did, their actions were second nature. Their eyes were sharp, their weapons at the ready.
The teams moved in. Ben and Jackson flanked the front door. The windows were boarded, so they had no view of the interior. Jackson used a hand signal to cue his brother. Ben tried the doorknob and found it locked. So much for a surprise entry.
Ben slammed his foot into a soft spot in the door, shattering the locking mechanism. Jackson was first through the door. He went left, and Ben went right.
“Front room clear,” Jackson said a moment later.
The two kept moving with silent steps, as their team reported in.
“Clear.”
“Back room clear.”
“All’s clear here.”
The structure didn’t have a lot of rooms or places for targets to hide. The place was quiet and empty, with dust coating the floor and windowsills indicating that no one had been there for a while. Very little time passed before the team regrouped in the front room.
With his gun secure in his hand, Ben paced liked a caged animal. He’d been certain they’d tracked down where Boyd and Mars held Paige. How could they have gotten this wrong?
“We saw Boyd come inside,” Remi insisted, sounding as frustrated as Ben felt. “Where the hell could he have gone?”
Jackson frowned. “We search again. Check every room, every surface. Look for anything — and I mean anything — that looks out of place or could give us a clue as to where to find Boyd, Mars, or Paige. Luke, you, E, and PJ, check the perimeter for signs that they had a separate vehicle hidden nearby that they used to slip away. It doesn’t make sense for them to leave their cars here and then vanish without some means of transport. ”
Ben pulled at the top of his bulletproof vest. The pressure in his chest built, and sweat beaded along his hairline. “E, you stay. I’ll go with Luke and PJ. I need some air.”
Jackson narrowed his eyes to study Ben. “Take a break. You look like shit.”
“I’m good to keep searching. I just can’t do it in here.” Ben’s eyes pleaded for his brother to understand.
Jackson nodded. “Yeah, okay. Easton, you search in here with us. Luke, PJ, and Ben, take the perimeter.”
The group separated. Once outside, Ben breathed deep, letting the fresh air cleanse the disappointment from him.
PJ and Luke started their search in the area closest to the structure and moving out to cover a greater distance.
With his eyes adjusted to the limited visibility, Ben took a moment to study his surroundings.
The bright moonlight illuminated the valley, so he had a better view of the perimeter than a nighttime search typically allowed.
They were surrounded by rolling hills sprinkled with trees and the one path that led to the front of the building.
He closed his eyes and focused his mind.
He was a Legend, just like his brothers.
And just like his brothers, he brought his own strengths and skills to the job that the rest didn’t have.
He could play pretend. He could put himself in the mind of Paige’s captors.
When he opened his eyes, he scanned his surroundings with a fresh perspective.
“Cutter, you still have eyes on the perimeter?”
“Roger that,” the Atlas Security operative responded over the comm.
“Any evidence of a disturbance in the landscape? Something to indicate a possible underground bunker?”
“Standby.”
Jackson stepped outside the building and stopped next to Ben. He didn’t say anything, only watched and waited. Ben felt like an eternity slipped by before Cutter replied.
“I’ll be damned. Less than a click to the west. Not sure if that’s what you’re talking about, but there’s something there. I doubt you’ll notice it from the ground. Head that way, and I’ll tell you when to stop.”
Jackson scowled. “An underground bunker is a stretch.”
Ben shook his head. “This area is known for survivalist groups who don’t exist without a bunker. In this area, it’s the only way to stay hidden unless they go into the trees. I don’t see that happening.”
Jackson scanned the area, ever watchful. “No way to sneak up on them in a bunker.”
“They’re probably already waiting for us. We probably tripped some alarm when we breached,” Ben reminded him.
“You would be right,” Cutter interjected. “A little mole just stuck his head out of the hatch. Bet you a round at the bar that they’re about to rabbit.”
“Keep your eyes on them, Cutter. Remi and Ridge, secure the building and watch for unfriendlies. Everybody else, we’re heading to the bunker. Going in hot.”
Everyone moved on Jackson’s command. Luke slapped Ben on the shoulder as he came up on his brother’s right side.
“You ready to take down your girl’s boogeyman?” Luke asked before they set off for the back of the property.
“I’m ready to get my girl. The boogeyman is up for grabs.”
Luke grunted. “It’ll be my pleasure to take that bastard out.”
Ben focused on the terrain in front of them. He slowed his breathing, checked his weapon, and swiveled his head to check for any movement around them.
“ATV in the woods. Engine’s warm. Site is clear.”
PJ provided the update, and the back of Ben’s neck started to itch. They were close.
“Target’s running. No sign of hostage.” Cutter’s voice was low over the comms.
Despite his impulse to charge in and put an end to Paige’s nightmare, Ben forced himself to remain calm and methodical. Her safety depended on all them being in control and smarter than her captors.
The bunker appeared in front of them. Cutter was right. They would have missed it if the hatch wasn’t wide open like an X marking the spot.
“Rabbit is two clicks to your west,” Cutter reported, and Jackson, PJ, and a couple of others from Atlas double-timed it in that direction through a thicket of trees.
“Follow my lead,” Ben said just as two forms appeared from the bunker.
“Paige,” he breathed, watching her move unsteadily on her feet. She looked ready to collapse, but she was alive.
His eyes narrowed, his gun poised, Ben positioned himself to take down the man who had taken his Paige.
Luke called out. “Stop! You’re surrounded, so you might as well let her go.”
Mars jerked Paige in front of him, his hold tight and awkward enough to make her cry out.
“He’s got a blade,” Cutter informed, his view sharper through the scope on his sniper rifle than what the team on the ground could make out.
“Stay back! I’ll drop her right here!” Mars shouted at them.
“And we’ll drop you,” Easton retorted. “You’re not getting away, man.”
Paige struggled against him, but Mars only tightened his hold. He started backing away, holding Paige like a human shield.
“No shot,” Cutter reported.
“What’s the play, brother?” Easton asked Ben in a low voice.
Before Ben could answer, gunshots rang out. Mars broke out into a run, dragging Paige behind him. She stumbled to keep up, crying out in pain as they moved. She slowed him down, but he kept his grip on her and made sure she was positioned between him and their gunfire.
Ben began his pursuit, not wanting to lose sight of Paige. He doubted Mars would lead him on a merry chase without an end game in mind, and the man would sacrifice Paige without hesitation. Ben’s speed and long strides closed the distance quickly.
Placing his gun in the side holster, he pitched himself forward. The bulk of his weight hit the man’s waist. The force of the hit caused Mars to release Paige, and she collapsed to the ground with a scream that stopped Ben’s heart.
His tackle sent him and Mars barreling across the rough terrain. Adrenaline kept Ben from feeling the hits to his body against the ground. He let go of his target when their momentum slowed. Ben propelled himself to his feet, squaring off against Mars.
Ben had some height and considerable muscle on the other man, but that didn’t stop Mars from fighting to the bitter end. Pulling a gun from his waistband, Mars aimed at Ben’s center mass.
The gunshots echoed through the valley in quick succession. One. Two. Three.
Then it was over.