Page 24 of Guarded By the SEAL

“The warehouse!” Oh, my God, of course. The secret warehouse. She mentioned it, didn’t she? She said that Jake did some shady shit there and no one knew about it. Well, there isn’t much shadier than this, so if it’s going to be anywhere, it will probably be there. I even know where it is. I remember it sounding like a shady ass place when she told me. Old Bridge Industrial Estate. Oh, my God, I might actually be able to find her. I may well have one up on goddamn Jake. This might turn out okay, after all.

“I’m coming for you, Petra,” I yell because even though I know she won’t be able to hear me, I just want her to feel that I’m coming. “I’m pretty sure I know where you are. Thank you for telling me.”

Goddamn communication is important. Like more important than I ever could have thought possible. We didn’t know this was going to happen when we had that conversation, but she might well have just saved herself if my gut instincts are right. To be fair, they have gotten me this far, so I think I can trust them. And if they are proved right, then I will never ignore my gut again.

19

PETRA

The sense of dread overcomes me before I even open my eyes. I already know that I’m in a bad position before I make myself aware of what it is. Unfortunately, this time around, there are no forgotten memories. I know that Nathan kidnapped me for Jake and that he was bringing me to him. I might have been knocked out for a while due to whatever he gave me, but the memories haven’t gone anywhere.

“P–Petra? Are you awake now?” I know that voice. I know it. “I’m so sorry, Petra.”

I snap my eyes open, blanching because even though this room is dark, it’s too bright for my poor sensitive eyes. It’s only the all too familiar voice calling my name over and over that forces me to see.

“Dad?” My blood runs icy cold the moment I lay eyes on him. My father is in a terrible state, so badly beaten that I can hardly stand to look at him. It’s painful to see him knowing that he’s been through the worst. Jake has done this to him, I just know it, but still, I can hardly believe it. I was married to him, I thoughtthat we were going to last forever. How could he turn out to be a monster? “Oh, my God.”

I keep darting my eyes away because of all the blood and bruises surrounding my father. One of his legs looks all twisted wrong as if it might be broken. Vomit floods my throat at the sight of him. It’s like a nightmare come to life. Even more so with him tied to one chair and me attached to a pole. But if we stand a chance of getting out of here alive and if my dad ever wants to recover, we need to see each other.

“I’m so sorry that you are h–here, Petra,” my dad stutters, spurting blood out of his mouth as he does. I try not to throw up purely from the fear that spitting up blood might mean it’s too late for him already. “I tried to protect you, I really did. All I wanted to do was save you from him, but I failed.”

“What happened to you?” I whisper. I really need to know it all. “What did he do?”

“You can see what he did, but it doesn’t matter.” He shakes his head at me. “It doesn’t matter if he kills me. I just want you to get out of this. He shouldn’t have done this to you. He should have let you go.”

“I am the target, Dad,” I insist. “You are the one who shouldn’t be caught up in this. He wants to sell me.” I hang my head low. “I guess that’s what’s going to happen now. I will get sold off.”

“No,” Dad growls pointlessly, like he has any choice in the matter. We’re both out of control here. “No, I won’t let that happen. I will give him what he wants. He can have the family money. I am not letting him do that to you. I can’t. It’s my duty as your father to protect you from all of this… which is why I failed.”

“It isn’t your fault that I ended up here, Dad.” I try my hardest to reassure him. “Wherever here is.”

“It’s some warehouse that Jake owns. He thinks that he had me knocked out when he piled me in here, but I was awake. Some disgusting place that I assume from the blood stains all over the floor in the other room is where he does all his criminal stuff.” A deep and fearful shudder tears down my spine. “And he did some… some terrible stuff to me.” Dad looks down where I can see that where his fingernails once were, it’s all just blood and torn skin now. That sight makes me want to shrivel up into a ball. “He demanded your location. I didn’t want to tell him. Even though Max told me, I didn’t want him to know. I didn’t send you away to protect you in the thought that I would then tell them where you are.” He begins choking on his own sobs, which drags tears down my face also. “I don’t know how long I was here. I don’t know what they did to me. I think I was drugged at some point, and I guess I must have said something.”

“Oh, Dad.” I’m crushed, disappointed, but I get it. Jake is a fucking psychopath. “It isn’t your fault.”

“It is,” he howls. “It is, and I will never forgive myself. Which is why I have already decided that I will do whatever it takes to get you out of here alive. I will die if I need to, to keep you safe.”

I shake my head hard, refusing to accept that as even an option. “No way. This is my fault. I’m the one who fell for Jake. I’m the one who married him and brought him into our family. You need to get out.”

Dad shoots me a look. “I don’t think you understand, Petra. This has all been going on for a long time.”

“What?” I narrow my eyes at him. I don’t like the sound of this at all. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Nathan. He’s the one who dragged us all into this. He started it.”

“But Nathan isn’t the one who introduced Jake to me or anything like that.”

“No, I know.” I’m pretty sure that Dad is still crying. “I didn’t know that Nathan was even connected to Jake until recently. I didn’t put it all together. I just knew that Nathan had dragged us into something he shouldn’t have. But I didn’t even blame him, that’s the worst thing. I got that the deal sounded too good to be true. I thought that Nathan was fooled just like me. I thought that the Mob had him tricked.”

“What do you mean?” I demand, a little harsher than I intend to. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

Dad has the weight of the world on his shoulders, I can see it. I don’t think that he wants to tell me anything, but I’m going to push him. I have to push him because I need to know it all. I don’t know if it’s going to be meaningful, but we can’t leave here without my understanding all of it.

“A few years back when the business was struggling a little bit, Nathan was out scouting for business. He found this merger that seemed… well, looking back now, too good to be true. But since we needed that, we went along with it. I thought it would save us, and I assumed that Nathan was in the same boat.”

I gulp back the thick ball of emotion that lodges itself in my throat. I don’t remember any of this. I guess my dad did whatever he could to make sure that I wasn’t aware. But was that a good thing? I don’t know now. Maybe at the time, I would havepreferred not to know, but now… well, now it seems that my father’s not being honest with me has somehow led our to both being here in this nightmare.

“But Nathan knew that they were criminals.” Dad tenses right up. I want to scream at him not to because he might make himself worse than he already is, but I can’t make the sound. “He knew that he was getting us involved with organized crime. He might have even known about the sex trafficking link, I don’t know anymore. I thought I knew that man, but now I don’t think I have ever done so. He’s a stranger to me, especially putting you in the middle of this, bringing you here after everything. He knows how much you mean to me. I just… I can’t believe it. It’s shocking to me. I don’t know what to say.”

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