8. Quinn
8
QUINN
“ P lease, just let me go,” I plead, fighting back tears as I twist my wrists, trying to wiggle loose from my bindings.
“You hear that, Vinny? The Irish princess thinks it’s time to let her go home,” my kidnapper mocks, laughing with his partner as they loom over me, violent mirth in their eyes.
“My brother will find me,” I warn. “It’s better if you let me go now. If he knows you took me, he’ll kill you. And I promise, it won’t be quick and pain?—”
The hand comes out of nowhere, striking my cheek with such force that it snaps my head sideways, and I see stars. And though I’m trying to put on a brave face—I’m trying to be strong—I can’t help the fear that grips my chest like a vise.
I don’t know where I am aside from that it looks like an abandoned warehouse of some sort. And while, by now, I’ve figured out that my captors are most definitely Italians who must be working for Don Lucian, I don’t know what they intend to do with me.
All I know is this might be my last night on earth.
And I keep running Killian’s warning through my head over and over again.
Why was I so stubborn?
I should have taken a guard. But I hate the looks I get when I do. And when I don’t have them, I can feel like a normal person. Not the daughter of some mafia boss—not his sister.
But Killian was right.
I can’t escape who I am. Who my family is. No matter how much I’d like to pretend I’m someone else.
“What do you say, Vinny? Shall we start cutting her up? Sending little bits and pieces of her back to her brother until he gets the message?”
My stomach knots, my heart hammering in my chest as the reality of my situation comes crashing down on me. They kidnapped me to send Killian a message. And while I really don’t like the thought of experiencing that kind of pain, I really don’t want to be another headstone my brother has to visit.
“The boss said artificial injuries only,” Vinny counters.
“Pity,” my nameless captor says, then he turns his attention back to me as malice glints in his eyes. “That’s alright. I think we’ll have plenty of fun with you before the night is done.”
Pain sears across my thigh, and I cry out as he brings a riding crop down on my leg.
I jerk forward, my head pounding as a sob rips up my throat, and suddenly, I’m sitting up in bed in a dark room—my room. A thin line of golden light shines beneath the bottom of my door, and I can hear my brother’s voice come to an abrupt halt on the other side.
But the fear of being alone in the dark is so consuming, I feel I might suffocate.
And with my captor’s eyes fresh in my mind, lurking in the corners of my consciousness, I’m overcome with an intense sense of hopelessness. Like I’m still trapped in that horrible warehouse, unable to escape their vicious game.
I break into tears as Killian and Lance burst back into the room, leaving the door open wide to let a stream of light wash across my bed.
“Shh, Quinny, you’re okay. You’re safe,” Killian says, making the edge of the bed sink several inches as he settles onto it and pulls me into a hug.
Behind him, Lance hovers protectively, his face a blend of concern and fury.
Choking down my sobs, I nod and try to collect myself. “I just…every time I close my eyes, I see their faces,” I hiccup, brushing at my tears and then flinching when my cheek throbs.
Killian sighs heavily, pulling back just enough to look me in my eyes. “What can I do?”
“Nothing,” I whisper, heat radiating in my cheeks. “It was just a bad dream. I thought I was still there…with them…and the pain felt so real.”
“You’re here. You’re safe, and I’ll never let them hurt you again,” Killian assures me vehemently.
“Never again,” Lance agrees, his statement adamant and fierce enough to make my heart flutter.
“Try to get some sleep, okay? The doc said you need rest,” my brother says, chucking my chin affectionately and attempting to flash me one of his devilish smiles. But I can see the worry lurking behind his eyes.
I nod, though I’m terrified at the thought of sleeping.
Because I know as soon as I do, my captors will be there waiting for me.
Studying my face, Killian hesitates. “I could sleep on the floor,” he offers, clearly reading the fear that pounds through my veins.
I’ve never been more tempted to take him up on the offer. But he has a new wife, who I’m sure is missing him by now, and I don’t want to seem like a baby. I’m an adult. And I’ve gone to nursing school. I realize this is residual trauma. I can handle this.
“No, I’ll be fine,” I say, my voice trembling with the thought of my brother being all the way on the other side of the house. Would it be childish to ask if I can sleep in a room next to his?
“I’m staying the night,” Lance cuts in. “I’ll stay in the room across the hall—in case you need me.”
Touched by his offer because Lance doesn’t normally do that kind of thing, I look up to meet his eyes gratefully. Somehow, it makes me feel so much better knowing someone I trust will be within easy hearing range. The thought of having Lance close makes me feel safe. He wouldn’t let anyone get near me. Not that I think they’ll try taking me again tonight.
From what Killian told me, the Italians dropped me off while I was unconscious, so their plan must not have been to keep me. I don’t recall them taking me from the warehouse, though. They must have done that after knocking me out. Because the last thing I remember is them laughing as I pleaded for them to stop. Then something heavy connecting with my head.
“Thank you,” I murmur, giving Lance a watery smile.
He gives a curt nod, the tendons in his jaw working with silent agitation.
“You sure I can’t do anything?” Killian asks.
I shake my head and flinch as my brain throbs inside my skull.
With a last, resigned sigh, Killian pulls me in for another gentle hug. Then he presses a kiss to my forehead before rising from the edge of the bed.
“Killian?” I ask as he reaches the door.
He turns to face me, hesitating on the threshold.
“Will you leave the light on?”
“Of course,” he says, flicking it on.
Then he and Lance slip silently from the room.
Settling back into my pillows, I stare blankly up at the ceiling, searching for the courage to close my eyes. But eventually, the weight of exhaustion starts to weigh down my eyelids, and I slowly let them close as I drift off into oblivion.
My skin prickles with that sense of someone watching me as I make my way swiftly down the sidewalk, and I hug my textbook close to my chest as I pick up the pace. I shouldn’t be walking alone. It was a stupid idea. I’m exposed. Vulnerable. And my next class is a five-minute walk across campus.
Glancing back over my shoulder, I spot the man I sensed watching me. And he’s doing more than that. He’s following, his long strides slow and steady, and yet somehow, he seems to be gaining on me.
With a gasp, I turn to run.
And slam into a solid wall of muscle.
“There you are.”
Terror races up my spine. I know that voice. And when I snap my eyes up to look at the face attached to the solid chest, I find cold brown eyes and a cruel smile.
“No,” I gasp. How did he find me so quickly?
“No?” my nameless captor sneers, his fingers wrapping around my arms with bruising force as he jerks me against him. “Did you think you’d get away that easy, princess? We had so much fun last time, I thought I’d come back for more.”
“Let me go!” I scream, yanking back as hard as I can to try and get away.
But he just turns me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing my back firmly against him as his hand covers my mouth. His lips brush the shell of my ear, and he whispers, “Maybe this time I’ll give you a thorough pounding with my cock too.”
I flail, screaming bloody murder as I fight with all my might, but the harder I struggle, the more futile it feels. And no one around me stops to help. No one even looks up.