Riveted (Art of Eros #1) (21 page)

Mac let all the information sink in as he slowly sat down on the couch while everyone stared at him, waiting for his next move. He wouldn’t be the one with all the answers. They needed to work together as a team. His mind whirled while his heart beat rapidly. He couldn’t think of what would prevent Brock from killing Mara after he got what he wanted. He would leave her for dead in the middle of Mexico somewhere and no one would find her. He worried he would torture her or, worse yet, rape her. His hands balled into fists at the thought of any man touching Mara, let alone that motherfucker. He would spend the rest of his life hunting Brock and torture him beyond what he could imagine with no regrets. God, he needed to pull himself together if he had a prayer of making it out of this with Mara intact.

“We need to find her as soon as possible. Brock is unpredictable, at best. Sydney, where are we on locating the cell phone?” If he kept himself moving forward in this case, he could keep his mind off the dangers of this situation.

“If he lays a hand on my sister, I will hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.” Everyone looked over to see Raquelle vibrating with rage, fists at her sides, teeth gritted, as tears streamed down her face. No one doubted her for a minute. Out of the sisters, she had enough anger and determination to follow through with her threat.

Leigha reached out to grab Raquelle’s hand. “Calm down, Raquelle. We’re going to work together to find her.” She said with all the confidence she could muster, folding Raquelle into her arms.

“Let’s send her one more text and maybe she’ll respond.” Leigha tried to calm herself and hoped Mara would respond.

Sydney studied the computers for anything to pop up on the triangulation of Mara’s cell phone.

“This isn’t going to be easy with the spotty reception, but I’ll see what I can do,” Sydney reported to Mac.

“Good. Look for something south, down the beach. We saw tire tracks leading in that direction. Mara may still have her phone and just didn’t respond to the texts. We can only hope.” Mac sounded sure of himself for the sake of her sisters, but he was scared shitless on the inside. He read the profile on Brock. The man presented as desperate, unpredictable, and smart as hell, a deadly combination. He dealt with enough criminal profiles to know Brock would probably be diagnosed as a psychopath. In other words, he was a loose cannon. They had no way of knowing what he would do under extreme stress. They couldn’t afford to waste any time to find out.

The night casted an inky blanket on this side of the world, making the air heavy with uncertainty. Raquelle and Leigha decided to order room service for dinner. They needed to distract themselves from thinking about the danger they knew Mara was in at the moment.

The computer tried to put together the pings off the towers in the area. Technology wasn’t always quick as Mac settled in front of it
.
His eyes never left the computer screen.

“Mac, staring at the screen isn’t going to make it happen any sooner.” Sydney mumbled quietly, trying to relieve some of the tension that built up in the room.

“I know. I can’t stop thinking about her. I shouldn’t have let her leave today. She’d still be here with us. Instead, she’s out with that maniac. He might hurt her. I don’t know. I’ve never had a case like this before. This one is so personal. My head and heart are at war with who should be in the lead. I can’t seem to separate them.” Mac rested his head in his palms, covering his eyes. Sydney had never seen this side of him. She might have to make the tough decisions to pull them through.

“I’ve got your back, partner. Don’t ever doubt that for a minute. We’ve been in some tough spots before. We’ll push through this and have her back here in no time.” Sydney wouldn’t let the best partner she ever had fail on this assignment.

“God, I hope so. I’m usually not a praying man, but I’m calling in all my prayers tonight. I don’t just want her back, I need her, Sydney.” His voice broke with a hint of desperation, covering up his sheer determination.

Just then, the computer pinged on two of the three towers they needed to locate Mara. Raquelle and Leigha joined them as they watched the computer screen. The third ping came up but left the screen along with the other two.

“Shit! There’s no signal from her phone.” Sydney tapped madly on the keyboard to locate the pings again. “We’ve lost it.”

“We need to move now. We have an idea of where the phone was based on the last ping. Let’s go. Leigha and Raquelle, you two are going to stay here and wait for us. Do not answer the door. We’ll be in touch.”

“Let me go to the restroom before we go. I’ll catch up with you at the car.” Sydney suddenly seemed unusually quiet, but it didn’t register with Mac. His only focus was to get to Mara.

Chapter 21

Brock firmly gripped Mara’s upper arm, squeezing it tightly. He propelled her down the unfinished concrete stairs and into the dirty streets of the forgotten Mexican resort in her bare feet.

“Ow! You’re hurting me! Let go!” She yelled in the middle of the street, in hopes someone would hear her, but stopped short when she saw all the dark, abandoned buildings.

Brock whipped her around so fast she almost slammed into him. He bent down so he was nose to nose with her. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up. I would punch you unconscious if I could, but I need you to move with me. I don’t need to carry any dead weight. You’re going to be quiet and cooperate, or I am going to cut up that pretty little face of yours. Do you understand?” His teeth clenched so tightly she thought she heard his jaw pop and spit started to form on the corners of his mouth. Mara had never encountered anyone at the breaking point before, but this was as close as she wanted to get.

She had definitely never seen Brock like this. Evil emanated from him as it slithered coldly through the steamy tropical air. Goose bumps traveled all over her body and her hair stood on end as her head bobbed up and down in agreement.

“Thank God I had the foresight to scout the area in case there was a problem. I should have known there would be problems with you. Stupidity and naivety always ran your world. I don’t know why you decided to up your IQ points now.” Brock’s sarcasm always became nastiest under stress. Mara guessed this the most stressed out he’d ever been in his life.

He continued to pull her down the street to another abandoned building very similar to the one they had just come from. This time, they made it up three flights of stairs to the top floor. As they moved down the dark hallway, Mara stepped on something sharp, jumped back and stopped dead in her tracks. The blood seeped from the bottom of her foot.

“I think I cut my foot.” She used it to try and slow him down before they reached the room at the end of the hall. She would have done anything not to be stuck in a room with him again.

“I don’t give a fuck. Keep moving. We’re almost there.” Brock dragged her to the end of the hall to the only room with a door.

This room was sparser than the other one with no mattress on the floor. A lantern stood in the corner of the room next to a huge duffle bag. As soon as they entered the room, Brock propelled Mara forward as she slammed onto the concrete floor scraping her shoulder. Her body automatically went into a defensive pose, curling into the fetal position.

“You need to stay down on the floor and don’t say a word.” Brock went to the duffle bag, grabbed a flashlight and lit the lantern with a match. Mara backed herself into a corner with Brock sitting in the opposite one. He propped his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands.

Fuck all, how did I get here? This was supposed to be so easy, but things are never easy when this dumb bitch is involved. No matter what, by tomorrow, she’s a dead woman. I can’t let anyone know what I’ve done.

Mara cried in the corner, but her soft whimper did nothing to tug at his heartstrings. He had become immune to it, despising her and everything she stood for. For the first time, it occurred to him that she resembled his crying and disheveled mother after his father gave her a beating. He’d never put two and two together because Mara wasn’t much of a crier and was always so put together. It angered him even more. She didn’t deserve a life so much better than his. Was it a roll of the dice? Well, he was about to change the odds in this game of craps.

He’d start a new life with the five million. Then he would continue to move the other thirty million of embezzled money around the world so it couldn’t be traced. Over time, he would gradually siphon off the money undetected, living in the lifestyle he deserved and worked for his entire life. He longed for beautiful, willing women who adored him and liked to play his games.

When the whimpering stopped, much to his relief, he blew out the lantern. It sucked the light out of the room, encasing it in darkness.

“Nighty night, princess. You’re going to need your strength for tomorrow.” His voice scraped like needles across her skin, pain but no puncture. He never left evidence of his abuse.

“Here’s a towel for your foot.” He threw a towel across the room, landing within reaching distance. She put her hand to the bottom of her foot and realized the bleeding had slowed down. She wrapped it in the towel and closed her eyes, hoping for a reprieve from her living hell. Finding no escape from the devil himself; she would need to use her head this time. She didn’t lack intellectually. Emotionally, she played catch-up, but she wouldn’t let on about that. She found out things about Brock she had never known before, like the motivation for his cruelty.

If she focused on Mac, she could escape this horror in her mind and get some sleep. Mara imagined herself wrapped in his arms, protected from the devil himself. Mac became her protector and savior. If she ever saw him again, when she saw him again, she would make it up to him. She used the darkness as a protective cloak as she dreamt about Mac. The next day might bring a new opening on an otherwise very bleak situation.

~

Mac and Sydney drove south down the beach, passing clusters of undeveloped buildings. They didn’t pass many cars because it didn’t appear as though anyone lived in the area. It looked like a resort in the middle of construction that came to a halt, some buildings more complete than others. The buildings no more than three stories high, showed signs of decay with crumbling concrete and cracked steel.

They parked the car and stepped out. Mac’s instinct told him if there were a place for Brock to hide, this would be it.

“Here, wear this so we can communicate while we’re out here. We need to be on point for this.” Mac handed Sydney a two-way, military-grade communications device.

“Boy, you came prepared. I always liked that about you.” Sydney winked at him, hoping to relieve some of the tension before all hell broke loose.

They tried to move quietly through the streets, searching for any signs of life, guns pulled and ready for anything. The unpredictability of the situation put them on high alert. They searched the outside of several buildings, but to do an internal search would take too long. Flashlights were needed but they couldn’t risk giving themselves away.

As they went deeper into the complex, Sydney stumbled over some debris. Mac ran to her side. A quiet search quickly turned into the crunching sound of gravel under Mac’s feet and Sydney hitting the ground, revealing their location.

Mara heard the noise outside and hobbled to the window opening. As soon as she got there to see who or what was in the street, Brock came up behind her and put his arm like a vice across her shoulder. She gasped as he yanked her head back against him. She saw two figures, one leaning over the other. She couldn’t make out what they said but when one of them stood up, she recognized Mac’s silhouette. He had come for her. She sucked in a breath, trying not to give them away, but she was frantic inside wanting to go to him. She struggled against Brock’s arm, but he held her tighter to him.

“Who’s that, Mara? Lover boy? How interesting. Is there something you aren’t sharing with me? Hmm? How would he know to come all the way out here? Is he a cop, princess?” Brock hissed, tightening his grip around her neck he spoke close to her ear. “If you so much as breathe the wrong way to give up our location, I will kill him right now in front of you.” He took the gun out from behind his waistband and showed her the barrel.

Mara violently shook her head back and forth to indicate she wouldn’t say a word. She wanted Mac alive. They watched as the two figures walked in the opposite direction of their building and disappeared out of sight.

Brock spun Mara around and threw her on the floor, slamming her on her back. Before she could turn away, he moved on top of her, breathing in her face. Rage radiated off him like a madman about to explode. She needed to find a way to diffuse the bomb before it went off.

“You better fucking tell me everything about lover boy now.” He yelled in her face, clearly at the end of his rope. As she tried to turn her head, he grabbed her by the throat. “Start talking, you stupid bitch, before I choke the life out of you.” His short and shallow breathing indicated a spike in his adrenaline.

Gasping for air, Mara used both hands to grab his wrist and Brock slowly released enough pressure to let her speak.

Since he thought she was stupid anyway, she decided to play dumb. “I don’t know much about him. We only met a couple of days ago. He simply said he was on vacation. I have no idea what he does for a living.” Thankful for the darkness of the room, it made it almost impossible for him to see her eyes, which might have been a dead giveaway.

“That’s fucking classic. Spread your legs for a man you know nothing about because you are so goddamn desperate to be loved. Who was with him?” He released her throat putting his hands on either side of her head, emphasizing the fact that she existed at his will.

“I don’t know. It was only ever just he and I.” She hoped her lies would pay off and he would leave Mac alone. She needed Mac off his radar.

Brock used his knees to push her legs apart as she whimpered the word ‘no.’ “I think I should claim what’s mine again. You might have forgotten what it’s like to be with a real man.” Brock lowered his hips to rest on top of hers. She turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut, readying herself for the assault on her body. The memory she thought she buried as her body realized what was coming. The old instinct would have her body tense up but she started to shake as fear took over. Brock may get her body but her heart belonged to Mac.

She could feel Brock’s hot breath on her ear. “If you lied to me, there will be hell to pay. I will make sure that my torture is slow and painful before you die out in the hot desert of Mexico. So if there is anything you remember in that sieve of a brain, you better tell me.” He used to relish the fear that poured off of her, like he did every time he fucked her. But it didn’t give him the thrill of power like it used to. He didn’t even get hard. Too much changed, and he wasn’t interested in anything she offered. He needed her to fear him enough to obey his every command. He softly kissed her ear and whispered, “Princess.”

As soon as he moved off her, she rolled away into the corner. She held herself with her knees drawn up to try and stop the uncontrollable shaking. He had her right where he wanted her and wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted. She feared him like she feared no one else, especially this unrecognizable version of Brock. The only relief came when she realized she succeeded in not betraying Mac. She needed to find a way to save herself. The butterfly only makes its wings stronger when it beats against its cage. Mac pulled back the divider to show her what the other side looked like, fighting her way out of the darkness, she wouldn’t be going back. She wasn’t the woman Brock brutalized for years. He wouldn’t be taking anything else from her.

As the shaking eased away, she lay down on the hard floor with her hands tucked under her cheek, finding the calmness within her. It occurred to her that her life could end at the hands of a man whose heart was as dark as the cage she created. She finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Who knew what tomorrow would bring, but hopefully she would find the hole in his plan. She wouldn’t allow Brock to hurt Mac or anyone in her family.

~

Shrouded in darkness, Mac and Sydney moved between the shadows back to the car. Sydney limped after hitting her knee pretty hard, but in her time as an agent, there had been much worse injuries than a scraped knee. Mac held her elbow as he helped her along.

“My gut is telling me we’re close. If I were a betting man, I would say Brock’s holed up in one of these buildings. Hopefully, we didn’t give ourselves away. We might do better in the light of day. Let’s hope Mara’s with him.” Hope lingered on his words.

They arrived back at the resort to Leigha and Raquelle anxiously waiting for them. The disappointment on their faces spoke to how much they wanted to see their sister walk through the door with them. He had let them down and it speared him. Somehow in their heads, they imagined how easy it would be for Mac and Sydney to bring Mara back.

Civilians always believed the movie version of every outcome.

“We’re going to call it a night. Everyone needs to sleep and rest up for tomorrow. It’s going to be another long day.” The weariness showed on Mac’s face. His heart felt like an hourglass, each minute away from Mara, more grains of sand slipped away.

After he took a shower, Mac lay on his back in bed. The same bed he made love to Mara in only twenty-four hours before. Her honeysuckle scent lingered on his pillow; her spirit was with him. He could feel her strength. His soul seemed to chant the same mantra over and over again: Life can turn on a dime. Cherish what you have in the moment because you never know when it will be gone.

He knew he needed some sleep, but his thoughts and aching heart couldn’t let go of Mara. Life could be cruel enough as to take not one loving woman from his life but a second one, as well. They say when you find the one you’re meant to be with, you can see your unborn children in her eyes. He had not only seen them but felt them, running after his little girl with big, green eyes and curly, chestnut brown hair.

Mac closed his eyes. His mind flooded with thoughts of Mara, as a calm came over him that knew she was still alive. He held on to it like a favorite childhood blanket to get him through the night.