AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, lucky for you, you get to keep your pride,” Lucas said slyly. “Got it.”
Excitement rose in the diner as everyone gathered around Lucas, eyes focused on the pulsing dot on the screen.
“That’s about forty-five minutes from here,” Millie said when the map finished rendering to reveal the street detail.
“Axe, Kate, you’re with me,” Matt told his mechanic and twin. “Lucas, you’re on surveillance. Try to get satellite lock. Colt is getting the gear ready at the ranch. We’ll send a drone up when we’re close.”
“Wait a minute, Matt,” Cassie said, gripping his arm. “You need to let Trent and his men take the lead.”
“She’s right,” Millie concurred. “We’re not a law unto ourselves, Matthew. Anything outside Misty Grove has to be handled by local law enforcement.”
“My wife has been taken,” Matt growled. “I don’t trust anyone else to get her back.”
Cassie’s eyes flared. “Well you better start trusting someone else fast. Do you want Grace to be visiting you in federal prison for the next twenty years because you killed her kidnapper in a fit of rage? Do this. By. The. Book.”
He locked eyes with his younger sister and even if he had a strong urge to lead the charge to get Grace back, he knew Cassie was right. Habits were hard to break, especially when the life at stake was the person who’d become the center of his universe.
“All right. Lucas,” he turned to his brother continuing, “give Trent a heads up. We’ll let the Sheriff’s Department take the lead. They don’t have the technology that we have, that’ll give us some leverage to get involved.”
He looked at Axe and Kate. “Let’s go get my wife back.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Grace
Fingers clamped around my throat and The Reaper’s eyes seared into mine. He was moving inside me, tearing me apart, and ripping whatever was left of my soul. His weight crushed me as he forced his vile self on my unwilling flesh. And as if this horror wasn’t enough, his hand left my throat only to be replaced by the sharp edge of a knife. And then he slashed …
I woke up screaming in the darkness. Arms wrapped around me in comfort, and I buried myself in the warmth of a chest.
“Matt?”
The body beside me stiffened. The body beside me felt all wrong. Then I remembered, the body beside me was responsible for my living nightmare.
Gentle fingers dragged through my hair and a kiss was planted on my forehead. “I’m sorry, cara, but you will never see your husband again.” He sounded sympathetic, but there was a hard edge to Ric’s voice. “Did you have a bad dream?”
My silence was answer enough.
“Did you dream of Elliot?” he pressed.
“No,” I whispered. “I dreamt that you slashed my throat.”While you raped me, I didn’t add.
The bastard chuckled. “I didn’t mean to terrorize you so soon.”
Asshole.
Thankfully, he unwrapped himself from me and got off the bed with a grunt. I smiled grimly in the dark. Ric hadn’t escaped unscathed. This was revealed when he turned on the light. It was a different lamp than the one I had smashed over his head. He had several butterfly tapes attached to his temple and there was discoloration there, but what was telling was the spot of blood on the side of his torso. He also looked a tad pale.
His eyes followed the direction of my gaze. “You’re a handful, my love,” he said wryly, seemingly unfazed by my attempt to kill him. “I’m going to enjoy bending you to my will.”
“Why me?” I didn’t get his obsession with me. I knew I had unusual green eyes, and a mouth that men seemed to annoyingly fixate on.
He studied me with intent cocoa eyes, letting his gaze slide over me. His mouth curled. “I’ve never had a mark as beautiful as you, and I’m not just talking about physically.” He walked over and sat beside me on the bed. “There’s some purity about you, you represent something good. Something I lost inside me a long time ago. I’ve never had to justify any of my kills. Until you,” he exhaled heavily. “It made me curious about this feeling you’ve raised in me.”
“And what feeling is that?” I prompted when he was silent for a while.
He regarded me through narrowed eyes. “Do not mistake that I am in love with you and you can manipulate me.”
“Didn’t you just say I was pure? How can I be pure and manipulative?”
