Byron-4 (22 page)

Taylor didn’t hold out much hope that Cait would be able to find her. She didn’t even know where she was. Moving her fingers, she felt the burn on the tips, the cold making them hurt when she tried to grip them. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to go somewhere warm and bask in the sun.

The only thing that kept her going was the knowledge that the Feds would be all over this and Paul wouldn’t be able to touch a penny of that money. She tried to imagine him going to the bank with his crisp suit and nice warm winter coat and a withdrawal slip. She wondered if he would come back and get her for it and giggled.

Taylor remembered that agent telling her that even if he tried to take out one dollar, they’d be right there to get him. That gave her comfort.

Noises started to make their way into her consciousness. First, she thought she heard a wolf howling. Then as it got darker and colder, she heard music. It was getting harder and harder for her to stay awake and her feet no longer burned. She couldn’t feel them or her hands. She knew they were there; she could see them, but they looked funny. She couldn’t figure out what it was, but they just did.

When she opened her eyes again, she could see something in the room with her. It was looking in her box. She thought she had a couple of candy bars in there and wondered if the rat who pulled them out would share with her. She could go for a nice bit of chocolate and she loved frozen candy bars. She didn’t know how they were going to get past the gag, but she figured if she asked really nice, he’d chew through it for her.

But no biting me, she thought. Nope, won’t do to bite the hand that feeds you. She giggled again.

The room was black as pitch when she came awake again. She couldn’t move, but she thought she could hear the whop-whop of a chopper. Then a tune popped into her head and she started humming it. She thought it was the song from one of those police shows. But she wasn’t sure. And Ratty was gone. He hadn’t shared his dinner. Nor had he nibbled her gag off. Damned ungrateful rat. She’d have to have a talk with his mother.

Margaret was so nice. Taylor was sure she’d share her meal with her—and her covers. She wondered if Ratty had any brothers and if they hated her too. I’m not overly likeable, she thought to her friend the rat.

Drifting in again, she could see lights and wondered if the rat had invited his friends for dinner. There were only two bars in the box; surely he didn’t think there was enough to feed that many. And they had no drinks to offer them. Maybe they’d lie down on her feet, if she still had them. It had been a long time since she’d had any feelings down there.

Voices woke her the next time. One of them kept telling her to wake up. Her rats were very smart and she was proud of Ratty for teaching them to talk, but they were too noisy. Then she felt warmth. The rats, they’d covered her up.

“So nice, Ratty. I love you.” She drifted away again, thinking she was going to have frozen rat bodies attached to her when they found her.

~CHAPTER 22~

Byron was pacing the living room when the phone rang. He had long since given up on trying to find out any information from the Feds who were climbing out of the wall at his mother’s house. Cait had been really good about relaying what she could, but they still hadn’t found Taylor. It was nearly two in the morning and the temperature was sixteen below out.

“They found her. She’s alive, but she’s nearly frozen. He had tied her to a chair in an open house and took most of her clothes off. They’re taking her to OSU now by life flight. She’ll be there in thirty minutes. She’s...she’s in good shape and their trying to warm her up. Her core temperature is eighty-three, they’re worried about her kidneys and lungs, but they think they’ve found her in time. One of my men will take you to her and the rest of us will follow. Byron, she’ll need support when she lands. The medics said she was hallucinating when they found her.”

Byron grabbed Cait and kissed her. He wanted to be there when they landed and she knew this. Grabbing his coat, he was nearly to the car when he rushed back in the house.

“Jamie, you coming? We have to hurry.” Then he went out again.

“She won’t let them sedate her. She’s been screaming since they took off. And she punched a medic in the nose. Damn, that girl is a fighter. If they can’t get her under control soon they’re going to have to tie her down.” Damon was telling them this as they watched the helicopter make it’s descent on the hospital pad.

“Let Byr go to her. He’ll get her to calm down. She’ll listen to him.” Byron looked at Jamie. Neither man said a word and after a few seconds, Damon nodded and walked away.

“Are you going to be all right with me doing this to her? She’s going to need me to be firm, very firm with her to cut through the pain.” Byron didn’t want to hurt her, but if she didn’t let them help her, Damon said she could lose toes.

“Yes. If anyone can do this, you can. I love her too, Byr. I can’t let her suffer because I’m a little creeped out by what she needs sexually. I guess what you both need. Just get her better. I need to have a long talk with her.”

As soon as the helicopter landed, Byron was ushered to it. It was bitter cold with the wind blowing and he was grateful to be inside once the doors were closed over them. Then he heard her screaming.

“Ratty, help me! Daisies, daises! I hurt, I hurt so bad, please make it stop. I won’t tell anyone, let me go back to him. Daisies! I love him and I didn’t tell him. I fucking hurt!”

It would have been funny if it weren’t so severe. The two medics in the main area were well away from her, as far as they could be in the tight confines of the workstation.

The guy sitting the furthest away was covered in blood and his nose was swelling.

Byron knew just how he felt.

“She has a hell of a left hook, doesn’t she? I was told I could try to get her to calm down. They cleared it with the doctor inside. It’s a little...different.”

“I told them she was using her safe word and they told me I was nuts. Is she yours?” Byron looked at the pilot and nodded. “Thought so. She’ll need a firm hand. I couldn’t help and these two wanted to tie her down. Help the girl; she’s been through enough, I think.”

Byron went to the back and the one with the broken nose went to the front to sit and wait. She was sobbing now and fighting at the one restraint they had managed to get on her. Byron wanted to gather her in his arms and hold her, but as much pain as she was in, he knew she’d hurt him too.

“Slave! Slave! Listen to me!” He heard the hiss of the man in the front, but chose to ignore him. Bryon heard the pilot say something, but he was too busy to care. “Slave!

You’ll stop this right this minute!” Taylor immediately stopped fighting, but the tears were coming faster now.

“I hurt. Please, master. I hurt. Daisies. I said it, now make it stop. Please make it stop. I hurt so bad.”

“I know, baby, but you have to let them treat you. I can’t help you until they get you some pain meds. Tell me where you hurt.” Damon said it was important that they knew the extent of her injuries and if she could feel her feet and fingers.

“My whole body. I think the rats saved my feet, but he wouldn’t share the chocolate with me. I tried to make him do it with my mind, but he was...Byron, I hurt. Make it stop. I burn everywhere.” Her sobbing broke his heart and he gathered her in his arms.

She tried to wrap her hands around him, but the restraint stopped her. In a second, she was screaming again.

It took him longer this time to get through to her. But with him holding her, they were able to sedate her. After another ten minutes, she was quiet again. A few minutes more and she was out. They moved her into the hospital and straight to Intensive Care.

By noon, Taylor was sleeping quietly and the Grant household—all of them, including Margaret—were camped out in her room with her. Byron had crawled into the bed with her as soon as Damon approved. She still had slight tremors and Damon thought having Byron close would stop those altogether. By Christmas night, they knew she was going to be fine.

“You guys should go home and rest. I’ll call if anything changes. I just want to hold her for a little while longer.”

Byron wanted to take her home and put her in his bed, but he knew right now she needed what they were doing for her. Plus, there was a Federal Agent outside her door.

They hadn’t been able to locate Paul Freedom yet and that worried everyone.

~~~

Taylor opened her eyes and looked in front of her. She couldn’t see much, the room was dark, but she could just make out shapes. Someone was lounging in a chair and she could hear them snoring. A light was coming from under a door and there were noises that sounded like sticky paper being walked on. Moving slightly, she felt something tighten around her waist and she started to pull away when someone spoke.

“Shhhh, it’s all right, I have you. Rest. I have you.” Byron. He was spooned up behind her and holding her. His voice was slightly slurred and it was the greatest thing she’d ever heard in her life.

Turning slowly, she lay on her back and looked at him. His eyes were closed, but she was sure he wasn’t sleeping; if he was, it wasn’t very deep. She wanted to touch him, but didn’t want to disturb him any more than she already had.

Her body hurt, but not like it did before. Her mouth was sore and when she reached up to touch it, she noticed her hands were raw and red. Touching her lips, she moaned at the pain she felt there as well.

“It’ll heal. Damon said you were lucky. Your lips are chapped and you have a cold sore on your lower lip. But you have all your fingers and your toes.” His whispered comment startled her.

Taylor looked at Byron and tears blurred him for a second. “I don’t feel very lucky right now. He wanted to leave me there so that I’d freeze to death. How did you find me?”

“The phone. Even with the battery dead, the FBI was able to trace it because of the GPS chip in it. How do you feel, baby?”

“I don’t...scared, cold, warm, terrified, stupid...I’m pretty sure the list is endless. Are you okay? You look so tired.”

“I am tired. And you aren’t stupid. You were kidnapped by a madman and rescued.

Cait said that if you hadn’t picked up the phone, we probably...she was impressed with your calmness too.”

She looked at him for a few more minutes, her mind and body too tired to do much more than that. When Byron pulled her close to him, she felt warm, safe and loved.

Closing her eyes felt good and within a minute, she was asleep again.

The next time she woke, the room was alight with sunshine. She moved slowly and with care because she was still sore. Her wrists were bandaged and moving her feet, she could feel the bandages on her ankles as well. She remembered being tied to a chair and wondered if that was what had happened. Snatches of things flittered through her mind, but nothing she could grasp.

The room she was in was nice, much like the first one she had woke in at Thanksgiving. There was a nice sofa and two large, overstuffed chairs. An area rug was in the center of the room and a large screened television took up most of the area above a bank of doors. There was a set of floor to ceiling windows on the wall to her right and though the curtains were closed, she could see it was a sunny day. She shivered thinking about the cold and pulled the blanket up over her more. Flowers were on nearly every available surface and a huge fruit basket was sitting on the end of a small table. She was just closing her eyes again when the door opened.

A woman in a crisp white uniform walked in with a man in a suit behind her. He nodded once to Taylor and then looked around the room, the bathroom, and even opened the closets, but he didn’t say anything.

“Hello, Ms. Bennett. How are you feeling this morning? I’m Shanna, your nurse for this shift. I’ve come to take your blood pressure. This is Federal Agent O’Neill; he’s the quiet type. Oh, and I’m to tell you Mr. Grant will be in to see in around nine.”

“What time is it now? And how long have I been here?” Taylor was sure a few days had passed, but not sure how many.

“It’s Tuesday, and just after seven-thirty. You’ve been here since Christmas morning, about three days now.”

When Shanna was wrapping up her equipment to take out, she turned back to Taylor. “Can I get you anything? I don’t think you’re on solid foods yet, but I can get you something to drink.”

“Do you think I could have some hot tea? And maybe another blanket, please? I’m cold.” Taylor was sure it was just her mind and not her body that was cold, but she didn’t care.

Ten minutes later, Taylor was drinking perhaps the worst cup of tea she’d ever drank and loving it. It was too sugary sweet and much too hot, but it was warming her on the inside and the sugar felt good on her belly. The blanket Shanna had brought in was warmed and she was soon asleep. Damon Grant woke her at eight-fifteen. Agent O’Neill was right behind him, performing the same search of the room. He stood by the door again while Damon approached the bed.

“Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling today?” He checked her eyes and her ears for her and when he had her open her mouth, she felt like a horse for sale. She didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure of this Grant.

“Cold. When can I go home? I know I’ve missed my plane, but I’m sure I can cash it in under the circumstances, don’t you?” If she hadn’t been looking at him, she might have missed the look he glanced her way. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me? I have a right to know.”

“I don’t know what you mean. As far as you going home, it might be a few more days. I want to make sure the rawness in your hands and feet clears a little more. The cold sore on your lip is healing already and you don’t seem to be having any ill effects from the extreme cold. If you think you can hold it down, I can order you some more solid foods and if that doesn’t bother you, I’ll switch you to regular foods tomorrow. I would like for you to try and get up. If you think you can, I’ll have the nurse come and take the catheter out.”

“Yes, please. On everything, food and the catheter. And I want to know what you’re not telling me. I’m not stupid. That guy has been in here twice already looking in the doors like he’s expecting Jack the Ripper to jump out and kill me. Tell me.” The energy she had when she woke was draining away and she was ready to go back to sleep, but he wasn’t going to put her off.