Frey (42 page)

He placed his hand on her forehead but
didn’t say anything. When the tears burned the back of her eyes,
she didn’t stop them from falling. He pulled her into his arms on
the side of the road and held her while she cried. “Shh,
Sweetheart. It will be okay, I promise,” he whispered into her
hair. When she composed herself, she moved back, and he swiped at
her cheeks with his thumbs. “Abbi, I’m here for you. Every step of
the way.”

Her heart was torn in two. One half was
breaking for the child in the back seat, for her brother who’d
endured nothing but pain at the hands of her husband, and the
little bean in her belly she had prayed wouldn’t come to be. The
other half was rejoicing at the warmth and compassion she received
from the man standing in front of her. She reached way down deep in
her soul and grabbed on to the good half.

Frey helped her back into the truck, and
Amelia asked, “Miss Quinn, are you all right?”

“
Yes, Sweet Pea, I just
have a stomach bug.” She wished that was all it was.

When they arrived at the community center,
Frey turned in his seat to Amelia. “Can you do me a big favor? Can
you look around and see if your mommy’s car is in the parking lot?”
Amelia unbuckled and searched out her window before scooting to the
other side of the truck, making a big show of looking all
around.

“
She’s not
here.”

“
Thank you. Come on, let’s
get you two ladies in here so you can dance.” Frey helped the
little girl out of the back seat, holding her hand while they
walked across the parking lot. Abbi committed the sight to memory.
Instead of working in the class today, Abbi decided to put the kids
on the stage. One, it would help them get a feel for their places
in the dance, and two, it was closer to the restroom. She had taken
another nausea pill right after throwing up. She hoped it would
work its magic long enough for her to get through the next
hour.

She took all the kids to the auditorium and
placed them where they needed to go. She went over and over the
steps with the kids, amazed at how quickly most of them got them
right. Abbi removed her cell phone from her back pocket to check
the time. They were about halfway through the class when the lights
flashed off and back on. The kids squealed when the lights went out
then giggled when they came back on. That happened two more times,
about five minutes apart. Abbi knew Frey was somewhere close by,
watching. She could somehow feel his presence. That tether she’d
noticed the first time they were alone in her dance class had only
gotten stronger. She clapped her hands, getting the children’s
attention when the fire alarm sounded.

The mothers who were watching jumped up from
their seats, and Abbi directed the kids their way. “Stay in a
straight line and stay with Bethany’s mom!” She counted heads as
the kids marched by, and she knew instantly who was missing.
“Where’s Amelia?” she asked the last few kids. Bethany said, “She
went to the bathroom.”

Abbi had a really bad feeling about what was
going on. She had promised Frey she wouldn’t go anywhere alone, but
she couldn’t leave the child in the building when the fire alarm
was blaring. She ran down the side of the stage and out the door
that led to the hallway. When she reached the bathroom, she opened
the door, and her face was covered with a rag. The cloth had been
doused in noxious smelling liquid. Abbi fought with all her might.
Her training with Frey flashed through her mind briefly, but it was
no use. She was fading fast.

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

Fuck, Abbi! Where was she? Frey asked the
mothers if they’d seen her, but they were too intent on getting the
children safely outside. He looked around for Amelia and finally
saw her coming out of the building, alone. He ran to her and knelt
down, “Hey, Little One, have you seen Miss Quinn?”

The little girl’s eyes were wild. She was
crying and nodding. “She went to the bathroom,” she said on a
hiccup.

“
Why are you crying? Has
something happened to Miss Quinn?” He knew that answer before it
left her quivering mouth.

“
He took her,” she
whispered. “He said if I didn’t do what he told me to, he’d kill my
momma.”

Frey could not believe the levels this
bastard would sink to. He lifted Amelia into his arms. He pulled
his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Dane. “He’s got Abbi. I
need an APB on Debbie Cranston’s car. I’m not sure that’s what he’s
driving, but recent events make me believe he is.” He didn’t say
goodbye before hanging up. He called Lorenzo next.

“
Where are
you?”

“
Getting ready to put the
bird in the sky, why?”

“
The bastard has Abbi.”
Amelia’s little body started shaking in his arms as her sobs became
louder. “I need to you come to the community center. Dane is
putting an APB out for the possible vehicle she is in. I have no
idea where he’d take her, but I’m hoping Sixx can get a lock on her
cell phone.”

“
Ten-four. We’ll be there
in fifteen,” Lorenzo said. He was barking orders to Jasper and
Matthew before the line went dead. Shit, Matthew. He didn’t need to
be here for this in case it went sideways. No! Nothing was going to
happen to Abbi. Frey would die before he let anything happen to his
mate.

As firetrucks and police vehicles arrived in
the parking lot, one of the mothers walked up to Frey with a frown
on her face. “Who are you exactly?” She was looking between him and
Amelia. He appreciated the fact someone had the kid’s best interest
at heart.

“
My name is Geoffrey
Hartley, and I’m a friend of Abbi’s. Can you please take Amelia
while I speak to the police?” He handed the crying little girl over
to the woman who tried to calm her down. He dialed Sixx and had him
try to locate Abbi’s phone. Unless she had powered it off, he would
find her. He had to find her.

Frey was relaying what happened to one of
the officers when Dane arrived. “I’ll take it from here, Grady,” he
told the cop. Frey didn’t miss the look the older man gave
Dane.

“
What was that
about?”

“
He has a chip on his
shoulder. Now, tell me what happened.”

Frey told Dane everything from the note
Amelia gave Abbi to the fire alarm. He kept his eyes on Grady who
sent a text to someone. Afterwards, he didn’t stick around the
crime scene. He got in his cruiser and headed toward the back of
the building. “Where’s he going?” Frey asked Dane, pointing at the
car.

“
Who knows with him,
probably going to take a piss.” Dane directed the other officers to
stay with the women and children while the firemen checked the
building. When they got the all clear, everyone made their way back
inside to wait for the parents to pick up their children. The woman
who was holding Amelia walked toward Frey and Dane. “She keeps
asking for you,” she said to Frey. Amelia held her arms out, and
Frey immediately took her.

The little girl wrapped her arms around his
neck, muttering, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Over and over.

Frey hugged her tight and whispered into her
hair as he stroked it, “It’s not your fault, Little One. We will
get Miss Quinn back, I promise.” He prayed to all that was holy he
could keep that promise. The sound of helicopter blades registered
in Frey’s ears. Lorenzo would be there soon, and Frey still had no
idea where Abbi had been taken. He called Sixx back and lit a fire
under his ass.

Abbi came to, another rank smell
infiltrating her nostrils. This was ammonia. She blinked her eyes
and came face to face with a monster. Her husband slapped her so
hard her head jerked over her shoulder. “You stupid fucking bitch.”
Since she was tied to a chair, she couldn’t raise her arm to block
his hand. The next strike was with his fist. Same cheek, only
harder. “Did you honestly believe you could get away from me?” This
time it was a punch to her stomach. Abbi wished she hadn’t taken a
pill. She’d love to throw up all over her hus… no, not her husband.
The man standing before her was someone different. Someone pure
evil. Any shred of humanity that was in Troy Quinn had left the
building.

Troy paced the floor, his hands sliding
through his dark hair, making it stand on end. A low moan brought
Abbi’s attention to the other side of the room. In a corner, Debbie
was in the fetal position. From this angle, it looked as though her
face was badly beaten. Abbi knew how that felt. Her cheek was
throbbing. “Shut up. Shut the fuck up!” he yelled as he kicked the
other woman with the toe of his boots. Abbi knew from experience
they were steel-toed. Debbie reached out, grabbing his pants leg,
muttering, “Amelia. Your daughter… Amelia…is…your…daughter.” Troy
rared back and kicked Debbie in the head. No sound came from the
woman again.

“
Abigail, my beautiful
Abigail. What am I going to do with you? Look what you made me do.
All you had to do was love me and give me babies. Even that whore
could give me what I asked for.” Troy pointed to the lifeless body
in the corner. “But I didn’t want her fucking kid. I wanted yours.
I wanted you to give me a baby. That’s all I asked for, wasn’t it,
Abigail?” He spit her name. She closed her eyes and willed the
wetness on her cheek to dry. She would not give him the
satisfaction of seeing her cry.

“
I asked you a fucking
question!” He grabbed her long hair and yanked her head back, so
she had no choice but to look up. His face was a mask of hatred,
the likes she’d never seen before. “Why could you not give me a
goddamn baby?” he yelled.

“
Because I fucking hate
you,” she seethed. “I pity any child that has you for a father.” He
released her hair and caught her on the left cheek with a fist.
That one had her seeing stars. At least the bruises wouldn’t be
one-sided. Abbi had been through the pain before, but nothing like
this. She shouldn’t poke the bear, because this time she was pretty
sure he wouldn’t stop before he killed her. She thought about it:
dying. If she had to go, now was a good time. Matthew had found a
father figure in Frey, and he would be okay. Frey would find a
beautiful woman without baggage to give his heart to. After all,
he’d only known her a week.

She smiled when she thought of the big man
and how in the short time she’d known him, he’d shown her enough
love to last a lifetime. She held on to the memory of his beautiful
face, his gorgeous smile, his Amazon body. A punch to the stomach
stole her breath. “What the fuck are you smiling about? That big
motherfucker you think is gonna come save you? A cold piece of fish
pussy like you can’t keep a man satisfied. Even if you already
fucked him, I know from experience it wasn’t any good. Stupid
fucking cunt. I was going to take you back. Forgive you. Then you
go and file for divorce. Haven’t you figured out by now I’ll do
anything to keep you?

“
Your daddy wouldn’t let
me see you, so I took care of that, didn’t I? Me and Judy figured
that shit out together. You were so fucking smug, looking at that
goddamn pretty boy football player. Wouldn’t give me the time of
day. I didn’t need your virgin pussy. I had a real woman warming my
bed every night.” He stopped pacing and got in her face. “I took
your parents, I took your money, and now, I’m gonna take
you.”

Please, whoever is up there, please let him
kill me now.

Troy punched her really hard, knocking her
out. When she came to, she was naked from the waist down. He had
his cock in his hand. It was hard, and he was stroking it even
harder. Abbi tried to squeeze her legs together to keep him from
entering her, but he’d tied her ankles to the chair.

“
Troy, no. Please no. I’ll
do whatever you ask, just please don’t do this. If you ever loved
me, please don’t rape me!” Abbi’s sobs were uncontrollable. She
thrashed her head back and forth, jerking her body trying to rock
the chair.

“
Rape? Baby, it’s not rape
when you ask for it. I know you want it.” Troy grabbed her face in
his hand, holding it still while he lowered himself to her legs.
Somehow he got his dick into her body. She wasn’t wet but he’d
never bothered with that anyway. He shoved his cock into her dry
core and started pounding. She moved her head and bit his hand. He
stopped raping her long enough to grab her throat. “I’ll kill you,
you fucking bitch. But not before I get what’s mine.” Troy squeezed
her neck as he fucked her. It didn’t take long before his body
jerked, and he orgasmed into her. “You’re mine, and I take what I
want,” he hissed into her ear, never releasing the pressure on her
neck. She was ready to die. Abbi brought up an image of Frey and
Matthew together as she floated into oblivion.