Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
August 23 rd
2:12 A.M.
Impulse.
It was the only thing that saved Becca’s life.
Or at least gave her a fighting chance.
The man who had knocked her over the cliff, who had planned on taking her out with him, couldn’t survive all the bullets she’d shot into him, and Connor’s shot had merely finished what she’d started. But even in death, the man had tried to take her away from him.
Becca had lost her grip.
Been falling.
And purely on instinct he’d snatched out a hand and managed to grab hold of her wrist.
Now she was swinging wildly, dangling from his hand, and he’d dropped his grip on the flashlight, unable to hold it, his weapon, and Becca.
Of course, Becca was number one, the weapon was number two because even though all six men were dead, he didn't trust that more wouldn't come. He needed to be able to protect Becca against any threat and the only thing the flashlight provided was light.
So even though it had been a no-brainer to drop it in preference to his girl and his weapon it meant he couldn’t see Becca very well. She was nothing more than the nickname he’d always called her, a pale shadowy circle, like faint moonlight, hanging below him.
Connor didn't need to be able to see her to know how scared she was.
He could feel her panic beating down on him as surely as the rain.
“Hold on, moonlight,” he grunted out, struggling to maintain his grip. Not only was he holding her entire weight with the arm that had been shot, but she was swinging wildly, her fear making her panic, and the rain made everything, including her skin, slippery.
“I’m going to fall, I'm sorry,” she babbled, her voice shrill above the howl of the storm.
“Why are you sorry, honey?” he asked as he stretched out on his stomach to stabilize himself better. Although it felt wrong to set his weapon down, safe was the last thing Connor felt right now, he knew he needed both hands to get Becca up on solid ground.
“Because I should have told you earlier that I wanted a second chance for us.”
“You told me when you were ready,” he assured her, reaching down with his now free hand.
“I was ready earlier, I just … I couldn’t say the words.”
“Then you weren't really ready.” Whether she’d been able to say the words or not, he’d known she was going to give him the chance he craved to rebuild what his stupid decision twelve years ago had cost them. He’d also been prepared to wait as long as it took for her to be in a place where she could say those words and mean them.
“I love you,” she said with so much conviction that his heart felt like it was bursting.
“I love you, too, my beautiful, bright moonlight. Always and forever.”
“Always and forever,” she echoed.
“I won’t let you fall, Becca, but I need you to help me, okay?” There was no time for him to work on soothing her, and the reality was, she wasn't going to calm down until she was no longer hanging over the edge of a cliff anyway.
“O-okay,” she agreed.
“Reach up with your free hand and find mine. It should be about level with where I'm holding your wrist. When you feel it, I want you to grab onto me and not let go. I mean it, Becca. You don’t let go for anything,” he warned.
“What if … what if I’m going to fall?”
“Then we fall together.” It was that simple. As far as he was concerned, he didn't intend to live out the rest of his life without Becca being part of it. Either he got her up there with him and they both survived the night, or they both plunged over the edge, and their souls would be together in the next life.
“But—”
“No buts, Becca. Together. Always and forever.”
“Always and forever,” she echoed again.
A moment later, he felt her fingertips brushing against his hand and he quickly snagged a hold of them. After being out in the cold and the rain for so long, it was a wonder he could feel anything at all. His skin was a mixture of numb and aching, the pounding rain had been almost bruising in its strength, especially after spending so much time out in it.
“Got you,” he told her, now holding her wrist and her hand securely. “I’m going to start moving backward, pulling you up with me.”
“What do I do?”
“Nothing. If you try to help, you will only make your body swing more, making it harder. If you can get your foot braced firmly on the cliff face, let me know, and I’ll tell you if I need you to do anything, otherwise your job is just to hang there.”
Deadweight was, in fact, easier to maneuver than wriggling dead weight, so all he needed from Becca was for her to let him do all the work. Something he knew she would find difficult. She was strong and determined, but for this, all he needed was her trust.
Something that just a week ago he had been so sure he would never be able to regain.
But now, as he slowly worked his body backward on the slick, muddy ground, so very aware that at any moment he could slip and cause both himself and Becca to fall, he realized that he had it.
Completely.
She was doing everything he asked her to do, trusting that he would save her life.
Something he wouldn't fail at.
While it was unlikely the man who had taken her over the edge of the cliff would have been able to hit him, he’d seen the man raise a weapon, and Becca had shot him to save his life. His sweet girl who always wanted to see the best in people, had always looked for opportunities to help someone who needed it, and had dedicated her entire life to helping improve the quality of life for people in developing countries, had been willing to kill for him.
Never would he forget that.
It felt like it took him hours, but it couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes until Becca’s head appeared over the top of the cliff.
Releasing his hold on her wrist, he grabbed her under the arm, then released his hold on her hand, hooked his other hand under her other arm, and pulled.
The next second, she was in his arms.
Nothing had ever felt as good as that moment. With Becca crushed against him, clinging to him, wrapped around him like an octopus, sobbing, her face buried against his neck, he’d never felt more in love with her. No matter how often he thought his love for her was already all-consuming, somehow, it managed to grow.
“I love you, Connor. So much. So much it hurts sometimes. I don’t ever want us to be apart again. Not ever. Promise me.” She sobbed, sounding borderline hysterical as she clutched at his face and held it between her hands. “Promise me we’ll be together always and forever, just like you said.”
No promise had ever been easier to make. “I promise you, moonlight. Always and forever. Nothing is ever going to make me leave you. Nothing. No matter how much life piles on top of us it’s always me and you against the world. The way it’s supposed to be.”
With another sob, Becca crushed her mouth to his and kissed him, pouring into it everything she felt for him. He did the same, returning the kiss and not holding anything back. Every drop of love, respect, and passion for her came out until he felt like they were drowning in emotion.
It wasn't until he realized how badly Becca was shaking that he finally snapped to his senses. He had to get her back to the cabin, then he had to try to contact his brothers to let them know what had happened. Connor had no idea if there was any reception or if the storm had knocked it out, but if he couldn’t call for help, he’d build a fire, bundle his girl in warm clothes and blankets, and they’d wait the storm out together.
Scooping her into his arms, he retrieved his weapon and then pushed to his feet.
“I can walk, Connor,” Becca immediately protested, pushing lightly at his shoulders.
“I’m sure you could. I don’t think there’s anything you can't do. But you're missing your prosthetic, so you’d have to hop, and you're already exhausted. It would take too long, and you're already shaking from the cold. Besides, I like having you in my arms,” he told her honestly.
With a content sigh, she stopped fighting him and snuggled into his embrace, nestling her head on his shoulder and allowing him to carry her.
Determination to get Becca safe and out of the storm fueled him, shoving aside the worst of his exhaustion, and he barely felt the pain in his shoulder, although he was sure once the adrenaline wore off it was going to hurt a lot. It didn't take him long to backtrack to the cabin, and he sighed in relief when it came into view.
Finally, safety, warmth, and rest were almost within his grasp.
At least that’s what he thought until he stepped inside and heard a weapon cock as four shadowy figures appeared.
August 23 rd
2:32 A.M.
No!
They were supposed to be safe.
Becca tightened her grip on Connor, so very aware that this could be the last time she ever got to touch him, as four men approached them.
“Sorry, moonlight, I should have scoped the place out first,” Connor whispered against her ear, the warm puff of air against her chilled skin comforting. But it was a comfort that was going to be ripped away at any second.
“Not your fault,” she whispered back. “I love you and I'm so glad we got to spend these last few days together. Thanks for coming to find me in Cambodia, and thanks for not leaving me at the cabin alone. I didn't realize how much healing I still had to do.”
“Guess baby sister knew something after all,” he said, and she felt the smile on his lips as he nuzzled her cheek. “I love you. I always have and I always will.”
“Aww, isn’t that sweet,” a man mocked as hands grabbed at her ripping her away from the only man she would ever love.
If this was the end, Becca was truly grateful that the last of the wounds from her attack had finally healed and she’d gotten to spend her last days on Earth with the man who owned her heart. While she wished that things weren't going to end this way and she wasn't going to lose her chance at happiness for a second time, at least she’d forgiven Connor, and they’d worked through their issues.
This way she could die with a happy heart, at peace.
“It is sweet,” she shot back, strength and determination that came from knowing she and Connor were one hundred percent in this together filled her up. Earlier, she’d fought for her life and won. As much as she was prepared not to win this time, she wasn't going to give up, and she knew Connor wasn't either. “It’s something you won't ever understand because you don’t know how to love so you can't know what it feels like to be in love.”
“You got a big mouth for someone who’s about to be dead soon,” another man growled as she was manhandled over to the center of the room where the chair she’d been tied to earlier still sat.
“People have been trying to kill us all night, but we’re still standing and they’re not,” she reminded him. This confident kick she was on would either get her killed quicker—more painfully—or it was going to provide them with an opportunity to strike back. Just because the odds were against them—and Becca wasn't pretending that they weren't—didn't mean she was counting Connor out.
After all, he’d somehow managed to convince her to forgive him, something she had spent twelve years being so certain could never happen.
Yet he’d done it in a matter of days by being open, honest, and giving her both the words and actions she needed to believe it.
If anyone could find a way to get them out of this, it was Connor.
A blow to the side of her face had her head snapping sideways and pain blooming, but what was new? She’d already been tossed about, threatened, and shoved off a cliff all in the space of a couple of hours. Adding more pain to that wasn't going to change their situation.
“You still got a big mouth, girly?” a different man asked, and even though she couldn’t see anything more of him than a shadowy outline, she straightened and made sure she was looking right where she knew his face was.
“Nothing you do to us will change anything,” she informed him.
“Becca,” Connor admonished, and she could feel his fear for her. Fear that she was going to be hurt worse for speaking up, that she was drawing a larger target on her back, that seeing her assaulted might make him cave and give in.
But it wouldn't.
She wouldn't allow it.
“Sounds like your boyfriend has a different opinion,” a man taunted.
“No, he doesn’t,” she said firmly, as much for Connor’s benefit as these men. She and Connor were a team, they were in this together, and she loved his family as much as she loved her own. They deserved answers, they deserved to know who had been involved in raping their mom, Cassandra deserved to know the paternity of her sperm donor, and Carla Charleston deserved to have her name cleared.
She was afraid of the coming pain, no use pretending she wasn't, but so long as Connor had her back, she knew she could endure it. There wasn't anything she wouldn't endure for the people she loved.
“I don’t care what they do to me, Connor. Don’t let it sway you. They’re bullies, they want our reactions, crave our fear, but I'm not giving it to them. We’re not giving it to them. If they want to torture us, they can do that, but it’s not going to change anything. It’s not going to get you to agree to convince your brothers to back down. Just like our deaths aren't going to stop your brothers. If anything, it will only make them more determined. So do your worst,” she told the men holding her arms. “But you should know that I bit the lip off the last man who put his hands on me, then killed his friend, and shot him when he tried to push me off a cliff.”
Becca was proud of herself for not giving in to her fears tonight. She was fighting back, she was being someone she could be proud of, and if by some miracle she survived then knowing she hadn't given up would help her in the healing process.
“Let’s see if you're still as mouthy after you get a little feel for the pain we’re going to inflict,” one of the men said as he grabbed her arm and bent it up behind her back.
“I was raped and dragged alongside the car when he shoved me out of it and drove off with me tangled in the seatbelt. I had skin ripped off, needed skin grafts, and wound up needing my foot amputated because they couldn’t save it. Do you really think I don’t know how to tolerate pain?”
“Maybe you can, but can he tolerate your pain?” the man holding her arm taunted Connor as he shoved it up higher and higher until she felt her shoulder joint pop out of its socket.
Being able to tolerate pain well didn't mean she was impervious to it, and she did cry out as her shoulder dislocated. But she was able to breathe through it and before the man could taunt Connor, she rushed to assure him.
“I'm okay. Don’t give in, Connor. Please. I don’t want to be the reason your family doesn’t get answers. Whoever these men are, they’re rich and powerful and if they hurt your mom they’ve done it to others as well. They have to be stopped, they deserve to be punished. I’m willing to sacrifice my life to make sure it happens. I don’t want to, I wish we got the happy ending we deserve, but nothing is more important than family and doing the right thing. This is the right thing, it just sucks.”
Connor let out a shaky breath, and she knew he was struggling to accept that he might have to stand by and not do anything to save her life. But she needed him to know that she wouldn't hold it against him, that she wanted him to do this, and she loved him even more because of his dedication to his family. They were her family, too, she loved every one of those men.
“I love you, Connor, and I don’t blame you. Always and forever.”
“Always and forever,” he echoed just like she’d done when they were out in the woods, and he was trying to calm her down so he could get her back on solid ground.
“So sweet,” the man who’d dislocated her shoulder snapped as he shoved her violently to the floor. Becca could tell they were getting annoyed because they weren't receiving the kind of reaction from her and Connor they wanted, that they’d expected.
“So stupid,” another sneered.
A foot connected with her hip, sending pain spiraling through her body as she went skidding across the floor.
Something, and she wasn't sure what, some previously buried survival instinct, some ingrained self-defense mechanism, some deeply rooted desire to survive, had her reaching out and grabbing onto the foot that had kicked her. As she went skidding sideways she took the man down with her.
Like that was the domino that sent all the others tumbling down along with it, the cabin exploded into a flurry of activity.
People shouted.
Guns fired.
The storm continued to rage outside.
And Becca prayed that by some miracle she and Connor would survive.