Chapter Nineteen
T he next morning, Saxon came down for breakfast, hair damp but artfully spiked. Not many men could pull off the look, but this gorgeous man could probably wear a burlap sack and make it look sexy. The white button-down he wore showcased the tattoos on his neck. He threw her a big grin as he poured himself a cup of coffee, adding about five teaspoons of sugar with a hint of cream.
“I like things sweet,” he said, winking “Which is why I like you.”
Lorelei felt her cheeks heat.
“Knock it off,” Cross grumbled. “Stop flirting with my girl.”
Saxon pouted. “You’re no fun. And since you’re no fun, I’m going to take my head and leave.”
“That sounded weird.”
“Yeah, sounded better up here,” he said, pointing to his temple. “But you get my drift.”
As he gulped down his coffee, he gathered the ice packs from the freezer and placed them in the box with Birsha’s head. It should’ve freaked her out that here was a severed head in the place where steaks, bags of vegetables, and frozen fruit resided. Instead, nothing but satisfaction filled her heart. That man would never hurt another person again. Some sick and twisted part of her wished she could keep it, but logically she knew it was better if Saxon disposed of it. She had a feeling he knew exactly how to make someone, or some part of a person, disappear forever.
Once he finished his sweet caffeine, he placed the cup in the sink then came over to kiss her cheek.
“If you ever need me to slay a dragon, let me know,” he whispered in her ear before standing.
She met his gaze and nodded.
Cross led him to the door and she heard them talking but couldn’t make out what was being said. When he entered the kitchen again, he made a beeline to her and wrapped her up in his arms.
“How about we have a date day?”
Lorelei cocked her head, waiting to hear what he suggested. The bar was closed every Monday. Tuesday was ladies’ night, so he was on standby but didn’t go directly into work. His backup security man oversaw that and so far, Cross never got a call that he was needed.
“I think we should have lunch downtown at the Riverwalk. Does that sound good?”
She nodded, surprised he wanted to have a date. Like a normal couple. She hurried through a shower and dressed in a flowing sundress. After throwing her hair into a ponytail, she headed back downstairs where Cross was scrolling through his phone. He looked up when she approached, heat coming into his gaze as she joined him. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“There’s a bar called Charlie’s that seems to have good burgers, if that’s okay with you.”
She gave him a thumbs-up. He smiled and slipped his phone back into his pocket. When he held out his hand, she took it and he led her to the garage where the SUV resided. Helping her into the passenger seat, he buckled her in before moving to the driver’s side.
For the entire trip to downtown, Lorelei stared out the window. Reno was her home now. Far away from where she grew up, or where Birsha had kept her locked up. The bubbling Truckee River flowing through the city was picturesque. Restaurants and bars charmingly lined the riverbank. Cross found a place to park and told her to wait as he jumped out of the driver’s side to hurry around and help her out of the SUV. They held hands as they walked, taking their time to admire the area.
When they found Charlie’s bar, Cross secured a table for them outside so they could listen to the river as it flowed over large boulders. With the cool breeze and sweet-smelling scent of flowers, the afternoon lunch date with Cross was pretty darn wonderful.
****
C ross paced as he listened to someone on the other end of the call.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Jesus fucking Christ! Don’t do anything. I’m on my way.” He hung up and turned toward her. “Ladies’ night this evening, and the toilets are overflowing. This is going to be a crappy job.”
Lorelei couldn’t help grinning at his obvious pun.
He kissed her on top of her head. “Don’t wait up. I have no idea how long this is going to be.”
Cross left, and a moment later she heard his bike power up as it sped away. She opened the fridge, but realized they were low on food. Opening her grocery app, Lorelei placed her order, always having fun choosing everything she needed, including some baking ingredients she jotted down as she watched the Food Network . There were many recipes online that she wanted to try, and so far, she had a lot of fun making them.
Learning how to knit took a little more time than learning how to cook. In the back of her mind, she kept hearing her grandmother’s voice telling her to infuse her healing love into the yarn. She wasn’t sure how to achieve that except to will it into each stitch, even when she had to undo any mistakes she made.
When the grocery order came, she opened the door to sign for the delivery. After writing her name she went to hand the clipboard back to the man and he held out an envelope.
“I was told to give you this.”
Then he turned and left her standing in the doorway. Vulnerability slammed into her, and a sense of dread had her looking around to see if anyone watched her. Her hand shook as she opened the envelope and read the very brief note: “I’ve missed you.”
Costello Birsha was dead. He couldn’t have written the note, but if not him, then who? The piece of paper fluttered to the ground, as she paced. Should she tell Cross? If she did that, they’d be running forever. It might be petty, but she didn’t want to lose her home. Besides, if they ran again, it wasn’t a guarantee they’d outrun the author.
She stopped and took a deep breath, making the decision to not tell Cross about the letter. He’d already done so much for her, she didn’t want to become a burden he’d leave behind. Picking up the loathsome piece of paper, she balled it up and marched it to the trash, where she buried it under broken eggshells and apple peels.
The words still haunted her.
Knowing she was being hunted yet again caused her hands to shake. Her breathing grew shallow as she fought against the panic threatening to consume her. There wasn’t any safe place in this world, except next to Cross, so she sent him a text: I don’t want to be alone right now. Can I come there?
She paced as she waited for his response. Long minutes later, when he still hadn’t texted, she tried again: Are you there?
She waited. Again. Paced back and forth. Again. When he still didn’t respond, she decided to set up an Uber to take her to his work. Twenty minutes later, she exited her ride and smiled at the driver as she finished paying from her app. Rock music filtered from inside to the parking lot, which looked to be completely full. Approaching the entrance, a large man gave her a nod and held the door open for her. Rock music filled the space between them as she smiled at the bouncer and entered. The first thing she saw was a huge fireplace, where flames hypnotically danced on logs. Only, when she looked closer, she realized it was stone wood.
Pool tables were immediately to the left and right, and both tables had women playing the game. In fact, one woman stared at her, and when their gazes met, she winked. A little shocked, Lorelei moved around the fireplace to see that the place opened. On the right was a long bar, where two people moved quickly to provide beer and beverages. All the tables and chairs were filled with women. On the stage at the far end, several men danced—one on a metal pole—and females held up dollar bills to lure him closer. The dancers smiled and obliged, moving closer so the money could be shoved in their G-strings. Several bouncers walked the floor, their sharp gazes making sure nothing bad happened.
This wasn’t what she imagined ladies’ night meant, although now it made sense. She’d never been to a bar or a club but liked that movies and TV shows got it right. In fact, she quite liked this because she didn’t have to be worried about a man hitting on her.
She didn’t see Cross at first, then caught a peek of him as he carried heavy boxes from somewhere behind the bar to the counter. As the bartenders worked, he started to stock the alcohol from the box to a refrigerator. She headed toward him, then stood patiently until he looked up from his task to see her. When he did, he took a double take, his eyes widening. He hurried around the bar and immediately took hold of her arms.
“Why are you here?” he demanded.
Lorelei jerked back from the harsh cadence in his voice. Why was he mad at her?
“I don’t want you here.”
She yanked herself from his hands. Who was this angry man? He wasn’t the compassionate, caring person who protected her. Did she get it all wrong? She thought he loved her, even though he never said the words. Stunned, she backed up, needing distance.
“Lorelei,” he said coldly. “Go home.”
The few women around them looked at her with pity. Turning, she practically ran out of the bar, ignoring as he yelled her name. If he didn’t want her, then she’d leave. Maybe she could text Saxon and he’d come for her, although she had no idea where to go. Everything had seemed so perfect. What happened to make Cross not want her?
Bursting out of the bar, she ran through the parked cars, tears streaming down her face. She came here because she felt threatened, and yet, this was a thousand times worse than feeling vulnerable. Her heart was raw, torn to pieces.
Before she could figure out where to run, a hand covered her mouth. The abrupt action caused her to drop her phone, where it shattered upon impact with the rocky ground.
“I have a gun in your back,” a low, menacing voice said in her ear. “If you make a scene, I’ll open fire and make sure I hit any innocent person that walks by. See that barely twenty-one-year-old woman heading to the door? Dead. See those others laughing with each other? Dead. Because of you. So, play nice. Understand?”
She gave one nod, and the hand left her mouth to grab her by the arm. He marched to the dark side of the building, where shadows dwelled. The only thought she had was there was no way she was going to be the reason innocent people suffered.
The night swallowed them, and Lorelei struggled in her kidnapper’s grip. Now that they were clear of innocent bystanders, she was determined she wasn’t going down without a fight. She endured too much to be taken again. Once more the gun barrel pressed against her temple.
“You move one more fucking time, I’ll shoot a body part where you won’t die, but you’ll be in extreme pain.”
She believed him. The problem, however, was that she’d rather be dead than dragged back to any prison cell.
“Lorelei!”
She jolted at Cross’s voice. He was searching for her with a frantic note in his tone.
“I’m going to enjoy killing that son of a bitch,” her captor muttered. “That asshole took my money. He said he was going to rescue you but he took you for himself. How did I get that so fucking wrong? I searched for you but you disappeared, so I went back to Noble Vale and waited.”
She wanted to ask why, but the words wouldn’t come.
“I wouldn’t have had to go through all this bullshit if Birsha had just given you back,” he continued. She started to recognize his voice because it had been a long time since she’d heard it. “When I sold you to him, I didn’t realize that one day I’d need you to cure my blood cancer. I had to take drastic measures and thought I hired that bastard to get you back, but he kept you. And then, lo and behold, another asshole showed up and killed Birsha. That couldn’t have been a coincidence, so I followed him here and found you. Payback is a bitch.”
The gun barrel left her temple and pointed in Cross’s direction. She tried reaching for the barrel but he grabbed her throat and squeezed. Her air was cut off. Then she elbowed him in his gut and he let go of her neck. She sucked in a lungful of oxygen. The she grappled with his arm, trying to throw him off center. In response, the man spun her around and backhanded her, sending her into the side of the building. The world tilted crazily.
“Lorelei!”
The gun took aim again, and if she didn’t do something, Cross was going to be killed. No. No, no, no! She couldn’t watch him die. She loved him unconditionally. Her mind started clicking through what she could do, and came to the conclusion she had to warn him.
Come on , she thought to herself. Save him!
She didn’t care about herself. If Cross died, however, she could never forgive herself.
Closing her eyes, desperation overshadowed everything. Her fear. Her past. Her self-preservation. Cross meant more to her than her own life. Everything tumbled through her mind. Through her heart. Desperation met with resilience. Opening her mouth, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Five years of pain escaped through that high-pitched wail.
Five years of anger.
Of hatred.
All the shit that had been done to her. The beatings. The starvation. Body parts removed. Her hope gone. Autonomy that lay cracked up on her broken psyche. Gone. Gone. Gone. Until she had given up caring about anything. Until she seized the chance to save herself. Escape or die trying.
“Shut up!” the man yelled, but she refused to give him what he wanted.
Then the identity of the man clicked into place and she stared at her uncle with hatred. Her mother’s brother, who had watched her with lecherous intentions. Even as a teenager, she knew he was a nasty pedophile. He was the one that sold her to Birsha.
All the puzzle pieces fell into place.
Her parents had sought out Birsha about her gift . He wanted her to stay at Noble Vale to study her, but her father had refused. Then they were killed in a car accident. She had always thought Birsha had something to do with their deaths, but with a sick feeling, she realized it was her uncle that had caused the crash. Right after that, Birsha had swooped in and carted her away.
And now, her uncle wanted her to cure him of a disease that was killing him. She’d rather see him in Hell, than help him.
A low growl erupted and the next instant she fell to the ground as Cross attacked. He pummeled the hell out of her would-be kidnapper. She looked back and saw Cross as he kept at it. Over and over until her uncle lay like a mauled piece of meat.
“You never should’ve touched her, asshole,” Cross muttered. “You might wish you were dead but I assure you, I’m not even finished teaching you a lesson.”
The savagery should’ve scared her, but she wanted her pound of flesh as well. She rose and walked over to him. His knuckles were bloody and raw, and she quickly healed them. Cross rose from squatting over the man to wrap his arms around her.
“Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
Cross’s eyes widened. “You screamed. You’re talking.”
“I had to save you.” Her voice was scratchy from disuse, and the tone seemed unnatural to her ears.
He wrapped his arms around her. “I was floored when I saw you in the bar. How the hell did you get here?”
“Uber,” she rasped. It was impossible to project her voice.
“Christ,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t hear my phone go off. I’m sorry, Sweetheart.”
“You yelled.”
“I was shocked. It scared me to see you here, knowing you had to take a cab or something, and I didn’t respond very well.”
Lorelei searched his face and found only sincerity. She reached up to brush her fingertips over his chin, and he caught them to kiss each knuckle.
“He laid his fucking hands on you, so he has to die.”
“I know. He’s the one who sold me to Birsha. He’s my mother’s brother.”
She’d never acknowledge him as her uncle. He wasn’t family. The contrast between him and Cross’s family was startling, and it made her realize sometimes family isn’t who you’re born into. Sometimes it’s who you choose to be with. She lost her parents to this demented man, but she had a new family with Aera Cross and his brothers.
Pulling back, he cupped her face. “Then he must suffer. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. I want to help.”
Smiling, he kissed her gently on the lips. “Anything you want, Sweetheart. It’s yours.”