Page 18 of Dangerous Vengeance

“Shit, hold on,” I grunt as I floor the accelerator. I sit straighter in the seat so I can see where we’re going. Sirens blare from every angle. Headlights flash; red and blue flickers dance on the buildings and store fronts. The car hurtles down the street, weaving between vehicles and narrowly missing a pedestrian out late for a stroll with his dog.

“Fuck, he’s really bleeding…”

I hear the groans of pain coming from the back seat along with the men back there tending to him but the only thing I can focus on is driving. I point my weapon over my shoulder out the window and fire a few times. I’m the only one with any rounds left and Sven and Rome can’t cover us anymore.

“Someone tell them to get out of there or they’re sitting ducks,” I snap, darting through an intersection with a red light. A car flies through the crossroad just after I pass, narrowly missing me but slamming into a cruiser. That’s one down and several more to go.

“Sven, Rome, get out. Get to my house now.” Dominic sounds winded, probably from fighting for his life and the life of his men. He leans over the seat as I turn another corner trying to lose the bastards. As I do I fire another round and hear it ping on the car. “Drive faster, Matty.”

“I’m going as fast as I can.” This old sedan isn’t made like the Chargers used by the police. I am flying at more than double the speed limit, putting all of our lives at risk, and I’m putting a distance between us and our pursuers, but it’s only a matter of seconds before they bring in a helicopter to pin us down.

“Shit!” Dominic ducks as a bullet smashes my rear window. “Matvey, Dan is bleeding out.”

“Fuck,” I hiss, turning down another side street. I turn my lights off, hoping to gain a little ground and go incognito and it works. The cruisers fly past the intersection and none too soon. I stealthily make my way across town, avoiding any place I know there is a traffic camera, and it takes us another ten minutes to get to my house where I park my car safely in the garage.

We drag Dan into my foyer where he lays on the herringbone hardwood bleeding. Dominic has already called the vet to stitch him up, but it doesn’t look good. I pace over him, watching as the pool of blood grows by the second. Dominic stands with hands on hips scowling and our two soldiers take turns adding pressure to the chest wound and giving rescue breaths. Dan is dead before the vet even gets here.

“This is ludicrous!” Dominic’s shout rattles the walls. “That should have been an easy in and out job. He screams at the soldiers who failed as he stares at Dan, the man who bravely put his life in front of Dominic’s to shield him from that bullet. “The plan changes!”

“What?” I shake my head and stand between Dominic and the dead man, his two comrades hovering over his lifeless form. “We have to get the laptop.”

“No, you have to find out who else knows. Then you have to kill the girl. We’ll set charges to the paper and burn the building down.” His eyes flicker with hatred. “Our name is on the line here.”

“Dom, if she lies? What if other people know? You really want that traced back to us?” I take a step boldly toward him. I’m not killing Natalie. She’s too valuable right now.

“Fine,” he snarls, his voice gravelly and filled with rage. “Then you make sure she doesn’t lie. Find out if anyone else knows about this and we’ll take care of them too. Then, she dies.”

I stare after him as he walks away. I have zero intentions of killing Natalie and every intention of defying my brother’s orders. She may know things, but now that she’s mine, she’ll never have a chance to tell a soul. I’ll see to that.

11

NATALIE

It’s been days since Matty came in here. He had this jerk of a soldier install bars on my window. I really am a prisoner now, though he did bring me clean sheets and a comforter, a few changes of clothes too. And Flynn, the heavily tattooed man with a gauge in his left ear who watches over me, brings me three meals a day. I have zero entertainment though, so I spend most of my waking hours seated by the window staring out at the birds that land in the nest made in the corner of the house where the decorative architecture creates a nook for them.

“Where is he?” I ask quietly, staring out the window. Flynn doesn’t talk much. He scrolls his phone and glances at me every so often, but he never lets me out of his sight, except when I use the toilet. I always shut the door and after ten seconds he’s always there knocking. It’s not like I can escape the bathroom. There is no window, no heating vent.

Flynn looks up at me and ignores me, then goes back to his scrolling. He has to be as bored as I am. All we do all day is the same thing. Scroll, stare, breathe. I feel like my fate has been decided for me. I’m destined to watch birds’ nest and migrate the rest of my life, however long that is.

“I said, where is he? When is he coming back?”

Something inside of me longs for Matty. Not only is there an anxious uncertainty swirling in my gut but there is a craving there. The fear of the unknown hangs like a shadow over me but the need to be in the presence of his strength makes me ache, as if him being here made it better somehow. At least I’d be able to see his facial features, read his expression. Not seeing him, not knowing what’s happening, it’s torture.

Flynn again looks at me, but instead of answering me, he stands and pockets his phone before leaving. It’s infuriating that he never speaks to me. I wonder if he’s deaf or if he was given orders not to talk. He’s good at watching me though, until this time. As the footsteps retreat up the hallway, I don’t hear the click of the lock. He’s left the door open.

I lick my lips and glance at the door, then the window. I’m not locked in. This idiot forgot to secure the door and I am free to go. I only have a t-shirt and shorts on, no shoes or jacket, and it’s fall—chilly outside. But cold outside is better than a prisoner awaiting an unknown fate.

I pop out of the chair and hurry to the door, tiptoeing. As I suspected, the doorknob turns easily and clicks open. It creaks as I pull it open and peek out into the hallway. There is no sign of Flynn anywhere, not even the squeak of his boots on the marble, so I walk into the hallway. I’m already cold, shivering and hugging my arms over my chest as I head for the stairs. I do so cautiously. For all I know this is a setup and he’s waiting around the corner to snatch me and beat me for trying to leave.

The stairs leave me in a very vulnerable position. They wrap along the wall and descend toward the foyer. When I’m halfway down I see the front door in sight. I’m not stupid. I know if they catch me, I’m dead. If I get out and I tell a soul what I know—that they’re running an illegal arm smuggling business that gets their allies weapons—I’ll be hunted and killed. But I need to get out of here. Matty and his amazing dominance that hypnotizes me or not, I need justice for Hal and a safe place to live the rest of my life. I can’t do that here.

As soon as my toes hit the ground floor I run. My feet slap the cold marble and I head for the front door. My heart races. I am only steps away from being outside, and then I have to decide which way to go and how to get away. My hand fumbles with the old door handle, forcing the metal lever down as I pull, but it’s jammed. I can’t tell if it’s stuck or locked, and I am now frantic to get out of here. Flynn could come back any second.

I yank on it, whimpering and jiggling it and at the same time I hear a key jingle. My blood runs cold, my face blanches. I turn slowly to see Flynn standing there with a tray of food and a key in his hand. He scowls at me, nodding, but still saying nothing. When I freak out, darting past him, he drops the tray of sandwiches and soup and in a single movement his arm wrapped around me. I dangle from his side as he moves toward the stairs.

“Fucking let me go!” I scream, kicking and pounding my fist into his thigh. “Let me go!”

Flynn continues his silent treatment as he ascends the stairs and I sob. I was so close to being free and getting away from here. “I hate you!” I kick harder, jerking my body around and hoping he will drop me, but his steadfast grip tightens and I can hardly breathe.

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