Caleb (The Unseen Series Book 1) (23 page)

“I’m going to kill him, Kade. I swear to God if it’s the last thing I do,” I vow, completely certain I will one day get revenge for what that fucker did to SJ.

“We need to go, Kade,” the driver up front calls back to us.

“I’ll see you on the plane,” I say and jump out.

“Come on, let’s go get the children.” Edward leads me toward the car and we make our way back toward my house in the Palisades.

After driving for ten minutes in complete silence, I finally speak. “I should be with her. I should have insisted I go in the van.”

“Man, your brother is right. She needs a professional person tending to her right now, emotionless and clinical. Dana will be there to comfort her if she wakes up. Dana of all people knows what SJ will be going through when she wakes up,” Edward tells me.

“How did Dana get through it?”

“I don’t think she fully has,” he replies sadly. “She’s learned to cope with it.”

“Am I strong enough to help her through this?” I ask.

“You endured a good few hours of torture and you didn’t cave, all to protect that woman and your child. What do you think?”

“I don’t know how I did that Edward. I was so close to confessing, you guys turned up just in time.” I laugh, but it sounds hollow. “Vitale was getting ready to fry my balls.” Edward gives me a small chuckle and we spend the rest of the trip in contemplative silence.

As we pull up at the house, I know the first thing I’ll be doing after getting some clothes on is taking those children in my arms and never letting them out of my sight again.

“After what Vitale said, I’m more determined than ever to find out what
the ring
is,” I tell Edward before we leave the car. “If Vitale wanted to involve my children in it, I’m going to do everything I can to help Logan and Aiden shut it down.”

“Your children, huh?” Edward smirks as I realize what I just said.

“I guess they are,” I smile. “If SJ still wants me and our baby after all this, that is.”

“She’ll want you,” he says with such certainty. “It’s an amazing feeling, isn’t it? How quickly you can fall in love with someone?”

“I knew the moment I saw her.” I laugh. “She walked into my office and I turned into a teenage boy with a constant hard-on.”

“Too much information dude.” He laughs.

“When did you know you wanted Dana?”

“When I saw her photo. I hadn’t even met her.”

“Well at least she didn’t walk into your office, pissed off at you.”

“Actually,” he chuckles. “She did.”

Chapter 19

I’m
flying
. And bobbing.

And bouncing?

I try to open my eyes but they stay shut.

Everything comes back to me, hitting me harder than a freight train. I’m being held by a man. I can feel the muscles in his arms flexing. It’s not Caleb, it doesn’t smell like Caleb. There’s a whirring sound, it’s loud and close by. Fear begins to creep in as whatever drug was in my system starts to wear off.

I can’t let this carry on. I need to get away. I begin screaming and pounding my fists on my captors chest, pushing myself away from him. I’m aware that I’m going to fall on my ass if he drops me, but instead his grip tightens.

“No, no, let me go!”

“SJ, it’s Kade, please just keep calm for a moment until I can get you laid down.” The gravely male voice jogs something in my memory. I’m not with
him
anymore. He sent me back to my father.

“You’re Caleb’s brother, the one who was there after I arrived at my father’s house?”

“That’s right, I was undercover,” he says as he lays me down gently on what I think is a bed. “I told you I would get you out of there.”

“Everything’s ready for you, Kade,” a female voice startles me.

“Who’s that? Where’s Caleb? Where are the twins? Where are we?” The questions come flying out of my mouth.

“I’ll tell you everything, but I need to examine you first,” he says and begins to uncover me.

“Stop.” I halt his hand with mine.

“It’s okay SJ, I’m a doctor. Dana is here to help me, but if you would rather she helped you get uncovered, I’ll leave the room.”

I lower my hand to my waist and feel the padding, instantly cringing and just wanting the world to open up and swallow me whole.

“Just get it off of me,” I manage to say just before I break down.

“Shush.” Dana comforts me while stroking my hair. “It’s okay, everything will be okay.”

“You’re Edward’s wife right?” I ask, remembering Caleb telling me his friend’s wife was British.

“Yeah, the guys thought it would be better if I was here after what you’ve just been though,” she explains.

“I appreciate that.”

“Okay, so we are going to let Kade do his thing and we are going to girl talk.”

“I’m not really up for girl talk, can someone just tell me what’s going on?” I ask.

“You’re safe now,” Kade interjects. “That’s really all you need to know.”

“Where are the twins?”

“Caleb has gone to get them. They were staying with your friend Rita and they will be here very shortly,” Dana explains. “Your friend is wonderful, she was so welcoming to me and my children.”

“Where are we now?”

“We are on Edward’s private plane. You, Caleb, and the children are coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks.”

“Why?”

“You and Caleb both need to recuperate. You’ll be safe at our place.”

“What’s wrong with Caleb?” I ask, concern etching my voice.

There’s silence in the room for a long time, it feels like at least five minutes, but it was probably no more than thirty seconds.

“Caleb gained some injuries during your rescue. He needs rest.” That’s all Kade tells me, but I know there is more to it. I can remember hearing agonizing screams. I thought I was dreaming, now I’m not so sure.

Dana tries several times to engage me in conversation, but I don’t respond. The only thing going through my mind is the screams I heard and the more I hear them, the more I believe they weren’t a dream. Caleb was torture because of me, I’m sure of it.

“I’m going to try and get some of this glue out of your eyes. It’s just warm soapy water but it will probably sting quite a bit,” Kade says and begins wiping my eyes.

He removed the offensive diaper and the plug from my ass with great efficiency. There was no hesitancy or awkwardness—he did it all as quickly and professionally as possible. My cheeks were burning from embarrassment, but he carried on and didn’t try talking to me through the process. I think that would have humiliated me more.

The soapy water appears to be working, parts of my eyelids have come unstuck and I can see through small slits.

“Your eyes are probably going to be pretty sore so once we have them open, I want to apply some antibiotic eye cream and then place a gauze patch over each eye,” Kade explains. I can’t help the hollow laugh that comes out.

“So basically, you’re giving me my sight back and then taking it away again?”

“Only for about six hours. I just want to make sure you don’t get an infection.”

I nod, understanding what he’s saying, but it still triggers my pulse to begin racing.

“SJ, breathe,” I hear Dana’s voice, but my mind is elsewhere. My mind is back in the room with
him
, my knees hurt so badly and the smell of urine is potent.

“Stop, don’t do this, please. I can’t take anymore. I’m sorry. I’ll be good, Master!” I scream from the top of my lungs. He places a hand on each shoulder and holds me down, I’m struggling to get out from underneath him, but he’s too heavy. There’s a sharp prick in my upper arm. I can feel the drug running through my system, making me woozy. “Please don’t hurt me anymore,” is my last plea before the light fades.

***

“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. I wish I could have got to you sooner. I’m going to kill him. You don’t ever have to worry about him again.” I hear the words being whispered into my ear. There’s so much promise and remorse in them. “I love you. I hope you can forgive me. The twins really need their mommy, SJ. I need you and so does our baby that’s growing inside you. You’re so strong. Stronger than me. We’ll pull you through this.”

I lay in silence for a moment, pretending to be asleep, contemplating his words and wondering what the hell he wants forgiveness for. This wasn’t his fault, this wasn’t even my fault. This was my mother’s fault. I won’t let that woman think she can rule my life after everything she’s put me through. I hope Caleb does something about her too.

“Hey.” I turn to look at him forgetting my eyes are still covered. “How long do these have to be on for?”

“Kade said about another four hours. We were waiting for you to wake up, it’s time to take off.” He helps me into a sitting position and I swing my legs off the edge of the bed.

As we exit the bedroom, I hear people clapping and whistling. “Mommy,” Maddie squeals. “Are your eyes okay now?”

“Yes, the doctor said Mommy got a bit of dirt in them so she just needs to keep them covered for a little while,” Caleb explains, saving me from having to think off the top of my head.

“I missed you, Mommy,” Mitch says and I drop to my knees as the pair of them give me one of their awesome hugs. I can’t help it, I break down again.

“I’ve missed you so much too. I’m never leaving you again,” I pledge to them. It isn’t until just now that I realized how close I came to losing them forever. How dare my mother do this to me, how dare she!

“SJ, are you okay?” Caleb asks softly.

“No, I’m not,” I say as he helps me to stand again and guides me to my seat.

“What do you need me to do?” he asks and fastens my seatbelt.

“I don’t need anything from you,” I snap. “I need time to myself, to think.”

“I understand—”

“No you don’t. Please just...” I trail off not wanting to continue that sentence.

The cabin is eerily quiet during takeoff and when the pilot says it’s safe to take off our seatbelts, I stand and ask to be escorted back to the bed.

“I’ll take you,” Dana says, but Caleb seems determined to prove something.

“I’ll take you,” he demands.

“Caleb, I need to see to your injuries. We’ll go into another room,” Kade intercepts him.

“Mine can wait,” he argues.

“No they can’t, Caleb. I need to make sure you don’t get an infection. Plus I believe there is a tracker you need removed.”

“Fine!” He let’s go of my arm.

“Come on,” Dana says, leading me toward the bedroom.

I lay down on the bed and get myself comfortable. I know the flight will be at least a couple of hours so I might as well get some sleep. That was what I planned until I felt the bed dip.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to stay with me.”

“Yes I do.” There’s a concerned tone to her voice. “SJ, I know what you’re going through—”

“No you don’t. You were kidnapped by your psychopath father-in-law to get revenge on your husband or whatever it was,” I grumble and turn over.

“You have no idea what I’ve been through, so don’t pretend to know me, okay? I’m trying to help.”

“You can’t help me. Unless you know what it’s like to be treated like less than an animal, you can’t help.”

“I know,” she says and from the raw emotion in her tone I know she does.

“What happened to you?” I ask after a moment of silence.

She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Now that is a loaded question. When would you like me to tell you about?”

“As long as you’re comfortable telling me, start wherever you like.”

I settle down and listen to her story. She tells me about how her ex-husband abused her and when she tried to escape with their son, he locked her up and made her humiliate herself or he didn’t feed her. When she was found, she’d been locked up with no food and lying in her own feces for at least twenty-four hours. He ex-husband had vanishesd, taken their son and left her to die. She goes on to tell me about her almost two year struggle to find her son and how when her ex-husband found her, he kidnapped her and raped her continuously to impregnate her. By the time she gets to Edward’s father and how he was manipulating her, I have to get her to stop.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. How are you still standing?” I ask.

“I didn’t handle it well to begin with. I became addicted to self-harm. Edward, he was a very big part of my recovery. It didn’t seem like it at the time but in his own way, he helped me realize I needed to see someone and to deal with everything that had happened. Having my son back was also a big plus and my best friend was a constant support,” she explains as I reach out to her, not being able to see doesn’t help the task. “That’s my boob.” She laughs and I pull my hand back quickly.

“Sorry,” I reply, pretty sure my face is bright red.

She takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Needing time is understandable. What happened to you was unfair. Just try not to shut Caleb out. He loves you and he’s so worried about you. I’ve only met him a few times myself, but I can see the light you bring to his eyes.”

“I’ll try, thank you Dana.”

“You’re welcome.”

***

“SJ, we need to take our seats for landing.” I have to admit, I’m looking forward to spending a little time with Edward, Dana, and their family. Regardless of what I originally thought of them, they’re really nice, normal people.

“Did I fall asleep?” I ask.

“Yeah, I stayed with you,” she answers softly. “Just in case.”

I nod my understanding. “Thank you.”

We head out to the seating area and I’m greeted by Caleb. “How are you?” he asks.

“Right now, I have no idea, but I do know I’m going to be just fine.” I smile at my acceptance of Dana’s words. It might not seem like it right now, but if Dana can go through all she did and still be standing, I can too.

“You will be, because you have me, the twins, all your friends and—” he stops.

“And what?”

“Our baby,” he responds quietly.

“We can talk about that later,” I reply sadly.

“I understand if you’re not ready for a child. I mean our relationship isn’t exactly stable and you’ve got the twins—”

“Stop,” I say gently, placing my hand on what I hope is his arm. “That’s not the problem. I’m worried about all the drugs that have been in my system for the last three days. What if they’ve harmed the baby?”

“Kade doesn’t know what drugs Buccieri used, but he did say that the ones he used himself were completely safe for the baby.”

“Was that his name, Buccieri?” I ask.

“The one who held you captive, yes his name was Louis Buccieri.”

“He made me call him Master.” I’m not sure what made me volunteer that information, it just kind of came out.

“You will never have to call him or anyone else that again,” he growls, the anger emanating off his rather scary. Whatever Caleb has planned for Buccieri, I know that he will avenge me fully.

We land and are getting ready to disembark. “I just want to thank you all for your help,” Caleb addresses the people on the plane. In all the chaos, I didn’t realize there were other people on the plane.

“We wouldn’t have turned you down,” a voice I believe to be Grayson says.

“Where are you off to now?” Caleb asks.

“LA baby.” And that voice is Cain.