Текст книги "When Day Breaks"
Автор книги: Maya Banks
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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 21 страниц)
CHAPTER 34
TWO hours into the extensive search for Eden, Swanny was in absolute despair. With every passing second, he felt Eden slipping further and further away. He prayed as he hadn’t prayed since he and Nathan and their mates were imprisoned in an Afghani hellhole.
Shea and her sister Grace were angels sent from God. Swanny knew that in his heart. But now he needed another miracle. Like the one he and Nathan had been given when they’d made their escape.
It was also times like these that Swanny wished Shea’s gift of telepathy weren’t random. That she could somehow reach out to Eden and help them find her. Grace would be of more help, but by the time Rio would be able to get her here, it would be too late for Eden.
His stomach was in a permanent knot and even though he refused to even consider the worst-case scenario, that Eden was already dead, he couldn’t help the surge of grief that threatened to buckle his knees.
He couldn’t lose her. His life had been fine before. He wouldn’t consider himself happy, but neither could he have said he was unhappy. His life was well ordered. His absolute focus had been KGI and his team, their missions and the bond he had with the Kelly family.
Marlene Kelly, the matriarch of the Kelly clan, had pulled him into the fold, instantly adopting him as her own, and she mothered him just like she mothered her actual sons. That love and loyalty extended to her daughters-in-law and everyone else who’d been adopted into the Kelly family.
But now? He couldn’t bear the thought of going back to his sterile existence. He couldn’t imagine his life without Eden. She was his own personal ray of sunshine, her warmth enveloping him just by being in the same room.
Mentally he reprimanded himself. Such dire thoughts did no good whatsoever, and he wasn’t giving Eden the credit she deserved. She was a fighter. She would find a way to survive until Swanny reached her.
And he would find her. If he had to turn the whole goddamn world over in his search, he’d find her or die trying.
His secure cell rang and he yanked it up, knowing it was one of his teammates. Hancock paused, slowing the vehicle he and Swanny occupied, and tuned in to the conversation.
“Swanny, it’s Joe. Where are you right now?”
Swanny leaned over to check the street name just a few feet away from where Hancock had pulled over. He related the intersection to Joe and heard Joe’s sigh of relief.
“We’re five minutes out. Stay put. Eddie has heard from Eden’s kidnapper and you need to see this, man. But you’re going to have to keep your cool and keep your head straight. Eden needs you—all of us—and you can’t let emotion cloud your judgment because we’re going to have to go in and hope to hell we aren’t too late.”
“What the fuck?” Swanny roared. “What do you know? What the hell did Eddie say her kidnapper said?”
“It’s not what he said. It’s what he sent me. Just stay put. We’ll be there in three minutes now.”
Swanny swore a vicious blue streak when Joe disconnected with no further explanation. Then he pounded the dash in frustration, his blood pumping wildly through his veins.
“What the fuck did he say?” Hancock demanded. “Joe heard from Eddie? Why the hell wouldn’t he contact me? I’m the one who fucking told him, Raid and Ryker to stand down when they lost their shit after the RPG attack. I told them I’d take care of the matter and they’d just get in my way. They damn well should have sent whatever intel they received to me.”
“I have no fucking clue,” Swanny ground out. “I couldn’t give a shit about the whys and wherefores about who called who and why. Joe said Eddie sent him something and then told me not to lose my shit and remain focused. Now you tell me. Does that sound good to you?”
The heavy sarcasm—and a healthy dose of terror—was registered by Hancock. He lost some of his belligerence and he actually paled.
“Jesus,” he whispered. “What the fuck could it be? God, don’t let it be a picture of her dead body.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Swanny raged, uncaring that he was precariously close to losing all control and simply imploding. “Joe said we had to go in and get her out before it was too late. That means she’s not dead. Yet.”
Hancock fell silent and kept glancing at his watch. A few moments later, Swanny’s team roared up in two vehicles, having split up to cover more ground. Swanny was out and running in Joe’s direction before Joe could even get out.
Hancock was right on Swanny’s heels, ignoring the incessant honking by pissed-off drivers whom Hancock had blocked by parking at the corner of the intersection.
“Show me,” Swanny said bluntly.
Joe hesitated, which made Swanny’s insides twist into one huge ball. He could barely breathe for the dread gripping him.
“Just show us, goddamn it,” Hancock demanded. “We’re wasting fucking time by standing here. Is she alive? Whatever it is, get on with it.”
Joe dragged a hand through his hair and then pulled out his sat phone.
“Eddie called a while ago freaking the fuck out. Eden’s kidnapper sent him a video because she wanted Eddie to see what she was doing to Eden. She taunted him by saying she was drawing out Eden’s death. Told him her revenge would be complete because she was going to kill Eden and she wanted him to watch her die. Which leads us to believe she’s going to send another video.”
“Show it,” Swanny said, his nostrils flaring.
Joe sighed. “This isn’t easy to see, man. But you need to keep it together. Donovan is working on a trace to see if he can track her location. Hopefully he’ll strike gold and be able to give us a specific location, or hell, if he can just get us in the general vicinity, we’ll find her.”
Before Swanny or Hancock could tell him to quit delaying and show the damn video, Joe turned his phone around and hit the play button for the video.
Hancock’s sudden intake of breath was heard over the noise of traffic and the incessant honking.
Swanny felt sucker-punched as he stared at the events unfolding in front of him. He was numb, utterly numb. He’d never felt horror to this degree. Not even when he and Nathan had been tortured and starved for two months in hell.
Eden was bound to a chair and blood covered her face as her kidnapper made yet another cut to Eden’s face, carving a meticulous line from her cheekbone to underneath her chin.
Eden’s shriek of pain brought hot tears to Swanny’s eyes. He closed them, unable to bear it any longer. He didn’t even bother to wipe the tears away. He was devastated by what he saw Eden having to endure. The woman was systematically torturing her and taunting her with her impending death.
“Focus, goddamn it,” Hancock shouted. “We need to study the video, see if we can see anything that helps us pinpoint her location. Put it away, Swanny. Eden needs us. You can’t help her if you lose your shit now.”
Swanny visibly shook off his grief and rage and refocused his attention on the tear-blurred screen in front of him.
“Start it over,” Swanny choked out. “Hancock’s right. We need to look beyond Eden to see if we can locate anything that helps us. She doesn’t have long. When this crazy bitch grows tired of torturing Eden and taunting both her and Eddie, she’ll kill Eden and the next video we receive will be of her dead body.”
It took everything he had to push aside his emotions and look at this with the detachment he always had on other missions. He couldn’t look at this when his mind was clouded and consumed with fear for Eden. He had to put it away and do the job. At any cost.
Bracing himself and forcing himself to study the video with objectivity, he zeroed in on the surroundings. This time Joe muted it because the only sound was Eden’s scream and Swanny couldn’t bear to hear it again. Knowing she was in agony was hard enough. Listening again would send Swanny right over the edge. And he was precariously close to losing his shit. One push and he’d be gone.
Something caught his eye and his pulse ratcheted up, so much so that he could feel it beating at his temples and in his neck.
“Back that up,” Swanny ordered.
He leaned in, taking the phone from Joe, and then hit play again, bringing the phone closer to his vision.
There. There it was!
Oh God. She had his necklace on!
He thrust the phone at Joe, his movements frantic as he dug out the GPS locator from his pocket. Goddamn it. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? He was so rattled in the hotel room, he hadn’t even thought about looking for the necklace. He’d assumed she’d wear something far more glamorous to the launch party.
“What the hell?” Hancock demanded. “What’s going on? What did you see?”
“The necklace,” Swanny rasped as he yanked out the locator. “I gave her a necklace with a tracking device. I told her to wear it when she wasn’t filming or at an event. I never expected she’d wear it tonight. That must have been the surprise she’d planned for me and why she didn’t want me to see her dressing. Yes, I gave it to her as a gift, something special, but my primary focus was on having a way to make sure she was safe if I wasn’t with her for whatever reason. But she didn’t know it had a chip. I didn’t want her to misinterpret the gesture.”
Everyone pushed forward as Swanny fumbled with the locator, his hands shaking so badly he could barely punch in the commands to get a bead on Eden’s location.
“Come on, come on,” Swanny chanted in frustration. “She can’t have gone too far in this length of time.”
Bingo! Relief crushed him with its weight. There was a blinking dot on the map of Paris. Eden was still in the city!
“Got her!” Swanny shouted. “Let’s roll.”
CHAPTER 35
THEY scrambled into two vehicles, shoving in clips, lifting assault rifles into place and positioning knives and flashbang grenades.
Swanny had given the GPS locator to Joe, who was driving him and Hancock while Nathan, Edge and Skylar brought up the rear.
By using satellite imagery, they were able to pull up a picture of the exact location that gave Eden’s position. It was a house on the outskirts of Paris, just to the south, in a suburb with houses spaced short distances between them.
They had to make damn sure their entry was clean and not have an innocent caught in the cross fire. Swanny prayed the entire way. He prayed that Eden was alive. He prayed her kidnapper hadn’t figured out the necklace was a tracking device and left it in its current position as a decoy. Because if that was the case, they were well and truly fucked. They’d be starting from zero again, and every precious minute counted.
“Drive faster, goddamn it,” Swanny seethed.
“I’ve got it to the floor, man,” Joe replied, his expression grim. “Get yourself together. We can’t afford to let emotion cloud your judgment. We don’t know for certain she’s where the tracking device is, and we don’t want to burst into a civilian’s home and blow them all to hell.”
Swanny ground his teeth together. Bullshit. Let his judgment be clouded by emotion? How the hell could he not be up to his eyeballs in emotion and adrenaline? Not to mention bloody fucking terror. The woman he loved was suffering horribly. He knew only too well what she was enduring, and he’d been trained to withstand torture in the military. Violence hadn’t touched Eden until recently. She wasn’t meant for pain and disfigurement.
Tears gathered and burned in his eyes, but he blinked them away, knowing he needed perfect vision and his senses sharp. They might get only one shot at this. If threatened, the crazy-ass woman would probably take Eden down even knowing she was about to die herself.
Hancock, who’d been studying the close-up map of the neighborhood, lifted his head.
“Looks like there are two entrances. Judging by the background in the video, my bet is the basement level. It was dark with concrete walls and the floor had appeared dusty and damp.”
“So we go in quietly, undetected, and then we take her by surprise with a flashbang. Eden will be disoriented but she’s likely already so from the drugs,” Swanny said in a grim tone.
“Nathan and I will take the front,” Joe said from the driver’s seat. “You and Hancock go in the back. Sky and Edge will cover front and back just in case she gets by you.”
“Like hell she’s getting by me,” Swanny vowed.
Hancock nodded his agreement, almost looking insulted by the idea that anyone would get by him.
Ten of the longest minutes of his life later they pulled to a stop three houses down from the one that signaled Eden’s presence.
They piled out, quickly spreading out, guns up. Joe motioned for Nathan and then gave a hand signal for Edge and Skylar to each take an exit while Swanny and Hancock broke into a run, quickly clearing one of the iron fences between a neighboring house and the back of the house where Eden was being held captive.
The door was locked, but Swanny quickly jimmied the lock and pushed the door quietly inward, stepping lightly and soundlessly across the floor. Hancock followed closely behind, a pistol in one hand and an assault rifle cradled in his other arm, the strap wrapped around his arm to anchor it in a shooting position.
They froze just at the stairway to the basement when they heard a chilling scream shatter the silence.
Relief and rage vied for top reaction to Eden’s shriek of pain. Relief that she was alive, and rage that the crazy bitch was cutting her up piece by piece.
Swanny and Hancock crept down the stairs, only pausing when they heard a slight noise above them. Swanny swiveled, gun up, but then relaxed when he saw Nathan and Joe following them down.
Satisfied that they had backup, Swanny resumed his quiet descent. He stopped when the wall cut away, giving a way to see inside the basement. He didn’t want the woman to have a clue anyone was here. He needed to get a bead on Eden and her captor so they could attack strategically.
Moving inch by careful inch, each one seemingly taking hours, Swanny peeked around the edge of the wall and into the dimly lit basement area.
He caught his breath when he saw Eden tied to the chair she’d been bound to in the video. Her head was drooping, blood sliding down her face from multiple cuts. Her tormentor had her back to Swanny and his team, and her laughter filled the room.
“One more video, I think,” she said in a smug tone. “Something to give your father to remember you by. Then I’ll slice you open and let you bleed out and film the entire thing. Your father will pay for all he’s done. For taking my mother’s life. My father’s life. For taking my life from me for so many years.”
Eden lifted her head sluggishly, her unfocused gaze on the woman. Her lips curled and she gave the woman a look of pure hatred and distaste. It was obvious to Swanny she was in shock and likely still sluggish from the drugs. But it was what she did next that surprised the hell out of Swanny and filled him with pride even amid his rage and fear for her.
“Go fuck yourself,” Eden croaked.
Swanny made the go signal before the woman could retaliate. In her anger she might well kill Eden on the spot.
Swanny lobbed a flashbang so it landed right beside Eden’s chair and ducked briefly behind the wall so he and his teammates wouldn’t suffer the effects.
The room exploded with sound and two different sets of cries went up as Swanny rushed in, Hancock and the others hot on his heels. The woman was on her knees holding her head but she still reached blindly for her gun, lifting it in Eden’s direction.
Swanny didn’t hesitate. He put a bullet into the back of her head, crumpling her the rest of the way to the floor. Then he rushed over to where Eden was tied to the chair, tears that had nothing to do with the explosion burning a trail down his cheeks.
He ripped off his shirt and placed it to her face to stop the flow of blood covering her cheeks and forehead. Hancock dropped behind her and quickly sliced through the rope securing Eden to the chair.
She immediately sagged forward and Swanny caught her in his arms, swinging her upward, cradling her securely.
“Eden! Eden, honey, talk to me, please. Can you say anything? Are you hurt anywhere else?”
She blinked, confusion furrowing her brow. For a moment her gaze locked with his and relief swamped her eyes before going glossy with tears. It ripped his heart right out of his chest to see her so fragile and vulnerable. He pressed his lips to her forehead, uncaring of the blood that smeared his own face.
“Swanny,” she whispered, her voice hoarse from her screaming.
“Yes, baby. It’s me. I’ve got you now. You’re safe. No one can hurt you now.”
“L-love y-you.”
He lost the battle and broken sobs welled in his throat. “I love you too, honey. God, I thought I’d lost you. I thought I’d lost you. I couldn’t bear it.”
She closed her eyes, pain contorting her features.
“Stay with me, Eden,” Swanny said as he turned to take her up the stairs. “Stay with me, baby. I’ll get you to the hospital. Everything will be all right. I swear it on my life.”
“S-stay with m-me.”
Her voice was so faint he had to strain to hear her. He kissed her hair, just wanting to touch her, reassure himself that she was alive and in his arms as he made quick work of the stairs.
“I’ll never leave you,” he vowed.
CHAPTER 36
SWANNY charged into the hospital in central Paris, cradling Eden in his arms. She hadn’t regained consciousness since she’d told him she loved him, and that worried the hell out of him. Who knew what else she’d been subjected to? And he hadn’t been able to bring himself to let her go from his arms long enough to assess the rest of her body to see if there were additional injuries.
His heart was bleeding for Eden. He was so overcome with grief and guilt that he could barely maintain his composure. But he had to be strong for Eden. Had to make sure she got the care she so desperately needed. No matter what it took. He’d hit his retirement and investments to pay the cost if that was what he had to do.
He was met by a startled nurse and, thank God, Edge was with him since the nurse didn’t speak a word of English.
“I want the best possible care for her,” Swanny said, an edge of steel lacing his voice. “And I want the very best plastic surgeon called in to repair the damage to her face. I won’t accept anything less.”
There was an instant flurry of conversation between Edge and the nurse and then the nurse’s eyes widened, and she immediately got on the phone and spoke rapidly into the receiver.
“What the hell did you tell her?” Swanny demanded.
And why the hell hadn’t they taken her back yet? She needed immediate medical attention. She needed X-rays and a complete head-to-toe examination to ensure that all injuries were accounted for. He prayed with everything he had that her only serious injuries were to her face, but he had no way of knowing exactly all she’d been subjected to, and that gutted him. He wanted a report. Wanted to ease his mind, even though his worry over those cuts was overriding all else. But as long as she lived—as long as there were no serious, life-threatening injuries—he could deal. Because no matter how she looked, he loved her. Her. Not her stunning beauty or the professional face known to so many. He loved who and what she was. The heart of her. He didn’t give one fuck about scars, but he refused to allow her to endure that kind of pain, a constant reminder of her nightmare for the rest of her life. He knew all too well how that felt, and if it was within his power, he’d make damn sure Eden never had to suffer that.
“I simply explained who Eden was and that it wouldn’t do for her not to have the absolute best plastic surgeon in the region. She’s on the phone now calling in the top doctor in the plastic surgery field to see if he can come in immediately.”
After a few more moments, the nurse hung up and rushed around to where Swanny stood with Eden. Then she spoke rapidly to Edge, glancing at Swanny as she talked.
“What?” Swanny demanded. He hated this language barrier. He wanted to know exactly what was going on with Eden.
“She wants to know your relationship to Eden and whether you have authorization to grant permission for surgical procedures.”
“You tell her I’m her goddamn husband and I’ll be the only person authorized to grant permission for medical procedures and I want to know exactly what’s going on every step of the way.”
Edge relayed Swanny’s response, and the nurse looked appeased by the explanation. Then she gestured for Swanny to follow her back. Knowing he’d need Edge, despite his desire to have Eden to himself, he motioned for Edge to come as well.
The nurse hurriedly ushered her into a private cubicle and then explained to Edge that while they waited for the plastic surgeon they would do a complete medical examination including X-rays and that they would prep and clean her wounds on her face so that when the surgeon arrived they could take her straight back to surgery.
“Just let her know I’m not budging,” Swanny said stubbornly. “Tell her not to even bother trying to throw me out because I’ll tear this damn hospital down to get to where she is.”
A smile hovered on Edge’s lips as he translated Swanny’s threat. The nurse’s eyes widened and she took a hasty step back as if Swanny’s tone and expression had thoroughly intimidated her. But she nodded her agreement and instructed him to lay Eden on the stretcher.
Swanny was reluctant to leave her even for a moment, but he grudgingly arranged her on the bed and took a step back so the medical staff could do their job. But he made sure he remained close and kept Edge in the room to translate because he didn’t want to miss a single word.
He stood, arms crossed, his gaze never leaving Eden as the medical personnel scurried back and forth, performing their examination. Swanny’s rage only increased as they removed her clothing and he saw extensive bruising to her rib cage and kidney area.
He curled his fingers into tight fists, tension bristling in tangible waves. His edgy mood bled over to the medical staff and they made certain to keep Edge in the loop over every discovery and the fact that they’d be bringing in a portable X-ray so they didn’t have to move her from her current position.
Swanny nodded his approval, but his expression stayed grim. He kept checking his watch, waiting for the damn surgeon to arrive. He didn’t want Eden waking up and seeing her face this way, even though she’d see the bandaging. She’d know they—the cuts—were there. But he’d be damned before he ever let her suffer as he had, nor did he want her to carry permanent memories of such a horrific experience. He didn’t give a flying fuck that legally he had no right to be making medical decisions on her behalf, but he’d fight anyone who opposed his decisions.
At one point she seemed to stir and Swanny immediately snapped to attention. He barked an order for Edge to relay to the nursing staff. He wanted her sedated until she went to surgery. No way in hell did he want her to wake up to the horror of what had happened to her. Not until Swanny could be certain she had received the absolute best care and that the cuts to her face were fixed and would heal flawlessly.
An hour later, a physician bustled in wearing street clothes. He went immediately to Eden’s bedside and removed the loose dressings on her face. He studied extensively, muttering to himself as he completed his examination.
Swanny was fidgeting with impatience, waiting for the surgeon to tell him anything. More importantly, if the damage could be undone.
Finally he turned to face Edge and Swanny. To Swanny’s relief he spoke flawless English.
“We are fortunate in that the cuts to Miss Sinclair’s face aren’t deep. I don’t believe there will be any tissue damage. The cuts are very precise, not jagged. It’s my opinion a scalpel was used to inflict the cuts, which certainly makes my job easier.”
“Thank God,” Swanny whispered.
“They’ll prep her for surgery and I’ll go get scrubbed down and change and be waiting in surgery for her to arrive. Expect them to move her within the hour, and of course we’ll keep her comfortable throughout the entire process.”
Swanny extended a shaking hand to the doctor. “I appreciate this. Thank you for coming so soon. This means the world to me.”
“It’s no problem. I’m well aware of who Miss Sinclair is and she’s graced the covers of so many magazines. I will make it my utmost priority—and pleasure—to ensure that no permanent scarring remains. I’m very good at what I do,” the doctor said in a serious tone. “I have no reason to believe that the surgery won’t be one hundred percent successful. She’ll need time to recover, of course. She won’t be back to work immediately, and she’ll likely need additional procedures. It won’t happen overnight, but in my professional opinion the damage can be corrected.”
“She won’t be lifting a finger,” Swanny said gruffly. “And she won’t be facing those additional procedures alone. I’ll ensure she has everything she could possibly need or want at her disposal.”
The surgeon hurried out and in a matter of moments the nursing staff came back in and began the task of prepping her for surgery. After a few minutes, one of the nurses turned regretfully to Edge, though she included Swanny in her gaze.
“We’ll take her to the OR to finish prepping her. We have to make sure we’re in a sterile environment. I know it’s hard not to be able to see her or be with her, but I promise she’s in the best of hands. If you’ll wait in the surgery waiting room on the second floor, we’ll update you periodically, and then when she’s brought to recovery you’ll be able to see her.”
Swanny let out a strangled breath, fear and relief swamping him. What if the surgery wasn’t a success? Eden wasn’t a vain woman in the least. But there was no way in hell he wanted her to suffer as he had done with his facial scarring. Her face and body were her career, and he had no desire for her to be forced to retire early. He wanted her to have choices, even if those choices forced her in a different direction than him.
“Come on, man,” Edge said quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go find the others and hit the waiting room. If I had to guess, Eddie and her brothers are already in the air flying over. They’re going to want to know everything.”
Swanny nodded and reluctantly allowed himself to be led from Eden’s room. They went into the emergency department waiting room where the others were sitting. Hancock surged to his feet, worry etched into every groove on his face.
Before anyone could ask, Swanny quickly relayed the situation to them all. Hancock swore and pounded his fist on one of the chairs in front of him.
“This is my fault,” he said furiously. “I took out the wrong person.”
“None of us were looking for the sister,” Joe said quietly. “We’d been told both mother and daughter had perished in the mission Eddie headed that went all to hell. It only made sense to focus on the brother after the threat Eddie received. We all carry part of the blame for not finding this out until it was too late. We accepted Eddie’s word since it had happened years ago, and we should have thoroughly researched the entire situation and broadened our scope beyond the son.”
But no matter who was taking the blame, Swanny knew in his heart that he and only he was responsible for Eden’s kidnapping and subsequent torture. He never should have left her. He should have insisted on being with her the entire time. The kidnapper posing as the maid would have never made it through the door of Eden’s suite if Swanny had been there.
It was a regret he’d live with for the rest of his life.
