It was dark. And cold. Wherever I was wasn’t intended by the decorator to see the light of day. There was a weird metallic tang in the air and a dripping sound that seemed to echo in the small room. The floor was concrete and the only furniture was the chain that was connected to the wall and my ankle. Yes, I was chained up to the freaking wall. Like an animal. If I had been awake while they were doing this, I would have struggled and screamed like a banshee. But instead, like the coward that he was, Sid had once again plowed his fist through my face to knock me out. Didn’t the fuckhead ever hear of a sleeping pill? Or a friggin’ tranquilizer? If I had to be knocked out, I much would have preferred those options. I doubted they would come with the ear splitting headache that made it hard to think straight. And the only thoughts whirring through my pounding head were of my daughter. Of the chances of Sid actually getting his hands on her. I would happily stay chained here for the rest of my life, however long that may be, if it meant Lexie never had to breathe her father’s air. I really didn’t want to die here, though. And never see my kid graduate high school. Become a world famous rock star. Get married. Have a baby of her own. The thought of her doing all that, without me, made me taste bile. The thought of Zane, the pain he must be in. If something happened to me like it had to Laurie, I didn’t think he’d ever recover. A man could only take so much before being broken completely. With one fell swoop, Sid had stomped on three lives, wearing Gucci loafers.
Time moves slowly when you’re chained up in the darkness. Or quickly. Maybe time didn’t mean a thing. I was left with only my thoughts, and in the dark came the darkest of thoughts. I jumped slightly when I thought I heard faint sounds of gunshots. I listened hard, but I heard nothing else. I reasoned I imagined it. Wishful thinking and all that. I jostled slightly and it sent pain vibrating up my arm. Yep, definitely broken. I struggled not to let my mind be overrun with the demons that preyed in the darkness. The dark thoughts. Like I was going to die here. Like I was never going to see my daughter again. I’d never get to feel Zane’s arms around me again. I fought against those dark thoughts. Zane’s words after Ava and Steve died came into my head. “You need to bring the light in before the darkness settles.”
So instead of focusing on how alone I was in the dark, I thought of how happy I had been.
I stroked the three-day stubble that prickled against my fingers, slightly obscuring his dark goatee. “Please don’t grow a beard,” I requested quietly.
Zane glanced down at me with a guarded look on his face. He didn’t speak but he was using his usual nonverbal communication. I was becoming very fluent in this Zane speak. As was Lexie.
“If you grew a beard, it would make you...” I paused to calculate in my head. “About ten times hotter. And not only is that not fair to your fellow average Joe who barely stands a chance against goatee Zane, it also means that I’ll have to get acrylic nails.” I met his eyes. “For defensive purposes. I’ll have to scratch bitches who get all hypnotized by the hotness of you, and with the beard—” I shook my head gravely. “It’ll cause hysteria.” I glanced down at my hands. “Plus, I hate acrylic nails. I can never do menial tasks because of the plastic talons stuck to my fingers. I envy women who can conquer the day with them. I am not one of those women.”
Zane looked at me for a long moment. His face was carefully blank. Then, without warning, he roared with laughter.
I blinked.
Zane. Laughing. I didn’t even know he was humanly capable of it. But here he was, his chuckles vibrating through his chest. And I made him do it. A warm feeling settled in my stomach.
Once he was finished he shook his head, eyes dancing as they regarded me.
“I’ve never seen you do that,” I whispered quietly. “Laugh,” I added for clarity.
His face turned suddenly serious, his hand moving to cup my jaw. “Didn’t have a reason to. Didn’t have a reason to smile, barely had a reason to get up in the morning, except the club.” He gave me a look. “Got a reason now. Got two, actually,” he added in a low voice.
That warm feeling settled in my stomach and spread to my toes and my eyes prickled.
“You can’t do that,” I said in a broken tone. “Hit me with a beautiful laugh and beautiful words without fair warning. I need time to build some emotional shields so I don’t burst into ugly tears.”
Zane’s hand tightened on my chin. “That’s the whole point, baby. Don’t want you building any walls for me to get to the core of you. Want to get into every part of you. Break down all those walls. ‘Cause you and Lex, you’ve bulldozed through all of mine.” He kissed me lightly but firmly. “And there’s no part of you that could be ugly,” he said before silencing me with a totally not light, open-mouthed kiss.
I jolted when I heard something. Definitely a gunshot. Yelling. My heart leapt. Zane was here.
“I’m in here!” I screamed, my voice croaky. I didn’t even know why I screamed. I doubted whoever was out there could hear me screaming over gunshots and in what I guessed was the basement. But I did it anyway, kept screaming, needing someone to hear me. They wouldn’t miss me, would they? It would be a pretty shitty rescue attempt if they didn’t even search the house properly for the person they were meant to be rescuing. The door opened, bringing a shaft of light into the room, illuminating the stairs. A horrible thought hit me. What if something happened and my guys didn’t win what sounded like a huge freaking gunfight? What if I wasn’t saved? My eyes were glued to the spot where my rescuer—or killer—would appear, my heart beating a million beats a minute. Then boots appeared at the stairs. Not boots I recognized. Nor was the form that made its way over to me. But I breathed a sigh of relief to see the uniform. He crouched in front of me, gently pushing hair out of my face. His flashlight illuminated his face. His familiar face. The hot cop I saw fighting with Rosie...Luke was his name. I sagged in relief. His expression was gentle and non-threatening.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asked in a soft tone, his eyes moving over me with the beam. I flinched when the light reached my face, not used to it after being bathed in darkness.