Die for Me (15 page)

Rigger left her sight, but he hadn’t finished with her. He pulled her across the tile toward the middle of the bathroom by the ankle.

Torrhent kicked as hard as she could, not wanting to find out what would happen when he had her in position. She flipped herself over onto her stomach, clawing at the tile for leverage, but to no avail. She didn’t have a grip.

The Japanese-American had woken up and stepped down on her hands with thick work boots, the pain intensifying with each movement of her hand.

“Now”—Rigger stopped—“we’re going to have some fun.”

A great weight pressed against her back as her neck was pulled tight by the roots of her hair. Torrhent refused to scream. She’d promised herself not to.

The pounding on the door continued.

The bolt wouldn’t last much longer, but Rigger and his partner hadn’t moved, as if waiting for Taigen to find them just like this.

A cold object flattened against her throat and she knew the blade would find home if she moved. She tried to keep her breathing even but had a hard time focusing. Either she’d pass out from exhaustion or the blood seeping into her mouth would paralyze her.

* * *

Taigen kicked one more time, slamming the bathroom door against the wall. He stepped inside, eager to find Torrhent and get the hell out of there. He didn’t move when a blade made its way to his throat. He’d give them the upper hand to find out exactly what they wanted, but only until then.

“Welcome to the party,” someone said, shoving Taigen deeper into the bathroom. The door closed behind him, limiting his options for escape but not cutting them off completely.

With a quick study of the bathroom he found Torrhent was on the tiled floor, blood dripping from her lips and nose, her head pulled back at an impossible angle with a knife pressed against her throat.

The man holding it knelt on her back, one knee pressed in between her shoulder blades, his other foot firmly planted against the floor. He wore a button-down men’s tank and khaki pants with thickly soled brown boots, the shirt showing off the long tattoo that seemed to cover his entire body. A cougar.

“You must be Rigger,” Taigen said. “I’ve only heard stories.”

The man’s face was triangular, like his groomed facial hair, and covered in blood. His nose protruded at an odd angle.

He smiled to himself, pleased Torrhent had at least tried to defend herself.

“In the flesh, Mr. Banvard. I’ve heard of you as well.”

Taigen took one step closer, the knife at his throat pulling him up short.

“If you take another step, you’ll both die.”

“If you haven’t killed her already, then you don’t have the balls.”

The blade pushed farther into Torrhent’s neck, a line of blood forming across her beautiful skin.

“You weren’t sent by Isaac,” Taigen proclaimed. It hadn’t been hard to figure out once he realized the set of cowboys was a decoy. “Was it Wren?”

Rigger chuckled. “Nobody knows who is doing what, it seems.”

He kept his hand wrapped in Torrhent’s hair as he pulled her head farther back. “And I don’t have time for questions.”

Torrhent remained silent, not even letting a whimper escape.

Taigen searched her features for some expression that let him know what she was thinking, but all he found was her blank eyes.

She’d checked out.

The knife pressed even harder against her throat and she closed her eyes. Blood seeped from the cut, but she didn’t move, and he wasn’t about to watch more of her blood stain the tile.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Taigen warned. He didn’t know what else to do. The lie was the only way to save her life. “Don’t you know whose daughter she is?”

Rigger looked up to him, his mouth in the shape of a smile as he spoke in broken English. “I think you say anything to save her.”

He removed the knife from Torrhent’s throat, raised his knee and reached down for her. He flipped her onto her back, placing his full weight on her chest. “I know who she is and so does my boss. Why do you think we’re here?”

Torrhent didn’t move as Rigger leaned down, his tongue licking a line from the bottom of her throat to her nose.

Taigen pushed against the knife at his own throat. “Stop.”

Rigger’s eyes shot toward him. “Not until I have my fun first.”

He slid his body down Torrhent’s, sitting in between her legs, and Taigen could only imagine too well what he had in mind. The blade made another appearance, slicing through Torrhent’s flannel shirt and tank top.

Her bra was exposed, but it didn’t have the effect on him it should have as the knife slid across the skin over her belly.

She shook with a silent sob, one that must have cost her dearly to let slip. A line of blood bubbled to the surface over her stomach and Taigen felt the rage he’d kept to himself for too long.

He threw his elbow back into the face of the man wielding the blade at his throat. A loud exhale escaped the man’s lungs before he went down, but Taigen didn’t stop there. His foot slammed into the hit man’s face, knocking him out cold before he turned back to the scene in front of him.

Another laceration brought a scream from Torrhent’s throat and his heart plunged into his gut.

Ignoring the defeat of his companion, Rigger narrowed his eyes. “Take another step, Banvard, and I’ll end her suffering right now.” He leaned over Torrhent’s stomach, lowering his mouth to her skin slowly. He licked at the blood, enjoying the sound she made. “I have to warn you,” he said to her. “You’re not going to enjoy this.”

Taigen had never felt so helpless. Any movement from him and Rigger would fillet the woman beneath him. The knife that had been pressed to his throat lay on the tile less than two feet away. If he was fast enough, he could save her.

Torrhent’s left hand slowly made its way closer to the distracted hit man’s leg. She angled her head away from him as he moved his tongue up her neck, almost in disgust, but Taigen knew better.

She was going to make her move.

Taigen went for the knife on the floor as a distraction, and before he knew it Torrhent swung a blade she’d pulled from Rigger’s own boot as hard as she could.

* * *

Blood dripped from Rigger’s neck onto Torrhent’s face and into her mouth. She left the knife in its place as panic set in. The blood touched her, held her down. It ran down her throat and into her stomach and she couldn’t move. Her limbs refused to obey as the body on top of her went slack.

Footsteps rang in her ears as Taigen moved into her vision. She tried to speak, tried to move any part of her body that would work, but she was paralyzed. Blood was everywhere, soaking into her body. Her mind went blank, empty.

Only muffled words came out of Taigen’s mouth as he looked down on her.

The weight on her chest lifted, giving her the ability to breathe easier. She could only focus on the ceiling. Torrhent tried to explain about the blood. She tried to tell him she couldn’t move, but nothing made sense. None of it was getting through to him.

The sound of crashing waves roared through her head, but it slowed, dimmed.

Taigen huddled over her, his ear close to her mouth.

“Off.” She inhaled deeply, relieved at the sound of her own voice. “Off.”

Taigen pulled her upper body into his arms, removing the rest of her flannel shirt and tank top quickly. He moved down to her feet to take off her shoes then socks, followed by her jeans.

“Off,” she said again. Left only in her bra and panties, he lifted her into his arms. The world wobbled as he stood up too quickly.
Off
.

She counted squares of tile as they moved into the showers, but nothing calmed the tilting walls.

Taigen dropped her legs, gripping her around the stomach with his forearm, her back against his chest as he turned on the water. He tried to avoid the scores across her stomach, but there were too many. He shoved her under ice-cold water.

“Get it off me.” Torrhent moved her hands over her body as fast as possible to remove the slick red liquid from her skin. Nothing worked. It was everywhere, running down the drain, soaking into her skin and hair. The salty taste in her mouth made her stomach twist.

Taigen tried to help, pushing her under the spray. He rubbed her face gently. He worked her shoulders then moved down to her toes.

It seemed like an hour under the spray until she couldn’t feel a single drop of blood left. Torrhent sank to the floor, the cold water sinking into her bones. Eyes closed, hands wrapped around her stomach, she let the water seep into her mouth. She shook like never before, every muscle in her body tensing randomly. Not even dead bodies made her feel this way, and for the first time she could remember she wished she’d never walked into that house over a year ago.

Taigen backed away slowly, his work boots sloshing a thin layer of water around. “I’ll find you some new clothes.”

He turned his back on her.

“Stay,” she pled, looking up at him. She tried to put all the energy she had left into forcing a smile, but feared the product. This wasn’t right. She knew she shouldn’t put him through this, but it didn’t matter.

She needed him.

“Please.” The water rushed over her head and down her shoulders as he looked down on her, and suddenly she felt as if he could see her for who she really was: a coward.

He sat next to her. Taigen shivered but wrapped his arm over her shoulder. His touch calmed her pulse, evened her breathing, and cleared her mind. She’d never been so sure of anything in her life as she spoke. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Chapter 14

“We can use some of this dried brush for a fire.” Taigen’s gaze wandered over Torrhent’s still form. He threw the brush into a pile and crouched to start the fire. The clearing they’d stopped in was less than five miles away from the bar. Not far, but safe for the time being.

She tried to hide the spots of blood already seeping through her thin shirt behind folded arms. Her clothes were ruined, her skin covered in a sheen of sweat from the walk.

Torrhent had stood on her own when she should have crumpled in the face of death. She was strong. She was beautiful and she took his breath away. He had no way of knowing just one night of passion with her would change his entire outlook on life. A woman he hadn’t known even two weeks ago occupied a good portion of his thoughts. He’d killed for her, and he’d do it again, kill anyone who tried to harm her.

Exposing her to the hit men trailing them had been a mistake. While he hadn’t expected it to be easy, emotionless, the look of fear in her eyes had nearly ripped his heart in two. The emotions he buried in favor of focusing on his sister resurfaced as Taigen assessed Torrhent from afar. He couldn’t stand the pain in her eyes and wanted nothing more than to ensure she’d never have to suffer again.

Drawing blood had marked her, stunned her, and she rode close to the border of shock. If he wasn’t careful, she’d snap. The bullet lodged in his chest blazed as if it was on fire, screaming for release. He rubbed at it. “You should rest. You’ll tear the stitches if you don’t.”

Her gaze weighed on him as he stepped back from the growing fire and sat down.

She followed his advice, sinking down onto the dirt slowly. Torrhent was in pain and he couldn’t help her. All he’d been able to do was stop the bleeding by stitching her up with thread and a needle he carried in his duffle bag. It wasn’t the best, but it worked. His skills as a medic had come in handy after all.

He exhaled in agony as she winced. “Eat.”

He threw a bag of jerky beside her, unwilling to make her move for fear she’d tear her stitches.

Torrhent stared into the fire. She tried to bring her knees into her chest but winced again, the pain echoing in Taigen’s chest. “I’m not hungry.”

All he saw when he looked at her was how the campfire made the droplets of sweat on her forehead glisten. As if they were connected, he experienced every ounce of pain written on her face. “It’ll help with the shock and nausea.”

“I’m fine.” She closed her eyes, fisting her shaking hands. Torrhent was going over the edge.

He scooted closer to her, snapping his fingers in front of her face. “Torrhent.”

It took a couple snaps to get her attention and her whole body began to shake. He wrapped an arm over her shoulder, his free hand massaging her left arm. “You’re going into shock. Come on, lie down.”

She did, but not without help.

“Tell me about the room you grew up in.” He needed her to focus, to keep her mind off of what happened back there. “What color were the walls?” He ran his fingertips over the stains on her shirt. They were wet. New. Dread raked its way up his throat, but he tried to keep his voice even so as not to alarm her. If they didn’t make it to civilization, the wounds would become infected and she’d sink into septic shock. He didn’t think the blade had punctured any vital organs. Not enough blood seeped onto the bandages, but without so much as salt water, Torrhent could die from infection.

She sucked in air through gritted teeth when his fingers pressed too hard on one of the lacerations. “Purple.”

He brushed his fingers through her hair with one hand as he lifted her shirt with his other. She’d already torn two of the twenty stitches, most likely from walking. “You don’t seem like a purple kind of girl.”

She laughed, slight hints of hysteria tinting the sound. “My mom thought purple would be better than red.”

Her eyes had glazed over, her attention not really there.

Taigen was losing her. He pressed his fingertips against her throat. Tachycardic. “Torrhent, your heartbeat is too high. I need you to breathe like I do.”

He made a show of inhaling deeply. “Now breathe out through your mouth. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Good.”

She followed along simply enough, bits of sanity returning to her eyes slowly.

“What else was in your room?”

Her eyes searched for something, maybe him, and Taigen complied. He leaned over her, brushing a stray piece of hair from her face. Their eyes connected and he sensed the worst of the shock had passed.

“Backstreet Boys posters.” She licked her cracked lips, a smile spreading across her face. “And ’N Sync.”

Taigen dropped his head to her chest, laughter shaking his entire body. It took him a second to regain his composure. “Backstreet Boys?”

She smiled back at him, but it soon began to recede. Her pulse evened out, her breathing easy.

“I should have been there sooner.” He hadn’t meant for her to get hurt but had known it was a possibility. Their enemies were hit men after all. Like him, they only dealt in blood.

“It was inevitable,” she whispered.

His eyes never deviated from hers as he spoke. “Torrhent, back there, in the shower—”

“I meant every word.” She tried to push herself upright, but he held her down.

“Take it easy.”

She wiped stray tears from her eyes with the back of her hand as she stared up into the night sky. “I can’t do this anymore. Too many people are dying because of me.”

That’s what he’d been afraid of. She wanted to give up. She wanted to leave him. Taigen backed away from her, not far, but enough to give her some room. “What’s your plan? Turn yourself over to Isaac?”

He didn’t even want to think about it. “You think giving up will solve anything? They will kill you. Adelaide will kill you. I can’t stop her without your help.”

“I don’t care anymore.” Her eyes glazed distantly as she turned her head to face the fire. Torrhent wasn’t the same girl he’d met less than two weeks ago. She was his world, his everything, and she’d be the death of him.

He never wanted to let her go.

“You stupid girl,” Taigen scoffed, shaking his head. He stood and turned his back on her. Barely able to breathe through his anger, he worked to get the words out. “I may be a bastard, but you’re a coward.”

She nodded in agreement. Standing, probably faster than was safe for her stitches, she circled around him. Her eyes were wide, but steady. “You’re right.” Torrhent started to crumple right before his eyes.

Taigen caught her by the elbows just before she went down. He kept his voice even, low. “That’s it? You’re going to let others fight your battle?”

She wrenched herself out of his grip. “I never asked people to fight for me!”

“But they have, Torrhent!” He couldn’t keep his temper under control anymore. Taigen wanted to shake her, make her realize exactly what would happen with her decision. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, trying to rein himself in. “You told me Isaac should pay for what he’s done. All I’m doing is giving you the chance to make that happen. Was it a lie?”

When he reopened his eyes, he found hers wet with tears.

She swallowed hard. “No.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“It was
your
plan that didn’t work.” It took her a moment to go on, her stare darting into the fire once again. “I was an idiot to think I could go up against them. I should have let those men kill me back there.” Her stare returned to him. “No one else would suffer if I had.”

“I would.” Taigen worked to release the tension in his body. He stepped toward her, wrapping his fingers around her biceps, and immediately felt the effect. Touching her slowed his pulse, cleared his mind. “I don’t even know how I came to feel this way. Something about you has me fighting against all my training and instincts.”

She looked away from him, her skin flushing, even in the campfire glow. “I think you’d say anything to get what you want.”

“Torrhent.” He waited until she looked back to him to go on. “I’m a selfish bastard for using you, but I won’t give up on the chance we could make it out alive. Together.” Taigen tried to clear the lump in his throat. “I want
you
.”

“You don’t even know me.”

He brushed a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. “I know you can be brave. You’re not afraid to speak your mind. You’ve been a ballet dancer and I can’t get you out of my mind. What else do I need to know?”

“The longer you’re around me, the more danger you’re in.” Torrhent’s gaze met his, fiery, strong. “And nothing you can say will change my mind.”

* * *

She wished she’d meant it.

Torrhent stared into the electric blue depths of Taigen’s eyes, the darkness having no effect on the intensity radiating from them. One thing would change her mind, but she prayed he wouldn’t say the words. She didn’t want to hear it.

“My life was empty before I met you.” Taigen licked his lips.

She followed the movement, but closed her eyes in order to keep her sanity. “Just stop. Please.”

She wanted to believe him, but he’d already chosen the greater good over her once. In reality, she admired him for it. He fought for something she didn’t have the courage to. And he’d win without her. If nearly being filleted alive taught her anything, it was Taigen Banvard didn’t deserve to rot in prison because of her selfish wish. She’d made a mistake in choosing him and hoped he’d forgive her for changing his life so drastically. But first, she had to take the first step to fix it.

Torrhent reopened her eyes. “I’m sure there’s a nice stripper waiting for you back in Los Angeles who’d appreciate it more.”

She stepped around him, unwilling to believe his face had crumpled in front of her. Picking up the bag of jerky from the ground, she winced in pain. She needed her strength, but the movement had her sucking air through gritted teeth. Her insides felt like ground beef and would have been if Taigen hadn’t interfered. She turned to face him, talking to his back. “Thank you for helping me.”
For helping me trust again
.

“You’re not going anywhere.” He turned on her, his eyes blazing without the help of the nearby campfire.

Frozen, Torrhent had never seen a look like that from him.

He closed the distance between them. “I’ve killed and bled for you.”

Fisting his hand in her hair, Taigen sent a jolt of pain through her head. “Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together and we’re closer than ever. We can end this.”

She was speechless, unsure what to do, to say. The hit men who’d nearly killed her were nothing compared to the passion in Taigen’s eyes. She couldn’t move. Only the searing pain of the cuts on her stomach let her know she wasn’t already dead.

“You’ve done a lot of stupid things so far,” he said, releasing his hold on her physically. She wanted to argue but was interrupted and shoved down to sit. “I won’t let you kill yourself and I am not going to let you fuck up my plans to get to my sister either. No one else can stop her.”

Torrhent’s eyes darted away from him, calculating her chances of outrunning him.

They weren’t good.

She rubbed at the back of her neck, massaging the hair that had almost been pulled out of her head. “I can’t keep looking over my shoulder. I’m not a killer. I’m not like you.”

The words came out with just the right amount of hatred. She needed them to hurt. She had to separate herself from him once and for all.

“I’m not asking you to be like me, Torrhent.” Taigen confronted her again. “Isaac brought you into this. I’m just trying to help you out of it, and right now you owe me the courtesy of seeing it through.”

The frustrating part was, she agreed with him. Isaac needed to pay for what he’d done, but what happened back at the bar had been just the beginning. They’d find her again and they’d kill her. They’d kill Taigen. “Do you remember what you told me the other night? About revenge? You said I was blinded by it.”

Torrhent didn’t wait for him to answer. It was childish, but she didn’t care. She had a point to make. “What if it isn’t me who’s been blinded?” She stood then began walking north. “I’m turning myself in tomorrow. With or without your help.”

New York rested eighteen hundred miles away, but there had to be a police station somewhere along the way. If things went her way, Torrhent would be in a cell by tomorrow night.

“You’re making a mistake,” he said from behind.

“You were going to turn me over to them anyway!” she spat. “I’m just a fucking bargaining chip to you.”

“Yes, you were. But not anymore.”

Shit
. Torrhent didn’t know how to respond. She’d never planned for things to get this far. “I can’t let more people die for me. Why can’t you understand that?”

“Because you’re going to get yourself killed, Torrhent!” Taigen ran his hand over his buzzed head, his eyes meeting hers. “Don’t do this.”

His voice lowered an octave. Taigen’s accent tinted every word. He meant what he said. “We can pay Isaac back for what he’s done. We can find Adelaide, stop her and run away. We can be happy. Wherever you want, I can get us there. Anywhere. Just tell me where.” His entire body pled with her, but his eyes kept her in place. “If you turn yourself in, Isaac will kill you. You
know
it’s true.”

She wanted to take him up on his offer. No worries, wet beaches, dry martinis, maybe even love. Torrhent was ready for it all, but she knew her stepfather too well.

Torrhent stepped into him. “Let me go, Taigen. To save your own life. Please.”

“I can’t. I made you a promise I fully intend to keep.”

Her heart sank. “You would die just for the chance to fulfill your promise?”

Taigen didn’t miss a beat. “Yes.”

Last chance
. “Fine. I won’t turn myself in.”

He didn’t answer at first, his brows creasing toward the center of his forehead. “Just like that?”

“No,” she said. “On the condition we leave right now. Tonight. We don’t look back, just run for Mexico or England or wherever the hell you want to go.”