Chapter 27
Quinn
Itake in a lungful of dank air as I’m carried towards consciousness.
The ground is hard and cold against my back.
I must have fallen asleep in the woods surrounding the log cabin.
I remember getting lost, and I must have tired myself out trying to find my way back to Reid.
But that can’t be right. The noises that break through my dreams don’t belong in nature.
A rhythmic thump. And sobbing. Lots of sobbing.
I go to cover my ears, but my hands are bound in front of me. My eyes snap open. I’m lying on a thin mattress in a small, windowless room with a bare light bulb. No, not a room, an airless cell. It reminds me of the so-called stalls in the stable Barrett had built for Ilya.
Slowly, I piece back my fractured memory. I’ve been taken by Ilya’s men. I let myself be taken.
Strider had tried to talk me out of it, but my options were limited.
As much as I valued Blake’s life above anything else, I wasn’t going to willingly subject other women to the same fate.
And I don’t think my sister would want me to.
She’d been a sweet, caring, young woman before Ilya corrupted her.
I had to come up with a plan, something that wasn’t an outright refusal so that Ilya wouldn’t take it out on Blake.
My first plan of attack was to rile Reid up so much that he’d take his brothers’ advice and step away.
If I didn’t have access to him or his family, Ilya couldn’t blame me for failing.
But Reid hadn’t rejected me. I knew he wouldn’t. It was always going to be Plan B.
When I’d convinced Reid to let me travel with him to the office, it was on the understanding that I’d stay in the car and return to the hotel with Levi.
It was only when I refused to let go of his hand that he decided I wasn’t in a fit state to be left alone.
There’d been no playacting on my part. Fear and guilt had been eating me up, and I was locked in a state of heightened fear and anxiety, knowing this could all go horribly wrong.
Maddie and Lily were so nice, which only made me feel worse.
Even if my plan worked, I was still deceiving them and I couldn’t exclude all risks.
At least the Griffins’ distrust of me worked in my favor and they insisted their women had a security detail, including a personal bodyguard.
I thought the Griffins were big men, but Simon was on a different scale.
Simon and Levi had sat at a nearby table, while Maddie and Lily interrogated me about my relationship with Reid.
“And please don’t spare the details,” Maddie insisted. She tipped her head to Lily’s cell phone lying face up on the table, then whispered in my ear. “Mace will be listening in, and we need to make him squirm.”
Perfect, I thought, although I was still shocked that Mace’s intrusion didn’t bother them. “You don’t mind?” I asked Lily.
“It’s complicated,” she said. “I think of it as a comfort blanket. I had a bad experience once.”
I didn’t ask more, but we did have an animated discussion about the ins and outs of contraception, literally. I basked in the other women’s friendship, however short-lived. What I was about to do was unforgivable.
It was when Maddie and Lily convinced themselves that it wasn’t too early for a bottle of rosé, that my nerves really kicked in. The hardest part was not having a glass of wine too. It might have eased my nerves, but I needed to keep up appearances that I’d spiked their drinks.
Although Ilya hadn’t specified a particular time or location for the hit, he’d said his men would be ready to pounce whenever I was able to separate Maddie and Lily from the Griffin pack. I had to assume we were being monitored, and kept glancing over at the counter.
Ruby’s coffee shop was tiny, and thankfully there weren’t many other customers. My heart thudded in my chest when I noticed the young woman behind the counter disappear into the kitchen and not return. And I hadn’t seen the server for a while either. This was it.
Aware that Simon’s eyes were on me, I put my hand in my pocket and wrapped my fingers around the glass vial. Lily was in the middle of telling me how Mace proposed and married her on the same day. It was some story, but I had to interrupt.
“Please. I need you to listen very carefully,” I said, putting my clenched hand on the table. “You’re in grave danger and you need to leave. When I say go, move fast and get out of here.” I set down the vial so it was clearly visible. “Go! Now!”
There was the scrape of chair legs as Simon shot out of his seat, but Maddie and Lily were already up.
They didn’t hesitate in running for the door, which was a good thing too.
Simon and Levi only managed to draw their weapons seconds before a dark figure came barreling through the kitchen door. It was Mikhail, but he was too late.
Maddie and Lily had made it onto the sidewalk. Maddie turned back and shouted for me to follow, but she was already being bundled into the waiting SUV and didn’t see me shake my head. Tires squealed, rubber burned, and then they were gone. They were safe.
“Everybody out!” Levi shouted to the scattering of customers, some of whom were already on their feet, others frozen in shock.
“You heard him. Leave!” Simon’s voice boomed.
More of Ilya’s men appeared, and suddenly there were guns pointing in every direction. Simon and Levi positioned themselves in front of me, instinctively protecting me despite knowing what I’d done.
Mikhail jabbed a finger in my direction. “She comes with us.”
“Fuck you,” Levi said.
I had my back to the window, but turned when I heard the roar of more engines.
Three SUVs had arrived, identical to the one that had whisked Maddie and Lily away.
If there was any doubt that they were Griffin men, it was swept away when I saw three brothers running at speed towards us.
Reid wasn’t amongst them, and I was grateful for that.
I hadn’t wanted him to see what was going to happen next.
Stepping away from the window, I tried to pass Levi, but he blocked me.
“You know what I am,” I hissed. “You have to let me go.”
“Just let me do my job, Quinn,” he said, his gun aimed at the Russians.
I didn’t have time to reason with him, so I darted to the other side, trying to get past Simon this time. When he made a grab for my jacket, a shot rang out and blood splattered my face. Simon released me with a grunt. There were crashes as tables were overturned, and more shots were fired.
The sleeve of Simon’s suit jacket was torn, soaking in blood as he took cover behind a table. Levi was crouching too, and gestured for me to do the same, but my eyes were drawn to Mikhail. He smirked as I walked towards him.
Once I was close enough, the Russian wrapped his arm tightly around my neck and pulled me against him. “You’re going to wish they’d shot you.”
I was tempted to agree when the Griffins entered the coffee shop, with Reid close behind.
He’d looked broken, and as I lie in my cell and listen to the horrors leaching through the walls, I’m scared this will all be for nothing.
I could die before Strider locates me. And there’s no guarantee that the Griffins will help him.
Even if they can accept I never intended to offer up Maddie and Lily to Ilya, I still put them in danger.
I hope Reid’s OK.
As I sit up, the room spins. I don’t remember anything after being dragged into a waiting van, so I’m pretty sure I was drugged.
I have no idea how long I’ve been out, but as I look down my body, I see bruises along my bare legs.
Nausea is added to the mix. I’d been wearing boots, a dress and a jacket, but I’ve been stripped down to my underwear.
I don’t know who undressed me, or what they might have done.
My breasts ache and I have mild cramps, but I’d already been feeling like I was about to get my period.
I hope that’s all it is, but hope is hard to hold onto as I listen to the rhythmic thumping sound increasing in urgency.
It’s accompanied by a man’s grunts. And a woman’s sobs.
A feeling of doom overwhelms me and I drown in it.
My limbs are seizing up, and I can’t seem to draw air into my burning lungs.
I’m scared I’m going to die, and if I let fear overtake me, that’s exactly what will happen.
I fight against the panic attack, taking slow, steady breaths until my limbs start to relax.
My breathing is almost under control when there’s the clank of a door opening and closing. The thumping has stopped and footsteps draw closer to my door. As the lock turns, I draw my knees up to my chest and hook my bound arms around my legs.
I shrink into myself as Mikhail looms in the doorway. His face is covered in a sheen of sweat, accentuating his ragged scars. I hope one day soon I’ll get the chance to add to those scars. The thought gives me enough strength to meet his gaze.
His face twists into a grin. “Did it turn you on listening to me?”
I’m usually quick with my insults, but I know better than to goad a man with all the power. It won’t be for long, I tell myself. Reid will keep his promise to find me.
“Don’t worry,” Mikhail continues. “It’ll be your turn soon enough, but we need to get you screened first. We like to make sure our women are clean before we break them in.”
“You won’t break me,” I say in a hoarse whisper.
He crouches in front of me, reaching out as if to stroke my cheek, but his hand goes to my throat.
He wants to squeeze the life out of me, I can see it in his dead eyes, but I’m not done yet.
In one seamless maneuver, I shove my arms upwards to dislodge his grip, then lean back and kick my feet forward to land a decent blow to the flaccid cock hidden in his pants.
It’s not powerful enough to cause any real damage, but I manage to send Mikhail sprawling backwards.
“You fucking bitch!”
Mikhail comes at me, shoving me backwards and grabbing my hair. He slams my head against the thin mattress so hard that I see stars. My vision clears just in time to see the back of his hand as he strikes again. My cheek flares in pain and my teeth crunch.
As I lay helpless beneath him, Mikhail grabs my hands and raises them over my head. I scream and kick out my feet towards nothing. Spittle hits my cheek as his face looms closer.
“I’m going to enjoy making you beg for forgiveness.”
“Mikhail!”
I recognize the voice immediately, and even with his henchman slobbering over me, hope sparks. The Griffins might not come for me, but they’d come for Ilya.
When Mikhail clambers off me, I sit up again, curling my legs beneath me and pressing my arms to my chest to cover my semi-nakedness.
“You had so much potential,” Ilya sneers. “Such a shame you’ll end up no better than your sister.”
My pulse quickens. “Where is she? Is she here?”
I don’t like the way he chuckles darkly. “Yes, she’s here.”
Oh, god. She’s in another of these cells. Was she the one I heard sobbing? “Blake!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
There are more sobs in response, but none that are recognizable.
“I’ve had enough of this,” Ilya says, walking away.
Mikhail turns to wink at me. “Enjoy your short reprieve, Quinn.”
When the door closes, I reach for my earlobe.
The stud is missing, but I try not to panic.
That’s not the earring that’s critical to my escape, but as I tilt my head and explore the cartilage at the top of my ear, I discover the other stud missing too.
Desperately, I search around the cell floor, but I know my earrings haven’t simply fallen out.
I’ve been completely stripped, and my tracker has been removed before I had the chance to activate it.
How can Reid come for me if he doesn’t know where I am? I know he said he’d follow his heart, but it’s not enough. Our love isn’t going to be enough.