Beyond Revenge (The Ransom Series)
Read Beyond Revenge (The Ransom Series) Online
Authors: A.T. Douglas
Beyond Revenge
Part Two of The Ransom Series
By A.T. Douglas
Copyright © 2014 by A.T.
Douglas
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored
in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form
or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without prior written
permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages
for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people,
events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to
provide a sense of authenticity. The author acknowledges the trademarked
status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of
fiction, which have been used without permission. The use of these trademarks
is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
To not being
afraid
to embrace that
which we love.
To putting it all
out there
regardless of the
consequences.
To being who we
are
and stepping into
the wild unknown.
This is me
and I am not
ashamed.
Her Smile
∞
In the lonely
delirium of unconsciousness
I can almost see
her face.
The roundness of
it,
the softness of
her skin,
the light freckles
on her cheeks.
The curve of her
lips tease me.
They create the slightest
dimple there.
I miss her smile.
∞
Darkness. It seems to be where life
and fate want to keep me, and I’ll gladly stay. When you have nothing left to
lose, it’s a comforting thing to embrace. It’s easy to get lost in it, to
become unknowing and unaware, and that’s where I need to be.
Every cell in my body screams at me to
remain in this blissful state on the edge of the conscious world. At least
here I can see her in my dreams. I can remember her, the time we spent
together, the way she made me feel. I can imagine the life we could have
shared before I failed her.
There is no life for me without Morgan
in it. She saved me in so many ways, and in the end
,
I couldn’t protect her.
I lost her.
If she were here right now, she’d save
me again. She’d use every ounce of power within her to pull me out of the
darkness and give me the strength to live again. I’d have her unwavering
support
and
the drive and purpose to do anything. I’d
be who she’d need me to be, and I’d never let her go again.
How could I have lost her?
The moment the freezing water hits my
face
,
I’m instantly awake, eyes open, senses alert,
orientation realigning. I look around
frantically
.
Was it a dream? Is this the real nightmare?
And then I remember my last conscious
thoughts: waking up on Robert Whitford’s doorstep, the absolute fury on his
face, the gun coming down hard on my skull.
Déjà vu. He stands before me much as
before, but I’m not sprawled out on the ground. Not yet
anyway
. I’m bound to a chair in a concrete room.
Just like Morgan was in the prison
after she was taken from her family and her life.
Just another reminder of the woman I
love and how I’ve failed her repeatedly.
Despite Robert’s frazzled
,
graying hair, he looks calmer than before, though still angry and
livid with malicious intent toward me. I won’t fight him. I deserve every
single thing he has planned for me and more. I actively participated in the
total destruction of his daughter’s life.
This man has no concept of my feelings
for Morgan. How can he understand? He knows what I did to her at the prison
when Mark held her for ransom. He’s seen Mark’s secret surveillance video of
me thrusting inside her, though he doesn’t know it was done under Mark’s orders
and to save her from an even worse fate. He’ll never accept that Morgan wanted
me, that we were more in love with each other than we even realized at the
time,
and
that despite the horrible things I did at
the prison, I would do anything for her.
“Leo Marini.” Robert says my name in a
deep, accusing voice with utter disdain. “How is it that one of the fuckers
who kidnapped my daughter magically shows up unconscious on my doorstep?” He
forcefully
grabs my chin and leans low to my face, demanding that I look
at him. “How is it that the man who raped my baby is sitting in my fucking
basement?”
How do I even begin this conversation?
How do I explain that I’m not the monster he thinks I am? How do I reason with
a parent whose only child has been missing for almost four months because of
me?
I don’t deserve his understanding. He
should punish me, throw me in jail, stick a knife in my chest, put a bullet in
my head. I should be punished for doing so many awful things in my life, but for
my failures with his daughter most of all.
For two seconds I think to give up, to
fall backward off this cliff I’m sliding toward and plummet to the unknown depths
below.
Then I remember Morgan’s smile, and I can’t go
down that dark path any longer. She needs me now more than ever.
“Mark’s use for me ran out,” I state,
completely defeated. “He got what he wanted. He took her.” My anger boils
over, my upper body yanking
violently
against the
restraints
and my dark hair flying wildly around my face
in
my
burst of rage. “He fucking took her
from me
.”
Robert watches me curiously. “Where is
she?”
“I don’t know.”
He doesn’t question my
response
, but he doesn’t look fully convinced, either. I need to pierce
through his hatred and anger. I need to reach him.
“I can never repay you for all you’ve
given me,” I say,
my voice softening as I stare
blankly
at the
wall in front of
me
before returning to meet his gaze, “and I can never make it up to you
enough for all I’ve taken away from you. I’m so sorry.”
Robert
narrows his eyes at
me. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Morgan and I…” I start, but I have a
hard time continuing. Just the thought of her makes my heart
physically
ache
in my chest
. It makes me want
to scream. “We’ve become very close.”
“You mean you’ve forced yourself upon
her. You’ve brainwashed her. You stole her away from us.”
His words cut into me, slicing into my
already battered heart. “It’s not like that.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Robert’s pacing the
room now. “You really want me to believe that? Mark’s had you wrapped around
his little finger since the moment he took you under his wing. You played
right into his plan.”
His words piss me off. “I never signed
up for kidnapping and torturing women. If you knew me at all
,
you’d know it’s the last thing I’d ever want to do.”
“But you did it. You went along with
it for months.”
“She chose me
!
”
I retort. “Three months ago. That last phone call. The gunshot.” I wince at
the thought of it. “I begged her not to choose me, but you know how stubborn
she is. She’s too damn selfless. She thought she was saving me.”
My mention of the last time Mark
contacted Robert seems to soften his features. The beast inside him goes into
hiding
,
at least temporarily. “What happened that
day?” He stop
s
pacing, facing me directly. “That
phone call will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
If only he could understand that I have
nightmares about it, too.
“Mark shot her in the shoulder and gave
her a choice. They had me battered and chained to
a
wall. What was she supposed to do?”
“She said she fell in love with you,”
Robert interjects quietly, sounding like he
’s reluctant t
o believe the words coming out of his mouth. “She said you hold
her heart.”
I can’t look at him. I can’t stand to
be reminded of Morgan’s love for me and how much I lov
e
her back. “We both fell equally in love. We didn’t mean for it
to happen. It just did.”
Robert ponders my response for a long
moment,
resuming his pacing of the room while
judging
my honesty.
“I believe you
,” he finally says,
“and
you’re right, she’s too selfless. She gets that from
her mother.”
It seems strange to be talking to this
man who is so connected to Morgan. It makes me feel like I’ve known him
forever.
What’s even stranger is that I’m in
this man’s basement and not in a police station
or other
holding facility.
“Why haven’t you turned me in yet?” I
ask, unable to contain my curiosity.
Robert’s
expression
turns solemn. “The moment my daughter chose to be part of a
criminal organization, she became
a criminal
in the
eyes of the law. The search for her as a victim was called off. They want to
arrest her along with the rest of you now, but I won’t let that happen.”
“You’re trying to find her on your
own?”
He nods, continuing his unhurried walk back and forth
across the space in front of me.
“It’s become my life’s
mission. I’ve heard stories of her exploits working with Mark
,
but none of it ever amounted to an address where she could be. You’re
the biggest piece of evidence to
fall
in my lap in
this entire investigation. I can’t turn you over to the police.”
Something light and hopeful flashes in
my chest. Maybe he’ll work with me. Maybe we can find her together. “Let me
help you.”
Laughter bursts out from deep within
Robert’s chest. “After all that’s happened, you expect me to trust you? Are
you out of your mind?”
“I’ll tell you everything that’s
happened these past four months. I’ll give you information about Mark’s
operation and the people who work
for
him. Act on
that information. See that I’m telling you the truth
,
and maybe you’ll come to trust me.”
“What will he do to her?”
All hint of laughter is gone from Robert’s voice. I see the scared
man behind the detective’s badge and hard exterior. He’s just a father stuck
in the middle of his worst nightmare, fearful for his daughter’s fate.
I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t
even fathom what to say. Silence fills the empty room around us.
Robert’s face turns desperate. He
approaches me, grabbing me by the shoulder. “I need to know. Please, just
tell me.”
I shake my head automatically.
Just
t
he thought of Mark touching Morgan is absolutely
devastating
. My chest tightens up. My throat is dry and painfully
constrained. “I can’t. I can’t even say it, Robert.”
He falls to his knees in front of me,
staring vacantly at the floor. “What will he do?”
I know what’s going through his head.
Despite the decision
that
Morgan made the night we
found out Mark’s plans, I worry that what we did won’t be enough to save her
from
his
intentions. As I look at the helpless father
in front of me, I know he needs the truth, even if he kills me for it.
“There’s something you should know.”
He looks up at me and I pause, needing to choose all my words carefully. “We were
warned of what Mark was going to do. We had a plan to get out, but Morgan was
worried. She didn’t want to take any chances should we fail in our escape.” I
can’t help grimacing at the thought of how horribly we failed. “She asked me
to sleep with her… without protection.”
“Excuse me?”
The
devastated father in front of me is quickly reverting back to his feral state.
“Mark has no one. In his eyes, his
wife and daughter are dead because you put him in prison and he couldn’t
protect them. This is his ultimate revenge: using your own daughter to carry
on his family line and give him an heir to his business. It scared Morgan to
death. She decided she wanted to make that choice instead of Mark, and she
chose me again. She asked me beat him to it.”
Robert struggles to his feet, backing
away from me. “What have you done?”
Whatever specks of dust are left of my
decimated heart quickly drift away from me. My self-hatred hits its peak. “I’m
sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
He mak
es
for
the stairs, stumbling backward. “I can’t even look at you. I need to go.”
“We need to find her!” I yell after him
as he takes the stairs two at a time.
The door opens and slams shut at the
top of the stairs, then I hear all of Robert’s pent
-
up
anger and frustration
and grief
being released at
once. On the floor above me
,
there are loud crashes
and thuds amidst the wailing of a father who has lost everything. Dust falls
from the unfinished ceiling above me as it shakes with his fury.
I close my eyes, letting the screams
and chaos usher me back into the darkness, that comfortable place where
numbness overwhelms me.
But I can’t even savor the darkness
.
Morgan’s
image is waiting for me there. Her smiling face
taunts me
,
because I know she is no longer smiling. I
fear
she
may n
ever smile
again.