Vengeance (Oak Grove Suspense Book 1) (30 page)

I take the items and hurry back to the bathroom, anything to eat up the minutes. I change and sit down on the side of the tub. I’m so sleepy. It has to be close to dawn by now. A bang on the door startles me and I realize that I have actually started to doze off sitting there. Standing, I make my way to the door and open it before he breaks it down.

“What’s taking you so long?” He’s angry.

“Just wanted to be sure I was perfect,” I tell him, trying to keep my rolling stomach at bay.

He smiles and cups my face, his anger draining away as quickly as it arrived. “You already are perfect.”

He pulls my chin up and kisses me. It’s slow and tender. I close my eyes and try to pretend that it’s Ryan, but it doesn’t work. I know it’s not him. I try to pull back, but Trevor wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me over to the bed.

“I love you so much, Shayla. You’re my entire world.”

Trevor’s words are sweet, but he’s not who I want to hear them from. I want Ryan so badly. He brushes my hair off my neck, kissing me there. His fingers then wrap around the strap of the nightgown and he pushes it down my arm. He taps my bra.

“You’re not really supposed to wear this with a nightgown.”

I shrug. It was on purpose, obviously, but Trevor looks irate now. He roughly grabs the other strap of the night-gown and pushes it down so that the top falls to my elbows.

“Take it off now.”

“Please don’t make me do this.” I know begging will do nothing except make him angrier, but I won’t give in that easily.

“It’s your duty as my wife to consummate this marriage, now do what I say or I’ll cut it off you.” I gasp, but make no move. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a pocket knife. “I’m serious, Shayla.”

I back away. “So am I. I don’t want to have sex with you.”

He grabs me roughly. I try to fight against him, but I’m so tired and probably have a concussion from the earlier blows to the head that I’m not successful in my attempts. He throws my ripped up bra to the ground and then stands there breathing heavily. I quickly pull the nightgown up to cover myself. He drops the knife and reaches for me, but I take another step back, bumping into the dresser. He smiles.

“You can’t get away from me this time. The door is locked.”

Trevor grabs me and pulls me tightly to his chest, kissing me deeply. I gag, but it doesn’t deter him. He rips the nightgown and robe off me, and throws me down onto the bed. He’s kissing every part of me he can reach as I try to fight him off. He’s not deterred in the slightest by my kicks and hits. Growling, he sits up, grabbing my hair and wrenching my head back as far as it will go. I feel like I might hyperventilate. I’m flailing about, trying to find purchase on something that will help me, but I can’t find anything.  

“If you don’t cooperate and participate, I’ll have Jason cut off your son’s hand.”

“No.” I struggle to get loose again. I can barely breathe.

He lets go and I collapse onto the bed, taking huge gulps of air as I  try to get my breathing regulated again.

“Are you going to cooperate?”

“Yes, just leave Dylan alone.”

He pushes me down and lies on top of me. He cups my face gently. “Tell me you love me.”

“I love you.” My voice is monotone.

Trevor shakes his head. “Tell me like you mean it.”

I close my eyes and picture Ryan. “I love you,” I say softly, full of longing. It’s not hard. I do love Ryan.

“Better,” he murmurs as he leans in to kiss me.

He kisses and caresses me, then takes my hands and puts them on his back, making me move them up and down. Tears slip out of my eyes. I can’t stop this and Ryan isn’t going to get here in time.

“You are so perfect, Mrs. Daniels. I’m ready for you. I’m ready to make us a true couple.”

I panic, looking around everywhere trying to find something to stop him. “Condom!” I blurt.

He laughs. “Why would I want to use a condom when I want you pregnant? If I’ve done my math correctly, you should be ovulating right around now.”

I stare at him horrified. “You tracked my cycle?”  I can’t believe he did that. How could he have known?

“Isn’t that what a good boyfriend or husband does?”

“No!”

He smiles. “Well, I did and I can’t wait to see you swollen with my child.” He looks down, palming my belly. I whimper in protest and try to move back on the bed away from him, but he grabs my leg and pulls me back down to him. 

“No!”

This can’t happen. Please, God, don’t let this happen! A loud bang sounds in the air and something wet hits my face as Trevor’s eyes grow huge, then he falls forward, pinning me to the bed. I scream and shove at him. He rolls off the side of the bed and I scream again, scrambling up the bed and grabbing at the blanket to cover myself.

“Shayla.”

I don’t know what to do. I can’t see straight and the light streaming into the room is so bright. I don’t understand what’s happening. What’s wrong with Trevor? What’s on my face?

“Shayla.” Someone touches me and I jerk back.

“Please no. I don’t want this. I want to go home. Please don’t make me.  I want to go home. I want Dylan. I want Ryan,” I mutter repeatedly.

Arms wrap around me and a scent that I recognize immediately wafts around me. Not sweat and cologne like Trevor. This smell is fresh like the outdoors, rustic, woodsy; the warm sun. He’s everything pure, honest, and safe. So safe. It’s a scent that I know belongs to the one I love. I cling to him tightly.

“I’ve got you, baby. I’m here.”

I slowly look up, my eyes having finally adjusted to the bright light. “Ryan?”

“Yeah, baby. It’s me. I’ve got you. He’s not going to hurt you again.”

“Ryan?” I ask again.

“I swear it’s me, Shay. You’re safe.”

“Safe. I’m safe.”

He presses a kiss to my forehead and I know he’s right. I’m finally safe, wrapped in his arms. He made it in time. He saved me from the fate I was sure was mine and prevented something that would have surely haunted me throughout my life. I squeeze him even tighter, basking in the strength of his arms and the love I know he carries for me. A love that is mirrored in me for him. That’s what Trevor didn’t understand. He thought he could make me feel something that I didn’t, but all I felt for him was anger and, to a lesser point, pity. I breathe in deeply, knowing that Ryan is here and that I’m protected in his embrace.

Ryan

Everyone is busy gathering supplies. Twelve men from two local precincts have joined us and ten from my own. It’s not quite as many as we’d hoped for, but it’ll get the job done. As far as we have been able to ascertain, there are only fifteen armed men on the compound. Another SUV with four men arrived about an hour ago. There may be more on the way, so we have to move fast. I turn to Tom. I want to be sure he’s mentally prepared for this.

“If you want to stay here, that’s fine. Shayla will kill me if anything happens to you.”

“I’m going. My baby girl and my grandson have been through enough in their lives. Things I couldn’t protect or save Shayla from. I’ll be damned if I let that happen again. I’m going.” He shoves his gun into his chest holster making it final.

“Good. Just remember to stick to the plan. We don’t want to go running in shooting wildly. We need all our men to be safe so that we can get Shayla and Dylan out.”

He looks at me for a long moment. “I may be a lot older than you, Ryan, but I was in the military for a long time. I know how to work a rescue mission. I’ve been on several in my time.”

I hold up my hands in surrender. “You’re right. I forgot. You’ve been an accountant for as long as I’ve known you.”

He slaps my shoulder. “As far as you know, I was an accountant.” He turns and walks over to the group, leaving me stunned. I follow, but I don’t have a chance to ask him what he’s talking about.

“If I can get everyone’s attention,” Marsh says, drawing everyone to him. “I have a few things to go over. First and foremost, thank you all for volunteering your time. I can’t say that it will be easy and I can’t guarantee you’ll come back in one piece, but I think if we can all work together, we can keep the casualties at a minimum and bring Shayla and Dylan home safely. Now, I’ve already divided you guys up into groups, with one team leader on each. For the sake of simplicity, if you need to contact the base, you’ll be known as team 1, 2, 3 and so on. Stay with your team. We don’t need a rogue hero. That’s how people end up dead. Cover your team and work together. We’re moving out in ten.”

Marsh steps down off the chair that he was standing on and comes to me. He shakes my hand and puts the other hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eye.

“I know you’ve got your head on straight for this, but let me warn you now. If you do anything to endanger these men, yourself, or Shayla and Dylan, I’ll be sure that you never walk again. Am I clear?”

“I’m good. Don’t worry about me.”

He nods. “Good. Now, I’m sure you want in that house. I’m putting you, Paul, Tom, and Linc together. You’re team leader 2. Don’t make me regret this, Ryan.”

“Who’s one?” I ask, bypassing his warnings. They’re unnecessary. I’ve never been as levelheaded as I am right now.

He smiles and winks. “Me, of course.” I snort, rolling my eyes.

“Marsh, I gave each team and leader their call number. We’re all packed and loaded. Just waiting on your word,” Jon tells him.

“Good. Let’s move out!” Marsh calls.

My team is to head northwest. The house is about five-hundred feet from the forest’s edge, but there’s really no point around the entire compound that is closer, or covered. It’s out in the open. We’ll be able to hide around a few buildings or cars, but we’ll be sitting ducks for the most part. We’ve also decided not to use the ATV’s. There are simply too many of us for that to be feasible.

“You good?” I ask Tom. I worry about him running the ten miles to the compound, but he seems to be as much on task as the rest of us who are half his age.

“I’m not as weak as you think I am, Ryan.”

“I know you’re not weak. This is a long run.” I’m panting. I assumed he would be too, but he looks barely out of breath.

He smiles. “I run ten miles every day. This is nothing. Now, shut up and get moving. I want my babies in my arms by daybreak.”

He’s surprising me more and more. We’ll have to have a serious talk when we get home. As we draw closer to the compound, I hold my arm out and slow my men.

“Team Two to base. Do you copy?”

“Team Two copy. Over,” Riley replies.

“Team Two is at the forest edge. Ready to move on your word, Team One. Over.”

“Team One to Team Two, hold position. Over.”

“Copy that, Team One. Over.”

I pull out my binoculars, looking for anything to give me an idea where Shayla or Dylan could be, but the only thing I can see is a light on in one of the bedrooms. I turn to my team.

“Paul, you’re with me. Linc and Tom, you have our backs. We’ll secure the house and then move into the room with the light.” They all nod.

“Team One, to all. Proceed with caution on my mark. Base, cut the external power in three, two, one.” Once it goes dark, we hear, “Move in. over.”

It’s almost pitch-black, save for the small light shining in the one window. Seeing no one visible, we take off running low to the house. We stop behind a small outbuilding. I look to the left and right and see two men. One is making his way to the back of the house, grumbling about the power outage; the other is standing guard at the front door. I signal for Linc and Tom to get the guy headed for the back and Paul to follow me to the front.

We almost make it to the porch when the gunfire starts. The guy starts to draw his gun, but Paul beats him to it, shooting him in the chest. He drops to the ground hard. I grab his gun and we make our way into the house. It’s almost too easy, but I know we aren’t out of the woods yet. Quickly, we scan the house and find no one else present.

We creep to the door with the light on and I slowly turn the handle. Opening the door, I see Trevor poised over Shayla. She is fighting him and screaming no; it’s all the confirmation I need. I pull the trigger and watch him go down. I hurry to her and shove him off. She’s hysterical. I call her name over and over, but she doesn’t respond. She keeps screaming. I don’t want to slap her out of it, but I may have to. I try touching her shoulder.

“Shayla.”

She jerks violently away from me as she mutters that she doesn’t want this and wants to go home. She mutters my name several times and I do the only thing I can. I wrap her squirming body in my arms and promise her that she’s okay. She’s finally safe. Shayla seems to be in a daze, but she stops fighting against me. Nothing she says makes any sense. I think she’s in shock. The only word I can understand is the word safe.

“Yeah, baby. You’re safe. I’ve got you now.” I squeeze her tightly to me.

Paul comes in the door. “The house is secured, but the others may need some help outside.” I nod in understanding, but that’s not my first priority right now. 

“We need to do something with him,” I point to Trevor. I think he’s still alive, but barely. “And find her some clothes.” Shayla clutches me tightly. “It’s okay, Shay. I want to get you something to wear.” I look back to Paul. “Look in that closet for something.”

“No, please. I don’t want his clothes.” She looks up at me with such panic in her eyes, I can’t deny her anything.

“What about my shirt?” She nods. “Okay, you’ll have to let go for just a second. She loosens her grip and I take off my gun holster so I can pull off my long-sleeved t-shirt. It’s a good thing I layered up for this mission. I help her get it on and then I get myself back together.

“She needs something on her legs, it’s too cold outside to just have my shirt on. Let’s go look in a different room.”

I stand with her in my arms with the blanket still wrapped around her lower half. It’s a little awkward navigating, but we make it to the room across from the one I found her in. I try to sit her down on the bed, but she grips me tightly.

“I’m not leaving you, but we need to get you dressed in more appropriate clothes. It’s really cold outside. Can you sit here while I look?”

“I can find something. You won’t leave?” She looks so lost.

“No, baby, I won’t leave you. Never again.” She smiles. She stands up and is a bit wobbly, but I help her steady herself. I fight the anger rising inside me at the sight of her. She’s obviously hurt, that much is clear. She’s bruised and too thin. She’s suffered more than I wanted to believe. I honestly thought, hoped, that Trevor would at least care for her basic needs, given that he wanted her as his. I’ve been a fool. My attention returns to the room as Shayla speaks.

“This is the room he made for me. There are lots of clothes.” She kneels down in front of a dresser and opens the bottom drawer. She pulls out a piece of black material. “There are no real pants or casual clothes here. But I found these leggings the other day. They’ll be okay for now.”

She sits there holding them for a long moment. I stand to go to her, but Paul interrupts. Shayla jumps, but settles quickly. I glare at him. 

He looks apologetically. “I found these tennis shoes in the closet.” He hands me a pair of white Keds and then leaves the room.

“Is he dead?” She looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

“I’m not sure. It wasn’t a kill shot. It should’ve been though, I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time.” I kneel down in front of her as she cups my face.

“You did. You got there just in time.”

Relief floods me. “Yeah? He didn’t …”

“No, he was about to, but then … you shot him.” She touches her face. “I have his blood on me. That’s what that was?”

I wipe at her cheek, there’s really not much on her. “Yeah, let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll get out of here.”

“Where’s Dylan?”

“I’m sure someone found him.”

I don’t want to worry her, but so far there’s been no sign of him. I heard Paul call in Shayla’s rescue over the com, but no one has mentioned any sign of Dylan. I’m afraid Mathis may have run with him, but right now, I need to get Shayla out of here. After she has her clothes, socks, and shoes on, we head through the house. There’s still gunfire sounding outside. Shayla clings to me.

I freeze, listening to the commotion sounding in my com; I hear my team cursing and then a voice, I’m not sure whose, say, “They’re coming out of the bunkers. There must be a least twenty!” Moments later, I hear Marsh telling our guys to go after the newcomers.  

“Are you okay?” Shayla asks me. I look down and smile.

“No problem. There are just a few more men here than we anticipated, but everything is okay. We need to get you out of here.”

“We need to find Dylan.”

I turn her towards me so she can understand. “Shayla, I know this is hard, but right now we need to get you to safety. Once I do that, I can look for him, but I can’t risk losing you both. I need to get you to the base.”

“No, I need to find my son.” She tries to pull away from me, but my grip is too tight. She starts to breathe heavy.

“Shay, calm down, baby. We will find him, but you have to get to safety so we can.”

“Listen to him, baby girl.” Her head jerks towards the door and I let go so she can run into the arms of her father. I know he won’t let her get out the door.

“Daddy!” He hugs her tightly.

“Let’s get you to safety, honey. Let Ryan find Dylan.” She nods. “I got her, you go on. We’ll just stay put here until you get back.”

“You said you wouldn’t leave me.” Shayla releases her father and comes back to me.

I cup her face in my hands. “I can’t do both. I can’t stay with you and find Dylan.”

She nods. I think she’s in some sort of shock or is, at the very least, confused. It’s understandable though. “Right. Right, go find our baby.”

“I’ll find him.” I press a kiss to her forehead and my stomach drops as I feel her flinch from me. Oh, my poor Shayla.

“What’s going on out there?” I ask Tom, who’d been outside most of the time we’d been in the house. I don’t release Shayla just yet. She’s settled against me, clinging to me.

“They had some men hiding in the bunker, but they’ve about got them cleared out. Maybe about twelve or so left. No sign of Dylan or Mathis from what I could gather on the com, but some of the coms have gone down according to Riley.”

“Right, I heard that part. Shay, I’m going to go get our boy. You stay here. Please, stay here.”

She nods, but says nothing as I head outside. Paul and I creep around the house and head towards the outbuilding. I can see Marsh and a few others fighting in the field about midway between the house and a gazebo looking structure. It looks like they have it under control.

Paul and I are almost to the outbuilding when two shots are fired. I’m hit in the abdomen, knocking me on my back and Paul is hit in the arm. Luckily, I just get the wind knocked out of me because I’m wearing a bullet proof vest. It’ll bruise, but I’ll be fine. I manage to sit up, just in time to see the guy raising his gun again. I shoot him and a man behind him.

“You okay?” 

Paul grumbles under his breath as he rips off part of his shirt, trying to make a tourniquet. I grab it and quickly tie it around his arm. “It’s just a graze. I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

I help him up and we’re off again. Unfortunately, the outbuilding is empty. It looks like any other storage shed with gardening tools and a lawnmower, but there is also a chair with a rope loosely draped around it. They must have tied Dylan there.