Shattered With You (Stark Security Book 1) Read online

  24

  Quince fell in and out of consciousness as the world shifted and moved, and his battered body screamed in protest. His mind was fuzzy, but he realized that he was being dragged across the floor, the broken glass beneath him tearing into his skin. His wrists were bound behind his back, and as he tested the bonds and felt the sharp edge of hard plastic, he realized that he’d been bound with cable ties. He struggled, but it was no use. The ties held fast.

  The Raven grunted, hunched over with his hands under Quince’s arms as he pulled him, leaving Quince’s useless hands to drag. Or maybe not so useless.

  He clutched at the debris on the ground as it slipped by, taking care not to show his pleasure when his fingers caught a shard of glass.

  He hoped it would be enough.

  He hoped the Raven wouldn’t notice it.

  When they reached the far side of the cellar, the Raven dumped him, then stood up and stretched. Quince groaned, intentionally loud, and he pressed the shard into the indention where the floor met the wall.

  In front of him, the Raven crouched. “You should have killed me right the first time. Because now it’s not only you I’m going to fuck with, it’s your girlfriend. Pretty thing. But I don’t think she’s going to look quite so pretty when she’s dead.”

  “You even think about touching her, and I’ll kill you,” Quince promised.

  The Raven pressed his fingers to his mouth. “Oh! Too late! That’s all I’m thinking about. How I’m going to do it. How I’m going to make it hurt. I’ll probably fuck her, too. Just because I can. But don’t worry—I’ll let you watch.”

  Quince hauled back and spit in his face.

  The Raven wiped it away impassively. “Not very nice. I’ll remember that when your turn comes. And it will come. I won’t kill you fast. Not even close.”

  “They’ll find us here,” Eliza said, her voice groggy, but at least Quince knew that she’d come to. “You won’t get away with it.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” he said. “I’m part of the team, remember? And this vineyard is off the grid. Going to take them a while to find it. Plenty of time for your sister to bleed out. For you two to die. And for me to be the last victim of his highness. Pity he snapped like that. Jealous of his brother. Decided to sell his niece. Then had to take us all out to cover his crimes. I only barely survived.”

  He pressed a hand to his ear. “What’s that? You say that Ariana knows the truth? She does. She saw me kill her uncle, the man who arranged for her sale. Lots of witnesses to back that up. And then she saw me defend myself. Of course she was scared, poor little thing. But I wasn’t going to hurt her. I was trying to rescue her.”

  “Bullshit,” Eliza said, and Quince felt a surge of pride. She was a fighter, that’s for damn sure.

  “That’s not very nice.” He stood and walked to her, scooping up a piece of glass along the way. “I think you need a lesson in manners.”

  Quince saw the fear in her eyes and struggled to rise, but his legs were tied together as well. He could only watch, helpless, as the Raven cut off her shirt and then, very slowly, started to make shallow cuts along her belly.

  He heard her whimper, and the sound almost killed him, but he stayed silent, watching as she squeezed her eyes shut, his fingers grappling for his own piece of glass. Twisting it in his grip. Then scraping it like a saw over the ties that bound his wrists.

  There was no way to accomplish the feat without slicing his own skin, and he bit the inside of his cheek in defense against the rising, raw pain. He worked as fast as he could, but carefully, too. It was one thing to draw blood, but if he accidentally cut his wrist too deep, he’d be no help to anyone, much less Eliza.

  Again and again he sawed at the zip-tie. And again and again the Raven taunted Eliza.

  Almost there, love. He wanted to scream the words. Wanted to tell her that he would never even think about leaving her again. That he was wrong to think he had to do this first. Fight this battle. Wage war against the pain he’d suffered and the dark inside him.

  On the contrary, she was what gave him the strength to get through it. Now, in the horror of this prison. And every day, when the memories rose.

  His only regret was realizing that truth now, when he might never get the chance to tell her. Show her.

  No.

  He’d get free. He’d kill the Raven. And they’d walk out of this room together.

  He just had to keep going.

  “So pretty,” the Raven said, stepping back from Eliza’s body so that Quince could see the red lines that crisscrossed her abdomen. Her eyes were on his, and he could see the pain. But also strength. Good girl, he thought. Just hold on a little longer.

  “Should I fuck her now?” the Raven asked. “Or should I carve my name on her face? Hard decisions, but I think I’ll fuck her. And I think you need to watch.”

  On the wall, Eliza struggled. Quince did the same, the reaction instinctive. But as he fisted his hands and lashed out, he felt the snap as the ties he’d been sawing broke from the force of his violent response.

  He allowed himself a second to rejoice before returning to reality. Because his legs were still bound and he couldn’t cut those ties without giving himself away. Which left him at a decided disadvantage.

  Unless…

  He started to scoot along the wall, trying to remember where the gun had landed. Across the room, Eliza had her eyes screwed shut as the Raven dragged a shard of glass down to her sex. Christ, was he going to mutilate her?

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” he said, just to get the tosser’s attention.

  It worked. The prick turned, glowered at him, then opened his eyes in surprise. Quince still had his hands behind him, but he’d inched down the wall. And the Raven had to know his destination.

  “Not too bright are you? Grab a gun with your hands tied like that and you’ll probably shoot your own ass off. Not to worry. I’ll save you from temptation.”

  He stepped away from Eliza—thank God—and started toward Quince. “Naughty, naughty.”

  Quincy waited. He was weak and sore and battered, and that meant he couldn’t be sure of his aim. He needed to be dead-on. Which meant he had to risk waiting.

  One step toward him, then another. The Raven flashed that vile smile. Silently promising Quince unendurable pain.

  “I’ll just get that gun out of your way. Don’t want you playing with naughty toys, do we?”

  He bent over as he came closer, and as he did, Quince thrust out his arm, his fingers closing over the handle of his small Ruger. He twisted, aimed, and got off three to the chest.

  If the whole situation wasn’t so horrible, the expression on the Raven’s face as he fell forward would have been comical. Blood pumped out of him as his heart pounded out its last few beats. Then the Raven stilled, his blood spreading.

  The bloody bastard was dead.

  As fast as he could, Quince use his shard of glass to cut through the ties around his ankles, calling out to Eliza as he did, telling her he’d be right there.

  He pulled his phone free and saw that there was no signal, which meant the team couldn’t track them. Hopefully Emma was okay. With luck, she’d gotten clear of the cellar and even now Ryan and the others were arriving with a full medical team.

  But he couldn’t worry about that now. Right then all he wanted was to get Eliza free. And he stumbled to where the Raven had bound her to a built-in wine rack, then gently cut the zip-ties to release her. Her wounds weren’t deep, and he rejoiced in that one small blessing as he peeled off his shirt and then carefully covered her.

  “I love you,” she said, her voice slurred with exhaustion but her words filling his heart to bursting. “I’m so damn tired.”

  “Shock,” he told her. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. And Eliza, love, I promise, I’m never letting you go again.”

  Epilogue

  Quince woke to sound of children laughing and the feel of a naked woman in his arms. Slowly, he slid his hand over he
r waist and hip, careful not to touch her injured belly.

  Eliza sighed and wriggled against him. “Nice way to wake up,” she murmured. “Will be even nicer when I can move without pain.”

  “You’ll get there,” he said. “We both will.”

  He sat up, intending to go relax by the pool with some coffee. Stark and Nikki had insisted that Emma, Ariana, Eliza, and Quince stay on the property overnight, along with the doctor he’d brought in to treat them. Emma and Ariana had stayed in the actual house, while Quince and Eliza had been given the guest house.

  Now, they both dressed quickly and headed to the pool where Ariana was in the water with the Starks’ daughters, Lara and Anne. Emma was by the pool, her thigh thoroughly bandaged and a promise from the doctor that she would make a full recovery.

  Ryan had ordered a full briefing that morning, and Denny was already present. Liam was probably inside, as he was perpetually prompt.

  “I’m going to go get a coffee,” Eliza said. “Bring you one?”

  “I’ll get it for you,” he said.

  “Nope. I can manage. It’s the least I can do for my hero.” She bent over and kissed him, long and slow, then pulled back with a grin. “Once I’m healed I can do more than that, too.”

  He laughed. “Fair enough. For now, it’s coffee and kisses.”

  While she went inside, he sat down by Denny, who shot him a bright smile.

  “I’m so glad you two are together,” she said. “You were meant to be, you know.”

  “I do,” he said. “And I’m determined not to blow it. We’re even doing counseling. First session next Thursday.”

  “Good for you. I’m really happy for you.”

  He believed her, but he couldn’t ignore her melancholy tone. He pressed his hand over hers. “Are you okay?”

  She blinked quickly, then nodded. “Just melancholy. I love you, and you’re one of my best friends, so don’t take this the wrong way, but I miss Mason so much, and right now I’m so goddamn jealous I can’t see straight.”

  “I’m sorry, Denny. I wish I could give him back to you.”

  She nodded. “I know.” She twisted around and pointed toward the door where Eliza was emerging with a tray. “Looks like she brought coffee for everyone. You should give her a hand.”

  He recognized it as a dismissal, and did as she suggested.

  “Is Denny okay?” Eliza asked as he took the tray.

  “Lonely,” he said, and saw the compassion on her face.

  She smiled up at him. “Just goes to show you. We can never take anything for granted.”

  “Never,” he said. “That’s a promise.”

  She followed him as he took the tray to the table beside Emma, then they settled in two of the empty chairs beside her in the shade of the patio umbrella.

  “When do you leave?” he asked. Despite her injury, Emma had insisted on escorting Ariana home that afternoon, on temporary assignment to the SSA.

  “Not for a few more hours. It’s nice to just chill after yesterday.”

  “That it is. Still, if you feel the need for a little more excitement in your life…”

  He let it hang out there; he knew that Ryan had already talked to Emma about recruiting her.

  She laughed. “You people are relentless.”

  “Maybe we just know talent when we see it. You’d make a great team member.”

  “I’m not really a team player.” She shot a glance toward her sister. “But if I were, this would be a pretty good place.”

  Behind them, he heard Denny’s phone ring, and she stood up, then crossed to the far side of the patio to take the call.

  A few moments later, she returned, looking more than a little shell-shocked.

  Eliza stood, going immediately to her side. “Denny? What’s wrong?”

  “That was Colonel Seagrave,” she said, her voice thin. Shocked. “Mason’s boss.”

  She lifted her face, her eyes not quite focused as she looked around the group. “Mason’s back,” she said. “And he doesn’t have a clue who he is.”

  The End

  Want to find out what happens to Denny and Mason? Be sure to preorder your copy of Broken With You!

  Charismatic. Dangerous. Sexy as hell.

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  J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.