Page 44 of His Brother's Wife
“In here. I’ll be out in a second.”
She flushed the toilet and splashed water on her face. When she went back into the bedroom, Jackson smiled at her. “Time to watch a little T.V., darling.”
In the bondage room, where Ama deliberately didn’t look at the bed where she had been so hideously violated the night before, Jackson switched on the television. He flicked to the news channel, and when Ama saw her sister’s face, safe, with the police, she burst into tears.Thank god. Thank god …
She felt Jackson put an arm around her. “Ama …from now on, we will be a happy couple. Together. Tonight, we will be flying to another place, somewhere they will never find us. Thank you for giving me this gift, my love.”
Christ, he really is insane, isn’t he? A happy couple? Play along,her subconscious told her.
She looked up and smiled at him. “Thank you, Jackson. Thank you for keeping your word.”
Jackson kissed her and she forced herself to respond. He pushed her dress away from her shoulders and stripped her, and Ama went along with it, kissing him passionately and freeing his cock from his pants. Clarity had come to her since the doctor told her about the baby, and she’d figured out that this room, this terrible room, was her way out of this place.
That and Jackson’s arrogance. She smiled at him. “I want to taste you.” She nearly gagged on the words, but Jackson, smiling, nodded and pushed her head down to his lap. Ama took his cock into her mouth. As she teased and sucked him, she flicked her eyes around the room, taking in every chance she had to get an advantage. His rack of knives was the most obvious, but they were over on the other side of the room.
Anything. Anything will do…adrenaline coursed through her body as she realized this was the moment. This was the time.
Jackson grunted and grinned down at her. “That feels so good, baby. So, good. Let me cum in your mouth…”
And as he came, groaning, Ama clenched her jaw and bit down as hard as she could.
As soon as Selima confirmed that they had been held somewhere near Fresno, the F.B.I. and Enda, Raffaelo, and Olivier flew out in helicopters to the place where Olivier and Jackson played as kids. Inca had wanted to come, but Raffaelo forbade it, telling her, “No way. I don’t want you within a million miles of guns and Jackson Gallo.”
She had protested, but gave up when Raffaelo made it clear he was serious. “And besides,” Raffaelo told her. “Selima is being brought here. You’ll need each other if …anything goes south.” He lowered his voice so Enda couldn’t hear him. “Keep away from the news. Obviously the F.B.I. have ordered a news blackout until after the operation, but you never know.”
Now, as he sat in the helicopter beside Enda, he could see his friend was beyond anxious. Enda jiggled his legs constantly, staring out of the window as California passed beneath them. But Raffaelo felt optimistic for the first time in days. They had a lead.
As they reached the small, isolated place called Humphrey’s Station, an F.B.I. Agent met them. “We’ve found it. It’s buried in the hillside, and we would have missed it, except that we spotted a car coming out of one of the valleys leading to it. A doctor. We picked him up, and he caved and spilled his guts to us. Mr. Gallo, your partner is being held inside. We’re concerned that there are many armed guards in there with her, as well as Jackson Gallo. We need to approach this carefully.”
Enda could have screamed in frustration.Just go in there and get her.But he knew they were right. If Jackson were alerted to the fact they had been found, he would kill Ama and shoot his way out.
Raff put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re nearly home, Enda. Stay strong.”
Jackson screamed as Ama’s teeth clamped onto his penis. Ama tasted blood, and when she saw him buckle, she released her grip and staggered back away from him, over to where he kept the knives. In horror, she saw that a glass lid had been placed over them and locked.
Fuck.
Jackson was recovering now—as best as he could with only half a penis. Ama had spat him out. Now he was staring at her with murder in his eyes.
But instead of being scared, Ama found herself angry. Furious. Raging. She grabbed whatever she could find and hurled it at him as he lunged at her, ducking out of his grip. She found a paddle in her hand and slammed it into his face. Jackson reeled, but just as Ama thought she might have the upper hand, Jackson grabbed a whip and caught her on her face before looping it around her neck and pulling it tight. Ama choked, twisted, and turned, trying to free herself, but her airways were cut off, and she felt unconsciousness coming. Desperate—giving into the darkness would mean certain death—she grabbed at anything she could. It was a studded harness, leather and heavy. She flung it back, again and again, hoping to catch Jackson in the eye, and when he gave a howl and the whip around her throat eased and fell to the floor, she knew she’d hit her mark. She dived across the bed and threw herself onto the glass-topped credenza, hoping her weight would smash the glass. It cracked, but didn’t break.
“You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you!” Jackson was lunging at her again, and in desperation, she plowed her elbow into the glass with all her strength. Both her elbow and the glass smashed, and despite the agonizing pain shooting up her arm, she grabbed what she could—a shard of glass—and as Jackson grabbed her, she lashed out.
Jackson staggered back as Ama was covered in a mist of blood from the gushing wound in his neck. Jackson fell to the floor, his carotid bursting from the pressure of blood escaping the wound. Ama dropped to her knees, gasping for air and searching for the keys in Jackson’s pockets. He grabbed her arm. “I’ll kill you …”
She shook his hand off. “Go to hell, Jackson. Which is where you’ll be in a few more seconds, I’m guessing. You’re bleeding out, idiot, and no one,no one,will mourn you.” Her anger was still ruling her as she grabbed a knife from the smashed cabinet. “This is for Selima, for Inca, and for Penny.” She slammed the knife into his chest, straight into his heart. Jackson made a gurgling noise in his throat, then his head fell to the side, his eyes staring but unseeing.
Ama sat back, catching her breath. Now what? She had to find the exit, unarmed and facing god knows how many armed guards who would shoot her in a second. She placed a hand on her belly.
“Come on, little one. We’ve come this far.” She grabbed Jackson’s keys, unlocked the door, and slipped out of the room into the corridors.
Enda watched the F.B.I. and the S.W.A.T. team planning and felt a rush of irritation. He knew it wasn’t fair, but they had been there hours, and Ama was still in there, the authorities deeming it too risky to go in yet.
“Why? How much more risk can it be for Ama?”
But Raff calmed him down. Now it was getting dark and they were still strategizing. Fuck this. Enda ducked behind the police vehicles and ran around to where they said the entrance was, ducking behind shrubs and trees and moving stealthily in the gloom. At the entrance, he saw a guard outside, patrolling. He padded silently behind the man and took him out with a punch to the temple. The man crumpled silently. Enda grabbed his gun and cold-cocked him again just to make sure he was down. He relieved the guard of his handcuffs and bound his hands behind his back.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
