Angel in the Shadows (21 page)

Jason wiped the snow from his hair absently, his eyes never leaving Seth’s face. “What are you going to do now, tough guy?”

The only answer he got was a whip-cracking hum before the bullet took out his brain. Falling to the ground in a crumpled heap, Jason’s dark blood tarnished the snow.

Seth stood up and retrieved the handgun from the ground, not sparing the dead body at his feet another glance. “Thanks, but I had it,” he called out behind him.

A tall, dark shadow emerged silently from the trees. “I could see that but I got tired of waiting. What can I say? I got impatient.” The voice was soft, the accent Russian.

“Damn Russians,” Seth replied with a smirk.

Nikolas stopped beside him, the high-powered rifle pointing at the ground. Dressed in black from head to toe, only his dark eyes were visible. Being five years younger than himself, Nikolas Kozlov was relatively new to the Perfect Order, having only joined their crew only two years ago.

“He’s got her, doesn’t he?” Nikolas asked, his attention drawn to upstairs window.

Seth nodded and stared at the square of light knowing that Vance was up there. Torturing her. His jaw clenched as he imagined the horrible things he was subjecting Madison to at this very moment.

“Well then, what are you standing around here for? Go save her.”

Turning, Seth stared at him, his jaw clenched tight. “I can’t let Vance get away.”

“Of course not. We’ll get him but if you don’t go to her now, you won’t get another chance. And you’ll never be able to forgive yourself,” he murmured softly, looking away into the forest.

There’s a story there.
Seth didn’t know what it was and it was something he would probably never know. Everybody had a past life filled with secrets, regrets, mistakes. The operatives he worked with were no different.

Turning back to him, Nikolas’ eyes pierced Seth with their intensity. “Good luck, my friend.”

This was crazy, Seth thought. There was so much at stake. It would be madness to risk thousands for just one woman. Yet, that was what he was considering.
Fuck that. It’s not what I’m considering, it’s what I’m doing.
Without a second thought, he charged across the snow toward the cabin, praying that he wasn’t too late.

Her screams were music to Vance’s ears. The pain and fear coming together like some magnificent symphony. Dimly, hidden behind the lust, he wondered what was taking Jason so long to retrieve Seth. His ‘personal assistant’ needed to see what was laid out before him. Madison, bound to a chair, stripped down to her panties. The fear in her eyes, the blood on her body, the tears on her cheeks. Oh yes, he was going to make good use of her. Vance wanted to rip those panties off and sink himself deep inside her, hurting her so that she screamed with each violent thrust. Her pain combined with the brutal sex would be the ultimate high. He could almost taste the ecstasy, feel the powerful release that would overcome him when he took her.

If he could just slow down, the pleasure he could draw from this moment would be insurmountable. But each cry from those soft, pink lips only intensified the ache in his loins and he was nearly trembling with need. He tried to restrain himself, to make himself wait but the need that continued to build inside him was hot as the fires of Hell and it was demanding release with something akin to pain. The line between the two was so fine and at times like this, it all but disappeared. But that was okay. There would be plenty of opportunities to take his time and defile her at will. To make her scream.

And time enough for that son of a bitch to watch. He would make Seth pay for what he had done. For not only disobeying him but for helping himself to his property. That was unacceptable. When Seth arrived, his pain at seeing Madison this way would only make her torture that much more erotic and exciting. And when he was done with her, he would make Seth kill her. Then, and only then, after letting the pain of what he’d done set it, Vance would, at last, put him out of his misery.

Vince grinned. He was invincible, untouchable. The power that was raging through him was nearly as great as the lust. With one hand fisted in her hair, he yanked her head back. His eyes trailed up the smooth, white skin of her neck before settling on her mouth, the lips parted wide in the perfect position for what he had in mind. He could just imagine how those full lips would feel as they wrapped around him. As the tongue caressed him, as the mouth sucked at him, pulling him, drawing him deeper inside. It would be wet and hot and absolutely incredible. He couldn’t wait any longer. It had to be now.

Chapter 25

Oh God, Madison thought, how had she found herself here in this hell? If only she hadn’t taken Robert’s place, if only she hadn’t snapped that picture on the ferry, if only she had done things differently. All the if-onlys ran through her mind, trampling each other in their hurry to voice themselves, to make themselves heard. But they were nothing but empty thoughts and none of them mattered now. They weren’t going to get her out of this fucked up situation. Any chance for escape was long gone now. If she really even had one to begin with. At one time she thought she did but now, she wasn’t so sure. Maybe it had all been her imagination, thinking that she had a chance, that she could have gotten away. Had it all been pipe dreams? It sure seemed that way now. There was no hope. No one was going to save her.

Vance stepped closer to her, getting himself into position to shove his dick into her mouth. Her senses went on high alert despite the pain radiating through every inch of her body. Maybe she should just bite him. Dig her teeth in and bite down hard, ripping as much of his flesh away as she could before he shot her. He was holding the gun to her head so there was a very good chance he would use it. Not her ideal scenario of course but if this was her fate, to be some sadistic man’s plaything, she would gladly welcome death. Welcome the escape from the pain and torture that he was intending to inflict on her to fulfill some sick, twisted fantasies. Seth told her Vance enjoyed abusing women and that his extensive use of it would have her begging for death. She had been so stupid and naïve not to believe him or take what he said seriously but now she did and it was too late. While she wasn’t exactly begging for death, she wouldn’t turn away from it right now either.

But what if he didn’t use the gun on her? What if he was able to restrain himself from putting a bullet into her brain only to inflict more pain on her instead? What if everything he had planned for her only became more violent, more brutal? That was more likely, given the monster she was dealing with, and given the recent events, that would just be her luck. She wanted to believe that she was a strong person that was able to deal with a fair amount of troublesome situations. But even if she were able to lie to herself about that, she couldn’t stretch the truth far enough to include this as a fair amount of trouble. This was something entirely worse and there was no way she could handle this. Nobody could.

Deciding it was better to fight than just give in, she was going to wait until the right moment and then she was going to make him feel teeth all right. She was going to do her best to castrate him. See how the son of a bitch liked her then. But just because her decision was made didn’t mean she had to watch it happen. She shut her good eye and got ready to act.

He charged across the yard, putting everything he had into reaching the cabin. Although it took less than a minute, it felt a hell of a lot longer than that, as if he had been running through quicksand rather than snow. He wanted to burst through the front door and charge upstairs but that would be stupid. More stupid than what he was doing now. Right now he was going against all of the rules, going against everything he had been trained to do. He was risking everything, his life, the lives of thousands more, the Perfect Order itself and for what? A dumb ass blond who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Absolute craziness. That’s what this was. But he didn’t care. He had to save her. That was the only thing that mattered. She was the only thing that mattered.

The upstairs hallway was dark but a thin slice of light escaped from underneath the locked door. Gun drawn, he held his breath and placed his ear to the smooth wooden surface, listening, preparing.

“. . . advice, I better not feel teeth.” Vance’s words were muffled through the heavy oak door but it didn’t take a genius to grasp their meaning. Stepping back, he raised the gun and aimed. With a soft pop, the doorknob blew away and he leapt through the door, his trigger finger ready to squeeze off another shot.

The scene in front of him was genteel compared to some that he had seen before in other missions but it struck him harder, deeper than most. He didn’t even waste the time or effort lying to himself about why that should be. Vance stood in the middle of the room, facing him but he wasn’t alone. One arm was hooked around Madison’s neck and the other held a gun, pointed directly at him. The standoff situation was not what hit him and nearly knocked him over. It was Madison’s appearance that sucked the wind right out of him.

Stripped down to nothing but a pair of flimsy pink panties, she looked like she had went nine rounds in a boxing match. And lost. The dark thoughts from earlier assaulted him. Seeing her covered in blood and dead. But she wasn’t dead yet and if he could just focus, she wouldn’t be. Here, right now, surrounded by a tangled mess of blond hair, her face was almost unrecognizable. Blood, sticky and wet, flowed from her nose and her lips while the rest of her face was a mass of red splotches that would no doubt give way to bruises if she survived this thing. Hate intertwined with surprise shone at him from her right eye. The left was quickly on its way to being swollen shut. Her arms dangled loosely at her sides and three fingers on the right hand drooped at an odd angle. A thin trickle of blood ran from one of her nipples, following the soft curve of her breast.

“Are you all right?” He asked Madison but never took his eyes from Vance. His question was directed at Madison but his eyes never strayed from Vance. By the smear of blood coming from his nose, it looked as though Madison wasn’t playing nice.
Welcome to my world.

“Seth,” Vance murmured, “how nice of you to join us.” And with a small grin, he pulled the trigger.

Seth felt the wind from the bullet as it passed his face. He barely felt the sharp sting as it grazed his ear or the blood as it began to seep down his jaw. “Let her go.”

“I don’t think so,” Vance chuckled. “You see, she’s mine and we were just getting started when you so rudely interrupted us.” He tightened his grip on Madison’s neck as he stepped back, dragging her helplessly with him.

Over Vance’s shoulder, the light from the moon shone in the window and Seth wondered if Nikolas was in place just in case this thing went south. Vance could not be allowed to escape. He could not be allowed to live.

“Let her go, Vance,” he tried again. “There is no way out for you. Even if you do manage to kill me, you’re never leaving this cabin alive.” Seth advanced slowly, rapidly searching for a way to shoot Vance without hitting Madison. It was impossible the way he was holding her against him. He didn’t have a clear shot.

“That’s what you think,” Vance scoffed, his carefree expression melting into a sneer. “I don’t know who the hell you are but you’ve got a thing or two to learn about me. I never lose.
Never.
Even if you do kill me, you won’t be able to stop it. And without me, there will never be an end.” His laughter was tight and controlled. “But as for your little
girlfriend
here,” he said, jerking her tighter against him, “there will be an end to her but only when I’m good and ready . . . so
fuck off!”
Vance yelled as he squeezed the trigger again.

It was a perfect shot. Or it would have been if Madison hadn’t made an unexpected move just then. Her right elbow struck Vance squarely in the ribs, causing the shot to go wide. The bullet struck the ceiling above them, sending splinters of wood falling to the floor. Caught off-guard, Vance stumbled back a step.

“You bitch!” Vance bellowed, bringing the gun around, centering it right at Seth’s head. “You’re going to pay for that but first, you’re going to watch as I shoot Mr. Reynolds right between the eyes.”

“I’m sorry, Maddie, but this is going to hurt,” Seth said. Then he pulled the trigger.

Chapter 26

She had never been shot before. And now that she had, it was something Madison never wanted to experience again. It’d happened so quick that it seemed unreal. But there was nothing imaginary about the pain. The bullet burned and ripped through her shoulder even as it shoved her backward. She didn’t feel it when it tore away the backside of her shoulder blade. She didn’t feel it as it exited her body and entered Vance’s. But she did feel herself falling, her neck still caught firmly in the crook of Vance’s arm. The window behind them shattered as Vance struck it, still careening backward.

She reached out blindly, helplessly, groping wildly for something, anything to slow the momentum dragging her toward the empty abyss. She felt the cold air on her back as the broken glass bit sharply into the back of her thighs, slicing the skin. They were falling! She was falling!

Harsh fingers encircled her wrist, pulling her from Vance’s grip. His arm slipped from her neck as he disappeared through the empty window frame and plummeted seventy feet down to the frozen ground below. Now instead of falling backward, she was falling forward. She crashed solidly into Seth’s chest as his arms encircled her, leading her away from the window. Gasping in both pain and relief, she welcomed the warm, strong comfort of Seth’s arms. But only for a moment.

“Let go of me!” she shouted hoarsely. Each word grated her throat like sandpaper. Like a wild woman, she fought free of his grip, stumbling. Falling to the floor, she cried out, the impact sending fresh waves of pain crashing through her, shocking her system and taking her breath away. Her ravaged shoulder screamed, her broken fingers shrieked, and the cuts on her legs burned. Blood streaked the pale wooden floor as she scooted backward, trying to put as much distance between herself and Seth as possible.

Still holding the gun in one hand, he advanced on her slowly, cautiously. Beneath the muddy contacts, his eyes burned with an intensity that struck her to the core. “Come on now, Maddie, you’re hurt. Let me help you.”

She collided with the bed and she could retreat no further. Not trusting her legs to stand, she drew her knees to her chest. “No! Stay away from me!” she cried, trying not to pass out from the pain. Her vision was becoming fuzzy and she could see the dark edges of unconsciousness creeping in but she struggled against them. She had to stay awake but everything was blurry, almost like a plastic film was draped over her eyes.
Oh, it was so hard to stay focused.

Seth crouched beside her, reaching out tentatively. “Maddie,” he began, his voice soft as velvet, cajoling, pulling at her.

“Don’t touch me!” she screamed, jerking back although there was nowhere for her to go.

Seth jolted as if she had slapped him but he didn’t move away. He lowered his hand to his side, his expression impossible to read.

She dropped her head to her knees, so tired now. “Just don’t-don’t touch me.”

“Okay,” Seth replied slowly, “I won’t touch you. But you need to go to a hospital.”

Without raising her head, Madison snorted. “What’s the point of going to a hospital when you’re just going to kill me?”

“Why would I kill you? I just risked my life, my job, my everything, to save you,” he said incredulously.

The tone in his voice made her raise her head. “Don’t give me that bullshit. You came back to finish your job. Vance is out of the way so I guess that means I’m next.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head firmly, “it’s not bullshit, Madison. I came to save you.”

“Oh God,” Madison cried, tired of the games, “don’t lie to me. You kill everyone you come into contact with. Andre, Vance . . . Robert,” she said, her voice cracking on Robert’s name. The tears she’d been holding back flowed freely now. She could taste them as they mixed with the blood on her lips. Salt and copper. “I’m the only one left. Just please,” she begged, not wanting to beg but too drained to care, “make it quick. I’m so tired of hurting.” She lowered her head back to her knees, waiting for feel of the muzzle against her skull, waiting for the pain to end. But nothing happened.

“I didn’t kill Robert. I only told you that so you would leave. Maddie,” Seth said softly, “don’t you understand? I came back. For
you.”

Everything hurt. Her body, her heart, her soul. She wanted so badly to believe him but she couldn’t. It was a lie.
Seth
was a lie. Raising her head, she glared at him. Loving him, hating him. Flinging the love aside, she clung desperately to the hatred. It was the only thing keeping her from falling into his arms. “You lying bastard. I hate you. Do you hear me? I
hate
you.”

“I know. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I screwed up. I let you get too far involved in this mess and now you’re here. I lied to you, I hurt you and that is unforgivable. But please, please hear me out. Madison, I’m not lying when I said I came back for you. Don’t you get it? I love you.”

Oh shit, he’d done it now. He’d said those unbelievable, damning words that could never be taken back. Words he never imagined himself saying.

From the floor, Madison stared at him, her eyes wide. Well, with one wide eye. The other was nearly swelled shut and beginning to bruise. If the situation had been different, he might have laughed at her expression, wide eyed, mouth gaped open and speechless. But this was no laughing matter. The woman he loved was sitting in the middle of the floor, blood oozing from her wounds. Not exactly the ideal setting to tell someone that you loved them.

“You’re in love with me?” Madison asked doubtfully. “What kind of sick fucking joke is this?” There was anger in her voice but it was dim as she struggled against the obvious pain.

“It’s not a joke. I almost wish it were. But it’s not. Madison Sinclair, I love you. I’m in love with you. There, I’ve said it. Now will you please let me get you to a hospital?”

“Wait a minute. Did I hear you correctly? The big, badass Seth Reynolds is asking for
my
permission to do something?” The sarcasm dripped from her voice, as thick as the blood that was escaping from the gaping hole in her shoulder. She turned her head and looked at the wall.

Aggravated, he clenched his jaw and bit his tongue against the immediate retort that tried to escape him. Dropping down onto one knee, he grabbed her chin gently, forcing her to look at him. “Listen, I know you haven’t gotten to make a lot of decisions,” he began.

“Um, how about none?” she interrupted, stubbornly resisting him.

“Will you just shut up and listen?! Jesus, I have something to say and I only intend on saying it once.” He could not believe she was sitting here, covered in blood, trying to pick a fight with him. She drew her busted lips together in a thin line of frustration even as he spoke. God, he must be crazy falling in love with her. She was going to be the death of him yet. “I took away every choice, every decision that you had but I did what I had to. And I want to do that now. But instead, I’m giving you the choice. You can sit here and die or you can go to a hospital and live. If you don’t love me, fine. God knows I deserve that after everything I’ve done. And if you never want to see me again, I can do that, too. I will stay out of your life forever but only if you let me get you out of here. So Maddie, Madison, please let me save your life.”

Madison narrowed her eyes and sat, quiet, absorbing everything he said. He could almost see the thoughts churning in her mind. The silence dragged out until he was sure he was going to have to go ahead and do what needed done to save her, with or without her permission. That would only piss her off more but at least she wouldn’t be dead. He could live with her anger and her hate but he couldn’t live with her death on his hands.

He had made so many mistakes. He’d let Vance get to her, waited too long to save her, and then to top it off, he’d shot her. So many mistakes. He prayed that she would forgive him. Give him the chance to make it up to her. And he would. Every day for the rest of her life.

He was amazed to find that he still had a conscience. He thought that it was long gone, destroyed, ripped out of him many years ago. Too much death, too much evil. No conscience could survive an assault of such horrendous proportions. He had seen too much, done too much in this life, such as it was. And yet, here it was, threatening to tear him apart if he let her die. She had saved him. Now he had to do the same for her.

He was about to make a move when she finally broke the silence.

“Okay, you can take me to the hospital but,” she said, staring hard at him, “only on two conditions.”

“Name them and I will do it. I will do anything for you.”

“Number one, tell me you love me again.”

He could see the doubt lingering in her face. He never wanted to see that again. Cradling her face between his hands, he ran his thumbs gently over her cheekbones, erasing the stray tears. “Madison Sinclair, I have never loved anyone in my entire life. I never wanted to. Or expected to. But then you came along and blew all of my expectations to hell. So, now that you have me, you’re stuck with me. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you, making it up to you, and seeing what all this love nonsense is all about.”

Madison looked at him flatly. “That was sweet but you didn’t say that you loved me.”

“Damn it, woman, after all of that . . . Are you serious?” No one could be that stubborn. Could they?

There was no answer as she sat waiting.

“Okay, Madison Sinclair, I love you. Is that better?”

“Yes,” she said, her lips forming a soft smile. “I love you, too, Seth Reynolds.” She leaned forward with a grimace and kissed him, pressing her lips to his. Although it had to hurt, she didn’t pull away.

Finally breaking away from her, he looked at her. He was almost afraid to ask but it had to be done. “So, what’s condition number two?”

“You never,
ever
make me get on another plane.
Ever
.”

Seth laughed in spite of himself. “You got it babe.” He got to his feet and scooped her up, holding her close to his chest. Now that he had her, he was never going to let her go again. He stopped at the top of the stairs with a crooked smile on his face. “This time, we’re taking a helicopter.”