Page 13 of The Madman's Nightmare
I wanted to vomit as he gripped onto my forearm and pushed me out of the room. As he roughly guided me back across the house and into the kitchen, I made note of everything I saw. Opening the door to the basement, he pushed me inside, and I slid down three steps before catching myself on the banister. Bradon kept his firm grip on me, and when we got to the underground room, I swung my head around, trying to memorize the room.
Pushing me back onto the floor, he motioned to a door off to the side I hadn’t noticed. “Bed and toilet are in there. Don’t try anything stupid. The entire house is monitored.”
Without another word, he turned and walked up the stairs, leaving me alone in the cold basement. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I did neither. Losing my shit at that moment wasn’t going to save me from what I could only guess would be a gang-rape . . . or worse. I had to get out of here and get back to Pierce Bluff.
If everything she said was true, and this was all some kind of plan for her and Devlin to have a family, and if I was just some broodmare used to make babies, then Devlin or James were going to be the ones to tell me. Until then, I had to think these people were the ones who had Devlin so on edge.
Was he frightened that his wife was going to spill their secrets to me?
Why kidnap me when he could have divorced me?
Or was getting rid of me always the plan?
Was anyone coming for me or was this where I was going to die?
I swiped an errant tear from my cheek and set to work on a plan. If I was going to die, then I was going to go down fighting.And I would take anyone who tried to keep me from my sons down with me.
I might have been born into a trashy situation, but I wasn’t trash. I was Elise, daughter of Chuck and Blaire and mother to DJ and Conner. I was worthy. I was capable. I mattered.
The mantra I kept repeating in my head became a battle cry of sorts. Whatever I had to do to keep the intrusive thoughts of what Bradon and Kendra had planned for me.
There was no way I was going to comply with their demented plans.
Chapter 7
Devlin
Walking into the conference room on the third floor of my building, I found a team of faces looking back at me. James lifted his chin and stood from his chair as Aubrey, Lucian, Regan, Rhys, and Freddie, our head of communications, along with at least eight other people, returned to their work. Everyone was typing away, looking for any sign of who took Elise.
“I heard Hawk threatened the doctor to get him to release you,” James said as he moved me to the side of the room.
“I’m not dying, so I need to help.” Looking at the table, I asked loud enough for everyone to hear, “What have you uncovered?”
Lucian lifted his eyes. “We found the video of your ambush.” He shook his head and explained, “They were bush league, at best. The only reason they got the drop on you was because they came in ready to shoot.”
“Who are they?” I inquired, moving slowly over to where he was sitting at the large wooden table. “Show me.”
He looked at James, and I yelled, “I said show me.”
My brother’s cold blue eyes lifted to me as he stood from his seat. He pointed his finger at me as he said, “I know you’re worried and low on blood, but watch your fucking tone with me, little brother.”
“Fuck you, Lucian,” I returned, and James moved to step between us.
“Everyone calm the fuck down,” James yelled, and Lucian took a step back, holding his hands in the air.
“I’m going to get some fresh air,” Regan stated. “Does anyone want to join me?”
Everyone vacated the room except Lucian, James, Skid, and Rhys. I’d guess they didn’t want to be around when one of us started swinging, and I couldn’t blame them, but I needed them to get back to work. They were the only ones who could find my Lamb, and by the time on the clock, she had been away from me for almost nineteen hours.
That was nineteen hours of her being subjected to God knows what by someone brash enough to come after me. I felt the ice fill my chest as I raked my hands through my hair while I took a seat. Lifting my eyes, I simply said, “I’m sorry.”
I hated to apologize, but I was being overbearing in my demands. I needed to give them a chance, so I sighed and asked again, “Can you show me what you uncovered?”
Lucian retook his seat and began typing as James took a seat beside me. I knew they were giving me grace, but I couldn’t speak of that right now. I needed to know where Elise was so I could go and rescue her.
The large monitor that hung on the wall lit up as Lucian’s video began to play. I saw Elise from the back, and I asked, “Which camera was this?”
I didn’t have cameras mounted directly on any trees, afraid they would be spotted by the locals enjoying the park. Lucian began to explain as he typed. “I found an angle that I could zoom in. It was from a camera the city installed near the playground.”
