"Lies. All of it. There's no chance of a falling out with Little Abbot. I can do whatever I like with you."
"That would be a huge mistake."
"I think not."
Torrence slithers to stand behind me where I sit at the kitchen table. He fists my hair and pulls me back so hard, I'm balancing on the two back legs of the chair. "You'll pay for the lies you fed me."
He drags me from my seat and down the hallway toward the bedroom. "Since she can't seem to give me an heir, maybe you can."
Broden and Reuben don't follow. He has done this to Lainie enough, they're probably confident he doesn't require their assistance. Wrong.
I wait until we're inside the bedroom to escape his grasp since I don't want to alert Broden or Reuben. I surprise Torrence with a punch to his throat-always unexpected, and temporarily debilitating.
He grabs for his throat because my assault causes him to feel like he can't breathe. It's the perfect time to strike a second time so I can wrestle him to the ground and put him in a chokehold, the same one I used on Malcolm when I killed him.
I loop my arms around Torrence's neck and lock them into a death grip. This is kill or be killed, and I have no intention of being the one to go down.
We scuffle for a moment before landing on the floor. We're a tangled mess when we crash into the rails of the bed, shoving it across the rotted wood planks beneath it. He struggles against me but his upper body strength is weak.
I count so I'll know how long he's been without oxygen. Sixty seconds. One hundred and twenty. I need a full three minutes to accomplish my goal.
This needs to sound like he's the one winning.
"No!" I yell at the top of my lungs. "Stop. Don't. Please don't!"
I'm at two and a half minutes when Broden taps on the door. "Everything all right in there?"
I scream at the top of my lungs to discourage him from investigating further. But the bastard opens the door. Dammit.
He rushes me, gun pulled and aimed at my forehead. "Release him or the wall will be newly decorated."
Thirty seconds more. That's all I need and Torrence Grieve will be no one's problem ever again. But my time is up.
I release his throat and show my hands. He sputters, gasping for air as Reuben grabs him beneath his arms and drags him away.
"Who are you?" Broden asks.
I shrug while continuing to hold my hands out.
Torrence lies on his side catching his breath. His cold eyes stare at me. He grabs Reuben by the shirt and pulls him down so they're face to face. His voice is scratchy and hoarse. "Beat her until she can no longer move."
Broden grins. "Gladly."
"Shoot her if she resists," Torrence adds.
My children and I are dead if I fight. No question about it. I have the responsibility of protecting the two tiny lives growing inside me so I do the only thing I can. I curl into a tight ball around my precious babies to protect them the only way I know how.
Chapter Four
Sinclair Breckenridge
My father offered The Order everything they could possibly want, plus some. Still, they refuse to return Bleu. That sends my red flag to high alert.
She's been in the hands of my enemy for three days. I have no idea if she and our little ones are safe. That's the sum total of what I know about my wife and children.
And I'm about to lose my fucking mind.
I'm finally freed, all charges dropped associated with Malcolm's death. The whole thing was a conspiracy and I've no clue about the instigator. But I will find out. And when I do, he'll be sorry.
I leave the jail and dash toward the dark sedan waiting curbside. I'm pleased to find Dad in the back seat. I've barely shut the car door when Sterling pulls on to the street.
We skip discussions concerning my legal battle and dive straight into planning my wife's rescue. "Everyone's at Duncan's awaiting instructions. We need to come to a decision before arriving so this can proceed as quickly as possible."
The pub is a ten-minute drive. That doesn't give us much time to discuss options.
"The Order doesn't know you've been released. That's an enormous advantage to have over them but it won't take long for word to spread. You must decide how to proceed."
If this were about property or possessions, Grieve would've gladly taken Dad's offer. "He's demanding I come make the trade for Bleu, even willing to wait until I'm freed from jail. I'm predicting he's planning to kill her in front of me."
"I agree. This has everything to do with avenging his son's death."
"Tell me you know where Bleu is."
"Debra has been tailing Grieve since Bleu's kidnapping. He and his men recently made a visit to an isolated cottage not far from here. It's boarded up. By all appearances, it looks abandoned. We believe it's very likely Bleu is there."
But no one knows for sure and maybe doesn't cut it in this situation. "I need my wife's location confirmed if I'm to make the best decision concerning her safety."
"I wasn't willing to send men into that cottage without your approval. If Bleu wasn't there and The Order discovered our rescue attempt, they might have killed her without a negotiation. I couldn't give that order because she isn't my wife. She's yours to protect so it must be your decision."
"My gut says Grieve isn't visiting a boarded-up cottage for no reason. He's holding her there. We'll gather our best men and storm the location."
Our meeting at Duncan's is brief. It only lasts long enough for me to choose ten of my most trusted and combat-experienced brothers along with two men to act as drivers. We load into the back of a transport truck. I don't waste time talking at the pub. We can use the drive to the cottage to nail down our final battle plan. "This is going to be a snatch and grab. The goal isn't to kill Order members. We're storming in without warning, taking my wife, and getting the fuck out of there. The battle will come later when they realize she's gone. The only goal now is to get her out safely."
"Four of us will go in through the front door. Dad, Alan, Derek, and myself." I give orders to the remaining eight to surround the cottage and cover from all sides. "Any questions?"
I've fought beside these men for years. I trust them with my life. And my wife's.
We're approaching the cottage when my father's phone vibrates in his pocket. "It's Debra."
"We're almost there," he tells her. "Thank you for calling."
He ends his call. "Torrence and two of his men just arrived at the cottage."
"Dammit." I was hoping we would find Bleu alone so she wouldn't be placed in danger during an extraction.
"Grieve doesn't know you've been released. He'd have more men guarding her, and protecting him, if that was the case."
Dad's right. Torrence would be nowhere near Bleu if he knew there was a chance I was on my way. He's a coward. He never joins his men in a fight. He sits behind the line of safety and watches.
"You want to stick to the same plan?"
My father is letting me make all the calls. First, Bleu is my wife so she's mine to protect. But two, this is his way of letting me gain decision-making experience. I'm certain he wouldn't hesitate to override my plan if he felt I was making the wrong moves.
"We should adjust the numbers since we know we'll have three Order members on the inside. Six will go in so we have twice their number. Neil and Ross. You'll join us."
"I agree. Six men are sufficient."
"Everyone needs to understand something. I'm out of that cottage with Bleu as soon as I find her. Sterling and Jamie will be waiting for us in the car. You'll have two getaway vehicles. If you're detained from returning to this one, I have a second in place. It will be waiting on the south side of the property."
"Protect the brother next to you so you'll have someone to cover for you," my father adds.
The truck stops. My chosen men and I file out through the back. We creep toward the cottage and find the door is unlocked. Perfect. That eliminates the need for a noisy break-in and betters our chances of being undetected while gaining access.
I listen a moment before entering. Nothing. It's the eerie kind of quiet before the storm. It makes me terrified of what I'm going to find. "Let's move."
I open the door. The six of us storm inside but find no one in the first room we enter.
This is all wrong.
Guns drawn, I lead my men through the cottage. I stop dead in my tracks when I see a young blond woman huddled in the corner of the next room. She's curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her head as to deflect an assault. "Where is Bleu?" I whisper.
The woman lifts her tear-streaked face from her knees. She's been beaten to a bloody pulp.
She points to the hallway. "I tried to stop them from hurting her."
I'm too afraid to ask what she's referring to. My mind imagines the worst. "Someone get this girl out of here. Put her in the car with Sterling and Jamie."
Without thought for a quiet attack, I stalk down the hallway toward Bleu.
Torrence and two of his men are standing over my Bonny Bleu, looking at her battered body. One of the men uses his foot to nudge her shoulder but she doesn't respond. She appears completely lifeless.
They've broken my china doll. And now they stand over her laughing at what they've done.